Looking Back One Year...

Lately, I have been reminiscing about the past few years. Maybe it has to do with my finishing up my Master's at Fuller, maybe it has to do with friends moving away, or maybe it has to do with me entering a new stage of life where school will never be a part of it again. Definitely, some of the reminiscing has been due to the anniversary of my jailing and deportation from the UK. If you're not familiar with that story, click here. The one year anniversary of that crazy and unbelievable experience was just a few weeks ago. It feel almost like a lifetime ago and at the same time, it almost feel like it was just a dream. I've had over a year now to process through this and try to understand what happened that day. Much of it I will probably never fully understand, but there are some things that have come out of it that I feel are invaluable times, experiences and relationships.

One very important thing I think about in relation to this experience is that I have been called by my God to live my life as a bridge between two cultures - Westerners and Muslims. How this connects is that many non-white, non-American, non-Western people experience a great deal of undeserved hardships when travelling abroad. In no way do I compare my experience in London with that of many people, but it is a rather unique experience for a white, U.S. passport holder to be jailed and deported (especially from a country like the UK). I hope that having experienced this will aid my work in bringing about transformation, learning and growth both for Muslims and for Westerners.

Secondly, in returning to LA after my day and a half in London, I decided to return to Fuller and take a full load of classes. One of the classes I took was called Spiritual Formation in College and Young Adult Settings. One of the reasons I took this class at this time was I knew it would open up a lot of time for discernment and seeking after the Lord for understanding. I thought that it would provide clarity for going through the experience in London, but instead it opened up my heart for some significant and needed healing over the loss of my mom years before. If you want, you can read the following three articles for more information on her passing (One, Two, and Three). I look back now and see how important and valuable this time was for me personally. Would I have had this if I had been in London? Also, I was able to write my final paper on something that did provide some aid in my processing through the experience in London. I did my research and wrote on the use of spiritual practices in times of trauma, which was very helpful in the end.

Finally, one relationship started out of this time that never would have started if I had of been in London for the expected two months. For those that know me will know that I am speaking of the relationship with my girlfriend, Amal. When I returned from my short stay in London, I moved back into the house I was living in in LA. Amal was living there at the time. Shortly after returning, Amal and I started hanging out more and more and getting to know each other. A few months later, we decided to start dating. Now, we are coming up quickly on being together a year. This (as anyone in love knows) has been the most amazing thing ever! - Excuse my mushy, ultra-sentimental talk here please ;) - I am truly blessed to be together with Amal and look forward to continuing travelling through life with her. 

Through all of this, I still have no idea why the immigration officer in London lied and actively worked to get me deported, but I echo Joseph in saying:

"Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good" (Genesis 50:20, NRSV).

p.s. here are a couple of pics of Amal and I from our June trip to Portland and my graduation from Fuller.

Book Reflection – Missions and Money

This book, written by Jonathan Bonk, offers a great perspective on the challenges related to money that come with missionaries from the West going to non-western contexts. I really appreciate Bonk’s perspective coming from a Mennonite background where there is a strong value on simplicity of life. When reading this book, I was reminded of a book I previously read called Cry of the Urban Poor by Viv Grigg. He is writing on the values of the organizations he started when he describes the value of inner simplicity. He writes:

Renouncing possessions is an outworking of an inner simplifying of our lives which leads to the openness, gentleness, spontaneity, and serenity that marked the Master. In renouncing possessions we seek to simplify our external lives in order to simplify more clearly our inner lives and focus on knowing our Lord.
Along with outward poverty, we desire an inner humility; along with servant works, we seek the spirit of a true servant. In caring little for this world where we are strangers and pilgrims, we set our hearts on that spiritual home where our treasure is being saved up, and on that glory which we shall share with our Lord, provided we suffer with him.
We encourage middle-class Christians to such simplicity of lifestyle. For some it means earning less, and using their time for the kingdom. For others it means to earn much, consume little, hoard nothing, give generously, and celebrate living. Such lifestyles are indefinitely varied. We refuse to judge others in such areas (Grigg 117).

To read my reflection on this book, look here and here.

Early on in the book, Bonk writes about the word “need.” In our society, this word has really lost its definition. What we “need” ends up usually being what we “want.” Bonk describes that even western missionaries in non-western contexts do this. He speaks about the “need” for the latest technology in the mission field to better the work or research (27-29). I think this is very connected to our instant gratification society where we see something we want and just get it. Often if it is not obtained right away, we are unhappy. I am convicted even as I write this, because I’m writing this on my laptop, I have an ipod, a digital camera, plenty of clothes, etc. At the same time, I usually try to only purchase what is necessary and I wait to try to prevent impulse purchasing.

Another word that Bonk mentions is “progress.” He writes of historical missionary movements among the non-west were considered an exercise to take the “uncivilized” and make them “civilized.” This process of civilization was very connected to the notion of social and economic progress (20-22). The end goal was affluence for these uncivilized people; i.e. if these people were able to progress and becoming affluent, their problems would be solved. The problem is that this surfaces in different ways even today. It is not some distant problem from eras ago. What is seen now is western missionaries coming into a poor area and assuming that they really know what these people need and since they aren’t receiving it now, we must provide it for them or teach them that they need it and must get it themselves. For centuries and millennia many societies worked very well without our influence, so why do we assume that these people really need our suggestions and help.

An important section of the book includes the theological and ethical backing to this claim of western affluence being detrimental to non-western missions. Bonk asks, “How can the economically secure and lavishly materially accoutered missionary teach the poor – with any degree of credibility – about simplicity, generosity, contentment, or the costly sacrifice entailed in all genuine discipleship?” (79). Later, Bonk asks if the sin of greed is less deadly for missionaries than it is for the people they are ministering to? Of course not. Bonk describes greed as “the desire for more than enough in a social context in which some have less than enough” (80). With this being said, can any of us in North American say we are not greedy? Our consumerist and materialistic culture pushes us to buy and buy more, but we need to fight this urge and live a simpler life where we are more giving and compassionate to our neighbors in need.

I will end this reflection with the following quote that gives great insight to this problem. Bonk shares of how the Incarnation of our Lord speaks to this issue, He writes,

At the very least, the Incarnation means giving up the power, privilege, and social position which are our natural due. Christ’s mission in Christ’s way must always begin, proceed, and end with the great renunciation. And this sacrifice is made not merely with reference to “what could have been” back home, but by the standards of the people among whom the missionary is called to incarnate the gospel. This does not leave much room for the power-generating, status-inflating, career-building, self-protecting affluence to which emissaries of the Western churches have become accustomed (117).

…ahhhh… last reflection for Fuller… J

Pretty Much Sums it up...

I really appreciate this graph from The Atlantic. I saw this today and thought it connects well with a previous posting I wrote a few weeks back.

Link

I was forwarded this article on the mass murders in Mexico of immigrants. Please read this. What a terrible position these people are in - losing their lives just to attempt to provide the funds to help their families.

Book Reflection – God of the Oppressed

James Cone, professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary, is the author of this deeply important book on the need for a stronger voice from the oppressed in theological discussion. I really appreciate this book and the intent behind it. Dr. Cone is a prolific speaker and author on the topic of black theology. Black theology is a subgroup of theological discussion that is led by voices in the African-American community. The majority of theological discussion and decisions have been made primarily by white males. Cone calls for a stronger voice to add their own perspectives as a minority (and often oppressed by the majority) to the discussion. If you have heard of other types of theology (liberation theology, feminist theology and womanist theology to name a few), often these are spoken about in negative terms in most majority-white churches. I think this is unfair and awfully typical that the majority wants to maintain control of the discussion. It is ignorant to assume that one subgroup will have the “complete” understanding and other perspectives are unnecessary to understand. Why would we assume that only white males hear from God and can really understand how God works?

The premise behind this book is that Cone argues that perspectives and experiences from his African-American heritage is just as great an influence on his theology as the Bible is. He states, “I am black first – and everything else comes after that. This means I read the Bible through the lens of a black tradition of struggle” (xi). Some might read this and alarms will go off in their head. Evangelicals love to put the Bible up on this giant pedestal (often higher than God – especially the Spirit of God). But, if we were honest (or aware) we look at everything through the lens of our culture and experiences. This includes the Bible. For many white Americans, our story is not full of deep struggle and fight against oppressors. This is not the case for Latin-American liberation theologists, feminists, womanists (Black feminists), Black liberation theologists, etc. Their lives have been all about struggle, which aids their reading of the Bible and connecting to the real aspects Jesus spoke of that most white Americans cannot relate to.

Cone writes the following to describe this lens the Bible is written through in the following:

The scandal is that the gospel means liberation, that this liberation comes to the poor, and that it gives them the strength and courage to break the conditions of servitude. This is what the Incarnation means. God in Christ comes to the weak and the helpless, and becomes one with them, taking their condition of oppression as his own and thus transforming their slave-existence into a liberated existence (71).

Later, Cone notes that his critics point to their focus on the stories of Moses and the Israelites being freed from bondage and slavery at the hands of the Egyptians, and have less of a focus on the patriarchs of David and Solomon. His answer to this for Black Liberation theology is:

The hermeneutical principle for an exegesis of the Scriptures is the revelation of God in Christ as the Liberator of the oppressed from social oppression and to political struggle, wherein the poor recognize that their fight against poverty and injustice is not only consistent with the gospel but is the gospel of Jesus Christ (75).

Finally, Cone addresses the issue of racial reconciliation. This is a huge topic and one that is drastically needed in our country. As I have mentioned in an earlier post, there are incredible divisions between people of other backgrounds and races in this country. Seeking reconciliation by all parties is necessary for true and lasting healing to happen. Cone notes that often people assume that showing love to other races is enough to be considered reconciliation. He continues:

While divine reconciliation, for oppressed blacks, is connected with the joy of liberation from the controlling power of white people…Everything that white oppressors hold dear is now placed under the judgment of Jesus’ cross. This is a difficult pill for the white theologians and church people to swallow, because they have so much invested in the status quo (217).

Instead, Cone notes that reconciliation is not waiting for white people to act, but is:

That vision of God’s presence in our lives that lets us know that the world will be changes only through our blood, sweat, and tears. It is that feeling of togetherness with our brothers and sisters in struggle, knowing that “we shall overcome” “in that great gettin’ up mornin’” (224).

Cone concludes, stating that “Our task is to interpret their struggle in the light of God’s presence with them liberating and thus reconciling the oppressed to themselves and to God” (225). There is great room for us (white people) to promote this liberating force. Racist structures, laws and attitudes must be recognized and broken down. It will not be enough to gather together as different racial groups and just sing “We shall overcome.” It will not be enough until significant actions are taken against both the blatantly racist and hidden racist issues/attitudes are addressed and removed. Additionally, this is not just a black-white issue, but is one between all races (i.e. often white people are involved). Whatever our context, there is a need for reconciliation. Let us be the ones to push for it and model actions of reconciliation.

Two Images

The above picture is from my apartment building. Let's just say what when I enter this hallway, I have this sense of uncomfortableness that's a combination of claustrophobia, suffocation and uneasiness. As you can imagine from these descriptors, it's not super comfortable. For the first few weeks, I walked down this hallway and expected there to be a mirror in the middle, because it seemed unusually long and too narrow and short. I'm getting used to it finally...

Now this picture, on the other hand, gives me a completely different feeling...when I see this I am left with a feeling of deep joy and warmness in my heart. This is the chocolate ganache torte from Franklin Street Bakery. And yes, it is absolutely wonderful!

Book Reflection – Organic Church: Growing Faith where Life Happens

This book, written by Neil Cole, is one focused on a model of church planting using the areas where people congregate as areas where churches can be started. First off, I am not especially interested in church planting in general. I see my future interests involving partnership with local churches in the area I am living/working, but I’m not interested in a vocation as a church planter. I feel called to be in an area that also might not really even have a local church. I do see some benefit to what Cole argues. I am reading this book at the suggestion of my practicum supervisor, who is involved in a church planting movement in the Twin Cities. He has noted that this book has been extremely helpful in starting their movement of churches.

I agree with the presupposition that the author poses. He argues that the way church is done in the U.S. is only losing the battle for the lives of people around us. He calls for a re-entry to a more organic movement where “church” is not limited to a building, time or service, but is done in a way where the body of believers enters the areas where the people are and seek them out. The model is to go into these areas instead of calling them to come to where we are at. I agree strongly with this model. This directly connects with incarnational ministry where we go into the areas where people are at and are living in need and we live with them, struggle through similar things and offer hope and a different life to those around us. This is the model Jesus presented as is one that is so much more natural to live with and love those in need.

Cole calls this an “organic church movement,” while at the same time avoiding calling it a “house church movement.” I feel that this is just a semantic battle that he is having with no one in particular. He notes that the reason he doesn’t call it a house church movement is because it is in more than just houses (but seems to be primarily in houses) and that there are many things he feels is connected to house churches that he doesn’t think epitomizes his movement (23). Instead, he calls them “organic churches.” He fails to address that while this is a term used in a new way here to reference churches, there are also lots of attached connotations that change its meaning depending on who is listening. Growing up in the Northwest, organic has a strongly positive connotation to most of us, but in other places there is quite the opposite thought connected to it. Either way, there is a lot attached to this work also. It is naive to assume that just changing a word will take away all negative (or positive) understandings.

I appreciate one section where Cole notes the description he heard in seminary of what “the church” is supposed to look like. Five items are mentions, including:

1. A group of believers gathered together regularly…
2. That considers itself a church…
3. That had qualified elders present…
4. That regularly practices the ordinances of baptism and communion as well as church discipline…
5. That has an agreed-on set of doctrinal beliefs (49-50).

So, what is missing?...

Jesus, of course! Cole mentions that this is one of the largest factors in the problem of the American church. The presence of God, through his Spirit, and a focus on the person and life of Christ is often missing. Instead, the American church is focused on a great show where good music, slick production and an easy three-point sermon on how to live better is presented to people sitting and never interacting. This is a problem! This is not how it should be! Shockingly, Cole notes a Korean pastor coming to the U.S. to connect with a few churches and he remarks, “It’s amazing what you people can do without the Holy Spirit” (50). This is terrible, but I agree that this is a correct observation in much of traditional American Christianity.

Finally, there was a very important point that Cole makes in regards to relationships. Often the church focuses on outreaches to people “over there” or in a distant land. Youth groups will spend a week in Mexico helping build houses or put on a Vacation Bible School program. Thousands of dollars are raised to send a group over somewhere else. Instead, what really is needed is to reach out to the people directly around us. Instead of sending our youth to a far away place, we have significant need in our own communities and cities locally. This should be the priority instead of a far away place and people. As Cole states, “God has uniquely placed us all in relationships for the purpose of bring Christ closer to people” (160). I think that reaching out to people around us is so much harder than going to another place to be bold with strangers. I guess this is probably because we won’t see those people again, but we will definitely see those we interact with on a regular basis, whether they are our neighbors, co-workers, friends or family. It is important to recognize the relational nature God has given us and the situations we have been placed in. This should be our focus as we seek to follow the Spirit of God and share of what Christ has done to transform our lives.

Thoughts on Immigrant/Refugee Communities

Lately, I have been volunteering at a local library with the Adult Learning Center here in my neighborhood in Minneapolis. I have greatly enjoyed being able to help people seeking to improve their lives through language learning, GED preparation and citizenship exam preparation. Since this neighborhood is comprised of a large number of Somali, Hmong and other non-English speaking people, much of my time is spent in working on their abilities to read, speak, grammar and vocabulary all in English. As I have been working with these people, I am always curious of their personal stories of coming to this place. Many of these people have left their countries alone and with almost nothing. Often, the reason they have left their countries is because of unsafe conditions through civil wars, political conditions and inhumane economic conditions.

I met one young man who left Somalia four years ago because of the civil war. He first arrived in Fargo, North Dakota in late October. He had never touched snow, but had only seen it in movies. He had no idea it was even cold or wet. If you know what winters in North Dakota are like, you understand that this young man was going to be about as surprised as possible once winter came. He told me of one other young Somali man he lived with in Fargo who broke his arm falling on ice as he was chasing after a bus to take him home. This is just one story of the countless accounts of immigrants and refugees who have come to the U.S. to better their lives (or even survive past 30 - the median age in Somalia is 17.6 years old as compared to the 36.8 median in the U.S.)

Instead of offering compassion and help, many of the people in this country will, at best, turn away from these people, and at worst claim they are all criminals and demonize them. I have seen the people of this country debate such things like having closed borders to "prevent" terrorism, rounding up all undocumented immigrants in this country to send them back to their country of origin, police that feel it is their responsibility to end immigration and even guarding the border with Mexico and killing anything they see. I just don't understand this attack and real hatred. Unfortunately, the human condition is flawed and we are taught to hate "the other" out of fear and mistrust.

When are we going to move beyond this as a country? We can we actually come to see the beauty and love in these people who are different than us, but certainly are deserving of our hatred?

In every community we might find ourselves in in this country, there are people in need around us - people who are different and cause anxiety within us. Reach out to them in love as we are all those who share this world.

Bike Ride of the Day

(and Minneapolis Exploration)

Earlier today, I went for a three hour bike ride around South Minneapolis. There are all these really beautiful lakes and a wonderful bike path that connects them all. I was amazed at how much people love bikes here and how the city has really invested in the bike-friendly infrastructure. I have added a screen shot of the bike path around the lakes and the path that goes horizontally through the middle of the picture is this old railroad track that has been paved over and is only for bikers and people walking/running. So cool!

So, I went down south along the Mississippi (still know how to spell that word right...yes!) river and the path heads west toward a couple of lakes. It continues around west and north around a couple more lakes and finally, I headed back east toward the river and closer to where I am staying. If you are wondering where that is, it is in this neighborhood.

There was this beautiful stream going from the lakes to the river and the path followed it for a long time. I enjoyed stopping alongside it and taking pictures and enjoying the shade of the trees.

This is from the bank of one of the lakes and the picture below is of Downtown Minneapolis. It's a nice city and I've enjoyed the significantly more laid back posture of the people here as compared to LA.

Book Reflection – Costly Mission: Following Christ in the Slums

This book, written by Michael Duncan, is a story of the author and his family’s story of struggle and relationships while living in the slums of Manila, Philippines. Duncan additionally offers his reflection of ministry among the poor from his perspective. The book is full of successes and failures as they struggle with the complexities of ministry among the poor of Manila’s slums. I was caught by Duncan’s openness to share of real and deep struggles. Often when I read these books on working among the poor, I am left with an idealized picture that clearly is not realistic. I have spent enough time in this type of environment to know most of the time is less than glamorous.

I really appreciated the candidness of Duncan in one section on the failures he had experienced throughout his time living in the slums. He speaks of the need for a theology of failure (or a theological framework for working through failure). I found this interesting. Failure is something that every person experiences and everyone tries to minimize. When we experience failure, we often try to do everything we can to avoid that experience again. Duncan offers two different pictures of failure from the Bible. He notes that the Bible is full of stories of failures and by individuals and their faithfulness to continue following God. Duncan offers Paul as a man of many failures. Paul never united the Jews and Gentiles (Gal. 2:11-13), his friend and partner Barnabas split from him over an argument (Acts 15:36-41) and the church of Corinth, where Paul spent a significant portion of his time, had repeated moral failures and significant hardships.

Secondly, Duncan notes the failures of Joseph. As Joseph was in charge of the stockpiles of Pharaoh, he took the money, land, cattle and flocks from the people and gave them to Pharaoh (Gen. 47:14-21). This paved the path for his own people to be brought into slavery. These are both men who are regarded highly; and rightly so, because they continued to be faithful to the Lord and his calling. Duncan quotes Michael Riddell in how loss and failure affect the individual. He notes:

The dark days are just beginning. Before you emerge into the light again you will be stripped to the core. You will rage and scream at God. You will retreat into a cocoon of sorrow and breathe in slow motion. The colour will drain from the sky, the meaning from life. As a plough tears through hard earth, your heart will be broken up. You will make friends with pain, nursing it as the child of grief. Utter emptiness fills the earth, and the valley appears to contain nothing but the echo of your own cry. Surely God has left you. The road which seemed to be heading somewhere has become a dead end. A mocking maze with no exit.

Then, one morning in the distant future, you wake and hear a bird singing…

One other important section was in a chapter on the connection between community development, mercy and evangelism. As a person who would love to be involved in community development in the future and as one who follow Christ, I have struggled with balancing these things. Often development fringes on humanitarian activity, which can be very disconnected from spiritual elements. Often those who are involved in this type of work pour all their energy into it and have little left for sharing of how Christ has called them and met them throughout their lives. One the other hand, a large focus on evangelism leaves a gap between the Christian and the people who are struggling with deep issues and needs. Many of these things cannot be solved with mere words. The focus can be on making sure people have a better life after death, but not a better life before death.

Duncan suggests that our “mercy ministries must be developmental and our development must be merciful” (103). Duncan speaks of the difficulties of the creation of disempowered individuals through the actions of mercy ministries. Restraint, the lack of knee-jerk reactions and a focus of empowerment must guide the actions of these types of ministries. He states that we must learn “to give in a considered way so that people [can] move on from relief to a degree of self-sufficiency” (105). Duncan, in looking at their response to the need for evangelism, notes that social concern aids this process to get to evangelization. He states, “We believed that social concern takes us into the world of the non-Christian – into their issues, debates, networks, gathering places, felt needs and heart cries, and into their sin and dark corners” (110). In this place, they were able to see the things that were keeping the people from coming to Christ and worked to rectify those things. There is definite benefit for a balance to be found between these areas. My hope is that we are all able to work at seeking this balance in our lives.

Book Reflection - Welcoming Justice: God’s Movement toward Beloved Community

As you can possibly imagine from the title, this book is a reflection of the vision toward the beloved community as envisioned by Martin Luther King Jr. One way King describes it is, “The end is reconciliation, the end is redemption, the end is the creation of the beloved community” (17). The process toward the beloved community is through actions of reconciliation and redemption. As stated before, this book is a reflection on the beloved community through the eyes and experience of Charles Marsh, a professor and historian, and John Perkins, an activist, community developer and inspiration to millions of people like me. This book is a wonderful inspiration and motivation for people who are seeking greater and lasting transformation in their community and are willing to step out and take it upon themselves to make the change happen.

In a chapter titled “The Next Great Awakening,” John Perkins notes that he sees this awakening coming from a generation of youth that seek for a transformed church where instead of there being a weekly gathering to recharge the individuals personal faith, there will be a seeking of “authentic relationships in a reconciled community” (82). I agree with this assessment of the future of the church. As I was reading this, though, I thought of the news of Ann Rice rejecting the forms of church that she is aware of due to its anti-gay, anti-democrat stance. Obviously, there is a church that this is a large part of, but I see a much larger body of Christians that are seeking these authentic relationships. What is missing is the reconciled community. As Perkins notes earlier, “The world needs a church that does something to interrupt business as usual where we are” (48). There is so much division and mistrust of each other in this world. It is so much easier to remain in the safe and secure homogenous communities we form, but is this what is best for the world around us? Instead, I agree with MLK, Perkins and Marsh that what is needed (and hardest to do) is to step into the void toward people in true and desperate need and seek this reconciled community through the creation of authentic relationships.

I appreciated one of the latter sections of the book where John Perkins refers to Zechariah as a prophet that God spoke through in a very applicable way to urban situations today. Zechariah is one of the post-exilic prophets, so he is prophesying to a people that are back in the land God gave them and they are dealing with all the issues that come with a broken city and society. In chapter 8, Zechariah is prophesying over the desire of God toward the city. He states:

Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets (8:3-5).

Both the old and the young (the most prone to neglect and abandonment in times of distress) will be cared for. Laughter, wonder, the passing of wisdom and love will permeate the society from the most powerful to the lowest.

For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things (8:12).

God will provide all that is needed as the people respond in faithfulness and peace.

And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing (8:13).

“If we are faithful, God will be faithful, and we will become a blessing to the nations” (112). As we strive to become a blessing to others, we follow the path set forth by Martin Luther King’s vision of The Beloved Community.

Perception

Per-cep-tion: "The process by which an organism detects and interprets information from the external world by means of the sensory receptors."

For many of us, how we are perceived by others is very important. For some of us, it might be of extreme importance. We work hard to develop ourselves into something that we want others to see and develop their perceptions of us based on. Unfortunately, no matter what some people do, perceptions are made of them regardless. Often these are quite negative and drastically change how they are treated. As you all know, I am in Minneapolis for the next six weeks spending time finishing up my practicum for my master’s degree from Fuller. I am spending time with the InnerCHANGE team here as well as with a number of people working with Somali immigrants living in Minneapolis. There has been a lot in the news lately about Somali immigrants in Minneapolis. Regardless of whether there is any truth to any of it, the perception of Muslims living in the United States and much of Western Europe is described in the following picture.

I was walking through the neighborhood I am living in while I am here my first night and saw this written on the side of the mailbox. For a little context, the neighborhood is comprised in large by Somalis, but does have some diversity in African Americans, Native Americans and Latinos. The mailbox is on the corner of one street with a Lutheran church across the street. I imagine that this was written by someone with a perception that all Muslims are terrorists. I think this sentiment is rather strong in the United States. I have been following the news regarding the Islamic cultural center being proposed to be built two blocks from where the World Trade Center stood in New York. I have had a number of conversations with people regarding this and often the reaction is rather strong against the Islamic center. I am not surprised, though, because as much as this country loves to pride ourselves on freedom and an openness to other people, generally we are very closed to things that we have already developed negative perceptions toward.

Freedom of practicing religion and cultural expression are only allowed when it is something we agree with and it doesn’t infringe on us. Let me give a big shocker here: NOT ALL MUSLIMS ARE TERRORISTS. Most are very loving and caring people who don’t hate and judge nearly as much as we do.

Learn how to see this man…

…and this woman…

…for who they are – people just like us…

How would you like to have no control over how you are perceived? Where everything good that you do does nothing to improve your perception, but instead people call you a terrorist?

Develop a heart for the oppressed…

‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

Words of Advice from Jim Wallis

Wallis was speaking this at an interfaith prayer service shortly after the 9/11 attacks

Lighting a candle at an interfaith service is something may of us have done more times than we can remember. Speaking the language of darkness and light on religious occasions and in liturgical seasons has also become a matter of habit. But our darkness feels very real and powerful in this moment - almost impenetrable, and threatening to close in on us. And the light we need is feeling almost urgent.  

Old familiar spiritual words must take on a new reality for us now - and a new sense of mission. Words like "Let there be light!" and "The light has come into the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it."  

So tonight, we don't just light candles, we make a commitment. More than we knew before September 11, there are many dark places in the world where unspeakable violence against large numbers of innocent people is being planned. Let those places be exposed to the light of day and the violence be thwarted.  

There are many other dark places in the world, where grinding, miserable, and life-destroying poverty carries out daily violence to other innocents - out of the view of a fast-moving, affluent world. Let those hidden places and people be exposed to the light of justice. 

There are dark places within us and in our nation that might lash out from our deep woundedness, grief, and anger, carelessly inflicting more pain on innocent people. Let the light of compassion and reason prevent us from spreading our pain.  

There are dark places within and among us that might retaliate from fear and revenge against even our fellow citizens who happen to be Muslim or Arab American - many of whom tonight feel the darkness of their own fear. Let the light of tolerance and solidarity bind us together and not let us be torn apart.  

And tonight, most of us feel the darkness of our own confusion about how this happened, why this happened, and how to protect ourselves, our families, and the world. Let us be illumined by the light of understanding.  

So that we not just cling to old ways of thinking, but go deeper than we ever have before to seek new answers. So that we learn to carefully comprehend the connections between the violence of the world, while never allowing ourselves to tolerate any of it - ever again.  

And let the light of courage equip us to face the darkness that lies so thick and heavy before us. Courage to heal the darkness in ourselves. Courage to reveal the darkness in the very structure of our world. Courage to confront the darkness in the face of evil we saw on September 11. And let us remember that courage is not the absence of fear, but resistance to it.  

So now, let us light our candles as an act of commitment. That the darkness will not overcome the light.

Thoughts from Palestinian leaders, authors and intellectuals on Sept. 17, 2001

No cause, not even a just cause, can make legitimate the killing of innocent civilians, no matter how long the list of accusations and the register of grievances. Terror never paves the way to justice, but leads down a short path to hell.

I will add...neither does drone attacks killing innocent people or a war in Afghanistan that more and more soldiers continue to be sent to "win a war against terrorism." When you fight and ideal, it will never end...

Please pray for the government and the people of the United States to be a promoter of peace, both in our foreign policy and our general attitudes toward others different from us. Pray for this to be a Beloved Community!

Music video you must watch!

I saw this on a friend of mine's blog and thought it was necessary to pass along to others to watch. Do watch it!

Quarterly Post on School - 4th Edition

So, once again (and last time actually) I have started another quarter of classes full-time. This is my last quarter of classes at Fuller. I will have one class left to take over the summer and my practicum to finish. I will be writing about my practicum in a later post. So, here is a little about the three classes I am taking this quarter...

1. Job and Human Suffering

Just to ease any concerns, this is not a class teaching us how much suffering we will have to endure in trying to find a job with a seminary degree, but one about the theology of suffering as a part of the book of Job in the Hebrew Scriptures. I am very excited about this course as it is incredibly practical for my future ministry as well as for me personally. It is taught by Dr. James Butler, who I took Hebrew Prophets from last spring quarter. I really appreciate Dr. Butler and his very "grandfatherly" approach that is very caring and compassionate. I have started looking into what I will research and write about for my final paper and I definitely want to look at suffering traditions in different immigrant contexts, both from a religious perspective as well as a cultural perspective. We'll see once I get into it if this is really possible or if I need to narrow it more substantially.

2. Global Evangelical Movement

This class, taught by Dr. Jehu Hanciles, focuses on the historical movement of the Evangelical church and Evangelical missions. We look back into the 18th century to the start of the movement through Wesley, Edwards, and others and bring it to modern times. There is a large focus given to the global spread through missions and the incredible growth of Pentecostalism in Africa, Latin America and Asia. If you weren't aware, the majority of Christians in the world do not live in the U.S. or Europe, but in the three places previously mentioned. I have had particular interest in the global movement of African Initiated Churches, particularly in Europe. I will be doing some further research on this topic for my research papers.

3. Thinking Missiologically

This is our capstone course for the MA program. It really is all about integration of all our other courses we have taken at Fuller. All of our papers based on case studies or other forms of research must draw from theoretical, theological or historical concepts we have learned from our other classes. I am really appreciative of the class. I recognize the heavy amount of work we have for it, but at the same time, it will really help me to walk away from Fuller with some concrete things I learned and can apply directly into ministry. The class is taught by Dr. Doug McConnell, the Dean of the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller.

By June 12, I will be officially graduated from Fuller! I'm excited about finishing and starting on with the rest of my life and applying what I have learned into practical means in an urban community overseas!

Latest Fad to hit Portland...

Well, hopefully not...

My buddy Ryan and I love food, especially anything involving bacon. Years ago we tried (and soon fell in love with) the Bacon Maple Bar from Voodoo Donuts. This wonderful treat is really just what it says - a maple bar with Bacon on top. More recently, I was introduced to the Reggie from Pine State Biscuits, which is a biscuit sandwich involving fried chicken, gravy, and, of course, Bacon. And yesterday, if you've seen the adds, KFC released the Double Down, which is two pieces of fried chicken surrounding cheese, special sauce, and, of course, Bacon.

What's so special about these three wonderful pieces of succulent food is that if they are so great separately, wouldn't they be even more great together? Hence, our new challenge is called "The Widow Maker." This challenge involves the consuming of all three of these in the same sitting. Hmmm?!! Sounds wonderful, huh? Well, since I don't live in Portland anymore, this challenge will have to wait for a little while...maybe the summer or maybe not til Christmas time.

Incredible video! Enjoy!

Joshua Tree National Park

One day during Spring Break last week, I went with some Fuller friends (unfortunately Amal couldn't come because her school was on a different spring break...lame!) to Joshua Tree National Park. I have been wanting to go there for a very long time. It was a totally amazing place with such cool rocks to climb all up and down. A few days earlier, I went to the doctor and found out my elbow was fractured (long story, but more than a month earlier, I was hit by a car on my bike. I never went to the doctor because it started getting better on its own and I am a wait-and-see kind of person regarding injuries). I really couldn't help myself and was climbing all over the rocks. Needless to say but my elbow was hurting more by the end of the day...not too much though!

Here are a few pics from the trip...enjoy!

The famous Joshua Tree and cool rocks!

Another Joshua Tree and some more rock formations in the background

My glasses are so cool, huh?!

Some cool desert reservoir with lots of fun rocks to climb all over and up

Pics of Amal and I from San Diego

Amal and I went to San Diego a few weekends ago to spend some time out of LA. My family friends, Herb and Marcia, had a house they were staying at down there where we could stay. It was a wonderful time and such a nice break from the routine here in LA/Pasadena.

Need I remind you Northwester's that these were taken in January (yes, January!) and we were hanging out on the beach. Another reason why Southern California is amazing!

Balboa Park is quite amazing! We could have spent many more days exploring the museums and grounds. It's so beautiful!

Sunny beaches again...you wanna move yet?

Quarterly Post on School - 3rd Edition

Well, another quarter at Fuller brings a whole new group of classes, so here's the layout this quarter...

1. Jesus and the Kingdom of God

This class is the historical and theological reflection into the concept of the Kingdom of God particularly by looking at the Old Testament and the Synoptic Gospels. The message provides an important focal point for engaging in the synthetic, critical, and constructive work of biblical theology that is pivotal to day-to-day ministries of all kinds. The class is taught by Joel B. Green, who has my favorite commentary on the Gospel of Luke and is one of the leading New Testament scholars alive. I have heard this class is very challenging academically, but I have really appreciated Green and his work on the New Testament, so I am open to the challenge.

2. Theology in Global Perspective

This course looks at the theological reflections by both Western and non-Western Christian traditions. It looks at how these traditions have developed throughout history and in the modern era. We are to look at how ministry must take place in a changing and globalizing world where majority Christianity is not Western any longer, but more in the southern hemisphere. The global church is changing and those of us in missions need to understand this changing landscape. This course is a core class for my degree.

3. Teamwork and Leadership

This course explores the role of small groups and leadership in churches, parachurches, and missions. Due to the increasing pressure on Christian workers to function within the context of teams, peer leadership and followership will be studied in relation to teamwork. It will also provide a basic introduction to teamwork and leadership frameworks, with an emphasis on biblical leadership and the role of the community and team. Finally, this course will explore the issues and skills required to be an effective team member and team leader. This course is a core class for my degree.