You already know that I feel like dancing is an amazing metaphor for the Christian journey. I absolutely love the thought of moving in response to Christ, not like a farmer whipping his donkey, but like a dancer following her leader.
So, I’ve been watching Dancing with the Stars. Each week we get a little snippet of the rehearsal room before the couple takes the floor. This is sometimes my favorite part of the show. You can see the fighting, jokes, tumbles and celebration of the couple as they make progress toward the final product with fancy dresses and bright lights. And this week it struck me. This is so much like my own personal relationship with God.
I see the clips of the rehearsal room as my personal devotional life. Just me and my partner hashing out the steps, practicing them over and over, finding ways of expressing the joy of the dance that I can relate to. Even the arguments and jokes! I have both of those things in my relationship with Jesus. It is so much the same.
And then comes the performance. I look at this as my public life with Christ - living my faith in the world and my relationship to the church. Although I don’t do what I do for the approval of judges, or the applause of the crowd, I still have to be really sensitive to the fact that people see me and they make judgments about my teacher, based on how I dance.
If we don’t spend time in the rehearsal room, performance night is terrifying! If I don’t spend time clinging to my partner, experimenting with the steps and building the trust there is no way the dance will ever become effortless or beautiful.
This is one of my favorite topics in considering the Dance of Devotion. What happens in the rehearsal room? What does Jesus want it to look like to partner with me every day? What would it be like to step onto the floor with a partner you haven’t practiced with? It really makes you think twice about “devotions”. Maybe it’s not so much about crossing something off my to-do list, and more about learning to be so in touch with my partner that we know what to do even when things get a little off-beat or out-of-step. When the partnership is good, you can recover in beautiful ways and win the hearts of those watching you dance.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The Cure for the Common Cold (heart)
Everyone in my life has been sick for the last 2-3 weeks. They say on TV, it is one of the worst cold and flu seasons in history. Being a full-time student, I have been fighting it with all my might - running unabashedly in the opposite direction of my classmates who cough and sniffle their way through classes. But last week, it finally caught up with me.
I traveled to Egypt to talk about Jesus at a school there, and by Thursday, I was unable to sleep through the night because of an inability to breathe and an incessant need to blow my nose. But something else was happening to me there that was so much more important that I pushed through and tried really hard to experience as much of it as possible in spite of the scratch in my throat.
I saw God working in the lives of the teenagers I was there to talk to. I was drawn into the reality of their lives. I listened to them sing, talk about their fears and teach me their jokes. I was moved to do all I could to help them. I was changed by their lives in a way that I didn’t expect. I started to feel empathy for them - I allowed myself to be moved by their lives to the depth of my life in a way that compelled me to action.
It seemed like the haze of an infection suddenly started to dissipate. I started to understand the value of the things I take for granted (the ability to attend school if I choose, the means to travel freely, even the air that I breathe). It seems to me that the worst state that we get ourselves into in mid-America is apathy and full-on lack of vision about what is really going on in the world. It is like our hearts are stuffy. We can’t hear, because our ears are popping...with whatever noise we can possibly create. We can’t see because our eyes are puffy and red...with the tears of self-pity and overblown fear. We can’t breathe because our lungs are full...of the hot, infected air of opinion without experience and insight.
I just want to say, anybody who’s feeling the virus...who has a nagging feeling that their American cultural blindspot may be bigger than they hope...I have found the cure. Get outta Dodge, or at least Dodge country. Go to another place on this earth and allow your life to be in contact with other lives in service. Get out of your plastic bubble and take in the deep breath. The cure for the common cold heart is to meet and serve somebody who really needs it. Africa, South America, India, Romania and many other places around this globe are desperate for what you have to give - time and love, a healthy body that is willing to be present with them no matter what the situation they are in.
We’re all longing for the cure for the common cold...do we even know that we need healing for our cold hearts?
I traveled to Egypt to talk about Jesus at a school there, and by Thursday, I was unable to sleep through the night because of an inability to breathe and an incessant need to blow my nose. But something else was happening to me there that was so much more important that I pushed through and tried really hard to experience as much of it as possible in spite of the scratch in my throat.
I saw God working in the lives of the teenagers I was there to talk to. I was drawn into the reality of their lives. I listened to them sing, talk about their fears and teach me their jokes. I was moved to do all I could to help them. I was changed by their lives in a way that I didn’t expect. I started to feel empathy for them - I allowed myself to be moved by their lives to the depth of my life in a way that compelled me to action.
It seemed like the haze of an infection suddenly started to dissipate. I started to understand the value of the things I take for granted (the ability to attend school if I choose, the means to travel freely, even the air that I breathe). It seems to me that the worst state that we get ourselves into in mid-America is apathy and full-on lack of vision about what is really going on in the world. It is like our hearts are stuffy. We can’t hear, because our ears are popping...with whatever noise we can possibly create. We can’t see because our eyes are puffy and red...with the tears of self-pity and overblown fear. We can’t breathe because our lungs are full...of the hot, infected air of opinion without experience and insight.
I just want to say, anybody who’s feeling the virus...who has a nagging feeling that their American cultural blindspot may be bigger than they hope...I have found the cure. Get outta Dodge, or at least Dodge country. Go to another place on this earth and allow your life to be in contact with other lives in service. Get out of your plastic bubble and take in the deep breath. The cure for the common cold heart is to meet and serve somebody who really needs it. Africa, South America, India, Romania and many other places around this globe are desperate for what you have to give - time and love, a healthy body that is willing to be present with them no matter what the situation they are in.
We’re all longing for the cure for the common cold...do we even know that we need healing for our cold hearts?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Book Review: Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
Claiborne, Shane. The Irresistible Revolution: Living As An Ordinary Radical. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 2006.
When I picked up this book, I was excited. The concept of an irresistible revolution seemed like powerful concept in touching people for Christ. Within just the first few pages, I began to see labels such as activist and manifesto. Immediately, my walls went up because I am so distrustful of “political Christianity”, having seen so much of what I consider shallow and manipulative positioning in recent years in the United States from so-called Christian, moral movements. But within just one chapter, I realized that I had stumbled onto one of the most compelling books I have ever read - honestly. I read about the life that Shane Claiborne and his group lead. Starting out as a group of college friends in Philadelphia, they get involved with a group that serves the homeless, living in an abandoned church in the city. From that experience onward, these friends continue living among the poor, with their own wealth “redistributed”, in an abandoned building being reclaimed as their home. Even to this day, you learn on Claiborne’s website, they live in the same neighborhood as all those years ago.
From out of this story, Claiborne gleans his core beliefs and how they could revolutionize the church. Although, he talks in detail about his own experience, he does not give steps as to how to live and serve in the way that he does, but through the stories alone, he inspires the reader to want something deeper, not only in their belief of God, but also in their walk in the world as believers. The book is filled with more than a dozen core values that I found that I hope to incorporate fully into my own set of ideas and actions (my own book is covered from front to back with purple highlighter and post-it flags). They are more valuable and disarming when you discover them for yourself, but there are a couple beliefs that really appeared to me so clearly, maybe for the first time through this book that I want to share them.
First, Claiborne believes in an earthiness of Christianity- a grounding in the reality of what is actually happening in the world - coupled with hope. He has a sincere view of heaven, but believes that when we really hold that picture of heaven as valuable and real, we wouldn’t want to wait for it to begin - instead we would try to live like what we dream of and wait for.
Secondly, he embodies engagement. He states that the insulation that many Americans exist in, safe in the suburbs, is what allows them to live in complacency. This is the cure for whatever apathy a person might be feeling about the world and their role in it. I believe it would change young adults and those who serve them if they would make the commitment to interacting with their community in a truly incarnational way. Like Jesus came and lived among us, I was challenged to form friendships with others so that reaching out to meet their needs and love them as Christ loves is much more natural. This means that instead of encouraging people to write a check to a charity, the church, and each member of it, would be committed to having experiences with those in need around us.
Finally, the key of what he said is that we have to take Christ seriously in his commands on how to live. He states that digging into Scripture and viewing how Christ lived and interacted with people is the foundation of character development that grows into a lifestyle of activism - of radical love of humanity. In other words, he challenges young adults in America, don’t believe Christ...follow Christ! That is what he invited his disciples to from the beginning and we have to take seriously the fact that Jesus call for us to be disciples isn’t different now than in the first place.
It is not only the revolutionary concepts of Shane Claiborne expressed in this book that are great, it is also the vast number of intriguing personal experiences that have lead him to these thoughts. From studying in suburban Chicago with churches set up like malls, to spending a summer with Mother Theresa, his life takes you on your own journey of belief that makes you want to grow, be more real with Christ and be part of his work in the world. It is a powerful book that sends a lightning bolt right into the blind spots that you didn’t even know you had or realized how big they were. I am haunted by the implications of this book on my own lifestyle even now, and fully intend to pick it up and flip to my post-it notes every time comfort starts to dull my senses of God’s plan for my life. I encourage you to do the same.
When I picked up this book, I was excited. The concept of an irresistible revolution seemed like powerful concept in touching people for Christ. Within just the first few pages, I began to see labels such as activist and manifesto. Immediately, my walls went up because I am so distrustful of “political Christianity”, having seen so much of what I consider shallow and manipulative positioning in recent years in the United States from so-called Christian, moral movements. But within just one chapter, I realized that I had stumbled onto one of the most compelling books I have ever read - honestly. I read about the life that Shane Claiborne and his group lead. Starting out as a group of college friends in Philadelphia, they get involved with a group that serves the homeless, living in an abandoned church in the city. From that experience onward, these friends continue living among the poor, with their own wealth “redistributed”, in an abandoned building being reclaimed as their home. Even to this day, you learn on Claiborne’s website, they live in the same neighborhood as all those years ago.
From out of this story, Claiborne gleans his core beliefs and how they could revolutionize the church. Although, he talks in detail about his own experience, he does not give steps as to how to live and serve in the way that he does, but through the stories alone, he inspires the reader to want something deeper, not only in their belief of God, but also in their walk in the world as believers. The book is filled with more than a dozen core values that I found that I hope to incorporate fully into my own set of ideas and actions (my own book is covered from front to back with purple highlighter and post-it flags). They are more valuable and disarming when you discover them for yourself, but there are a couple beliefs that really appeared to me so clearly, maybe for the first time through this book that I want to share them.
First, Claiborne believes in an earthiness of Christianity- a grounding in the reality of what is actually happening in the world - coupled with hope. He has a sincere view of heaven, but believes that when we really hold that picture of heaven as valuable and real, we wouldn’t want to wait for it to begin - instead we would try to live like what we dream of and wait for.
Secondly, he embodies engagement. He states that the insulation that many Americans exist in, safe in the suburbs, is what allows them to live in complacency. This is the cure for whatever apathy a person might be feeling about the world and their role in it. I believe it would change young adults and those who serve them if they would make the commitment to interacting with their community in a truly incarnational way. Like Jesus came and lived among us, I was challenged to form friendships with others so that reaching out to meet their needs and love them as Christ loves is much more natural. This means that instead of encouraging people to write a check to a charity, the church, and each member of it, would be committed to having experiences with those in need around us.
Finally, the key of what he said is that we have to take Christ seriously in his commands on how to live. He states that digging into Scripture and viewing how Christ lived and interacted with people is the foundation of character development that grows into a lifestyle of activism - of radical love of humanity. In other words, he challenges young adults in America, don’t believe Christ...follow Christ! That is what he invited his disciples to from the beginning and we have to take seriously the fact that Jesus call for us to be disciples isn’t different now than in the first place.
It is not only the revolutionary concepts of Shane Claiborne expressed in this book that are great, it is also the vast number of intriguing personal experiences that have lead him to these thoughts. From studying in suburban Chicago with churches set up like malls, to spending a summer with Mother Theresa, his life takes you on your own journey of belief that makes you want to grow, be more real with Christ and be part of his work in the world. It is a powerful book that sends a lightning bolt right into the blind spots that you didn’t even know you had or realized how big they were. I am haunted by the implications of this book on my own lifestyle even now, and fully intend to pick it up and flip to my post-it notes every time comfort starts to dull my senses of God’s plan for my life. I encourage you to do the same.
Monday, March 24, 2008
The First Time...
I love first things... I'm one of those crazy people who creates change if it isn't happening enough around me. I do this, of course, much to the chagrin of some family and friends (although I like to tell myself they find it endearing...)
I am now embarking on a new season of firsts. I just got home yesterday from my first trip to the continent of Africa, visiting Cairo. I just gave my first week of prayer at a high school. I am graduating with my Masters in 1 month. I am looking for my first position as a pastor. I am soon to be required to make my first student loan payments. And, for the first time, I am truly scared about my future.
I know very well how it must appear that on my first blog, I talk about loving change and being terrified of it. I know I probably sound crazy, so I've been searching my soul to figure this dichotemy out. What makes the difference for me - when do I love change and when do I hate it? And I think I know the answer...at least part of it. I love to be in control of my life. I also believe change is inevitable. When I mix these two things together, I arrive at this intoxicating state of mind that requires that I change things quickly, before "life" does it for me.
But here's the other side of this thought, the side that has been causing all the soul-searching: I call myself a Christian, a follower of Jesus, someone who does what He does and lives how he lived. Where does that fit if I want to be in control and create my own destiny? I'm not sure how it does. Sometimes I wonder just how big my blindspot is for the "American Dream" culture I live in. I fear that it will infiltrate my mindset so deeply that I won't be able to allow God to really be in control of my life (like I say I want him to be).
I have been bucking authority since I was really young - my mom said I was always bossy, but not as often cooperative. And I know during high school, just like all of my friends, we looked really hard for the lines that were the furthest we could go and still be considered "good kids". But I read in a book once that obedience isn't supposed to be rote memory or a show for others to see even when in your heart, you're wishing the exact opposite of what's been asked of you. The author described obedience as dancing. I immediately had the picture of a woman knowing what way to move across the floor, just by the way her partner's hand felt on the small of her back. I knew immediately that obedience, as well as devotion, was much more about response to a connection, than knowing what to do on your own.
And so my blog is called "Dance of Devotion". I'm sure there will be so much that makes this a wonderful journey and so much that challenges it too. But today, maybe for the first time, I really want to dance.
I am now embarking on a new season of firsts. I just got home yesterday from my first trip to the continent of Africa, visiting Cairo. I just gave my first week of prayer at a high school. I am graduating with my Masters in 1 month. I am looking for my first position as a pastor. I am soon to be required to make my first student loan payments. And, for the first time, I am truly scared about my future.
I know very well how it must appear that on my first blog, I talk about loving change and being terrified of it. I know I probably sound crazy, so I've been searching my soul to figure this dichotemy out. What makes the difference for me - when do I love change and when do I hate it? And I think I know the answer...at least part of it. I love to be in control of my life. I also believe change is inevitable. When I mix these two things together, I arrive at this intoxicating state of mind that requires that I change things quickly, before "life" does it for me.
But here's the other side of this thought, the side that has been causing all the soul-searching: I call myself a Christian, a follower of Jesus, someone who does what He does and lives how he lived. Where does that fit if I want to be in control and create my own destiny? I'm not sure how it does. Sometimes I wonder just how big my blindspot is for the "American Dream" culture I live in. I fear that it will infiltrate my mindset so deeply that I won't be able to allow God to really be in control of my life (like I say I want him to be).
I have been bucking authority since I was really young - my mom said I was always bossy, but not as often cooperative. And I know during high school, just like all of my friends, we looked really hard for the lines that were the furthest we could go and still be considered "good kids". But I read in a book once that obedience isn't supposed to be rote memory or a show for others to see even when in your heart, you're wishing the exact opposite of what's been asked of you. The author described obedience as dancing. I immediately had the picture of a woman knowing what way to move across the floor, just by the way her partner's hand felt on the small of her back. I knew immediately that obedience, as well as devotion, was much more about response to a connection, than knowing what to do on your own.
And so my blog is called "Dance of Devotion". I'm sure there will be so much that makes this a wonderful journey and so much that challenges it too. But today, maybe for the first time, I really want to dance.
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