A Glorious Moment

I just want to draw attention to this moment in history. After spending so many years stuck in mediocrity in my fantasy baseball league (it has been almost five years since I've cracked the top five), I'm now sitting in first place. I'm enjoying this moment, the view from up here. It's good. It's fertile. The soil is so rich. People are throwing large dollar bills at me and the women are all beautiful. The sky is always blue and the champagne actually tastes good. So this is what all of you spend countless hours in front of your computer screens for, searching out the latest stats on the guy who hit .300 in AAA. I now see why you lose sleep. As God himself said, "It is very good."

Wait. What is that sound?

What? The ground is slipping out from under me. What do you mean Glavine's arm fell off? He's 10 from 300. What do you mean Gary Matthew's Jr got indicted? That was not supposed to happen. What do you mean Uggla was a one year wonder?

Oh well. It's fun while it lasts.

100 Equals Love

Every once in a while I run across an idea or a group of people who are doing something really great. My first response is to smile and my second response is to write about it, which I'm doing right now. I found this post through a random clicking process of blogs from people I know ending up on people I don't but I wish I did. And when it is a woman I smile and realize that our female counterparts do things way better than us men.

Katherine Siebert started Edeva, which means, "beautiful gift." She came up with this really great idea for a love project to get one hundred people together to buy the land for a trade arts "co-op" for a group of women in the Dominican Republic. Instead of asking a bunch of people to give her $100, she asked 100 women to give two dollars every week. Who can't do that. The idea is brilliant. You can read the story here.

Thanks Katherine for the inspiration. I hope you don't mind if I steal your idea. I promise to give you credit.

Very Nice Article

This is an interesting perspective on the changes taking place in the church. Sound off.

The History of Religion Map

This site is awesome. It shows the progression of religions through the world. There are other interesting maps to help understand history. Well done people

Nate Sallie - Incredible New Artist

I love music. Music puts me in touch with the soul and seems to speak to me in a way that few other things can do. I purchase a lot of music and love it when I can find an artist that speaks from the soul. Old music is like this. Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Elton John seemed to write music that was unhindered. It had melodies that were haunting and special. My iPod is always filled with these artists but at times includes new artists. I will buy a song from just about any artist once.

Today I found a new artist. His name is Nate Sallie. And you really should buy this album. It's called Ruined For Ordinary. It's put out by Curb Records. Go to iTunes and listen to "What I Believe." It's easily the best song on an album full of really great songs. The depth of the lyrics and passion from the music were quite surprising for a sophomore effort. It is was clear that Nate put his heart and soul into this album. It's not pop, as much as it is gospel soul.

Other really great songs include Holy Spirit, Let Go of Me, and Breakthrough. The whole album is good and worth discovering. Some have said he sounds like Gavin DeGraw and Daniel Powter, but I think he has more depth than they do.

Well done my friend.

Italy - The Land That Gets It

Last year I took a trip to Italy with my Master's Program. It was sixteen days of pure bliss in the land of my forefathers. In this trip I discovered my own heritage, the beauty of the land, and the mystery of the Renaissance. It was the best trip of my life.

A friend emailed me yesterday asking for help for those who were going this year. I sat down and began to compile the list of things I thought people needed to know who are going to Italy. This is my list.

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Here's my Renaissance recommendations.

1. Eat Slow - The Italians have discovered that food is not really the thing, even though its a great thing. They eat slow so that they can slow down from their hectic lives enough to meet the person across the table from them. The have somehow realized that people are what make life really interesting and if you have a great bottle of wine to share its all the better. Restaurant owners have somehow discovered that they are the meeting places of the heart and they fully embrace their role as stewards of community.

2. Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously - Any group of people that could design so many statues of naked people get that life is just too short to miss laughing with each other. They understood that the little children walking through the piazza needed something to snicker at because their parents were just to stuffy sometimes. Maybe Michelangelo understood that we needed humor in our lives.

3. Drink Art Deeply - The Italians gave us the Renaissance because they surrounded themselves with what makes us great as human beings. We create exquisite reflections of humanity and beauty when we allow ourselves the freedom to feel. Take the time to sit with the art, especially David, Leonardo, Rafael, Boticelli.

Here's my Top 10 Practical Recommendations

10. Who ever has the balcony room at the top floor of the hotel in Florence should host a group night. We did this and it was one of my best memories.

9. On the off day visit Cinque Terra. Walk from station 3-5, but bring good shoes, water and a camera. Breathtaking. Stop in Pisa for dinner on the way home.

8. Eat lots of Gelato at midnight. The best conversations are at this time.

7. Watch the Medici documentary from PBS before going. It completely alters the experience.

6. Learn to enough Italian to be dangerous (please, thank you, where is...?). It goes a long way to the locals.

5. Ask the local store owners where their favorite restaurants are. Trust me they know. They will most likely call and get you in too.

4. If you ask for a café latte in the morning at the hotel they will make you one but you have to ask.

3. Rome is interesting but Florence is life.

2. The sign that says "Sistina Capella" with an arrow pointing around the corner does not mean its around the corner.

And the number one recommendation for those going to Italy is:

1. The cell phones don't work no matter what they tell you.

In Not Of

I found this very interesting dialog by Jason Clark on the balance of learning to be in the world but not of the world. I don't know if it is original to him but his simple explanation is intriguing. The love that I seek is based on a healthy balance between finding the love I seek in my Father's love for me but also bringing that love to the world around me.

End Human Slavery - Not For Sale Campaign

The idea that slavery still exists today astounds me, but sadly it doesn't surprise me. Slavery has been around since debt and I wonder which came first.

In the spirit of Amazing Grace, which opens today, I want to highlight a really cool site that is working to end slavery worldwide. It's called the Not For Sale Campaign. The idea is cool and the deal is practical. Anything that uplifts the dignity of my neighbor is worth looking at and participating in. Check it out.

Not For Sale was started by David Batstone. Here's a note from his site.
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"THE INSTIGATOR, DAVID BATSTONE
A Professor of ethics at the University of San Francisco who started his "career" guarding Salvadoran pastors and literacy teachers from death squads. Batsone was the founding editor of Business 2.0 and is the founder of social venture firm, Right Reality. He writes regularly in USA Weekend edition as "America's Ethics Guru." He traveled around the world investigating the Slave Trade before writing "Not For Sale", the book associated with this campaign.

Kiva - Microloans Process

I was visiting a friends blog today and I came a cross a site that was listed at her page. The organization is called Kiva.org. Kiva provides a simple way of getting involved in the world around us. Participants, meaning us, provide microloans to someone on the website.

Microloans have been recognized as one of the best ways to help the poor get out of poverty. Because the money is small the lender takes less risk and the opportunity becomes much more available to the average person to help. In third world country's loans can be as small as $50 but they help build the dignity of the person behind the loans. Repayment in certain countries is extremely high because of the process.

Take a look.

Sanjaya Malakar

Okay, I'm diverting my attention here because I want to recognize talent. I'm not really a huge American Idol fan, but I did buy Chris Daughtry's album, which is amazing. I also did catch the Seattle and Memphis auditions this year. It was fun. In those two shows one kid stood out to me. His name is Sanjaya Malakar. You can see his audition here. Now I realize that if you are reading this you've probably seen more than me. But something in this kid is different. There is a grace about his smile and a real talent in his voice. I agreed with Simon that although his sister was good, he was great. Some people really like him. And some people don't. Regardless, I want to recognize his talent because he has it.

He did make it on to the final 24 and it will be interesting to see how his talent shows up this season. I may just have to catch a few episodes to see.

One thing that I also really liked was how much his family seems to shape him. In his interview he would thank his family first. During the auditions it was clear that his family played a strong role in his development. It shows in his smile. The image that stood out to me was of his proud father smiling from ear to ear after his children had made it to Hollywood. I love that type of image of family in the media. It reminds me that it is still possible and probable.

My best to you Sanjaya. May God smile on you this year.

One works

For those of you who follow One.org and the action that they help facilitate, and for those who don't, we're making a difference. Here's an update from Ginny on critical funding for poverty relief.

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Members of the U.S. House of Representatives just voted 286-140 to pass the 2007 continuing resolution!!

If the bill also passes in the Senate before Feb. 14 then instead of AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and refugee programs receiving no increases from 2006 to 2007, they will receive an increase of $1.45 billion. The difference will add up to hundreds of thousands of lives.

Thank you to those in the House who voted to fully fund the programs that are working to end extreme poverty. We'll post their names here shortly.

Virginia Simmons
Online Organizing Coordinator
The ONE Campaign

ONE Action

From Virginia at ONE.org

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A straight continuing resolution would have left funding at 2006 levels through all of 2007 - but a few weeks ago, ONE launched a major effort to raise awareness and save as much of the planned increase as possible. In January alone, ONE members sent over 200,000 emails, faxes and letters to their members of Congress urging them to fully fund poverty programs in 2007.

Last night, a bill was filed asking for a $1.3 billion increase in AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis funding - a full $300 million more than the one billion dollar increase ONE members urged their representative to save.

Sound Off

(Nothing is a done deal though until the bill passes both houses. A House vote is scheduled for tomorrow and a Senate vote is set for February 5. We'll be posting updates on these votes times and outcomes on the ONE Blog.)

We have been told that this money, which easily could have vanished virtually unnoticed, was saved due to the pressure from the community. Without exaggeration, outreach on the 2007 CR may have just saved hundreds of thousands of lives in the world's poorest countries.

Please send me an email or call me if have questions. Every convesation blog post on these issues counts.

Ginny

Virginia Simmons
Online Organizing Coordinator
The ONE Campaign

Isn't She Beautiful Reflections

It has been a week since I returned from the Isn't She Beautiful conference in Michigan and it has taken me a little while to really process what I experienced. The conference was deeply refreshing for me in that it was a call to love (my God, my self, my neighbor, and all of creation). The narrative of God is all about restoration and I want to be part of it. I want to fully engage Missio Dei for the sake of my own heart.

Images- Isn't She Beautiful

The Mars Hill stage



Rob Bell getting ready for the final evening.





Rob preaching.

Redeeming The Hurting

Tonight was perhaps the reason I came to Mars Hill. The night was dominated by worship and communion...and the cross. Okay, this was a pastors conference but as I was saying to my friend, "where do pastor's go to find their own redemption and love." I feel sorry for pastor's. They don't give themselves space to be human. There seems to be this cruel club they all belong to that says they can't be anything less than perfect and a shining example of what it means to be a Christian.

Tonight Rob call them out of this palce and gave them a place to be real, to hurt, to cry. Tonight a group of 2,000 pastors, elders, leaders and volunteers took time and space to remember (and embrace) what it means to restore their own hearts. Some took their place under the cross, many red faced and wet cheeked from the experience. Others took their place under the prayer shawl. Other sat with other elders and received prayer. The scene looked must like a revival only this was a group of pastors and leaders.

I thank my father for a brother like Rob. Some people don't understand him and that is okay, but he know what it means to restore. I like that. I like a person who stands up front and says, "We need to love." This is why I came.

Tweaking The Norm

This morning at the Isn't She Beautiful conference Rob was in full form. If Rob has the ability to do anything it is to tweak the way people see the story of redemption. This morning was all about Salvation, Heaven and Hell. And the content of these sessions are for another post. What is important was how Rob expanded the conversation of heaven, hell and salvation. And as I looked at the mood of the room it was obvious that he had tweaked the norm.

You see, there is historical way of operating that is so fixed, so completely restrictive to a select few (some would call it scholasticism) that it gives people no permission to think. Rob won't let you do that. He calls out a way of being that requires you to think. He's so much like Jesus in that he almost forces you to wrestle with it. His best subversive quality is his capacity to tweak the way you see it.

And the reality was that 20% of the people were deeply confused and immediately discounted what he said. I am at lunch as I write this and I just finished a conversation with a local pastor, who came because he just heard of Rob's church (this guy is really tweaked). The very first thing he said was "I didn't agree with about 25% of what he said." I asked him why, and he stumbled on it. "We did the proof text and..." You can finish the sentence.

See what Rob does that bugs people is that he makes people aware of their own way of seeing, and in the presence of a new way of seeing it most people question the validity of their own image. Some immediately walk away, some go numb, some just agree, and a small group wrestles with it. Some, like my neighbor at lunch, immediately assume an attack on their image and can't handle it.

What if we miss the whole story when we do this. What if we miss the story that Jesus is trying to communicate, when we assume our way of seeing is fixed and the only way to see something. I have been listening to Rob for about a year and a half and I think he would probably say, "I could be wrong."

How then do we find love in all of this? How then do we live in the tension of the new and the old and find a way to remain in the learning, the relationship, and the love? How do we stay in trust when something affronts our senses and constructs? That my friend is the question of living.

More pictures to follow.

The Spirit of Love

About three months ago I convinced my wife that I needed to go to Michigan in the middle of winter. Normally this would be considered a really stupid move (as some of my friends would say, "Are you insane?") but on this particular instance it was to go to a conference at Mars Hill. Well today I'm finally here. I'm at the Isn't She Beautiful conference, which is essentially a dialog about how to be a church that loves.

Rob Bell (the pastor at Mars Hill) says what I believe, which for someone who values language is like having a personal translator to my soul. His gift is in seeing and communicating the language of what we all are experiencing on this journey.

This morning was on the Eucharist, which is the giving of life by the pouring out of our souls. Its this practice of following Jesus in love in the giving of ourselves. Its this profound place where we connect to what it means to be a human in this crazy world and still not give up. The key for me this morning was actually not the Eucharist, even though I really, really enjoyed the conversation. The key was in seeing the little ways that I have forgotten to say, "I love you." Once we broke for lunch I had to stop and send my wife an email letting her know how much I appreciate her. I needed to write to her so that she could read it in her own space and reflect on it when she needed.

And then it hit me. What Rob is really trying to do is foster the spirit of love within a community so that it pervades everything they do. I could feel it within the building, within the people. We, the audience, we all on a little pilgrimage to experience that community. He was just smart enough to bring everyone together around this banner.

Thank you Rob for choosing love.

Oxfam's Farm Bill Action

This is a reprint from the ONE.org site. It was originally posted by Tim Fullerton of Oxfam.

It's incredibly tough to be a small farmer these days. From Mali to Mississippi, family farms are struggling just to stay afloat. Meanwhile, huge industrial-sized farms in the US gobble up small farms, and poor farmers across the globe struggle to survive on just a dollar a day.

But it doesn't have to be that way. This year, Congress will debate a new Farm Bill, which for five years will set policies that could either help small farmers at home and abroad - or keep them struggling.

Join Oxfam's Farm Bill Action Team and help pressure Congress to support hardworking farmers around the world.

We need you to make sure this year's Farm Bill lets small farmers compete and make a living. The last bill included billions of dollars in handouts for gigantic farming operations - while leaving family farmers across the globe struggling to make ends meet.

This is one of those touchstone issues where your actions can have a huge impact. Rural communities are devastated when small farmers lose their livelihoods. The results: Poverty and hunger skyrocket, the young move to cities, and unsustainable farming practices deplete the land.

As part of the Oxfam Farm Bill Action Team, you'll be given easy ways to educate your friends, Congress, and the media about how our tax dollars shouldn't go toward subsidies that hurt family farms both in the US and in poor countries.

Help us cultivate change to make our world a better place. Join the Farm Bill Action Team today!

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Please take a moment to help out.

How Does Love Intervene

Last night I had dinner with my cousin at Fats (great Thai food) and the conversation served as an strange tipping point to recognizing to the great costs associated with marriage. My cousin is currently separated from his wife of 12 years. I sat and listened to my cousin, chewing on a delightful Walnut Shrimp concoction and wondered if I hadn't just heard this conversation before. You see, one of my best friends had spent the previous night over at my house as we watched the BCS game between Florida and Ohio State. He too was separated from his wife. A third great friend had also separated, and divorced, from his wife this summer.

As I listened to my cousin I couldn't help but wonder why divorce happens. Why is it that we can reach a place where we give up, lose hope, or just lose touch. In each case, it was not instantaneous events that contributed to the demise but ongoing lack of concern for the other person. Each had simply lost touch with the other person.

But in the listening I became aware that I am now my father's age when he divorced my mom. It is a strange thing to really reach an age and realize how completely impossible it is to prepare for marriage and really understand what it means to love someone forever. In each case the couple had simply grown indifferent and apart. Little things added up to create a giant wedge that pulled them in different directions. I cannot deny that I was deeply sad for each of them.

How does love intervene when two people reach a point of giving up? How does love find a way out and see beyond all of the crap that gets in the way and steals our hope? How do we regain the ability to love even when our spouse doesn't reciprocate, instead lashing out at simple attempts to make sense of the mess? I don't know. That is the problem.

I sat looking at my cousin very aware that love takes work. It takes a willingness to see beyond the simple petty things that add up and still find hope. I have hope for them, but I don't know if it is enough.

Simple Ideas To Love

I have a friend who really inspired me this week. His name is Brandon. He's actually the boyfriend of my wife's friend Alicia. Brandon had this unique idea of doing something with his passions so he created a non-profit that would serve the poor in Colombia. The idea was to create something that would serve a specific community that needed help and consistently target one area. He's not looking to save the world from poverty, only a tiny corner of it.

This week he's traveling down to Colombia to meet with some people who live in the community and begin the process of creating an assessment of what they need. I honestly wish I was on the plane with him.

My hats off to you Brandon for doing something so inspiring with your life. Thank you for practicing love in its best form.