From John Fischer: The In's and Out's Of It

One of my heroes is John Fischer. He's a songwriter, author and writer on subversive, kingdom issues that I've been following for many years now.

I first discovered John's writing when I first subscribed to CCM Magazine about twenty years ago (I've long since stopped reading that magazine, btw). John used to write the Last Word column in the back of every issue. I always found it ironic and fascinating that his articles were published in the handbook of Christian materialism, although they were consistently anti-subculture and thought-provoking.

Yesterday John's daily article was one that resonated with me (and you'll see why as soon as you start reading it). With his permission I've reprinted it here for your enjoyment.

The in's and out's of it by John Fischer

"In it, not of it," the statement was made
As Christian One faced the world, much afraid.
"In it, not of it," the call was made clear,
But Christian One got something stuck in his ear.
"Not in it, or of it," was the thing that he heard.
And knowing the world was painfully absurd,
He welcomed the safety of pious retreat,
And went to the potluck for something to eat.

Now Christian Two, he knew what to do,
He'd show those fundies a thing or two!
How will the world ever give Christ a try
If we don't get in there and identify?
So "In it, and of it," he said in his car,
As he pulled in and stopped at a popular bar.
"I'll tell them the truth as soon as I'm able
To get myself out from under this table."

Now along comes Christian Three jogging for Jesus,
In witnessing sweats made of four matching pieces.
His earphones are playing a hot Christian tune
About how the Lord is coming back soon.
"Not in it, but of it," he turns down the hill
And stops in for a bite at the Agape Grill.
Like the gold on the chain of his "God Loves You" bracelet,
He can have the world without having to face it.

While way up in heaven they lament these conditions
That come from changing a few prepositions.
"Not in it, or of it," Christian One thought.
But who in the world will know that he's not?
"In it, and of it," thought Christian Two.
But who in the world will know that he knew?
"Not in it, but of it," thought Christian Three.
But who in the world watches Christian TV?

And Jesus turns to Gabriel, shaking His head.
"'In it, not of it,' wasn't that what I said?"


John Fischer publishes a DAILY e-newsletter called "Catch of the Day". I subscribe to it and you should too. There's a sign up over on his website here:
www.fischtank.com.



A word from John Fischer:

"Here are some books you should have under your belt if you are writing your way out of the Christian subculture. You may already know of these but I wanted to be sure:

*Pop Goes Religion: Faith in Popular Culture by Terry Mattingly
*Fearless Faith: Living Beyond the Walls of Safe Christianity by John Fischer
*The Culturally Savvy Christian: A Manifesto for Deepening Faith and Enriching Popular Culture in an Age of Christianity-Lite by Dick Staub
*The Rock and Roll Rebellion: Why people of faith abandoned rock music--and why they're coming back by Mark Joseph
*Raised by Wolves: The Story of Christian Rock and Roll" by John J. Thompson
*At the Crossroads: An Insider's Look at the Past, Present, and Future of Contemporary Christian Music

And then there is Frank Schaeffer's new book: Crazy for God: How I Grew Up As One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back -- which is pretty much a time bomb ticking in the heart of the Christian subculture. (I love it!)

Hope this helps,

John Fischer
www.fischtank.com.
**

COMING OF AGE

My oldest son, Dylan, turned twelve years old this week.

This week's [Subversive Underground] is a write up about what God reminded me as I contemplated this significant event. (See link below to sign up for the free, weekly e-newsletter. You can also read the most recent article).

In the next twelve months I have made a covenant with my son to spend more time with him. He and I are going to be getting up early each morning to read the Bible together. Currently we're reading 1 Samuel about the calling of David to be God's annointed over Israel.

In addition to this, I've promised my son that I will make it a priority to spend more time with him each month. He and I will spend time together talking about our week, sharing what we've learned about life, and basically getting to know each other more.

I'm realizing that this next year is a gift from God for me to be the Father I've always wanted to be, before Dylan turns thirteen next year and his hormones begin slowly pulling him away from Wendy and I.

When I was younger, before I got married, I used to imagine how great it would be to have a son and to take drives in the car with him, just the two of us, talking about what was on our minds, sharing stories and laughing together. For the most part I've never made a conscious effort to create that sort of relationship with my sons. I don't think my sons are alienated from me, by any means. We do love to hang out together and laugh and play games and go places and talk about life, etc. But, for some reason, the idea of my son turning twelve this week really made me pause and take stock of what sort of father I want to be over the next few years. I want my sons to know they can talk to me about anything. I want them to know that they are more important to me than anything else I may have going on in my life.

I realized that the only way they would really ever know that is if I actually do something, on purpose, to demonstrate it to them.

So, over the next twelve months, my oldest son Dylan and I will be getting together more often to talk. Sometimes we'll stay up a bit later (after his younger brother is in bed) to hang out and talk in the den together. Sometimes we'll take a trip to the park or to grab an ice cream or whatever just to do something fun.

I know that I will also have to mark out an equal amount of time for my youngest son, David too. I don't want to send the message that I'm playing favorites either. So, both my sons will be seeing more of me over the next several years.

As much as I love all these creative projects I'm working on, like my new books and the Non-Con coming up, and the house church, there's nothing more important to me than my family.

I guess my son isn't the only one coming of age this week.

kg

Peace Is So Uncool

Peace Is So Uncool

by Keith Giles

Jesus was a man of peace. He said that those who made peace would be called the Sons of God.

To be someone who loves peace and brings peace and makes peace is to be like the Son of God...it's to be like Jesus.

It's so curious to me that the American Church seems, at least politically, to be Pro-War.

Wouldn't Jesus be surprised at this development? Don't you think He's disappointed in the Church that bears His name?

Jesus said that he was sending us out like lambs among the wolves. It's just not cool to be the lamb is it? Lambs are goofy looking. They don't have any defense mechanism. Even skunks and rabbits have something to fight back with, but lambs can't run fast, dig holes to hide in, scratch with their claws or exude a repulsive odor. They just go "baaaa" and sit there looking wooly.

Without the Shepherd, they're toast actually.


At this time of the year, where the followers of Jesus stop to remember the birth of the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, let us also remember that the Angels who announced His birth sang of Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward Men.


Peace,

Keith

THE MOST OR THE LEAST?

THE MOST OR THE LEAST?
By Keith Giles

There's a post on Seth Godin's blog today about a group of Belgian Monks who create a very limited amount of beer each month. You can only buy two cases at a time, at a specific time each month, and once they're sold out that's it for the month.

They do not label their beer bottles. They see quality as being linked with scarcity and the limited availability of their product adds to the value.

Seth Godin notes:
"There are two ingredients to this remarkability. The first...is the idea of ritual. By changing the way the product is created and distributed, they add a religious and spiritual element to the process (even if they weren't monks). Second, they're not trying to sell the most. That's critical.
"When you try to maximize anything, you work to be efficient, to fit in, to appeal to the average person, since that's where the numbers are. Every time Budweiser makes a decision, it seems to make sense, since they're trying to sell the most beer. Most embraces systems and policies that make sense. But most rarely succeeds."

Read Seth's complete blog here:
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/
**

This article resonates with me on several levels. One, because it identifies a lost ideal of quality being a limited resource. In the house church we major on the few. We listen to everyone who wants to share or speak, whether they are eight years old, eighteen years old, or eighty. Everyone is important. Everyone has a chance to be heard, and to use their talent and their gift, and to be encouraged in their daily walk. No one gets ignored or left out. At least, that's our goal and it's much more within reach when you have ten people in a living room versus three hundred people sitting in rows facing the same direction.

I also love the idea of scarcity adding value. I also love the concept that "Most rarely succeeds." In today's corporate world, which has largely invaded the traditional Church model, it's all about going for the "most" you can possibly get. Pastors want the most members, they want the most tithe, they want the most amazing worship bands, they want the most talented volunteers, etc.

The Church has marginalized the least in order to get the most. That's pretty sad to me, especially since our Lord, our example, (Jesus), was more interested in the least than he was in the most. He always saw the one in the crowd. He stopped for the woman with the issue of blood and acknowledged her. He saw Zacheeus in the crowd and singled him out. He travelled to Samaria to meet with one woman beside the well. He walked through a sea of crippled people to ask one man beside the pool of Siloam "What would you have me to do for you?" and healed his legs so he could walk again.

The American Church has fallen short of the high calling of Jesus Christ by aiming for the "most" and has been blind to the importance of focusing on the value of the few.

Many years ago, as an on-staff pastor at a traditional church, I was expected to meet regularly with the leaders in the congregation. Each pastor was encouraged to identify those who exemplified leadership qualities and seek out friendships and "meaningful relationships" with them in order to influence them to volunteer for our ministry area. This was meant to help us build our leadership team and grow our ministries by recruiting the brightest and the best from among the flock.

I always wondered, "Who is going to identify our losers and meet with them each week?" I knew a lot of people who were far from leader material. Most were having a hard time with their marriages, or struggling with their finances, or trying to find a full-time job after being laid off. Who among the pastoral staff was going to make it their weekly duty to arrange a lunch with these people? Who was going to listen to their story? Who was going to encourage them and pray with them and provide Godly counsel to them?

For me, that's what being a pastor is all about. It's not about preaching a great sermon. It's not about putting more butts in the seats. It's not about developing the shiny, happy, successful leaders and mobilizing them to run the programs and make the Church business successful.

Being a pastor is being a shepherd. It's about feeding the sheep. It's about spending time with people and loving them as Jesus loves them. It's about being willing to associate with people of low position (see Romans 12) and being a servant to all (see Jesus).

I guess that's why I left the traditional church to start a house church. I wanted to spend time with every day losers like me and encourage them to walk with Jesus and help them to see the Kingdom.

Even now, everytime I mention to someone that our Mission House Church is going well the first question I get from people is always, "How many people are coming now?" As if the sheer numbers of people attending each week are what we measure success by. How did we get that into our heads? Jesus never measures success by numbers of people. Why do we insist on thinking this way?

When I say the house church is going well I mean that I see people growing in Christ. I hear them talk about how God is teaching them something new. I hear them share how God has helped them step outside their comfort zones. I observe them loving others and giving generously to people in need and I can see the character of Christ being revealed in them. That's what I mean when I say that our house church is being blessed and doing great.

It's not about "Most", it's about the rare quality of investing in a few people for an ongoing and consistent measure of loving support and encouragment.

That's Church, my friends. That's subversive…although it shouldn't be. It should be pervasive.

Peas,
kg

SEND GAP CLOTHES BACK

Press Release

Costa Mesa- November 29, 2007 - "Close The Gap"

A Nationwide protest against retail clothing giant Gap, Inc. is scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.

On Dec.16th, 2007, hundreds of young people will gather at Gap Stores around the country to give back their GAP, Inc. clothing in order to protest recent news that the retail chain has been using child slave labor in India.

"December 16th is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party," said J.R., organizer of the planned protest. "We want to make a similar statement, as young people who have helped Gap build their clothing empire with our clothing purchases, that we no longer want to buy our clothes from an organization that supports or employs child slaves to produce their products."

Protests are currently scheduled to take place at Gap stores in San Francisco, Southern California, Miami, and at the Gap in Times Square in New York City. The protest will involve hundreds of people who are encouraged to bring all of their Gap, Inc. clothes items (which include Bannanna Republic and Old Navy) to the nearest Gap store and drop them on the front doorstep with a note to the owners that they will no longer support the retail chain or purchase their clothes.

According to a recent investigative report published by "News Of The World" (http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk) the nationwide clothing giant was caught using child slaves in a New Delhi, India sweatshop where children as young as ten were branded and forced to work 19 hours a day for nothing.

The Gap, Inc. acknowledged the use of child slaves to produce their clothing and quickly issued an official statement to condemn the practice, claiming ignorance of the situation and promising to discontinue contracts with the specific offender identified in the investigation.

For many former Gap customers the statement from the company's president was too little, too late.

"This most recent report of The Gap using children as slaves to produce their clothing is nothing new," says J.R., "This company has a history of employing child slaves over the years. If they really care to stop this practice, maybe they should stop producing their clothing in India- the child slavery capital of the world."

The Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher, who is one of America's wealthiest businessmen. Last year the firm embarked on a huge poster and TV campaign for Product Red, a charitable trust to help fight AIDS and treat other diseases in Africa.The Product Red Campaign was launched by U2 singer Bono and backed by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, film director Steven Spielberg and actress Penelope Cruz.

The irony is that Gap, Inc. participated in the Red Campaign by selling branded products to raise awareness about the needs of the world's poorest and oppressed, even though their own products were created by poor, oppressed children who had no voice and often work for no pay.

"We want to give back our Gap, Inc. clothes because we are so repulsed at their use of children as slaves, who are forced to create their clothing under penalty of torture and abuse, that we cannot in good conscience continue to wear their clothing in public," said J.R. "This is our generation's Boston Tea Party. This is a statement against the exploitation of children. We will not participate in this atrocity."

For more info on the December 16th "Send Gap Clothes Back" Protest go here:http://www.sendgapclothesback.com/

US VS THEM?

US VS THEM?
By Keith Giles

Last week I received an email from someone who was interviewing various people regarding the Emerging/Emergent Church movement. She wanted to know what my thoughts were regarding the movement and had several specific questions for me about the differences between this and the Traditional Church.

I suppose she thought to ask me to weigh in on the subject since she assumes I am part of the "Emerging" crowd. For the record I don't consider myself to be an "Emerging" Christian.

I know I write for Ginkworld.net and TheOoze.com, both of which do categorize themselves as being among the "Emerging" Church camp. I also can understand how a lot of what I write about and the ideas I propose find a receptive audience among this group of believers. I just don't consider myself to be "Emerging" in any way.

First of all, I need to spend some time defining what the Emerging/Emergent movement is since there's a lot of confusion within and without on this very subject.

According to the entry at Wiki, "The emerging church (also known as the emerging church movement) is a controversial 21st-century Protestant Christian movement whose participants seek to engage postmodern people, especially the unchurched and post-churched. To accomplish this, "emerging Christians" (also known as "emergents") deconstruct and reconstruct Christian beliefs, standards, and methods to accommodate postmodern culture."

My simplification of that is that it's a movement of mostly younger Christians who are tired of the traditional structure and practice of doing church and who long for a newer, simplified, "faith-in-action" version of Christianity that goes beyond talking about doctrine and moves into actually putting the faith into practice every single day.

Truthfully the entire "Emerging" movement is difficult to define or categorize because you have no real leaders identified, no set doctrine or theology, and no specific examples to point to. Basically anyone who wants to distance themselves from the "old way" of doing Church can call themselves "Emerging" and then proceed to teach or preach or model whatever form or model of Church they please.

What does it really mean to be "Emerging"? I have my ideas, but others have their own ideas. The movement is difficult to grasp, like a wet bar of soap in the shower. It seems like anyone can call themselves Emerging as long as they're not a traditional church.

Because of this, I do not consider myself to be part of the Emerging movement. Although I'm personally inspired by many within the Emerging movement like Brian McLaren and Philip Yancy who have helped me to think about Jesus in a more radical way. I'm also very indebted to people like Dallas Willard, Todd Hunter, Scott Bartchy, David Ruis and A.W. Tozer. None of those guys are part of the Emerging movement, but they have great things to teach us about following Jesus, understanding the Gospel of the Kingdom and learning how to die to ourselves every single day.

So, what am I? I guess I'd classify myself as being part of the House Church movement, although even that feels like a limited label to me. While I'm currently leading two small house churches in my house each week, I'm largely an outsider when it comes to the various house church communities locally and internationally.

Even within the house church/simple church crowd there's a division of models between the "Organic Church" (ala Neil Cole) and the "House Church" (ala Wolfgang Simson or Frank Viola). Organic churches are more like open door evangelistic groups where anyone and everyone is welcome to come and debate Christianity whether or not they consider themselves to be followers of Jesus or not. The House Church is much more like a weekly gathering of believers who come together to worship, pray, encourage one another and share a meal. Unbelievers are not unwelcome, but our group isn't tailored to answer their questions or perform evangelism.
Instead, our house churches are designed to make disciples of those who already believe so that they can live a missional life outside the group.

Neil Cole and I have different perspectives on the nature and function of small groups, but we agree on the idea that this model of "being church" is more Biblical and closer to what Jesus had in mind for those who wanted to follow after him.

Having said that, one of the questions in the interview from last week really got me thinking. It was about the "Us vs Them" mentality and what causes it. Honestly, I wasn't sure if she was asking about the "Us vs Them" mentality between Christians and Non-Christians or the one between the Emerging Church and the Traditional Church. I'm still not exactly sure what her question was getting at, but I decided to answer her question by assuming it was about the divide between the Emergent/Organic Church and the Traditional Church since that topic is one
I've not spent a lot of time talking about previously, and also since I've already written quite extensively on the other issue lately.

When it comes to the divide between the Traditional Church and the Emerging Movement, or the House Church Movement, I think people on all sides of the issue are to blame. We tend to make the other side look misguided and often pick out the areas where they are wrong or (in our opinion) off base.

It's very easy to get tunnel vision and start believing that your way or model is the best and only way to do, or to be, the Church. There are very good reasons why we hold the opinions that we hold. Most of the passion, and therefore the "heat", is on the side of those who are called to step outside the Traditional model. We've got issues. We've decided to do something different. Some of us because we felt God calling us to step outside the existing model, others because we felt pushed out, or invited to leave if we didn't like the food on the traditional Chuck Wagon.
Because some of us have been hurt we feel at liberty to loudly proclaim our righteous indignation at the old guard.

Honestly, I really do believe that God is doing something exciting and new within the house church movement here in America. I've met too many people who feel just like I do, and none of us have watched the same movies, attended the same conference or read the same book. This movement is one being lead by the Holy Spirit as He calls individuals to step outside of the traditional church and into something new and radical like house church.

God has humbled me more than once and rebuked me for running down my traditional brothers and sisters. He's shown me that good, awesome Kingdom work is being done in those churches. God loves them. God is at work through them. He loves them just as much as He loves us in the house church. They are not the enemy.

Our house church partners with two local, traditional churches to serve at a local motel where hundreds of families live below the poverty line. This partnership forces us to work hand in hand with and to love our brothers and sisters in traditional church. One of the churches we partner with is a mega-church, the other is a small college fellowship with less than a hundred members. While I still couldn't fellowship or worship (long-term) the way they do, I still don't begrudge them for doing things the way they do it. They're my brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm learning to love them. They're learning to love a crazy house church pastor too.

The perspective we all need to gain is that we're all part of the larger Body of Christ, regardless of how we worship or what model we follow. We need to get over the labels and the models and start getting busy advancing the Kingdom of God.

I still believe we have a right, and even a duty, to express our different opinions to one another on issues of culture, practice, theology, eschatology, exegesis, and what have you. It's not wrong or a sin to disagree with other Christians about particulars of our Faith. We just have to get better about communicating with one another without hurting each others feelings. Just like every family does.

Let's be the Family of God, then. Let's focus on following Jesus first and foremost. We can debate the specifics, but we have to learn to love one another first of all.

No one wins unless Jesus wins. No team can celebrate if the other team suffers.

We are the family of God. Baptists, Methodists, Organic Churches, House Churches, Charismatic Churches, Pentecostal Churches, whatever.

Let freedom ring.
kg

God Still Loves Us

Not sure who is behind this worldwide viral marketing campaign...but I think I like it.

More info:
http://www.godstilllovesus.org/

For even more fun try googling "God Still Loves Us" and you'll discover a Flickr site, a .Ning page and loads more.

! Attention Christians: More like this, please.

kg

Reader Review of "Nobody Follows Jesus"

Charles Pike recently reviewed my book, "Nobody Follows Jesus" and I share his observations with you now.

"Nobody Follows Jesus" (A Review) by Charles Pike

I am obsessed. I can't control myself. Although I am mired in sin, not simply falling, but plummeting, like flaming pieces of space debris, far from the glory of God, I get up each day, say my prayers, search for my cross and set out into the world to discover my wonderful new daily failures.

To ease the pain of the realization of my own petty shamefulness, I cram my mind with cultural distractions. Some fill me with joy, knowledge, and hope. Others just serve as a diversion and keep me from more important things, like turning off the computer and playing with my children, or taking the time to show my wife how wonderful I think she is, and how I would be truly lost without her.

I watch the noomas and read the beautiful books of bell. I download mp3's of Shane Claiborne and marvel at his "irresistible revolution", fantasizing about living in a community like his "simple ways" collection in Philly. I cruise the ooze and get giddy on Ginkworld, always looking for a fix. A distraction. a reaffirmation that I am not crazy, and that Jesus is coming out of the tomb that our appropriative empire has encased him in, and walks among us with a desperate look of want and desire, eager to connect, and anxious to forgive.Furing these periods of societal denial, I have come across the writings of one Keith Giles. His essays and articles over the past few years in various non secular e-zines have constantly caught my eye, engaged my imagination, and allowed me to feel not quite so alone on this voyage toward salvation.

Keith has collected his writings from his e-newsletter "the subversive underground", next wave magazine, the ooze, and a few other joints he haunts, and put them into book form. So what's the big deal? Well, yes, he is selling them on line thru lulu.com, a wonderful site for the self published, but he has done something truly interesting and vested with Kingdom sensibility, he has posted the pdfs For free download to any who might not be able to afford the few bucks to reward him for his labor of love.

I, being one of those perpetually tight fisted, and terminally broke, individuals, thrilled to the very seat of my office chair, taxed my feeble dial up connection and spent eight hours downloading his two books, "Nobody Follows Jesus (so why should you)" and "The Gospel, For Here Or To Go".

The results were immediately disappointing. The pdfs opened in quick time format, and would only show the table of contents to the two books. I felt punked, had. Frustrated, but not defeated. I went to Keith's website and emailed him personally explaining to him my turmoil and asking if he would consider emailing a pdf to me in adobe. Much to my delight, he responded promptly and emailed me a pdf of "Nobody Follows Jesus (so why should you)", and I have spent the past week savoring it like a fine Bordeaux.

For those of you unfamiliar with Keith Giles, he is a licensed and ordained pastor, teacher, preacher, writer, singer, and progenitor of the home church movement via his home based orange county, California church "the mission". What I found in the body of this text was an amazing and sensitive intellect, drowning in the sea of the corporately corrupt, politically inundated and commercially plagued modern church of America. Each page describes his navigation to the shore, where he picks up his cross and follows the Son in ritual observation, leaving cyber pit-cairns of perception, and finally nailing them to himself like a post modern Marty Luther.

For anyone who leaves a church wondering where God is, and just why we are hiding him, I recommend you purchase or down load this book, and use it as a union oil map to discover your own cross. The really cool thing is that the trail has been blazed, all we have to do is pick up and follow.

*taken from his blog here:
http://abrahamsbosom.blogspot.com/2007/11/nobody-follow-jesus-so-why-should-you.html

Nobody Follows Jesus - Reaction

Reader reviews of my book, "Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)" are below:

"The anointing is upon you, brother. That tongue is alive. It is a warm breeze on a cold night.When I have finished reading it, I would like to review it on my little blog.May God bless you every minute, every day."
-Charles P.

**
"I've been devouring your articles "Nobody Follows Jesus" and am...well, I would have thrown the book against the wall any number of times already (I'm on page 126) and am experiencing the coruscating pain of conviction. I haven't felt this...crushed and loved all at once at the same time in a long time. "
-Dan C.

**

"I feel like you climbed into my brain and scooped out all my thoughts on this issue...thoughts I've been thinking about since I became a Christian at 7 years old.

I can't help but want to follow Jesus...your words in this form help point others to do so too!.

Thank you!!!"

-Amy A.

**

You can download this book for free (or purchase the actual 205 book) online here

http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1073843

My second book, "The Gospel:For Here Or To Go?" is also available for free download or purchase.

Spread the [Subversive] goodness. Share the idea virus with a friend.

peas,

kg

CLOSE THE GAP

CLOSE THE GAP

by Keith Giles


On Dec.16th, 2007, hundreds of young people will gather at Gap Stores around the country to give back their GAP, Inc. clothing in order to protest the retail chain's slave labor practices.

"December 16th is the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party," said J.R., organizer of the planned protest. "We want to make a similar statement, as young people who have helped Gap build their clothing empire with our clothing purchases, that we no longer want to buy our clothes from an organization that supports or employs child slaves to produce their products."

The planned event will involve hundreds of young protesters who are encouraged to bring all of their Gap, Inc. clothes items (which include Bannanna Republic and Old Navy) to the nearest Gap store and drop them on the front doorstep with a note to the owners that they will no longer support the retail chain or purchase their clothes.

"We want to give back our Gap, Inc. clothes because we are so repulsed at their use of children as slaves, who are forced to create their clothing under penalty of torture and abuse. This is our generation's Boston Tea Party. This is a statement against the exploitation of children. We will not participate in this atrocity," said J.R.

The Gap was founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher, who is one of America's wealthiest businessmen. Last year the firm embarked on a huge poster and TV campaign for Product Red, a charitable trust to help fight AIDS and treat other diseases in Africa.


The Product Red Campaign was launched by U2 singer Bono and backed by celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, film director Steven Spielberg and actress Penelope Cruz.

The irony is that Gap, Inc. participated in the Red Campaign by selling branded products to raise awareness about the needs of the World's poorest and oppressed, even though their own products were created by poor, oppressed children who had no voice and often work for no pay.

For more info on the "Send Gap Clothes Back" Protest on Dec.16th go here:
http://www.sendgapclothesback.com/



**
More on the topic of Gap's use of child slavery -


"GAP SLAVE KIDS?"
by Dan McDougall

EXPOSED: 10-year-old, unpaid workers who help clothing giants make billions.
Children as young as ten years old are being sold into slavery by poverty-stricken parents to churn out cheap, embroidered clothes for fashion chain Gap.


A News of the World investigation uncovered the scandal of sweatshop kids who work for abosolutely nothing in India's capital, New Delhi.


After talking to frightened youngsters as they laboured to produce goods in time for the lucrative Christmas season, we can reveal they are:

*Forced to work without pay for up to 19 hours a day in the stifling heat.
*Beaten with a rubber pipe if they cry or protest.
*Kept in stinking, poorly-lit sweatshops running with raw sewage and
*Branded with tattoos which bond them to their greedy bosses.


When we confronted horrified Gap chiefs with our findings, they immediately vowed to withdraw tens of thousands of their embroidered children's smock tops produced by sweatshop labour before they even reach the stores.


But the news will bring little comfort to ten-year-old Amitosh who was sold for around 1,000 rupees—just £10. Ironically, his name means Happiness in Hindi.

(more in lnk)
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/2810_gap_slave_kids.shtml

I will be joining the protest here in Costa Mesa, California at the Gap Store in Triangle Square.

Those who wish to join me or want to learn more can contact me via e-mail at
elysiansky (at) hotmail (dot) com


Let's start a Boston Tea Party of our own and make a statement against child slavery and the companies who make a profit on the backs of innocent kids.


kg

GEORGIA GOVERNOR PRAYS FOR RAIN

Two days later the State is engulfed in heavy, powerful rainstorms.

The Gov. prayed for rain on the 13th of November
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3857886

Two days later a massive storm ripped through the South
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071115/ap_on_re_us/southern_drought_1

The rainfall came two days after Gov. Sonny Perdue led a prayer service on the steps of the state Capitol to beg the heavens for an end to the drought.

This just in....God answers prayer.

News at 11
kg

NON-CON 2008 REGISTRATION OPEN NOW

Online Registration for the Non-Con on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 with David Ruis, Jackie Pullinger and Keith Giles is now open.

GO HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE NOW:
https://www.acteva.com/go/non

$40 PER PERSON
ONLY 100 SEATS AVAILABLE

*Shared Meals Included

Main website is at
http://www.non-con.com

kg

Happy Birthday (To Me)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (to me)

Yes, forty one 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, friends. Hope to be here a bit longer before I join the flatulent angels.

Wubba,

Keith

THE NON-CON O8 - JACKIE PULLINGER

I've just received word from Jackie Pullinger that she will be with us on Saturday, March 15th 2008 for the Non-Con here in Orange County, California.

Online Registration opens this weekend.

Details online at
http://www.non-con.com

ANOTHER "CHRISTIAN VERSION OF" EXAMPLE

Finally! A doll company that helps stimulate Christian girls to enter a life of glorious materialism!

"A Life Of Faith" Girls
http://www.alof.com/

If you've got a young pre-teen daughter you probably know all about the "American Girls" phenomenon sweeping the nation. If not you can gaze in morbid fascination at the sheer audacity of materialism gone wild at their website
http://www.americangirl.com/

Of course, if there's money to be made by taking something that's popular and slapping a cross on it to make a buck someone will do it.

Presenting the "Christian Version of American Girl" - "A Life Of Faith" Girls!!

Now your daughter can engage in rampant materialism with a Christian flavor! Instead of spending $30 for a new doll outfit over at "American Girl" (which isn't Christian you know), you can now spend $25 on a set of underwear for your Christian "A Life Of Faith" doll!

Millie's Calico Undergarments (3 pieces)
Millie was appalled to discover that prairie girls wore calico underwear instead of white cotton or muslin. But soon she was wearing it herself. Millie’s favorite is her striped calico pantalette, full circle petticoat, and camisole, all boasting eyelet lace trim and embroidered ribbon accents....
Price: $ 24.99

Praise the Lord! (Operators are standing by. All major credit cards accepted).

Read the following from the "Life of Faith" Girls website:
"Living a life of faith every day is not always easy—no matter what era you live in. Even though Elsie, Millie, Violet, and Laylie lived in another time period, the issues they struggled with in their everyday lives (e.g., rejection, temptation, fear, etc.) are very much like the issues girls face today. Though the specific circumstances and lifestyles of 19th century girls may be different than for 21st century girls, because principles of God’s Word never change, the solutions are the same. That’s why we can learn so much from Godly role models of every generation."

Can someone help me find a barf bag?
kg
**

WHAT ARE WE MOST AFRAID OF?

Today I received an email asking me to oppose a new legislation designed to end discrimination regarding sexual orientation.

Here's a bit of what the email said:

"The full U.S. House of Representatives is likely to vote on H.R. 3685, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, as early as tomorrow or Wednesday. ENDA would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of "actual or perceived sexual orientation." Every business or organization with more than 15 employees would be barred by federal law from refusing to hire a person because of the person's sexual orientation. Although the bill exempts "religious organizations," this exemption would likely result in expensive, time-consuming lawsuits to determine if the employer was a "religious organization." Organizations...and religiously based homeschool organizations or co-ops with 15 or more employees could face such lawsuits."

As I read this I can't help but think that we're upset about the wrong thing here.

First of all, what would be so bad about a Christian organization hiring a capable employee who was homosexual? Would that be the end of the world?

If we think about this a little I think we can see that we're getting our panties in a bunch over practically nothing.

Would a non-Christian want to work for your Church or ministry? Is there any legislation that prevents them from working for you now? Why would you want to keep them away from the work you're currently doing? Wouldn't it be a good thing if they got involved with your ministry efforts? Are you afraid that a non-Christian might slip through the cracks and get past your security gates in the HR department?

Why are we so afraid of catching what those non-believers have? Why do we go so far out of our way to avoid interaction with them?

Didn't Jesus command us to be loving? Didn't Jesus tell us to be the light of the world? How can we do that from behind our closed church doors?

I also wonder why someone who was living an alternative lifestyle actually WANT to work for your church or Christian ministry? Are we afraid that they'd want to infiltrate and corrupt our efforts from within? And if so, what prevents them from doing that right now? Anyone can pretend to be a Christian these days. There's practically no difference between us and them anyway.

If we can agree that most who are outside of the Church really have no desire to be around us, then maybe we should really be asking "Why?"

Weren't we supposed to be ambassadors of Christ? Weren't we supposed to be winsome and loving and compassionate and caring? Isn't that what Jesus modelled for us? Isn't that what the early Church put into practice?

Why are we so radically exclusive?

kg

HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOUSE CHURCH

Ever wanted to know how to start a simple church in your home but didn't know how?

My friend Bob Sears has a great resource website for people wanting to know how to start their own Simple Church/House Church.

It's chock-full of wisdom and practical application. Go. See. Learn.

http://www.simple-minded.net/

kg

Doesn't Anybody Follow Jesus Anymore?

When I sat down to write a book on the subject of following Jesus, I found myself realizing that it's really a lost art in the American Church these days.

We're really good at making converts, but making disciples (followers of Jesus) is something we're pretty bad at in general.

The reason this troubles me is that Jesus commanded us (see "The Great Commission" in Matthew) to make disciples, not to make converts to a religious organization.

This is why the subject of following Jesus is such a passion of mine. This is why I wrote the 40 articles that became the book, "Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)" over the last few years.

You can buy the book online at the link below, or you can just download the PDF version totally FREE. What matters to me is getting the ideas contained in the book into the minds of people who have misunderstood our calling to be followers of Jesus, not members of an organization.

VISIT THE SUBVERSIVE BOOKSTORE HERE:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1073843

Here's what one woman said after reading my book:
" I downloaded your "Nobody Follows Jesus" book. I told my friend (youth pastor's wife) about it. I wasn't sure at first what you were going to write about (the title threw me off a little), but I couldn't help thinking, "Right on!" just about the entire time I was reading. I just started it, but wanted to let you know how much it has impacted me already! I feel like you climbed into my brain and scooped out all my thoughts on this issue...thoughts I've been thinking about since I became a Christian at 7 years old. I can't help but want to follow Jesus...your words in this form help point others to do so too!

Thanks!"

You can also purchase or download the book, "The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?" which takes a practical look at being a missionary to the world you're in right now.

peas,
kg

HITCHENS, D'SOUZA DEBATE: IS GOD THE PROBLEM?

If you've got the time you need to watch this debate between noted Atheist Christopher Hitchens ( author of "God Is Not Great") and Dinesh D'Souza ("What's So Great About Christianity?").

You need to know what the greatest (and loudest) voices in our world today are saying about Christianity and Faith in God.

Watch:
http://www.tkc.edu/debate/

kg

WEEKEND ROUND-UP

So much to blog about this week, where to begin?

*Ministry to Prostitutes- Last Friday night, around 11pm, I lead a group of six others onto Harbor blvd. to minister to prostitutes there. It wasn't so pretty. We intended to pass out free coffee to the girls in hopes of striking up conversations. Instead, they all avoided us like the plague and some ignored us completely when we tried to talk to them.

We did pass out one cup of java to a man at the bus stop, and another man at a different bus stop asked us for fifty cents, but declined to receive prayer.

In hindsight we realize that most of those girls ignored us because their pimps were just a few feet away watching them and they needed to appear busy and not chit-chatting with passers-by. We'll modify our approach next time and adjust our methods.

One group I'm in touch with up in the Los Angeles area passes out gift bags to the girls with perfume, lip gloss, jewelry, etc. That sounds like a much better idea to me.

I can't help but wonder, however, how effective we can be in the long run since no one in our group has ever walked in this world before. The LA group is made up of former prostitutes and drug addicts and gang-bangers. Our group is made up of housewives, pastors, and desk jockeys. Do we have any hope of relating to them at all?

*My Ooze Article- There's a great storm of responses being made over at TheOoze.com on my article, "Destroy the (Christian) Subculture!" which really makes me smile. One person emailed me directly to say that he forwarded it on to his blog subscribers (about 150 people) and one of those in Brazil loved it so much he did the same.

Maybe there's hope yet for an awakening within the American Christian Church? I pray so. I pray.

My favorite comment was about my use of violent imagery to communicate my passion to destroy this subculture. He suggested that I probably sit at home playing hours of violent video games and watching porn. Ha! Oh yeah, I play "Halo 3" all day, watch porn and then I sit down to write articles on discipleship to Jesus in my spare time. That's the "ABC's of me, baby".

Riiiight.

Or maybe I'm a writer who uses language to communicate ideas and sometimes gets creative so that people will have a reaction to my words that goes beyond passive complacency? Maybe I realize that people need to be offended or shocked before they will respond and act and wake up? Yeah…maybe.

Ok, got to get back to my Halo 3 and pornos now.

*The [Subversive Underground] e-newsletter: For the first time in almost two years my free, weekly e-newsletter missed a week. Not because I didn't write it. Not because I didn't post it. But because the good people at Feedblitz didn’t send it out. Usually I catch these little hiccups, which happen almost every other week, and I email the customer support people to wake them up and remind them that they need to send it out because I've posted it and after almost 48 hours it hasn't been sent to the list.

This last weekend I had too much going on, with the Harbor blvd ministry, friends coming over, a sermon to preach at Soul Survivor Church, and family life, and so I wasn't quick enough to email Feedblitz and ask them to send out my [SU].

So, last week's article was sent yesterday. This means I'll have to send out two this week in order to keep the "weekly" promise I made to my subscribers.

To correct this on future articles I've re-set my Feedblitz account to manual send. This means that after I post the weekly article I'll have to go over to Feedblitz and login and send it out
myself. Every time.

See what I do for you people? It isn't all porn and games over here ya know?

*PODCAST SERMON: "LIVING THE MISSIONAL LIFE" - If you use ITunes you can search "Keith Giles" under podcasts and listen to my sermon last week over at Soul Survivor Church. It's more of a conversation than a sermon, really. I purposely tried to engage people in a dialog rather than deliver a prepared speech. I think it came out ok. If you listen to it let me know what you think.

*THE NON-CON UPDATE: As of this moment I am seriously praying about whether or not to throw the switch on the Non-Con for March 2008. Jackie Pullinger is confirmed. David Ruis and all the rest are still on board with it. I've got the location nailed down and I've done like six other conferences like this one before, so it's not that I'm not sure if I can pull it off.

What gives me pause is the fact that all of this stuff is seriously hard work. Because I've done a few of these before I totally understand what this does to me, and to my family, as the date approaches. The time it will take to set up the service projects, the financial risk to my family (since this is the first conference I'll do on my own...not for a non-profit ministry, but all by myself), and the stress that goes along with all of that, makes me really want to pray about doing this.

I have people emailing me all the time asking me when I'll open registration for this event. This is October. The event is in March. I know people are very excited about this, and because of that I want to make it happen because I know it has the potential to really bless a lot of people and especially to educate the Church about the Kingdom and to invite people to step out of their comfort zones and serve the poor. This is very exciting to me.

Please pray for me about this. Please ask God to give me wisdom and guidance about doing this Non-Con. I want it to be His will and His plan, not mine.

Thanks for your support.

Peace,
Keith

The Gospel: For Here Or To Go? - Free Download

My first book project, "The Gospel:For Here Or To Go?" is now available for purchase over at Lulu.com.

About the book:
This is not a book about how to change the world. It’s about changing your world so that God, through you, might introduce Himself to a few of the people around you.

To think of yourself as a missionary is to realize that you have a mission. Every single day of your life, wherever you are, wherever you go, you are on a mission.

This book is intended to shed some much needed light on what it means to live this way without being false. The important thing to remember is that you are not selling anything. The Gospel is not for sale. You are not a salesman. You don’t need to memorize a pitch. You will not track your success on a chart. You will not have to pretend to be someone else.

Free Download
I'm offering everyone the chance to download the book, free of charge. Just go to the link provided, download the .pdf version for free and start reading. It's yours to keep and to forward to your friends.

In addition, my second book, "Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)" is also available as a free download and contains forty of my favorite articles published over the last four years on the subject of following Jesus. It's over 200 pages worth of my best writing and I'm proud to share it with all of you.

If you decide to purchase the print version of either book, please keep in mind that the bulk of the price you'll pay goes to the publisher, Lulu.com. I only earn about two dollars per book sold, so no one is getting rich here...except maybe Lulu.com that is.

Just for the record, the version of "The Gospel:For Here Or To Go?" I'm offering here does not yet include the introduction from author Neil Cole ("Organic Church") but I will offer an updated version of the book, along with additional chapters and supplimental material, as soon as all of that is completed.

The book is available online here:
http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1073843

Thanks to everyone for reading my articles and for supporting my writing ministry.

Peas,
Keith

CONSUMPTION, EXPRESSION, IDENTITY

As a society, we are conditioned to find our identity in what we own or purchase. As Christians, we are conditioned to express our faith through the sanctified products we purchase, own or consume. This is the perversion of Christ into Capitalism and an expression of faith through consumption of products. It is wrong.

A good friend sent me an article he found that provided an intriguing historical perspective on our evolution from artisans to consumers. I've pulled out the quotes I found most fascinating below:

"A Short History of Consumption: With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, the relationship between people and the goods that they made was broken. No longer did peasants plant, tend, and harvest their crops; now agricultural workers labored over someone else’s crops in exchange for wages. No longer did artisans design, plan, craft, and sell; now factory workers repeatedly carried out a single step in the production of a product, again in exchange for wages."

"In short, people were no longer producers, they were now consumers."

"Our identities were no longer tied up with the work we did, but with the buying power our work left us with."

"So people found their identities not in their work but in the things they could buy by working."

"People became consumers, not just in the way they got what they needed but in who they felt themselves to be."

"Unlike the artisan who could express his or her identity through the things s/he created, we have learned to do so through the things we buy"

Full article here>

The entire article is mainly looking at consumption from an environmental impact perspective, but the points made about our lifelong indoctrination to consumerism as a society are very eye-opening to me.

Here's what I think we need to understand, as followers of Jesus, regarding the observations made in this article above.

CONSUMPTION IS SELF-EXPRESSION
We, as a society, have made consuming and purchasing products part of our identity structure. This is why people will fork out $30 for a t-shirt with some corporate logo and walk around as a billboard for them, not because they love that company or product, not because of their loyalty to the brand, but because they think that logo makes THEM look cool. It says something about them, and so they willingly become walking advertising...and they PAY for the privilege. Amazing.

CHRISTIAN IDENTITY
Honestly, this really does help me to formulate a clear picture of what's going on in the Christian subculture. We're finding our identity as "Christians" in the products we purchase. These products brand us and identify us as a subset of people. Instead of finding our identity in Christ by the way we relate to Him daily, obey His teachings, and emulate His example of service and unconditional love, we now identify ourselves as Christians by our t-shirts, bumper stickers, books and CD collections.

ARTISTS AND CONSUMPTION/IDENTITY/EXPRESSION
It's also fascinating how this shift in our society stems from the devaluing of artisans in our culture. People now express themselves by what they own or purchase more than by what they create with their hands or their imaginations. Artists within our society are influenced by this consumerist identity structure. Artists of faith are compelled to create art that can be sold, or that conforms to the acceptable Christian marketplace. Art in this context is devoid of pure self-expression, unless that expression conforms to the acceptable branding and messaging of the sacred market.

More from the article:

"The rise of consumption as our primary interaction with the rest of our society has had profound effects. For example, social status is obtained and marked by the things we buy and use. A car, for instance, is not just a way to get from one place to another but has to “say something” about who we are — and even the lack of a car says volumes. Unlike the artisan who could express his or her identity through the things s/he created, we have learned to do so through the things we buy: the t-shirt with the logo of our band or team, the bamboo towels that show our environmental commitments, the alternative album that shows off our indie cred, the designer shoes that place us as part of the trend-setting elite, the minivan that shows us to be part of the dependable, hard-working, family-oriented suburban middle class, and so on."

SUBCULTURE AND IDENTITY
The Christian Subculture has a market. That market embraces a brand. That brand has a message connected to it. That message serves the market and encourages ongoing participation in that market. It means providing reasons to continue purchasing these products day after day and week after week. The market serves itself. It exists to keep itself in business.

The Christian Subculture provides an oasis made of soothing products that help us escape from the Big Bad World that is "Out There". It's a sacred version of "Calgon-Take Me Away!" only our message is more pervasive. It's not just one soothing bath to calm our fears of being trapped in a world of sin, it's music and movies and clothing and books and toys and key chains and license plate frames and decals and candy and pens and pretty much every conceivable object and piece of product that can ever be branded with our message. It's nearly a complete world unto itself, and it's exactly what Jesus prayed to God would never happen to us. (see John 17:15)

THE CART THAT PULLS THE HORSE
I'm not against art or music or expressions of faith. Most of my favorite musicians are believers and their music contains references to our Lord and to faith in Him. Many of my friends are Artists who paint and sculpt and create art to communicate a Kingdom reality. The issue is not that creating art or any sincere expression of devotion to Christ is wrong. What is evil is the marketplace we've created to showcase product. In the beginning the market existed to serve the Art, now the Art exists to serve the marketplace. We have lost focus. Making money is now the main objective. Evangelism or edification or worship is secondary at best, if considered at all.

During my six years in the Christian Music Industry I slowly began to realize the sickness of it all. At first I saw the industry as a way to spread the Gospel and to provide a voice for talented musicians of faith. But soon I realized that it didn't matter if your music ministry was responsible for leading thousands to Christ each year. What mattered was record sales. If your CD's weren't selling at least 20,000 units per sales cycle you'd be dropped from the label in a heartbeat. It was, after all, a Record BUSINESS, and like every business making money and selling product is the very bottom line. Ministry is incidental, and sadly only useful in the context of marketing the product to your target audience, in order to drive more sales.

Like the money-changers in front of the Temple that Jesus chased away with a whip, the original idea was a good one; To provide animals for sacrifice so that people could enter the Temple and participate in the worship of God. However, when money got in the way the original vision was corrupted and the Temple became a marketplace which obscured access for the common man and made a mockery of real worship. The same is true today.

BACK TO JESUS
The tension still remains between the clear command of our Lord to "Go into all the world.." and a subculture that bears His Name, yet encourages a full retreat from the World and identifies membership based on purchasing the acceptable, branded product. The product carries a message that we should fear those outside of our group. It encourages non-involvement with the culture. It makes minimizing contact with those outside the subculture a preferable reality.

If Jesus modeled radical inclusion and commanded us to be known by our love for everyone, especially those who hate us, and a subculture emerges with His Name on it that encourages us to be radically exclusive and creates behavior by which we are known for our intolerance, hatred and condemnation of those outside our group, we must make a choice. Do we choose Jesus or do we choose the man-made subculture with his Name on it?

I choose Jesus.

If Jesus clearly teaches something, and another organization or person teaches the exact opposite we call that "Anti-Christ". To me it's plainly obvious that the Christian Subculture is "Anti-Christ" because it contradicts His message of inclusion, involvement and meaningful relationships with sinners.

I've said it before and I say it again; "Death to the Christian Subculture!"

BRINGING A CHANGE
Where can we fashion a whip and drive out the money-changers from the Temple? It's difficult because we now deal with this on a massive scale. Participation in this market-driven Christian Subculture is pervasive and intangible. There is no physical structure to kick over. There is no clear method for applying the whip necessary to drive them out.

All we can really do is to begin, one person at a time, to disassociate ourselves with this subculture. Stop participating. Stop identifying yourself as a follower of Jesus based on your purchases. Stop pandering to what the Christian Marketplace finds acceptable and palatable. Make Jesus your single source of Truth. Ask God to show you where you have replaced a Jesus way of life with a carefully branded subculture way of life. Escape the false notions of "Sacred" and "Secular" and just start living, as a disciple of Jesus, in this World (the only World), right now.

I declare a personal War against the Christian Subculture, and against the consumer who lives inside of me.

kg

**

LOVE THE POOR

LOVE THE POOR
by Keith Giles

I received a very encouraging email this week from a friend in Torrance, California who just hosted a massive "Health Fair" for the homeless a few weeks ago.

Read below what this ministry did to serve the poor in their community. The Kingdom is advancing here.
**
Keith,

Our Health Fair was an incredible success. All attendees registered at thee door and received cards with all the stations color coded.

In order:
1) Foot washing- Allowed for a few relaxing, intimate minutes with people. Washed, cleaned, dried, powdered, with new socks and foot medicine provided to those who had athletes feet or some fungus. This usually finished off with a few minutes of prayer for the person receiving the washing. If you ever want to get to know a homeless person, wash their feet and ask them to tell you about themselves. I find everyone has a story to tell and they really do want to share it, only no one cares enough to ask them for it. Mother Teresa said most people she cared for actually died of a lonely heart.

2) Next stop - 2 barbers chairs cutting hair, beards.

3) Dentist visit- Free dental inspection and appointments with Dr Carl who goes to our Church and donates every Friday afternoon to free dental care for the homeless. He pays all the secretary and dental hygienists, plus the labs, and crowns and whatever.

4) Nurses administered free Hepatitis A, B and C shots and Pneumonia shoots. (At our Wednesday night before Thanksgiving dinner we will give free flu shots).

5) Prayer team corner. Always busy, worked in pairs and alternated prayers in/out over the course of the evening.

6) Mental health Doctors to talk with folks, review medications and make recommendations. No medicine was dispensed.

7) County Drug and Alcohol booth that could place people in recovery shelters that night or as soon as they are ready.

8) Free shirts, protein bars, and goodies

9) Free Dinner and lots of it. As much as you wanted. Desert cart with cupcakes and the icing and goodies applied at table side just as they wanted.

Re-Cap:
We had 140 attendees, 15 of which were complete families. We had 125 volunteers form 3 churches.

Our God is such a Great God.

As I explained to the Press- These folks are our family. We treat and love them as we would our close kin at Thanksgiving dinner, with the respect and love we show our family.

THANKSGIVING DINNER PLANS
We will have our third annual Thanksgiving dinner this year. I go to the homeless camps, freeway under crossings, the crack and meth camps along the river in Harbor city, the corners were the migrants hang out and invite them all. We have staged intersections and shuttle them to dinner and back to their corners.

MINISTRY TO PROSTITUTES
I worked with a Ministry an Assemblies of God in the LBC at the North Long Beach Compton border. I was big into fresh fruit and vegetables food distribution to any Churches in need I could find. They would have a once a month "Ladies of the Night" ministry. The Church was in a prostitution/crack neighborhood were the girls pimps hung out. The pimps were bitter and mean and would not let the women come, but praise God they started coming for fellowship prayer and occasional help. A few women were secreted away from the location and from their pimps to start new lives.

Remember: Always travel in pairs and with one or two women in ministry to street prostitutes in case the Police want to talk with you.

Sorry for the long email, (it might be a record for me). Looking forward to new Kingdom adventures with your Church.

His Peace in your life - Amen
Bernie
**

I am SO encouraged by this email. Not only because of all the beautiful expressions of love being shown to the poor, but also because of Bernie's heart for people. It makes me want to get on my knees and ask God for more of His love for others. I want to have a heart like Jesus for those in need.

Blessings to you Bernie. May your tribe increase.
-kg

THE GOSPEL: For Here Or To Go? (The Book)

"Learning to live an incarnational life is essentially about re-learning what it means to be human, and how to relate to other humans as a human being; not as a christian to a non-christian." - Keith Giles (from the book, "The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?")

Last year I set a goal for myself to write at least one book project. I actually wrote two of them.

This year my goal was to publish at least one of them and I couldn't be more thrilled to announce that this book will soon be available for purchase on this very website.

"The Gospel:For Here Or To Go?" is essentially about incarnational ministry, or "Missional Life" as some like to call it.

The book started out as a workshop I did for Soul Survivor's "Momentum" Conference about two years ago. From there I wanted to write down what came out of this workshop and I ended up writing a six part series of articles which appeared online at both Ginkworld.net and at Neil Cole's CMAResources.com.

The book itself contains all of the same material you'll find in those six articles, but I've added another six chapters worth of material to make this a more robust discussion of what it means to live out the calling to go and make disciples.

This amazing cover image was created by artist, illustrator and very dear friend, Scott Laumann (http://www.scottlaumann.com/) who has done professional work for SPIN Magazine, Rolling Stone, Time, and a few other national publications. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to have this cover from Scott.

Neil Cole (author of "Organic Church") has also agreed to contribute an introduction to my first book and I'm honored to have someone of his reputation do so. Plus it only seemed fitting since he was one of the first to champion those early six articles on his website.

WAIT...THERE'S MORE!

In addition, I will also release a 200 page collection of 50 articles on spiritual formation called "Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)" alongside this book. This book collects my favorite articles on discipleship which have appeared over the last four years in magazines like Relevant, TheOoze, Ginkworld, SeedStories.com, and at Soul Survivor USA's website.

I'll have the online store open very soon. You'll have the choice to purchase the print version of the book or to download an e-book (pdf) version if that's your thing.

Hang in there. There's more to come.

peas,

kg

A GOOD LOOK IN THE MIRROR

For a long time now I've been saying that Christians are their own worst enemy. We complain about the fact that popular media lampoons us as being alarmist, extremist, and hateful.

The sad thing is, the popular media, and the average citizen, only reacts to what they see. We've not demonstrated to this World that we are like Jesus. Instead we embrace a political agenda which urges us into war, celebrates the death of those who are not like us, and largely ignores the poor and the sick.

Our example, Jesus, was a man of peace. He said, "Blessed are the peace makers for they shall inherit the Earth". Yet the political party most closely associated with Jesus celebrates war.

Jesus said that if we shared food or water or clothing or shelter with someone in need that it was the same as expressing our love for Him. (Matthew 25) Yet the Church in America is not known for compassion on the homeless, the poor, the orphan or the widow.

Jesus embraced the leper, yet those who call themselves His followers largely ignore those suffering from AIDS, the leprosy of our time.

I just saw this article online today and couldn't help but sympathize with those who commented in the negative about us - the followers of Jesus.

Read the comments found on this link
http://digg.com/politics/A_Nation_of_Christians_Is_Not_a_Christian_Nation

Just read the comments. Don't freak out. Please don't post a hot-tempered rebuttal and make the rest of us look stupid and hateful. Just read. Listen to what these people are saying. Ask yourself why they think this way? What has lead them to believe that the followers of Jesus are narrow-minded, arrogant, and self-absorbed?

We've created the image that is in their minds.

I wish that the label "Christian" was equated with people who are full of love, patience, kindness, understanding and compassion.

I wish.

kg

WHAT WOULD CS LEWIS DO?

What Would CS Lewis Do?
by Keith Giles

The other day a good friend of mine asked me if I ever thought about writing anything other than spiritual matters? Like fiction, for example.

The truth is that I did write fiction before I started the whole "Subversive" thing that's going on now. I had started to write a sci-fi novel called "Digerati" which dealt with memory replacement, bio-engineering and identity. Eventually that novel-in-progress inherited an artist and suddenly it was a comicbook/graphic novel-in-progress. Out of that project sprung a second project called "Hard Video" which was based on a short story I wrote. That project got an artist attached and soon I had several other sci-fi/graphic novel projects going all at once. After that came "Durango Silver" and "UV:Target" and then it totally snowballed.

The result was something we called "Plastic Animal Studios" and you can take a look at the projects we had going at the website: http://www.plasticanimalstudios.com

We actually had some of our stuff published in a giant anthology called "Prophecy" (not a Christian publication, in spite of the name). The "Hard Video" short story was in there first (and only) edition. We had finished pages on a second short called "The Devil's Riding Horse", and you can read that entire story at the website link provided, but it never got published because they went out of business.

One day, I will get back to my sci-fi projects and self-publish those as well. When I do, the question is whether not I should combine the fiction and the spiritual books into one blog/website or if I should create a separate identity for the fiction. My friend asked me about this the other day. He wanted to know if I would feel comfortable with people who follow my spiritual writings being exposed to my fiction, and conversely how I would feel if those who followed my fiction discovered my writings on being a Jesus follower. Good question.

I admit I've thought about this, but my kneejerk reaction is to ask, "What did C.S. Lewis do"? He just wrote and allowed the two worlds to co-exist. Go to Amazon.com and search his name and you'll find books on Christian Theology side by side with books on science fiction and books for children based on myth and fantasy. I think that's what I'll do too.

Granted, it's inevitable that some will read my fiction and be offended that I include violence and adult situations, and some will outright reject my fiction completely when they discover that I'm a "Christian Author"…so in some ways I can't win either way. That's just the way it will have to be, I guess.

I've done a lot of thinking lately about the false distinction of "Sacred" and "Secular" created by the Christian subculture. In order to further demonstrate my desire to eliminate the kind of mentality created by this man-made evil, it makes even more sense than ever for me to bundle everything into one unsafe package.

At the moment, however, I am firmly focused on publishing my books on spiritual matters.
Very soon I will announce the availability of my book, "Nobody Follows Jesus (So Why Should You?)" and provide a link here on this blog for online sales of the physical book, and pdf download option as well. This book is over 200 pages long and contains 50 articles on spiritual formation and discipleship I've published over the last four years at RelevantMagazine.com, TheOoze.com, and several other outlets. It really is a great collection of some of my very favorite articles on the subject of following Jesus. I can't wait to release it!

Following that I will make "The Gospel:For Here Or To Go?" available for online purchase. The cover, by Scott Laumann, is already finished and it is totally gorgeous. I'd buy it just for that cover image. The hold up on this book has been the introduction which Neil Cole (the author of "Organic Church") has been working on for me. He's been travelling a lot lately, and he's also in the middle of finishing up his own book too, so I have no problem waiting on him to provide me with his introduction at his earliest convenience. It will be worth the wait, I assure you.

After the New Year I will publish "Top 10 Things Every Christian Should Know (But Probably Doesn't)" based on the monthly series I wrote this year, with additional material which wasn't included in the online version of those articles.

Following that I want to release another set of books collecting my interviews with Dallas Willard, Matt Redman, Jim Wallis, Todd Hunter, Spencer Burke, Dr. Scott Bartchy, Tim Hughes, and uh…a lot of other people. I'll call that "Subversive Interviews" I think.

After that I'll publish a collection of my articles on house church called "The Mission: Adventures in House Church" and another collection after that of my articles on caring for poor called "Secret Service:Developing a Heart for the Poor".

Some of you may also remember that I have been writing another book of totally original material called "The Power of Weakness". This book has not been published in any online format. Right now, the book is still in the development stage and I will insert that book into the release schedule as soon as I have the time to put that final bit of polish on the manuscript. I mean, it's totally done, but I need to add a bit of narrative to the beginning of each chapter and just haven't had the time to do it.

Taking a look at that list, I think I have plenty to keep me busy in the self-publishing department.

Just between you and me, I'd really LOVE it if a publisher would offer to do all of this for me. As much as I love the freedom of self-publishing, it would really great if I could just write my books and someone else could handle the editing, the layout, the cover, and the marketing for me.

Ahh….yeah, that would be SO nice. If you know of any Christian publishers looking for great writers send them my way.

Until then…

kg

BETTER THAN ME

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves" - Philipians 2:3

I'm nearly ok with treating others like they're as good as I am, but "better than I am"? I don't know if I'm ready for that.

I used to be in a band with three other guys. I was the lead vocalist and lyricist. Early on I told all of them they had permission to kick my butt if they ever felt like I was getting too prideful or self-absorbed. Luckily, they all were quite eager to provide a butt-kicking to my ego whenever necessary, and I managed to hold my pride in check for nearly five years.

Actually, my ego was still incredibly virile, but I shudder to imagine what it would have been like had my band-mates not engaged in actively serving me large helpings of humble pie.

"Humility is a virtue so beyond my understanding that should I achieve it, I would be proud of myself" - Benjamin Franklin

Someone once defined a prideful person as someone who spends too much time thinking about themselves and not enough time thinking about me. I can relate.

As an only child I've never had any trouble thinking of myself, or how everything in the Universe relates to me, or to who I am or what I want. Maybe I'm so fascinated by the discipline of humility because I realize that I am most lacking of this quality?

Andrew Murray once said, "Humility is not thinking less of myself, it is not thinking of myself at all."

If this is so, I've got a long way to go towards humility.

The verse in Philipians urges us to consider others as being better than ourselves. I struggle with treating people as being on par with myself, to be honest. The idea of putting the needs of others above my own is still not the same as behaving as if everyone around me is actually better than I am. I can put the needs of others above my own needs and still believe that the people I'm serving are less important or intelligent than I am. What I'm called to do in this verse is to consider others through the lens of humility, and to see them as better than I am, as more deserving of honor and service than I am.

Again, God's Word compels us to throw ourselves on His mercy and confess that we are not capable of such selflessness. It's just not in me to love others sacrificially, or to serve them joyfully, or to regard them as more important than I am. It's just not.

That's where we have to fall on our knees and pray that God would transform us into the sorts of people who are capable of loving and serving this way. I need to beg God for the kind of humility that actually believes that others around me are better than I am. This means believing that I am not as fabulous as I think I am. It means humbling myself before God, and even before other people, so that God can work in me, and through me. My heart needs to be softened, like clay, so that God's fingerprints can be seen in my life as He kneads and twists and forms my heart into the shape of His Son's.

One interesting thing about the Kingdom of God is that to enter it you must first humble yourself, (see Mark 10:14-15). That's because the Kingdom of God is quite simply that place where the absolute will of God is done. This means that God is King, and that you and I are not. So, if we will not humble ourselves and submit to God's will in every way, we cannot enter the Kingdom. Better said, when we refuse to humble ourselves, we have left the Kingdom of God and entered our own Kingdom, where our will is done.

Even Jesus began his ministry by humbling himself to become flesh, to be born to a simple, poor family, and even to lay down his life for us all. (see Phil 2:5-8) See, God went first. He humbled Himself before us. He submitted Himself to us first, and even when we were putting nails through His hands and feet, He continued to surrender to us in order to rescue us from our sins.

I believe that is why Jesus set the example of washing his disciples feet. He humbled himself before them, served them as a slave would serve his master, and then said, "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you...Now that you know these things, you will blessed if you do them." (John 13:15;17)

God has a lot to say about pride, and as I go through my life I have seen the wisdom of these words played out numerous times. "God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble." (Proverbs 3:34)

This is good news, because I need Grace in greater measure every single day. If humility is the only way to receive this Grace, I am more than willing to be humbled, and to remain there, so that the Grace of God may shower down on my life like warm summer rain.

Let it rain.
kg

**

WEEKEND RECAP

MOTEL MINISTRY
On Saturday our house church family from "The Mission" went to serve the residents at the California Studio Inn in Santa Ana.

We had a bounce house for the kids, plus toys, clothes and books to give away, along with tons of free groceries.

You can read a lot more about what happened and look a lot of pictures of the day over at
http://www.MissionHouseChurch.com

My friends at Soul Survivor Church in Costa Mesa have also expressed a desire to partner with us in this ministry going forward. I can't wait to start working side-by-side with our brothers and sisters at SS.

MINISTRY TO PROSTITUTES?
This is a recurring theme for me. Ever since I first discovered that there were girls trapped in this lifestyle only a few miles from my house I've been praying about what to do to provide a way out for these girls.

I've lead a team from Soul Survivor Church to go out and pray for the girls, but we had mixed results. We realized that relationship is really the only thing that will have any impact. So, now we're praying at The Mission about stepping back into this ministry again...and I wasn't the one who brought it up, which makes me believe that God is stirring others in our group to step out and give themselves away in this fashion.

I'll be sure to provide updates on how this progresses....

THE MISSION
We had such an awesome Sunday together yesterday. I was blessed beyond words to realize what God has done, and what He has accomplished in everyone's life, at this house church that meets in our home. I am truly amazed that these people are such a part of my own family, and how all of us are really, seriously, family to one another. It's a beautiful thing!

OVER THE RHINE
Last night Wendy and I went with the Wright family (Jason and Heather from The Mission...Heather's an artist and her website is linked below on the left-hand side) went to see Over The Rhine at The Coach House. It was pure musical joy. I never wanted it to end.

NON-CON '08
I just need to get a few final details nailed down and soon I'll be able to open the online registration for the NON-CON '08 with Jackie Pullinger and David Ruis. Details here:
http://www.Non-Con.com

MAKE SOME NOISE

One of the most consistently brilliant blogs out there right now is written by my friend Mike Burns. The last three posts at his blog are worthy of mentioning here, but you need to go there yourself, book-mark his blog and read him often.

ILLEGAL TO FEED THE HOMELESS? (from Mike's blog):

"For a little background, the city of Orlando has recently passed a law making it illegal to feed anyone in a prominent city park where much of the city's homeless population congregates..."

"This legislation was passed last spring, and as far as I know, not one local Church or religious leader has done anything to stand against this unjust law. The only groups that have publicly stood against this law have been social rights groups and the ACLU..."

(more in this link)
http://emergingmission.blogspot.com/2007/09/breaking-law-by-feeding-hungry.html

Why have Christians and followers of Jesus (not always the same thing, mind you) done nothing to protest this? Is it because they are not actively serving and feeding the hungry? Is that why they've not noticed the change?

Are we willing to be arrested for feeding the poor?

ORLANDO BANS FEEDING HOMELESS DOWNTOWN
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072500835.html

Once again, city governments respond to homelessness by making it a crime to be homeless. This is not a solution. Criminalizing homelessness does not make it go away, it does not help those who are in need. Criminalizing those who help the homeless is the worst response of all. Let's discourage people, everyday citizens, from getting involved in the process. Let's divorce ourselves from the resource of human compassion.

Yeah...that's a great solution.

I ask you to forward this info to your friends. This will come to your hometown soon, you can count on that. Speak up now or it will be something all of us will have to face soon enough.

Let's spread this news around. Let's speak out.

How can we call ourselves follwers of this radical Jesus and sit quietly in the face of injustice?

kg

Updates on the NON-CON '08 website

I've created two new pages linked off the main page of the Non-Con '08 website.

Click here to see:
http://www.non-con.com

The event Schedule is up for both days, including workshop titles, facilitator biographies, an interactive map to the event (thanks to Google) and listings, info and maps to four area hotels for you out-of-towners to make reservations.

The only major thing still missing is the online registration link. I promise to have it up by the end of this month.

The exciting thing is that I've had people dogging me to get it all ready so they can register NOW...and it's not until March of next year!

Wow.

Remember, only 100 seats will be available. This will be small on purpose and I am guaranteeing you now that we will not have another Non-Con in 2009. If you miss this one you've really missed it.

For now, go check the goodies on the official Non-Con site here:
http://www.non-con.com

kg

While You Wait...

As the finishing touches are put on my soon-to-be-released book, "The Gospel: For Here Or To Go?", I decided to put together a collection of some of the "classic" Subversive articles I wrote for RelevantMagazine.com back in the day.

The collection is nearly 200 pages long and contains some of my personal favorites like, "What If Jesus Could Be You For 24 Hours?", "Christianity 0.0", "Nobody Follows Jesus", and "The Wrong Question". (You can see the cover image above).

I'll make it available to the public in a few weeks (once I've proofed the copy on the actual book which is in the mail to me at the moment).

Soon you'll be able to pick up this collection and the complete version of "The Gospel:FHOTG?" right here.

Keep your eyes open...

Peas,

kg

HOUSE CLEANING at KeithGiles.com

House Cleaning at KeithGiles.com

A few of the links that formerly graced the left-hand sidebar of this blog have been removed.

Here's what you missed:
GO TO THE [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] FORUM!
*A good idea that never took off. Only about 5 people ever posted here and it's time to officially let it die. Thanks to all of you who hung out there and posted. It was fun while it lasted, which wasn't very long.

SHOP THE [SUBVERSIVE UNDERGROUND] WEBSTORE
*No one but me wants to wear a [Subversive Underground] t-shirt with glow-in-the-dark letters? What about a "Change The Status Quo (C.T.S.Q.)" tee? No? Oh well…

ENGAGE 06- DAVID RUIS a.m PODCAST
ENGAGE 06- DAVID RUIS p.m.PODCAST
*Sadly, these two incredible messages by my friend David Ruis are now offline. Only available on CD now, directly from me and/or the good people at Soul Survivor USA.

DAVID RUIS:MOMENTUM 06 PODCAST "MUSTARD SEED"
TODD HUNTER:MOMENTUM 06 PODCAST "EVANGELISM"
MIKE PILAVACHI: PODCAST "THE ONE"
*Again, each of these amazing messages have disappeared from the SS:USA podcast page so that means they're dead links. Sorry if you missed these. They were each profoundly awesome messages.

Keith's MYSPACE site
*I never go there anymore. Too much sleaze. I think the rest of the world will soon nuke their own MySpace sites, or trade them in for Ning or something more robust and less sleazy. No one there was really your "Friend" anyway. Live with it.

Steve Sjogren's "Serve!" Web-Zine

My article "An Actual Point In Time" is now online at Steve Sjogren's "Serve!" web-zine here:

http://www.serve-others.com/issue12/index.cfm

The actual article is linked here:
http://www.serve-others.com/issue12/index.cfm?id=12&ref=ARTICLES%5FDEEP%20THOUGHTS%5F99

*I think the original article was under a different title actually, but that's ok.

kg

Creative Marketing Examples

Want to see what happens when a team of intelligent marketers get together to create a focused, intentional campaign?

Here's what it looks like:

http://inventorspot.com/articles/amnesty_marketing_6120
kg