I love my sons with my all, and I could easily spend a serious chunk of time creating a list of the many things I love about them!  Recently my wife and I were talking about how awesome it is to learn from and with your children, and as an adult, I find myself re-experiencing media from my youth in a new and richer way.

This really started when our boys first found their love for Dr. Seuss.  (Don’t get me started on the Seuss and what I believe to be the great wisdom and challenge embedded in his work!)  However, we are now on a HUGE Star Wars kick at our house.  The Myers boys are all about it, and by that, I’m not just talking about the great fun and excitement that comes from watching the movies and playing with the figures.  No, they are deeply passionate about understanding everything they possibly can about the story.  They want to know everything there is to know about Star Wars!

“Try not.  Do or do not, there is no try.”  –  Yoda in Empire Strikes Back

In this ongoing reunion with the story of the Force and the Dark Side, I find myself experiencing the teachings of Yoda with new ears.  I am well equipped in the area of thinking and speaking, and often times these two things colloborate with the intention of leading to right, Godly action.  However, I frequently find myself frozen in this quest for “trying” instead of “doing.” 

The disciplines of meditation, prayer, and study are important in developing a complete inner life with God that can aid in His transformative works in our lives, no doubt.  With that, I also believe that throughout the Bible we see clearly God’s desire for us to live relationally within the context of healthy community.  However, some of us have gotten sidetracked with the busyness of thinking and talking “Christian” instead of being a follower of Christ with our whole life!  Talk is cheap at times with my sons because what they’re really interested in is follow-through.  They’re expecting action!

What is one thing you have been thinking and/or talking about doing in your pursuit of Jesus that needs to transition into doing?

For some, doing may not so much be the challenge but rather simply being and abiding in Christ daily is the seemingly insurmountable obstacle .

Either way, by the power of the Holy Spirit, may you breathe in the gift of life in Christ and be what you were created to be!

“Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived.”  –  Shane Claiborne in Irresistable Revolution

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.” — 1 Thessalonians 3:12

This past week I was afforded an opportunity to experience quite an adventure in the great city of Chicago.  A team of 46 from our church community here in Tulsa spent spring break serving through a partnership with the great folks at Center for Student Missions (CSM) in Chicago (http://www.csm.org/chicago.php.).

Part of CSM’s model for short-term missions is sending teams out on an “urban immersion” during their trip.  My group of students had the privilege of going into the Lakeview/North Halstead community with the following scenario: experience the area as if you were a runaway youth.  While doing this, we were also given the task of getting to know as many people there as possible through conversation and asking a variety of questions. (What is like to live in the neighborhood?  What do you like and dislike?  How does the city attempt to help people?  The Church?  Etc.)

One thing I have yet to mention about this community is that it is also know as “Boystown” and is recognized as the first official gay village in the United States.

Before we disembarked one of the famous “L” trains for Lakeview, we talked amongst ourselves about what it would be like to be a runaway youth in our community, South Tulsa.  Initially my students talked about how much easier it would likely be to find assistance in Tulsa versus Chicago, but once we began meeting some of the fine folks in the “Boystown” area, they quickly began to sing a different tune.  What we discovered was a community of people that take great pride in caring for their neighborhood.  They were incredibly kind and eager to help.  The streets, shops, restaurants, etc. were immaculate and quite inviting.  At one point, my students commented that they would rather struggle through the challenges of being a runaway youth in Lakeview Chicago as opposed to the church-saturated community of South Tulsa.  OUCH!

The sad truth is that many well-intended Christians see the homosexual community as a disease to be avoided at all costs or something to fear on the same level as an impoverished neighborhood consumed by violent street gangs.  I am not speaking here on what the Bible says about homosexuality.  What I am speaking on is what the Bible has to say about how we are to love and treat people, regardless of how they live their lives.  Something is horribly wrong with the Church when the world at times is doing a better job of loving people than the body of Christ!

So what is your Lakeview?

Maybe you already do a good job of loving homosexual people.  However, if you’re like me, there is someone or some group that is incredibly difficult for you to love.  The answer here does not lie solely in trying harder but rather being willing and open to opportunities when they arise and seeking God’s love and peace, not just to benefit ourselves but ultimately to give away to those in need!

“Love is not just a word.  It is a measurable expression of one’s unconditional behaviors towards another.” – Andrew Marin (http://www.themarinfoundation.org/index001.htm)

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:36-40

Isn’t it interesting how we ourselves at times are our greatest obstacles to living the life God created us to live?  This can get particularly tricky when we talk about the Almighty’s desire for us to be instruments of his mercy and justice.  The last thing some of us need is a greater focus on ourselves as some already possess honorary doctorate degrees in self-centeredness.  However, there is a need for asking the Lord to help us in tending to our own junk in order to allow Him some solid space to work in and through our lives.

One of the great manifestations of this obstacle of self is that of self-pity.  I am fascinated by Jesus again and again, and his way of wording these important laws in Matthew 22 is no exception.  He did not say that we are to love our neighbors more or less than ourselves but rather love them AS ourselves.  Some folks struggle time and time again to love and serve others in a healthy way because they are so incredibly consumed by self-pity and with that, at times, self-punishment.

“The great and spirited novelist D. H. Lawrence once said, ‘I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.  A small bird will drop dead frozen from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.’  That’s because wild things live lives of pure action.  Today, the more I live like a ‘wild thing,’ taking action instead of meditating on my sad condition, the faster self-pity drops away.  Chronic sadness seems to become more a thing of the past. . . It took me years of looking back to see that self-pity had become an addiction of the worst kind in my life, a very nasty habit.  It acts on the system much like heroin.  It hooks you into feeling numb to life.  It makes creative action impossible.” – Steve Chandler in ReInventing Yourself

Self-pity can indeed become a bizarre and powerful addiction, and from that, one heck of a block to us doing our part in ushering in God’s kingdom here on Earth.  I of all people know how easy it is to get stuck in one’s head and over-think things in the name of meditation, education, and/or rational analysis.  (To top that off, I’m a licensed professional counselor, ha!)

So how about you?  What in your life is keeping you from living the life of intentional action that our Lord desires for you?  Is self-pity your drug of choice or is something else?

What would it look like for you to be freed from the pressure of others’ expectations and/or your own fears?

Be free and live wild!

“One year into my position as president of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), I am more convinced than ever of this biblical principle: doing big things for a big God is merely the accumulation of little things done for people.  I have seen firsthand the big things we are doing in partnership with the Hindustani Covenant Church among sex-trade workers in India. But it comes down to people who are willing to babysit the children of prostitutes while their mothers work in new alternate employment. . .  I have seen firsthand the great relief it is to families to know their adult handicapped children or siblings are in a caring, professional setting in our network of group homes known as Covenant Enabling Residences. But know it comes down in certain cases to staff members who change adult diapers for those who cannot care for themselves.” – Gary Walter, President of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC)

I don’t know about you, but I certainly have the great ability to overcomplicate things at times and, as a result, miss the point in certain areas of life.  Following Christ and living as His body through the Church is no exception.  Words such as compassion, mercy, justice, and missions have a sweet ring to them, but is it possible that we are thinking and talking about them more than actually living in them daily?

Before I go any further, I need to give a brief disclaimer: I am not a church pimp for the ECC!  It is also not my desire to make an attempt to get as many folks as possible to jump on over to the Covenant.  However, I am grateful to be a part of what God is doing through this body of believers.

Having said that, I invite you to read the words of Gary Walter cited above once more and then really pray and meditate on them.  Don’t get me wrong, I believe that God calls His people at times to do some pretty wild stuff on some pretty large scales.  However, is it possible that we have made the call to live missionally more romantic and grandiose than it really is at times?

Maybe God will call you to something HUGE in the future, but in the mean time, what are some “little things” that could be done today for people in your world in the name of Jesus Christ?  Once again, isn’t it funny how the paradox of God’s kingdom works in that often times the things we deem as small and insignificant are the very things that Christ uses to do big work in people’s lives?

“In the same way the Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs.  If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time.”  –  C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

At the end of last week, eight American missionaries were released from Haiti after having been detained on kidnapping charges for nearly three weeks.

In case you haven’t heard the story, a group of Christian missionaries traveled to Haiti after the January 12th earthquake devestated the area, with the mission of rescuing Haitian children by exporting them to the neighboring country of the Dominican Republic where their plan was to establish an orphanage for children of the earthquake. When these missionaries attempted to export 33 children without going through the proper channels, the local Haitian government arrested the group on charges of kidnapping.

Now, much can be debated as to the effectiveness of the Haitian nation and it’s government; their policies, economic conditions and solvency, standards, integrity and methods. Instead, what I’d like to consider are the actions of the missionaries. First, however, I would like to make one thing clear; I am not passing judgment on any individuals or the motives of this collective missionary group. I assume their intentions were sincere and genuine. Who wouldn’t want to help lost and frightened children?

My questions center around the methods employed by this group. Maybe they will eventually share their insights in retrospect of their actions. For now I can’t help but ask, were they right in what they were trying to do? Were they right in how they tried to do it? Did they intend to march into a foreign country, disobey all laws and establish their own rules in the name of Jesus? Does Jesus give us that authority? What does the non-Christian world see in the actions of this group? Should that even have been a consideration? Should the local government of the poorest nation in the western hemisphere trump Jesus? Was Jesus truly represented in the actions of these missionaries? What guidance can we find in Scripture about the intentions vs. the actions of this likely well-meaning group? Is it possible that religious arrogance got in the way of compassion? Have you ever struggled with finding balance in doing what you feel God calling you to do when it meant potentially crossing other established boundaries? I’ll say this, and then I’d like your opinion. One thing I know for sure is that it’s easy to take a side either way and determine right from wrong from our reclining chair. If I think in terms of my experience as a father, I know I would do just about anything to preserve the safety and dignity of my children. Is that God-given authority or is it something else? Is that how God feels about us? I know the Bible has account after account of God allowing humankind to suffer the consequences of our own mistakes (sometimes assimilated with the wrath of God). Consequences are real. What does any of this mean?

I know, I know, too many questions, but isn’t that where we often find ourselves… right in the middle of too many questions without enough answers? Okay, for the sake of simplification, I’ll whittle it all down to this one question:  As Christians, what are our rules of engagement as we fight for justice in a diverse world so sharply divided by competing rules, laws, ethics and morals? Your turn… ready, go.

Martin Luther King Day is one of my favorite holidays.  My family has a long standing tradition of gathering early in the morning, lighting candles, and walking through the neighborhood singing “We Shall Overcome”, and then we make an effort to work as a family to do our little part to eradicate various injustices.

Part of that statement is true.  It is one of my favorite holidays.  You probably wouldn’t know that, however,  unless you asked me about it- because I like most families, just try to enjoy an extra day off.  It is important, though, because it keeps the story of the value of people in front of me.  This day keeps the story alive, of the struggle of people who see themselves as being made in God’s image- and the people who see them as less than that- and will do whatever it takes to repress that vision.

My family had the opportunity to go to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis last year on our way to Florida, and the experience was powerful for me to say the least.  After an hour or two of reading of the struggle, watching video clips, and sitting in the bus where Rosa Park’s said “I am tired.” and refused to move; I found myself standing next to the place where King lost his life on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.  I stood looking through a plexiglass window at King’s room to my right and straight ahead was the balcony.  The building across the street from which the shots came was in my line of sight as well.  Something caught my eye when looking down at the balcony deck- there was a square in the concrete which had been cut out and new concrete poured in it.  The square was approximately 18 inches long and wide, to my recollection.   Not sure where I got the information, if it was someone there, or a sign through our self guided tour, but I became aware that the square was the clean up work by the owner of the motel.  This square of concrete was where MLK’s blood was, and it was stained, and not able to be cleaned.  So, the owner, cut the blood stained concrete out, and poured new cement in its place.

This kind of clean up happens every day where there is violent crime, and also where there are tragic accidents.  The clean up helps the rest of us not think about, or even know about, what happened at that spot in the past.  This is helpful for our communities.  In this case, though, it reminded me that with this murder- the life cut short led a struggle affirming God’s image in all men.  His was an imperfect life, full of contradictions, and yet not afraid to speak of justice and the peaceful way of Jesus.  People joining in grabbed hold of their identity as image bearers and had the revelation that jail time, pain, or even death could not stop them from taking that identity on to themselves as individuals.  There was unspeakable freedom in understanding this, and true community as African Americans and any other people who had experienced a generational repression started to own their place in America with diginty.  There was a consistency starting to happen between people’s inner lives and how they hoped to express themselves in the outside world.  Even more importantly for all of us- there was a collective assumption of identity that created a wave of change and courage, and for that matter- conflict.

And, while MLK the man is not by any means solely responsible for Civil Rights progress; he was a life that was a part of creating hope and helping people live with courage.  He helped people believe that they had value.  He challenged people who worked so hard to preserve their own power and deny worth in others.  So while this man was a larger than life character, his blood got cleaned up and the square on the balcony spoke to the enormity of this life, and the value of every man.  I stared at the square and started to cry.  My children got uncomfortable as Dad was all emotional and weird.  I couldn’t stop, as I was broken- so sad that this life of great value created such a story, was cut down so quickly, and the evidence of his murder got removed by a concrete cutter.

As I walked away from the museum, and drove with my family for our vacation to Florida, I was struck with the knowledge of the value of every person.  Every person as being made in God’s image is made to be a creator and contributor, and some take this idea to heart and live it out in ways that make the world a better place.  They live it out in ways that personify the prayer of Jesus when he prayed “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  I was also stuck with how true power that creates sustainable change comes from the bottom up, from stables outside of Bethlehem, from streets in Selma, where people live every day.  When people choose to believe that they have a unique role to play in this big story- things change for the better.  God help those who fight to deny this identity in people, and God help us when we are asleep to this identity and choose to orient ourselves toward consumption.

The balcony square can remind us that:  every life has value, every life ends on earth, while our lives may intersect with tragedy- we can leave an impact that can go on for generations.  truth lives.

What unique role will you, will I, have in helping the world become a better place?

I hope to continue developing these ideas.

Chris King