3 Reasons Our Consumption has a Kingdom Impact

Golden Hill Farmer's Market

I was recently hired to help manage our local farmer’s market in our neighborhood of Golden Hill.  Living as part of a church community who is taking seriously the task of engaging deeply in our neighborhood and city, I figured this gig had the potential to be a brilliant opportunity.  Not only has it provided some much needed income, it has reaffirmed the Kingdom value of critical consumption.  In a culture of big box stores with products being produced and shipped to us from all corners of the world, working at the farmer’s market has made clear three reasons our consumption has the potential to have a positive Kingdom impact:

1. Builds Community

It’s hard to express the beauty of rolling out of bed (other than the fact than it is 4:45am) and walking three blocks to work.  There’s something sacred about walking past our car and taking a deep breath of fresh air.  As the market opens, the neighborhood begins to roll out of bed, grab their coffee and stroll down to check out the past week’s produce harvest and listen to some live bluegrass.  Between trying to wake up and the contagious buzz of community, no one is in a rush.  By the time the market closes, I have usually been able to see and connect with all of my acquaintances/friends in the neighborhood and met a few more for the first time.  Rather than quickly saying hello to someone in the grocery story check out line, we are able to catch up as we stroll down the street to the smell of fresh waffles and crapes.  Brilliant.

2. Supports the Local Economy

One of my main responsibilities is to work with the local businesses.  No one has been more impacted by the economic recession than small business owners.  Most overworked and full of financial anxiety from the past few years, these owners are exhausted.  Underneath the exhaustion and the anxiety is a spark in each of their eyes…it is their passion for their idea/product that has now been hidden by worry, but still drives them to succeed.  Our Golden Hill market has been a huge success.  As a result, the business owners anxiety has somewhat been peeled away and their passion recovered.  In a climate of financial desperation, employment is one of the most tangible resources we can offer as Kingdom advocates.

3. Honors God’s Creation

I once heard the quote, “Our treatment of Creation is a direct reflection of what we think about our Creator.”  Our consumption has a huge impact on the Creation that God has so graciously entrusted to our stewardship.  There is a divine rhythm to God’s Creation that revolves around the seasons.  When we consume locally grown produce, we have the opportunity to step into that rhythm rather than distort it.  When we buy our tomatoes out of season (which means they are being shipped here from hundreds or thousands of miles away), we miss out of God’s plan for Creation.  After all, we trust that what he has created is “good.”

I primarily wrote this post to myself.  It is good for me to evaluate my uncritical consumption and celebrate the ways I can step more in line with what God is doing in my community and in all of creation. Here is a search for local farmer’s markets near you.  Also, consider joining a CSA for your produce and meat.

 

Travel as Pilgrimage #2: Hearty Beards & Interfaith Dialog


My pilgrimage of expanded worldview and renewed eyes for God’s diverse and growing Kingdom takes us to London, England.  If your are just jumping into this series, read my introduction to the Travel as Pilgrimage series.

Speaker’s Corner

There is a park in the middle of London that has one area designated as “Speaker’s Corner.” When we first drove by it (in our huge and cheesy open air tourist bus…) I thought it was an area for politicians to come and give their shpeel on their proposed policy.   After driving by I found that it was a place where ANYONE was welcome to come, stand on a ladder or box of some kind and just let loose. They could talk about any topic to anyone who was willing to listen. This intrigued me…

We continued to tour the city, but intentionally came back to Speaker’s Corner. There we hundreds of people crowded around various speakers who were getting fired up on issues of war, religion and philosophy. It was interesting to note the overwhelming majority of discussions revolving around Islam and Christianity. There would be a Muslim on one ladder and a Christian on another a few yards away. In general, there was plenty of space in the middle of the speeches for public dialog. Someone in the crowd would shout out a point of contention and begin to dialog with the speaker in front of the masses. Others would join in and the discussion continued…

Occasionally a more heated dialog would take place that was a bit out of control and led to offensive words, but this was very rare. On one hand it was very saddening to see all the points of disagreement we allow to lead to relational disconnect. On the other it was really encouraging to see a group of people not only culturally “allowed” to speak in such raw ways, but willing to discuss and process in such a way. I have to imagine a similar spirit of honest dialog when Jesus was a kid speaking in the “temple courts.” We have drifted so far from this form healthy dialog in most of our cultures.

Beard to Beard Conversation

I stood intrigued by one of the speakers who was doing his best to disprove the existence of the Divine Trinity when a gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and asked me what I believed. I began to share with him of my love for Jesus and my resolve to do my best to live out His ways on a day to day basis. I also mentioned that I didn’t necessarily relate with many of the “Christians” who have chosen to preach a message far from what I see as central to Jesus’ inaugurated Kingdom.  I asked him of his beliefs and he mentioned that he was a Muslim. He had a sweet beard, much more impressive than mine…

We began about a half hour conversation on the teachings of Jesus, the letters of Paul in the New Testement and the Mosaic Law.  He was a very humble man, with many great things to say and during our discussion quite a few people gathered around to listen in. Much of what he had to say had to deal with Pauline writing being inaccurate to the teachings of Jesus. He mentioned that if it weren’t for the books that Paul wrote, Christianity and Islam would be very similar.  Sharing back and forth I came to realize that we could learn alot from each other, but trying to convince each other was not going to get us anywhere. I explained to him that our conversation was great, but a debate was not what we needed. We shared what we believed and what we were most passionate about and respectfully listened. After acknowledging our mutual respect for each other we shook hands, thanked each other for the conversation and went on our ways. It was beautiful. A small piece of heaven on earth. Maybe if we create more contexts like this, there would be more communication and understanding and less hatred and violence…

Pilgrimage is less about a destination and more about interacting with the dynamic individuals and perspectives encountered along the way.

What conversations and individuals have deepened the insights of your pilgrimage whether at home or abroad?

Picture: This is a picture Jan apparently took during our conversation

Watching the Missional Church Come to Life

Every once in a while I sit back, reflect and realize what a gift it is to serve and live among a missional church community like ours. While the mission of NieuCommunities takes many different forms (click here for explanation of such forms), one key element is the weekly gathering of the church community. Every Sunday night, we gather for a shared meal, worship, teaching and discussion.  It is the culmination of a community that isn’t simple attending church, but celebrating the reality of embodying it everyday. Check this out for more info, pics and ways our dream for the Church is taking shape.

Sunday Night - NieuCommunities San Diego from Fishboy on Vimeo.

Travel as Pilgrimage #1: Costa Rica

Today I explore the first stop in a series I am calling “Travel as Pilgrimage.” Click here for an intro to the series.  My hope is that these experiences and stories will do two things: 1. Expand our worldviews to the extent that we realize God’s Kingdom is alive and advancing in people/regions of the world that we may not have otherwise considered, 2. Ignite our imagination and desire for travel as an act of personal and spiritual pilgrimage.

The first installment of this series takes us to the beautiful shores of the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica.  This was the first time Janny and I had ever done any extended time of travel in our marriage.  We had five weeks, two backpacks and zero reservations, so adventure was sure to ensue. Our goal was to relax, learn some Spanish and leave lots of time for me to write this book.

After traveling around for a week or so, we stumbled onto a little cottage on the beach in Mal Pais where we would stay for the rest of our time.  Surrounded by the crashing waves, 80 degree water, endless iguana’s, howler monkey’s and rain forest, it was a small slice of heaven on earth.  Little did we know that our greatest companion wouldn’t be the surrounding creatures and creation, but our Canadian neighbor named Mike (not real name).

We would see him leave his cottage every mid-morning to journey up and down the beach for most of the day.  He was about 50 years old, traveling alone and was very reserved.  We would say hello and smile, but didn’t interact to any extent until one evening when he walked to our place and asked for some salt.  In that moment, we began a friendship that would shape the rest of our time in Costa Rica.

Over coffee in the morning and a beer at night, we would play cribbage while overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  At first we would simply share stories from our day, but as the days passed we moved into conversations on politics, religion and family.  One evening I asked why he was down in Costa Rica by himself for 3+ months.  He first responded by saying that he needed to escape the dark, cold Canadian winter, but I could tell there was more to the story…and there was.

Mike was a really friendly guy, but he always had somber disposition about him.  After a few more games of late night cribbage, he looked at me as said, “My wife died three years ago.” I said I was sorry and we sat in silence looking out to sea.

The only voice was that of the wind, ocean waves and occasional monkey howl.

He continued, “After she died, all of my kids moved away to go to college and I stayed at home to continue my nearly 30 years working at the local newspaper printing press.  With the newspaper industry falling apart, I was forced to retire and I was left alone in a big house with way too much time on my hands.  I needed to get away, so here I am.”

I quickly realized that Mike was grieving and he needed a companion. Not someone to tell him all the answers, but someone to simply be present.  He was not only grieving the loss of his wife, he was grieving the departure of his kids…he felt extremely alone.

In the weeks that followed that conversation, our friendship deepened and Janny and I spent parts of every day with Mike.  We rode bikes through the jungle, we taught him to surf and we played A LOT of cribbage.

I’m not real sure how much Mike knew about Jesus or the reality of the God’s Kingdom, but I’m sure he experienced both as we laughed, cried and played as new found companions…I know I did.

Any stories/experiences of companionship coming out of an unexpected context?  Could those needing companionship be the ones closest to us (neighbors, acquaintances, barista’s in your local coffee shop)?

 

My Role as a Kingdom Advocate in the Middle East

Milad is my friend and a modern day hero.  He loves Jesus, his family and kids who are broken and in need of healing.   He works two jobs to support a non-profit he and his wife run, which promotes peacemaking and reconciliation among the youth in the West Bank.  Milad’s family is from Jerusalem, but because of their genes, they were forced to move from their home and into Bethany in the West Bank (Palestine) where the average wage is $1/hour.

I stood with Milad while overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, and often speaking with tears streaming down his cheeks, he shared his story (some are paraphrased):

  • “I don’t want to change your mind, I am only one man. I just want you to hear our story.”
  • “I am a Christian, I love Jesus, but I am treated like a terrorist.”
  • “You can’t oppress a whole nation over the terrorist acts of a few.”
  • “The Berlin Wall was 3 meters high, this wall is 8 meters. Our oppression only builds hatred and terror.”
  • “I will never leave, but I don’t see how there will ever be peace.”
  • “Don’t feel sorry for me. With my wife and child, I am very happy.”

Just days before this conversation, I sat in a street side café in Jerusalem with a friend who moved from California to Israel to study to be a rabbi.  I was inspired by his story of devotion and conviction as he has given up everything to pursue a faith and way of life that he believes to be God’s call on his life.  We laughed, drank good coffee and shared a hug as we departed.

After these two conversations I found myself thinking, “so these two people are enemies?  This is the Israel vs. Palestine conflict I have heard so much about?

These two interactions describe well the tension and fractured state of the Middle East.  On each side there are beautiful people who share similar hopes and convictions as many of us from the West, yet their failure to communicate has brought about fatal ends.

There are brilliant pictures and experiences of God’s Kingdom breaking through a long history of violence and hatred, but the relationship is still terribly fractured. The pieces are all there, but they are groaning to be rightly put back together.  And while we know that they won’t be completely reassembled until God’s final restoration, there is hope in the here and now.  The steps are tangible and progress is a present reality.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is the key to peace among Middle Eastern nations. For the roughly 50 Arab nations, Israel represents the colonialism of the West and Palestine the oppressed natives.   As long as Palestinians are reduced to second-class citizens behind the Separation Wall, the Arab nations will view the West as their enemy.  Similarly, as long as Israel experiences the random acts of violence from Palestinians, the West will view the Arabs as their enemy.  While this is WAY oversimplified, it is clear that we are ALL watching these two people groups struggle to find common ground.  This tension is the heartbeat of future international relations between the West and the Middle East.

There is great hope. Leading Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Middle East have agreed to explore and begin to employ the Just Peacemaking Theory in Israel and Palestine.  It is unprecedented for all three religions to agree upon the doctrine of a single theory.  Just peacemaking is a middle ground between modern pacifism and modern just war theory and was developed by 23 scholars under the leadership of one of my professors at Fuller Theological Seminary, Glen Stassen. Rooted in example of Jesus, the theory offers tangible steps towards dialog and common action.

I feel called to tell this story, tell it well and be an active participant in informing others of the tensions and potential healing.  Having been able to study in Israel/Palestine last summer and have everyday interactions with God’s children on both sides of the conflict, I desire to go back as an advocate for God’s Kingdom. Living as a missionary everyday, I see this as an extension of what God has already called me into…this just happens to be in a region half way across the globe.

Glen Stassen, along with other leading Christian/Jewish/Muslim peacemakers, are leading a Just Peacemaking mission this summer in Israel/Palestine.  Focused on learning both the Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, it will involve everything from lectures to dialog with high-ranking Israeli officials to a visit to the PLO headquarters in the West Bank to everyday interactions with both Israeli’s and Palestinians.  Not only will I receive credit towards my current master’s degree program, I will be part of the team that has the potential to bridge the vast divide of discourse between Israel and Palestine.

While this does fall within my current seminary study, I need financial partners that believe in this mission and believe in me as a future voice in this tension. If I am able to go, I plan to offer on the ground reports of our time in Israel/Palestine and create a platform for dialog.  If you or someone you know (individuals, churches, publications etc…) would be interested in partnering with me in this mission, please click HERE. Also, if you are aware of any grants that may be directed towards a mission like this, please let me know.

May God’s Kingdom come in the Middle East (and all the earth) as it is in heaven.  Shalom/Salaam.