National Geographic on Arab Christians (and my 10 yr anniversary of friendships with a group of them)

link to pictures

The stories in this enlightening article about Arab Christians are the stories of my friends. I have mentioned it before on this blog and talked ad naseum about the plight of Arab Christians. This is mostly due to friendships gathered during the past decade (actually this weekend marks the 10^th Anniversary of an invite as speaker at Boston’s Arab Baptist Conference). What started with my assumptions about Arab Christians quickly became a lesson in how pointless assumptions are. I actually thought I was going to be with a group of extremely modest dressers in hijabs or burkas that would be offended by what I might say (kind of a combo of Muslims and Independent Baptist). This was nothing like what I encountered, the most hospitable, hip, well dressed and financed group of friends that kept us out too late and made fun of each other unmercifully (and made fun of me for being extremely white). In other words… my kind of people.

These Arab Christians shared their stories, invited us into their lives and homes, supported my ministry, attended our church in Boston and kept bringing me back to speak at their events. Of all the people my wife and I have met along our journey together as partners, Christians and ministers, this group of friends is close to the top.

Most of all they enlightened me, one that thought everyone from the Middle East was Jewish or Muslim. Although I had a Lebanese Christian Seminary professor and took classes on the area and its religions, I still had assumptions until I heard the stories; stories of people caught between Islam and Judaism and in the nether regions of a US foreign policy supported by American Christians which has ravaged Arab Christian numbers in the Middle East, a group of people feeling animosity at times for the support America and American Christians have for Israel and justified anger towards Israel's policies (the policies we support are often at the expense of Christians who have been lumped in with Muslims and find themselves aligning with them on many occasions). In fact, this American Christian unconditional support for anything done by Israel has hurt our own brothers and sisters, which is directly in conflict with the call of Jesus in Matthew 25 to care for our brothers and sisters in prison, without food and clothes. Ironic, huh?

I have heard the stories of a teenager from Gaza which was the hardest counseling session I have ever encountered (how do you counsel someone that fears bombings, is surrounded by another religion and wants desperately to leave her country for safety, when you have benefited from America’s luck?), sat on a train with a podiatrist from Lebanon as he told us of the day he returned to his home which had been bombed before fleeing to America or the mother of friends from Palestine who never had citizenship, rights or a passport in her own country, I have a Christian friend with the unfortunate name Jihad (he goes by Ji) and friends from Egypt that have been accused of being terrorists on many occasions, even though one worked for an American defense manufacturer.

These are the stories of Arab Christians many of whom are from the Levant (Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Israel and Lebanon), where Christianity was founded and flourished for centuries. Now Christians make up about 8% of the population (down from 25% a century ago), mostly in Lebanon and have all but left places like the area surrounding Damascus. They have left because of violence, oppression and pressure, not just from Muslims, but from Israelis and America’s foreign policy which at times put them in danger (see the plight of Iraqi Christians since our invasion).

I am grateful to National Geographic for giving their stories to us. I hope we remember them as we look at the Middle East and our Arab neighbors in America.

link to article

hat tip to Derek via David Dark.

working on something about Sustainability with an unheard voice

On my blog and twitter I mentioned my problems with Earth Day and its fans. My problem is that Earth Day is to Environmentalism what Valentines Day is to Love. It is either a celebration of the every day experience one has, or it is something crass. To often, it is a marketing scheme to sell something green (like Valentine's Day sells something with hearts) and to talk about something you care about every once in a while and then forget the next day.

I said that what one talks about on Earth Day should not matter. What one talks about on the Monday after Earth Day should matter. To that end, I am teaming up with a friend to offer some ideas, tips and thoughts on sustainability and our part in it. This friend, whom I will unveil when the process is complete is someone dear to my wife and I. I performed her wedding ceremony, she has been part of 2 churches I have led, she helped deliver our second born and her husband and she have been instrumental to many things in our lives. In other words, I am not unbiased regarding her value to this conversation.

She takes the environment seriously and lives it out, not through preaching, self promotion and book writing but through learning, teaching, traveling, education and as a green business owner. Because she is not a self promoter, like most of the people I seem to know, you may never hear of her and her ideas, which are light years ahead of where most Christ followers, even the earth friendly crowd, are.

I hope to unveil this series soon and would love to get some of you to share it once it happens. It is part of what I have been convicted to share lately. As I did with my post on Christian organizational structure, I will be promoting the work of someone with very little voice in the greater conversational circles. I am beginning to feel that part of what I have to offer (even in a small way), is a voice to those with something we should be hearing, but with no desire to promote themselves. In other words, we need to hear from the non-Celebrities and I want to do my part to help them get their words seen and heard, especially those that came before us and are wise (or wise beyond their years in this person's case).

When done, I hope you like it and spread the word so others can hear such a voice.

visual vs musical art

my friends Jon, Critter and I were talking about art and artists last week at New World. A visual artist that loves music, Jon has found the musical arts a chore, creatively speaking. On the other hand, Critter is a talented singer-songwriter that (I assume) has not dabbled in the visual arts. I, of course, am a creatively stifled failure at both musical and visual arts (in other words, a critic)- as well as athletics.

The discussion was about people being able to do both visual and musical art at a high level. Jon's argument was that they are very different forms of art and creativity, coming from different places in the brain. His contention is that it is difficult(or impossible) for a person to be highly artistic in both areas. I, of course, disagreed, thinking that creativity and artistry are something artists have and many of them (the good ones) can attain a high level of creativity and artistry in both disciplines. I see it like multi-sport athleticism (you are either an athlete or not and you are either an artist or not- the disciplines are interchangeable for many).

Of course, the beauty of the debate is this... if I mention such an artist, he can prove (through debate) that the visual (or musical) art is of lower quality than the discipline in which the artist is universally acknowledged to be at a high level. It is much like that debate over multi-sport athletes but without statistical analysis to prove ones point.

However, as anecdotal proof of my rightness on the subject, I enter into evidence this video of Joseph Arthur's song She Paints Me Gold which is basically a collection of stills of a painting in the creative process at his art studio in Brooklyn. Touche.

The Cobalt Season in Florida

This weekend we hosted our old friends Ryan and Holly Sharp from San Fran (with new friend Pax- their 1 year old in tow). Musically they are known as The Cobalt Season and have a wonderful following due to their great music and promotion of like-minded people within the Emergent Village community.

Saturday night we had about 30 people in our backyard and no complaints from our neighbors, as we sat around a fire pit, listened to wonderful music and let the food and libations flow among good old friends and new friends. Sunday morning we sat in the back of the church we no longer attend so we could enjoy The Cobalt Season in a more proper environment, complete with full sound and less street noise.

At times like this, we realize how outside the mainstream Christian community we are and how lonely it can be to attempt to follow the teachings of Jesus and all of their implications within the church community of the deep south (of course, Ryan and Holly, who have traveled the entire nation on this tour, assure us this is the case with EVers everywhere). One of our great frustrations of the time spent in Florida has been the lack of like-minded community desiring to embrace the same values we do, so we can move forward (and not sideways) with the encouragement of others. When we vacation with friends from Atlanta, visit friends in Boston or Minneapolis and host friends from San Fransisco, we realize how much we are part of a diaspora and long for a return to our home country.

Anyway, here are some pictures Kristi took of the weekend. If you have not listened to The Cobalt Season's "hopeful protest music" check them out and support the cause of Independent Musicians that actually write compelling songs.

link to myspace

link to website

link to blog

Worm Poop

I am sure that word will give me another R rating... I want to share some cool t-shirts made by friends of mine to promote their business venture.

Sunnye Dreyfuss, a member of our community in Houston and Boston (I was honored to perform the ceremony for her and Josh) has a sustainable business called WormJava. It is natural fertilizer for your plants made from worm poop (in her words). Check out their site and buy some plant food (and buy a great t-shirt that will get you noticed around town- the t-shirts are sweatshop free).

where have I been?

So, here is the latest excuse for not blogging...

I have all of the ideas I keep writing down to blog about, but none of them are particularly simple postings. I keep losing steam due to busyness I am trying to remedy (mostly by organizing according to getting things done, which I have always said I would).

The youth ministry gig takes a decent amount of time, but I enjoy it. Plus, I have been trying to take care of much more around the house due to the rambunctiousness of our children and Kristi's final month of pregnancy (I have come to realize that we have Lucy from Peanuts for a daughter and Calvin from Calvin and Hobbs for a son).

However, the thing that has taken most of my time and energy (and kept me from the job search) is the departure of the pastor from the church our family has attended the past 21 months. Due to my friendship with him and a de facto leadership position, much of the transitional stuff has come into my lap.

It has taken up much more time than I would expect but it is more important than my blog and even the job search. I am hoping that things calm down pretty soon and we find our rhythm as a family and community in the near future.

I will attempt to blog a bit more now that I am getting things done and hope to grace the blogosphere with my thoughts on the film Sicko, great new music and much more. In the meantime, please pray for the leadership and future at Watermark Church in Tampa and our former pastor and his family.

report from D.C.

I am sure you are dying to hear about my trip to Washington, D.C. last weekend. As you sat on pins and needles wondering what in the world I was up to, I ventured to D.C. for the 3rd time in 9 months, each trip surrounding Bread for the World.

I wanted to liveblog, but was unable to. Apparently, American University (where the event was held) has something against P.C. users.

Anyway, a few highlights include...

• spending most waking minutes with Will Samson and Lilly Lewin, 2 EV friends. Lilly does cool prayer rooms and leads prayer and worship experiences, while Will writes books I want to read and lives in community while getting his PhD at UK.
• seeing a former student from my youth group in Virginia (and Intern and fellow laborer in Boston) speak to the entire Gathering event about justice issues (he has led something called Boston Faith and Justice Network and just accepted a position at Sojourners).
• having drinks with Brian McLaren and Will Samson before a gathering of people interested in Emergent Village.
• the Brickskeller in DuPont Circle (2X).
• reconnecting with Chris Haw, who leads an amazing community living experiment in Camden, NJ. Meeting new friends from around the nation (some pastors, some working with Bread, some part of One Campaign, one helping immigrants cross the border in Arizona).
• having dinner with good friend Joel Vestal of ServLife fame at a great Arab owned and operated restaurant (knowing a bit of seemingly any language Joel can bring smiles to most faces). We inadvertently stumbled into the D.C. Pride event's favorite block for food leading an amusing set of text messages between my wife and I.
• helping lead an "emergent" worship service on Sunday morning with Lilly and Will, along with Tim and Saranelle Hartman.
• hanging out with one of my former students on Friday night.
• seeing that very cute Panda Cub at the zoo, along with other cool animals.
• staying blocks away from a Whole Foods, after living in Whole Foods Exile in Tampa.
• meeting Kennedy, a Zambian student for the priesthood living in San Antonio.
• listening to Senator Chuck Hagel explain why he thinks poverty relief is so important.
• understanding why the buzz was so large for Harold Ford, Jr. when he ran for Senate in 2006. Although he lost, his upside is huge (and his opponents ran a very dirty/ slightly racist ad). If he becomes Tennessee's governor, he could be the first black man to win the presidency (he is a better speaker than Obama and more charismatic- and much younger). His speech was somewhere between sermon and stump speech (very Clinton-esque). He also has a bit of a downside, but also has a very interesting, and moderate voting record.
• finding out more details on the Farm Bill and how it needs to change to help local individual farmers (instead of corporations that do not need subsidies) and our international friends.
  
• learning more about how Evangelicals and Mainliners can come together to support the Micah Challenge which works with churches in developing nations to relieve extreme poverty and make people's lives much better.
  

true confessions

After a productive morning, sending a resume and cover letter regarding a job I am very interested in (I will let you know, if things proceed to fruition) and mowing my yard I am feeling terribly uninspired, but want to blog and increase traffic.

After looking at a posting by Cade, I decided to follow suit and give you 10 things you may not know about me. As Cade says, some of you may know a few of these things, but no one knows them all. Most of these are about my past.

Here are my true confessions:

10. While I am a music snob, I have actually seen the following bands in concert: The Fat Boys, New Edition, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Cinderella, the Scorpions (the real "spinal tap"), Monsters of Rock tour, Degarmo and Key, Michael W. Smith, Chicago, Creed, James Taylor, Whitesnake, White Lion, Great White, Dokken, Duran Duran, Rick Springfield and Huey Lewis (2X). I actually enjoyed Chicago, Aerosmith, Duran Duran, RS, HL and part of the Monsters of Rock.

9. I was present for both FSU National Championships in football (I have always wondered how many FSU fans can make honest claims to both 1994 and 2000).

8. I am a very protective and somewhat anal and strict parent.

7. As a senior in High School I could not get the part of Jet or Shark in Westside Story (our senior class play). Instead, I was saddled with the multiple small parts Glad Hand and Doc (2 old guys).

6. I began taking dance lessons at 6 and continued for a substantial number of years (we will leave it at that). My parents have numerous statues and pictures of me in tights (I took jazz, tap and ballet). Consequently, I set the male record my freshman year of college for flexibility (which is the only cool thing to happen due to my dance ability).

5. I have worked in a tobacco warehouse, picked tobacco, watermelon and beans, worked at a convenience store, as a disk jockey (3X), sold newspapers, as an elementary teacher's aid, at a record store, as a gopher for a rich old lady, as a test grader, delivered office supplies and on a UPS truck (among other jobs).

4. Even though I grew up in the rural south, to my knowledge I have never killed a mammal. I have killed 2 fowl (a goose and bird) while driving. I have killed a few more fish and 1 reptile (rattlesnake).

3. I wore a rebel flag T-shirt as a 7th grader (before I understood what it meant).

2. I had a substantial mullet in high school (but it was cooler than your typical mullet). I also had a perm once (called it a body wave) and colored my hair blond once with "Sun In" but it turned my hear reddish blond because I didn't use enough.

1. I love stand up comedy and among my favorite things to see is black comedians make fun of white people. Also, I think Dane Cook is among the unfunniest people I have ever seen.

Now I am going to tag others, so we can get to know each other a bit better and laugh at each other's foibles. Let me know if any of these are surprises and how many you really did know (I was thinking of turning this into a 10 things I hate about me routine, but changed my mind).

So, I need to hear from (I am picking a few people I don't know as well)

1. Rudy
2. Will Samson
3. Ryan Sharp
4. Steve McCoy
5. Fletch

Flaming Lips Show plans

On Saturday night a number of friends will be heading to downtown St. Pete to witness the glory that is the Flaming Lips in concert at Jannus Landing. The show begins at 8PM and is sold out. Doors open at 7PM and there are 2 openers, but it will be crowded.

There are a number of things to do before the show. So use the comments section to work out details and make plans with friends for meeting before the show for drinks and/ or dinner. If you want to carpool, talk about it here.

There are a number of good places to eat in downtown St. Pete. Here is a list. link

Joey Brooklyn's, next to Jannus has great pizza. But, my favorite cheap Italian and pizza is around the corner at Fortunado's.

If you are looking for a good bar to get some of the finest beer available in Tampa/ St. Pete, try the Independent (the prices, atmosphere and selection will remind you of NYC). There is also a Starbucks across from Jannus Landing.

Also, Kristi may not be interested in going to the show. You know anyone else interested? Anyone else wanting to get rid of a ticket? I am sure many friends want to head out.

irony

After our Tampa Bay Cohort meeting this evening (our first in many months thanks to Warren who has taken over the leadership from me and will actually do something), Kristi and I will head over to the Orpheum with a few friends to attend the French Kicks show.

The French Kicks could be misconstrued as yet another NYC Indy Rock band. However, they are a very quirky and experimental pop band at their core. It should a good show.

The ironic thing about the show is that is is part of a season of great music finally coming through Tampa after a year long dryspell. Interestingly, the dry-spell corresponded to the time our friend Dustin lived in town. Dustin is a pantheon Indy Rock guy (knows everything since the late 90's- has no knowledge of seminal influencers, but who is perfect in his rock knowledge that has a job outside of a record store) who saw everyone while living in NYC. While in Tampa we had 3 good shows (Son Volt, rogue Wave, BMRC) to attend.

Right before he arrived bands like Okkervil River and The Decemberists were coming through town. Since he left, The Format and The Walkmen have played and Jenny Lewis, Album Leaf, Broken Social Scene and others are just around the corner.

I hope he hasn't cursed the Portland music scene.