Generation Axis Blog

I'm Fat, Short, and Lazy-Thoughts on Identity

I don't know about you but I grew up being told I could do whatever I wanted to when I grew up.  I went through the classic astronaut phase, dreamed of being a pirate for awhile, and even wanted to be a professional basketball player.  But you know what?  I don't like math enough to be an astronaut, I'm not violent enough to be a pirate, and I'm too fat, short, and lazy to be a professional basketball player.

We should all (hopefully) reach a point where we begin to realize that we can't do everything.  It is a good and healthy thing to realize your limitations.  Not enjoyable but good and healthy.  Just as we begin to realize what we cannot do we should also learn what it is we do well.  While I am too fat, short, and lazy I do love reading, (most) homework, and working with people of all backgrounds.  I'm an above average communicator and I'm really passionate about helping organizations succeed.  

Too bad this isn't an easy process.

This quarter I took a class entitled Mathematical Statistics.  At my school we are required to take two stats/econometrics classes and there are two tracks: a more conceptual track for the general public and the mathematical track for people who enjoy pain (or math).  For some reason I decided after the first of the two classes to move from the conceptual general public track to the one of pain.  I thought to myself I'm a smart guy, I want to be the smartest guy when I walk into a room, and smart guys take mathematical statistics.

The last 10 weeks have been full of realizing things I cannot do.  The course is quite literally greek to me and today as I take the final exam for the course, I will be happy to limp away merely passing the course.

I realized something I cannot do.  I will never, no matter how hard I try, be a brilliant econometrist.  It just won't happen.

We really don't like being told that now do we?  We hate being told we can't accomplish something but there are things in this world that we cannot do.  I cannot be anyone but me and my life will get a lot more enjoyable and easier when I stop wanting to be anyone else and start wanting to be me.

I think we often forget how special we are.  Each and everyone of us is made in the image of God and is uniquely perfect.  That's right perfect.  I'm not saying perfect in the do no wrong sense but perfect in the just right sense.  God isn't disappointed in you and you shouldn't be disappointed in yourself either.

So today, try and stop wanting to be someone else and try to find joy in who you are at this very moment.

-----

Andrew Means is a graduate student at The University of Chicago studying Public Policy and a member of the Lincoln Park community. His passion is to help non-profits succeed at making a difference in the world by evaluating their results and helping them achieve best practices. If you like Andrew's posts, be sure to check out his personal blog at www.andrewmeans.typepad.com and follow @meansandrew on Twitter.

My Boring Story

I don't know how many of you heard Donald Miller's message from Sunday, but it was amazing.  He said our lives are stories and great stories require wanting something, conflict, and resolution.

I am not in a place in life where I feel like I'm living a great story.  I doubt many movies would be made about a 24 year old married guy, going to grad school and freaking out about paying off student loans who watches an unhealthy amount of Seinfeld episodes.

But then I remembered why I got married, why I went to school, and why I'll have all these student loans (Can't really explain the Seinfeld episodes other than by saying if reincarnation exists I'd like to come back as Jerry). 

Two years ago I entered the Willow Creek internship program with hopes and dreams of becoming a successful church planter.  I wanted to spend a year at Willow making connections, gaining experience, and getting ready to start a church in downtown Chicago.

Then God interrupted my plans.  I began to get in touch with deep longings of my soul.  Many of these longings surrounded helping fight poverty in our world.

Now that freaked me out.  I knew nothing about fighting poverty.  I knew a lot about ministry.  I had never tried fighting poverty.  I was already pretty successful in ministry.

Over the course of the year I garnered the courage to say to God, "Wherever you lead me I will follow."  After 9 months of unemployment and 6 working for Axis, I started the Master of Public Policy program at The University of Chicago.

It's been hard.  I don't like hard things.

Conflict.

I think a lot of us in our twenties are in a conflict stage of life.  Many of us have begun to take a risk and follow our dreams.  The safety of our families is behind us and we are truly on our own for the first time.

So if you feel like your life wouldn't make a great movie, take heart, a lot of us feel that way (at least I hope I'm not alone in this).  I think a lot of us feel like we exist just to pay our bills, find a spouse, and do the next thing.

What we need to do is ask ourselves WHY we are doing those things.  That answer will speak volumes about your life.  If it is because you need to pay the bills, find a spouse, and do the next thing you should probably re-evaluate. 

But maybe you are just like me and have forgotten your dreams.  It is so easy to do.  When we dream we risk and when we risk we will face conflict and conflict can often blot out our dreams.  So remember WHY you are doing the things you are doing.

Go and live a great story!

In But Different

 The word Christian certainly gets thrown around a lot.  We have Christian t-shirts, Christian candy, Christian action figures, Christian cruises, Christian hunting, even Christian Ultimate Fighting teams.  And I find myself wondering, "What makes these things Christian?"

All this was triggered when I went with some Axis Chicago leaders to hear a smart guy named Gabe Lyons speak.  Gabe is the co-author of UnChristian and has done a lot of research regarding perceptions of Christianity.  One of the questions that he asked us is whether we thought America was no longer a Christian nation.

That got me thinking, "What makes a nation Christian?  What makes anything Christian?"  To me a Christian is someone who is committed to getting out of the way and allowing God to change the world through their life.  Someone who recognizes the fact that they are broken, lost, and in need of help from God.  Can a book be that?

As I was thinking about all this I was reminded of the great New Testament author and early church founder Paul.  Paul did not make money from ministry.  He often would not even ask for money as he traveled around the world starting churches.  Paul made his money as a tentmaker.

The question that came to mind is this, were Paul's tents Christian tents?  Did he inscribe the flap with Scripture verses or market them to missionaries on the go?  No!  He just made tents.

In my opinion the American church today is caught in a culture bubble so large that many hardly see the light of day outside of it.  American Christians walk around with Christian books under their arm, Christian t-shirts on their back, Christian music blaring in their iPod.  They play basketball in Christian basketball leagues, go to Christian counsellors, make their friends at Christian small groups, and hope to find their life-partner at a Christians singles event.  Christians have their own concerts, days at amusement parks, schools, favorite politicians, and tv shows.  Literally everything found in the world has been brought inside the Christian sub-culture solely by adding the word Christian before it and I think it is killing the American church and American Christians.

In our effort to not be "of the world" we've left it!  We've become obsessed with finding whatever is cool in culture and re-creating it (often times badly) inside our own culture so we can feel hip, cool, and progressive.  Really we are just letting culture dictate the church instead of truly engaging with culture and finding our own identity in it!

In our effort to become relevant to culture we focused on making poor counterfeits and have now become irrelevant. We need to leave the Christian sub-culture behind and actually engage with people.  We should care more about engaging the person, the individual, through relationship than showing them that their is a "Christian" band that sounds just like their favorite band out in the world.  People don't need their world Christianized, they need to be told that their is a beautiful hope that helps infuse the life, the world, they know with such beauty that it cannot be resisted.

Now I know much of this is not applicable to all of us but what I want us to ask ourselves is this, are we engaging and truly living in the world around us?  Do we value our co-workers as much as our friends from our missional communities?  Do we have any friends that live entirely outside the Christian sub-culture?

The way to change the world is not to become like it but to live in it.  That goes against everything the Christian sub-culture is about.  

So join me.  Let's leave the bubble and live in the world but different from the world.

Income Inequality vs Opportunity Inequality

“ ‘Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan...“ ‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.

 Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land. 
 “ ‘If anyone among you becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them but later on they prosper and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves they are to determine the value for the years since they sold it and refund the balance to the one to whom they sold it; they can then go back to their own property.

But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property. 
“ ‘Anyone who sells a house in a walled city retains the right of redemption a full year after its sale. During that time the seller may redeem it If it is not redeemed before a full year has passed, the house in the walled city shall belong permanently to the buyer and the buyer’s descendants. It is not to be returned in the Jubilee.

 But houses in villages without walls around them are to be considered as belonging to the open country. They can be redeemed, and they are to be returned in the Jubilee. -Leviticus 25 (Excerpts)

I am sure you are wondering why I am starting off with such a huge passage from the exciting book of Leviticus but it came up in my reading plan today and something in it caught my eye.

Leviticus is a book full of many of the laws that God wanted the Jews to follow and this passage is looking at a thing called Jubilee.  It occurred every 50 years and debts were overlooked and homes were returned to their owners.  At least that was my understanding until I looked a little closer.

It says that if a poor person sells his property and cannot find someone to purchase it back for him it should be returned to him at Jubilee.  The basic idea behind this is that we rent the land from God so no one of us should own it.  And property was really about what the land was used for.  So instead of purchasing the land a person would purchase the right to use the land, live on the land, until the next Jubilee.  Then it was returned to the original family.

EXCEPT, homes that were sold in walled in cities.  These could be redeemed (bought to give back to the original owner) within one year but after that the property was not to be transferred back, not even at Jubilee.

Why this difference?

 I think it has something to do with opportunity and wealth.  See, I don't think God is against wealth, just an uneven distribution of it.  Many people point to Jubilee as an example of how God wanted a very equitable society but I think more than monetary equality what God really wants is opportunity equality.

Homes in walled in cities were just places to live, not opportunities to take care of yourself and family like a plot of land outside of a city.  Outside of cities people still lived on the land and grew crops.  So what I think this passage is really getting at is that God wants everyone to have the opportunity to take care of themselves.  It seems He doesn't really care about the property itself, or He'd want the walled in cities to be included in Jubilee, but the opportunity.

We live in a time of great income inequality.  Take for example The Waltons, the family behind Walmart.  Their net worth is somewhere around $90 billion.  The bottom 40% of Americans, all 120 million of them, have a network around $95 billion.  The top 1% of our country controls roughly 1/3 of the nations wealth, more than the bottom 90% combined.

This income inequality is not the only problem though.  The real problem is that this income inequality has lead to opportunity inequality.

I think we could all agree that a white kid from Lake Forest has very different opportunities than a Latino youth on the West side of Chicago.  Wealth redistribution alone will not solve that problem but I believe that the reason God wanted some redistribution was to provide for opportunity redistribution.

A family who had their property returned to them at Jubilee still needed to work it to gain anything, it wasn't a handout.  We need to help provide opportunities for all people to succeed.  We need to support equal education opportunities, small business loans, and laws that prevent discrimination.

What God intended was not to deplete the wealthy in one big handout to the poor, what He intended was to ensure that everyone had an opportunity to better themselves, provide for their family, and in turn ensure that the poor were taken care of.

The problem of income inequality in this country is great but the greater problem is one of opportunity inequality.

The Value of Existence

 Earlier this week in my micro-economics class we talked about the value of public goods.  Public goods are the things whose consumption by one individual does not affect the consumption of another.  For example a park, a sunset, or national defense.  The problem with public goods is who should pay for them and how should they be distributed and restricted.

Our conversation revolved around how should we value a public good and what caught my attention was the last value, the value of existence.  Essentially we should protect and value something solely because it exists.

There is something beautiful and sacred in that statement.

I think Christians should really be the ones trumpeting this value.  We should be at the forefront of protecting existence.  There is something humble about valuing something not for what you can glean from it but solely because it exists.  You aren't asking anything just allowing everything.

It is a beautiful reminder that all is a gift from God when we begin to value things for their existence.  Everything has a place and is connected in some way that we cannot see.  So the destruction of one thing destroys a part of myself in that I am losing something that God designed.

So let us pick up the value of existence and hold it high for all is a gift from God and all is connected in a way that we cannot always see or realize.

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made."

Weakness

Weakness from Axis on Vimeo.

Greed & Generosity, Really Just the Same Thing

 There are a few core concepts that are taught to every beginning economist; people are rational and make rational decisions, having more of any good is better, and that everyone exhibits utility maximizing behavior.  This last one is an interesting one.  To understand what it's saying you have to understand a few concepts.

First the idea of utility.

Utility is a good thing.  It's something you want more of.  A good feeling, confidence, but mostly to economists, money.

So the idea of utility maximizing behavior is essentially saying that we all do things that get us more utility.  Essentially we're all selfish.

But is this true and what ramifications does it have on generosity?

Take the recent outpouring of money follow the tragic earthquake in Haiti this week.  We are never going to see that money again.  Haiti was the poorest country in the world before the earthquake and I don't see it as becoming an integral part of economy anytime soon.

An economist would say this outpouring of generosity is just a result of our wanting to feel good about ourselves or relieve our guilt.  Essentially even when we give money we give for selfish reasons.

What do you think?  Why do you give?

You ARE a New Creation, Live Like It

You ARE a New Creation, Live Like It from Axis on Vimeo.

Mary Was Blessed, Are You???

I love my hub.  We have some of the most honest and interesting discussion of any group I've ever been a part of.  Last week we looked at the passage from Luke where the angel comes to Mary announcing to her that she will become pregnant.  

The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

We honed in on that angels calling Mary favored, or as seen in other translations, blessed.

What does it mean to be blessed by God?

I'll be honest and say that the idea of a blessing from God has always made me uncomfortable.  It conjures up images of televangelists screaming into cameras that you too could be blessed if you just made a call and small donation to their organization.  Or pastors preaching about how those who love God live long, happy, and wealthy lives.  It seems that a lot of people think that if you drive a BMW and show up at church occasionally you are blessed by God.

And this would be fine (despite the total consumerism involved) except that it doesn't seem to hold true in the Bible.

Jesus purposefully spent time with those in the shadows of society.  The sick, the immoral, the uneducated.  These were the people Jesus went too first!  When he met someone who many today might called blessed, He often challenged them and asked them to realign their values.

It's almost like Jesus preferred to spend time with people who knew they had a need for Him.  Whose identity wasn't wrapped up in their car, paycheck, or degree.  It's not that these people don't need Jesus as much as anyone else, they just don't always realize it.

Our faith is built upon the idea of connecting with depravity, our own and that in the world around us.  As Scripture says, "The mountains will be made low and the valleys filled in."  Those who are mountains need to be lowered a little so those valleys can be filled in.

I'm also very uncomfortable with the idea that a blessing from God is something I can achieve.  If they are then if I only behave a certain way, achieve a certain something, or whatever I'll be blessed.  It turns very into a religion I can control.

When the Bible talks about blessing they seem to attach the word to an odd group of people.  I've been spending a lot of time listening to talks on the Sermon on the Mount this fall and I've been struck with the language that begins this most famous of Jesus' sermons.  It's how I'd like to end this post and I think it's something we should all reflect upon this Christmas season.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

Oil, Virgins, and the End Times

Oil, Virgins, and the End Times from Axis on Vimeo.

We Have The Power

 Last night my wife, Tovah, and I finally got around to seeing Food Inc., a very enlightening and well made documentary on the American food industry.  I highly recommend seeing it.  It's informative and fair and the story of the American food industry is something that we all need to know more about.  More than almost anything else, food affects our daily lives, our health, and our democracy and we know surprisingly little about where our food comes from.

During the movie Tovah started talking about how corrupt our government is and how abusive they are of their power and while I wholeheartedly agree I responded by saying, "It's because we allow that to happen."  I feel like we've forgotten that we, the people, actually hold the power in this country.  

I know many people would balk at that statement saying it is far too idealistic but I believe it to be true and I think we need a little more idealism.  When our leaders abuse their power or act not in the best interest of the country we, the people, must hold them accountable.  When they pursue wealth and prosperity for the few and not the whole, we must not stand idly by.

I am not saying it will be an easily won war but it is one that we cannot abdicate because we are intimidated.

We must no longer allow ourselves to be deceived by the lie that there is nothing we can do, that we could not stand up against corrupt legislatures and inhumane corporations.  That is the lie they are peddling and we have bought for far too long.  We the people are in control and if you don't like something, do something.

Every time you make a purchase you are showing what you care about.  Are you buying products that are made safely, by companies that respect their employees, and in ways that care for the earth or are you purchasing products without any idea of their origins?  Are you making conscious decisions and sacrifices to buy products that you know are better for you and your family?  Are you paying attention to the actions of your representatives in government?  Do you even know your local representatives?  

If we abdicate that power, then yes we have lost but it is not because of the strength of our enemies but our own weakness.  We can and we must stand up for our beliefs and hold our elected officials accountable.  We must never forget that in this democracy, we hold the power.

Why I Don't Like Altar Calls

 The first book I’ve picked up for winter break is Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.  The book explores behavioral economics, basically the study of why people make decisions that economics says they shouldn’t make.

I just finished the chapter on temptation.  See, in economics temptation is a very interesting thing.  Economists believe that more of any good is, well, good.  That by having the option to consume more we will consume exactly how much we like and leave the rest alone.

But life doesn’t play out like that does it?  We’ve all been to parties where we’ve eaten so much we’ve made ourselves sick or drank more than we wanted to.  Why do we do this?  It’s because of what George Loewenstein (the guy who came up with this) calls the “hot-cold empathy gap.”  Basically we make decisions on a continuum between two states, hot and cold.

When in a cold state we are able to separate ourselves from the decision and act more “rationally.”  We often view people who live in this state as very calculating and almost heartless, a complaint many people have of economists.  When in a hot state however, the smell of good food becomes overwhelming and the wine is flowing, and it wouldn’t really hurt if we had just a little bit more to eat.  (Side note-if you eat with other people you eat more.  Up to 97% more if you dine with more than 7 other people.  So if you want to lose weight start eating alone.)

So what does this all have to do with my beef with altar calls?  I feel like often times we design our worship services to move people towards a hot state.  We get the lights going, the music pumping, and emotions run high.  Then when the room is as “hot” as it’s going to get we ask people to make a huge life altering decision.

I just don’t think that’s fair.

Becoming a follower of Christ is a major decision and should be contemplated, thought through, as well as felt.  I’m not saying that some decisions aren’t best made in a hot state, I’m just saying that I think it’s a trick we Christians use far too often.

I can’t remember the number of times I went to the front of the auditorium in response to an altar call after an especially powerful night of worship.  Some of those moments probably did lead to life change but I feel like most of my life is spent in a cold state.  God is quiet.  Life is hard.  I don’t especially feel like being a Christian and I think that if we too closely associate spirituality with hot emotions then we’re setting people up to fail when life gets hard.

That’s why I’d like to see fewer altar calls during emotional services, maybe even fewer emotional services.  Not that emotion is bad.  God can often speak to us through them, but I think the decision to follow Jesus shouldn’t come after a moving chorus of “I Surrender” but after wresting through this life changing decision.

I'm Baaaack! Prayer and Cursing Fig Trees

Prayer and Cursing Fig Trees from Axis on Vimeo.

Life's Significant Small Moments

 Do you ever have a moment that is course changing and significant and yet it would appear completely menial to anyone but you?  I had one of those last weeks and because I’m proud of myself I thought I would share it with you in hopes that you would rejoice with me.

To understand the significance of this moment you need to know a few things about me.  First, I’m a very driven person.  It’s one of those qualities that I am most proud of and yet often causes me the most trouble. For me, my internal drive can come from the God oriented place where I just want to partner with my Father and unleash my potential on the world in love.  On other days I feel that my significance and worth come from my accomplishments and that if I don’t follow every opportunity and excel at everything I put my hand to then I am letting down God and the world, my life won’t be fulfilling, and I am worthless.

The second thing you need to know about me is that I hate letting people down.  From the time I was a young child I was taught to follow through on commitments and to never step down after committing to something.  To step down was to be a failure.  This, mixed with my overly excited terrier like zeal for success, can often lead me to over-committing myself.

A few weeks ago I overcommitted to something out of this desire for success.  I felt like to be successful I needed to take up this opportunity.  I began planning for a life that wasn’t even close to happening, not because it was what I wanted but because it was what I felt like I should want, that it would bring me the most success.

I began to feel anxious and stressed but I felt like if I turned down this opportunity I would one, be letting someone down and reneging on a commitment which I had made, and two I would be letting down God and the world because I wasn’t taking this opportunity that could lead to future success.  Something in me told me that if I didn’t follow this path for my life I would be a failure.  Really the lie is that if I didn’t relentlessly pursue success that I would be worthless and unworthy of anyone’s love.

A week ago I decided to not let that lie rule my life.

It didn’t happen in a blinding light, choir filled, Hallmark commercial.  I was just sitting on the brown line heading to my hub’s gathering when I felt God say, “You don’t have to believe that.  I want you to be free to be who I created you to be.  It’s ok to say no to this.”

Now I’m not one of those guys who has spiritually significant moments where I feel completely different one second to the next but this was one of those times.  I literally felt the anxiety in my chest loosen and the burden on my back fade away.  I can honestly say I’m a different person.  Not that I won’t struggle with my drive for success or my identity but I won a battle and to me that’s a big deal. 

I feel like we often move through life so quickly that we miss these small significant moments.  I’m grateful that God helped slow me down and realize the battle I had won.  I hope I won’t forget it because I know before long I’ll be in another situation where I feel my worth hanging on my success and I need to remember that God whispered truth in my ear that night as I sat riding the el.  And when I remember, maybe it will give me enough courage to slay the next lie that comes my way.

Home for the Holidays is Not Always a Happy Song

For many within our community I am sure they are excited to head home for the holidays and celebrate with their families over food and wine.  But for others of us the holidays aren’t exactly sources of joy and can even bring deep-seated pain to the surface.  For those of you in this situation, I understand.

There are many in the Axis communities whom if they head home will face brokenness, anger, turmoil, and pain.  Family members caught up in ugly addictions, spouses torn apart by divorce, aunts and uncles that no longer speak with one another because deceit or abandonment from long ago. 

To those of us in that situation I ask, what does it look like to be Christ in our families?  I am genuinely asking this question because I do not know.  My family has been torn apart by divorce.  I barely see my father and hardly know the man that he is, and my mother’s pain is so deep that I do not know how to care for her without being hurt myself.  What would Christ have me do now?  What would it look like for me to incarnate Jesus in my own family and can I even do that?

When I picture Jesus in my family I see someone who is gracious, forgiving, who is so secure in the love of His father that he can scoop up the pain of the world and not be overcome by it.  I do not see any of those qualities in me.  I see Jesus being open and honest, calling my family into account for our actions but in a way that doesn’t cause shame but bathes our darkest secrets in a loving light.  I am unable to accomplish that.

So what does it look like for me to love my family this holiday season?  I’m not really sure but I think it will begin with a prayer.  Cheesy I know but I honestly don’t know where else to turn.

God grant me grace to forgive those things that still bring tears to my eyes and anger to my fists when I think upon them.  Unclench my hands and free me from my own anger.  Help me to trust that you are just and will protect and because of that promise I can engage my family fully and openly.  Grant me the courage to be honest, to share openly and not brush under the rug anything that needs to be seen in the light of day.  Give me hope that tomorrow can be better than today and that healing for all is possible.  But mostly God, be with me.  Be near me and come quickly when I call.  I cannot do this alone.  I cannot do this without You.

On Wheat and Weeds

On Wheat and Weeds from Axis on Vimeo.

Tyler Wigg-Stevenson and Two Futures Project

Friday night several of us gathered to meet with Tyler Wigg-Stevenson founder of Two Futures Project which exists to abolish nuclear weapons.  We had a wonderful conversation that I feel like is important for all of you to hear.  We just posted the audio to GenerationAxis.com  So head over there and click on Listen & Watch and Launch Sermon Player.  You can either stream or download the audio.

I know for many of us nuclear weapons isn't an exciting issue to get around.  I even went into our conversation with Tyler a little skeptical but after spending just a few hours with him I am convinced that this is an issue we all need to address.  So listen to the conversation, check out TwoFuturesProject.org and get involved.

What Does Love Look Like? (Warning this post is PG-13 and might not be appropriate for young children)

A couple days ago I listened to a very fascinating story from NPR’s Radio Lab (a great show out of New York that you all must begin listening to) that literally moved me to tears. It’s the story of Stu Rasmussen.

Stu is from Silverton, Oregon a tiny town where, to quote someone from the show, “You could call a wrong number and still have a conversation because you just know everybody.”

Stu is a stand-up member of the town, he grew up there, inherited the movie theater his father owned, and was even elected mayor.  What makes this story so interesting?  Stu is a transvestite.  “I just like myself better when I look like a woman."

So why did this story move me to tears?

Word got out pretty quickly that this small, conservative town from Oregon had elected the nations first openly transvestite mayor and that caused some problems for Stu and his town.  The biggest being that in between the time he was elected and sworn in some evangelicals from Kentucky decided to stop by and let their voice be heard.

“Fag!  God hates Silverton.  Your preacher is a whore!” their signs shouted and voices echoed.

At this point I’d like to pause.  I’d like us to think what we would do if lived in Silverton.  Remember, most of the people of Silverton had grown up with Stu, they visited him at his movie theater, he was and had been a part of their community, and while many people in the town did not necessarily approve of his choice in clothing, he was still a member of their town.  They couldn't cast Stu as an outcast or weirdo because they knew him.

So what would you do if someone who made choices you disagreed with was being abused and humiliated?  Would you think that they were just getting what they deserved?  Or would you stand in the way and try and protect that person?

 
 Luckily the members of Silverton fell into the latter camp.   They, and I absolutely love this, created a counter protest on the small streets of Silverton with the brilliant idea that all the men wear dresses and the women dress like men.  I can only picture this in my head, grandmothers, children, moms, dads, businessmen, conservatives and liberals alike, all standing out on the street having a party to protect, and honor, Stu (pictured in the middle).

The story immediately reminded me of how Jesus interacted with the woman caught in adultery.  A group of religious Pharisees are prepared to stone a woman who they caught doing something they didn’t approve of and Jesus steps in, standing up in the most clever of ways, to protect her.  He defends her and lets her know she is loved.

Now I am sure many of you are thinking, “and then he tells her to go and sin no more, who is telling Stu this?”  And you know what, I’m not exactly sure what God thinks of Stu’s wearing dresses.  I’m sure that it pains him that Stu struggles so much with the body he was given, but who among us can say that we love everything about who we are?

The thing that I am certain of is that God loves Stu and I think that He would have defended him from his attackers.  I think God was probably more with the men wearing dresses than the evangelicals waving signs.

I think that in some ways many Christians have jumped to the “Sin no more” without having first loved and defended.  Until we are willing to lay down our lives for those that we deeply disagree with our words will probably fall short.

What are your thoughts?  What would you have done if you lived in Silverton?  Have you ever been in a situation like this?

If you are interested in learning more about bridging the gap between alternative lifestyle communities and the church listen to our In The Hot Seat with Andrew Marin event or his talk A True Missional Leader at the Axis Website by clicking Listen & Watch and launching the sermon player.

Our Churches Are Too Big

Our Churches Are Too Big from Axis on Vimeo.

Hong Kong Girls Entering Prostitution for Spending Money on Rise

 It's a sad state of affairs when girls willingly enter prostitution to buy a new cell phone.  But that's exactly what a 14 year old Hong Kong girl did when her previous cell phone was lost and her parents wouldn't buy a new expensive one.  Of course she didn't view it as "prostitution", it was just compensated dating.  She would get in touch with men online and they would give her some money to go on a date with her.  More often than not that date involved sex.

There are several things in this story that I find upsetting.  First, it saddens me that we live in such an over-sexualized culture where sex is so casual.  And not even casual but viewed as a harmless activity with no consequences.  If sex was still something sacred, and I use that term loosely, then these girls wouldn't even consider compensated dating.  But instead it is a viable means to a high income.  These girls thought about this like teens a decade ago thought about getting a job at the mall.

Second, the consumerism that is in this story is really disappointing.  That you would sell your body for a cell phone just seems wrong.  Are we not more than the collection of our things or have we forgotten that?  I see in this story both a devaluing of ourselves and overvaluing of our things.

It was not meant to be like this.

We need to be reminded that we are valuable apart from what we own.  We need to be reminded that our bodies are sacred and should be cherished.  We need to be freed from the need to consume.

To read the article from CNN click here.

The First Party Will Not Be The Last

The First Party Will Not Be The Last from Axis on Vimeo.

S.O.M. God is with the Losers, Failures, and Adulterers

S.O.M.-God is with the Losers, Failures, and Adulterers from Axis on Vimeo.

Every Drop of Water Fills a Bucket

I have a hard time when someone comes up and asks me for money.  I never know what to do.  It seems most practical and efficient to half ignore, mumble a no, and keep walking.  But doesn’t that steal their dignity?  I sometimes try to look them in the eyes but that just makes things harder.

Part of me feels like I should do something, but what should I do?  The world, our city, is full of people shaking a cup or coming up asking for some spare change.  I often times let the enormity of the problem keep me from doing anything.  Because I can’t give to everyone I give to no one.  Because I can’t feed every person I never feed that one person.

I think maybe that that’s what needs to change.  Maybe I need to get away from the largeness of the world’s problems and just try to help one person.  If I took one homeless person to McDonald’s for dinner that doesn’t solve the world hunger crisis but maybe it helps them, for a little while.

It is so disheartening though.  I wish I could do something, even a big something, and just be done with it.  Never have to deal with it again.  But that’s never going to happen.  Every time I walk outside, even if I just fed someone, there will be someone else.  And that is what so often keeps me from doing anything.

But then Jesus didn’t heal everyone either.  He didn’t solve all of the worlds problems.  He didn’t stop hunger, homelessness, disease, natural disasters.  Yes, He did it for some but not all.  I guess it seems like He did it for one person at a time.

Jesus seems to have this capacity to deal with ever person as an individual and never lump them into categories.  He didn’t view the leper as a “disabled person”, he knew him by name.  He viewed him as someone with hopes and dreams, a father and mother, a story.

Often times I feel like I just lump everyone in together.  I don’t see a homeless person as a person with a story and a history.  I just see him as part of an injustice and problem that I can’t solve.  I wish I could but I can’t and so I won’t help you.

I think that needs to change though.  I think I need start focusing on the one.  I probably won’t take out everyone who asks for me money but I need to pay more attention to that tug inside my soul that says, “You, you should help this one.”  Cause if I take care of my ones, and you take care of yours, maybe we could actually take care of everybody.

I made the below video a few months ago and it helps remind me that every person matters.

The Life of John Keyne from Andrew Means on Vimeo.

The War of the Artists

I never cease to be amazed at our worlds’ capacity for contradiction.  On this small ball we call home we experience evil and good, beauty and desecration.  Last night Tovah and I had the opportunity to attend a benefit dinner for an organization called The International Justice Mission.  Made up of lawyers and investigators, IJM stands up for those who are being taken advantage of and upholds the rule of law.  No they aren’t a bunch of vigilantes who rescue people without any rules they are the diligent who carefully investigate crimes against the poor and prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes.  Over the last 15 years they have rescued thousands from slavery, fought for land that was being taken away from orphans, and trained dozens of police forces around the world on how to properly collect evidence and prosecute criminals.  It was a pleasure to be able to support their organization.

But sitting their last night I was overwhelmed by the darkness that inhabits our world.  The evil that runs rampant throughout our planet is almost unbearable.  Children as young as 3 and 4 being sold into prostitution by relatives.  Families who have been trapped in insurmountable and unfair debt for generations.  Children run families who are being driven from their land by greedy officials.  It is absolutely unspeakable.

Darkness has fallen and quite honestly in many ways things seem to be getting worse.

Then I went for a run along Lake Michigan this morning.  It was absolutely beautiful.  The sun rose triumphantly in the sky throwing a beautiful golden glow over the city’s skyline.  It was breathtaking.  At the end of my run I actually sat along the water for a good 45 minutes just soaking it in.

We live in a beautiful world.

And yet we live in a broken world.

It’s almost like a painter is working on a magnificent masterpiece.  But as he is painting someone else is going along trying to ruin the picture.  Trying to steal its beauty.  And for a while portions of the painting lie ruined, their beauty stolen and hidden beneath a dark black sludge.

But the painter will not be outmaneuvered and as his nemesis tries to ruin his masterpiece he returns and paints over the darkness, incorporating it beautifully into the picture.  What his enemy meant to destroy the painting will actually be incorporated into its greatest beauty.

Our world is being marred by an evil force but I also believe that beauty exists.  It’s a beautiful thing to see the sun rise over the city and it is a beautiful thing when a girl is rescued out of forced prostitution or land is returned to its rightful owner.  And I know one day all things will be restored but right now it’s hard to see beyond the black streaks.  It’s hard to escape the darkness.

It feels as if the dance between the painter and his enemy is intensifying, each working more and more intensely getting swept up in their work.  It feels like a climax is building and that something will come to a head before too long.  Something must be done before too long.

So I need to ask myself, what am I painting?  Where am I working in unison with the artist and when do I throw darkness on the canvas?  I believe I have a part to play in this war and I actually think my part matters.  All of our parts matter.  Which is why we must ask ourselves, what are we painting?

Blessed-Sermon on the Mount

Blessed from Axis on Vimeo.