Rather than voting this year, I’m dreaming about doing something that would inspire REAL change in the world. I haven’t missed an election since turning 18 and I can’t help but feel a sense of hopelessness. I’ve spent energy on campaigns, heated conversations, and most of all mental anguish. All that for nothing, in my opinion. Our country (and our impact on the global community) isn’t getting any better- it’s getting much worse. I’ve let politics (media, government, and candidates) have way to big of a voice in my life. For that I want to repent.
But the day before the election, I have a better idea that is giving me a different kind of hope for what might really change my neighborhood, city, state, country, and eventually the world. It’s crazy really…
Last week two brothers across the street from my house got into a fight. One grabbed a medal baseball bat and gave the other a thorough beating. Only their mom tried to break up the fight and no one called the cops. I saw him the other day, limping down the street, still in obvious pain.
Everyone on our block despises that house. They deal drugs, fight, and boom their stereos.
So part of me is inclined to vote for a democrat. Someone who claims they will fund programs and add cops to bring change in my neighborhood.
But unfortunately, in the end, programs won’t really change anything, I don’t think. And I think those brothers are sort of beyond some cheesy government self help program. More cops will just put them in jail. My hope is not for my neighbors to go to jail, my dream is for them to be transformed. I hope that by some sort of chance in grace they will somehow, in some way, get pulled out of the mass grave that they are living in.
So instead of voting tomorrow, I’m going to bake chocolate chip cookies. I’m going to pull them out of the oven when they are still soft and chewy. I’m going to put them in a tuperware container and march it across the street to the brother who is healing from the brunt of a bat and the brother who is so calloused that his conscience caved in.
I’m sorry, but I feel like voting in hopes of a candidate who will change something doesn’t really do anything. It all seems to be one more thing that waistes money on television adds, polarizes family members, divides congregations, and breeds fear, hatred and anger. Democracy isn’t going to bring the Kingdom of God, but I’m convinced that cookies might spark a change in my neighborhood.
The chewy dough might bring healing to deep bruises. The soft morsels might melt away the callous around the conscience. It could possibly lead to a shared meal and shared lives.
I met Michelle Bachman back when I attended Northwestern College, so I’ve had a bit of an interest in following her campaign. A couple of weeks ago while speaking at Living Word Church, she claimed to be a “fool for Christ” for her decision to run for U. S. Congress. She has spent so much of her political career and campaign dividing and fighting (For the record, I don’t think that Patty Wetterling is any better). In my opinion, Bachman is not a fool for Christ. I think that a “fool for Christ” is someone like Mother Theresa. It is someone who gives up everything to run to Calcutta (the center of suffering). Not someone who gives up everything to run to Washington (the center of corruption).
It would be so foolish to think that chocolate chip cookies could change something, isn’t it? Well, if you think of it, pray that God uses my homemade snacks for his work of redeeming, renewing, and transforming.
It’s awkward and almost painful to watch as the hosts try to carry on with a normal crossfire. It’s good stuff.
After growing up in the suburbs, Jen and I moved into North Minneapolis almost a year ago. It’s amazing how fast your perspective can change. I grew up only being afraid of the city. Most of what I knew of it were from quick trips to a Twins game or seeing the nightly murder report on the evening news. It’s alarming to think of how detatched I was from this part of our community. There could have been a wall between us.
Part of me hesitates to write the following since I hate to reinforce people’s misconceptions, generalizations, and fear of Minneapolis. But nevertheless, the honest truth is that we have a horrific problem and we need everyone’s help.
Last night Jen and I attended a Peace Rally organized by the Peace Foundation (a North Minneapolis group working to end domestic violence in this part of the city). The event was sponsored by Sanctuary Covenant Church, Church of the Open Door, St. Phillip’s and various others.
We began the evening by stretching out our group of 1500 people along 26th Avenue all the way from Lyndale to Penn (26th Ave has a history of terrible violence). It was a great time to meet others in the community, enjoy the weather, and dream of peace on the North side. Next we rallied together under a makeshift bandshell and listen to various speakers, spoken word poetry, and watched a couple of dance groups perform.
The event began to die down and most people (adults especially) had already left, some kids started throwing water bottles into the air above the crowd. From what I saw and heard, one of the volunteer security gaurds tried to stop them and that started a fight that moved like a mob down the block.
As we rallied for peace last night, someone pulled out a gun and shot a teenager in the back (the teen is at North Memorial and is expected to survive). No suspects are in custody, no weapon has been recovered. (Read story)
It was a long walk back to our car last night. Reality set in a bit. That was the closest I have ever been to a violent crime. A teenager (13? 14? 17?) was almost killed. You could feel evil in the air. We have a big problem and a long road ahead. So brace yourself, I’m going to go on a rant…..
I feel like most people play the blame game when we talk about crime in the city. “It’s the church’s problem,” or “the governments problem” or “the police’s problem”. And many people who make these comments are so detached from the problem that they don’t even know what they’re talking about.
I think we need ownership. All of us need to own the problem.
And we need the Kingdom of God. Sometimes this can be a cop out. We say that only God can change things and then we sit and watch for it to happen. I think that adding more cops will push the crime to the suburbs (or overload the overloaded jails). I think that throwing government money at the city will make things look nice but won’t really change anything.
We need the Kingdom. If our faith doesn’t call us to action, then it’s not faith at all. Even in living on the north side, I can let myself become detached and I am as guilty as anyone else (so moving here isn’t necessarily the answer). But if you watch the news or read this story, and don’t feel the pain of the violence or get angry for justice, then I wonder if you have a pulse. So when I say that we need the Kingdom of God, I’m saying that we need a miracle. And it would be a miracle to me if we all accepted the blame for this problem and then actually did something about it. That’s when God’s Kingdom will come to North Minneapolis; it will be through you and I.
I think there are probably a lot of different and affective ways to bring the Kingdom of God to the city. So how can we own this problem together?
Filed under: Christianity, Journal, Opinion, Peace and Justice, Politic, photography
Two weeks ago, Jen and I joined the march from St. Paul’s Cathedral to the State Capitol to raise awareness for humane immigration reform (that’s where we took these pictures).
Currently, this is a very controversial subject and I wonder how Christians should respond.
I feel personally connected to this issue in some ways since I worked with many illegal immigrants at various restaurants growing up. I met mostly good natured, hard working people- many of whom were sending their paycheck abroad to feed their families back home.
I also have traveled to Central America three times (where many of these immigrants came from) and spent two months in West Africa. It is interesting to know and love people on both sides of the U.S. border. I feel like getting to know people and experiencing (in some small way) the life that they have come from has affected the way in which I respond to them as immigrants.
The reason I mention this is that I feel like when a lot of people discuss this issue, they talk as if we are dealing with cattle. Maybe illegal immigrants don’t have “rights” as Americans now, but make no mistake, we are talking about the beloved people of God (and that view of these people is what should govern our response). It doesn’t matter where they are from, what they have done, or what they might do. As a follower of Jesus, I think that we have a Biblical mandate to treat these people as beloved and act in a way that is best for them.
Leviticus 19:34 should give us some good direction (as quoted by Sojourners): “When foreigners reside among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”
Does this verse demonstrate a principle that we should follow in our response to the illegal immigrants residing among us?
In my opinion, Sojourners summarizes it well: lets choose “compassion over criminalization”. To take action on behalf of our immigrant brothers and sisters, click here.
Great discussion! You guys left me with some really good stuff to ponder. There were definitely some valid points made about how this actually plays out (then again, Jesus also gave us a pretty good example). I think it’s important to note that I’ve never actually been in a situation that demanded the possibility of the use of lethal violence (so my opinion is only worth so much). And I also have great respect for those like the late theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (who attempted to take out Hitler with a bomb in order to save the lives of millions). I am also not trying to create a one size fits all formula.
here’s the point I’m trying to make (don’t miss my point by getting caught up in the bold statements that I use to illustrate the point): I feel like we need a paradigm shift around this issue, especially those of us in the Evangelical Church. It doesn’t seem like we are striving to find alternatives to violence. It feels like we try to push the limit on how much violence we can get away with. If we really lived like we believe that only love wins (and violence loses), it would have radical and powerful implications in our personal lives, in the way we run our cities, how we treat/reform criminals, and how we interact with other nations.
Thanks for reading guys, this blogging thing is a blast!
Last night I was a part of an intense conversation about the use of lethal violence and when I would feel justified in using it. I shared how profound it was to me that when Peter cut off the servant’s ear in the garden of Gethsemene, Jesus healed his enemy’s ear. What an example how how we should respond to violence. He even said that if he wanted, thousands of angels would be at his disposal to defend him. But he was a different kind of King from a different kind of Kingdom. If Jesus wanted, he could have conquered our sin and death through force and through violence. I think that he came to show us that evil (in every form) loses. In the words of Dave Johnson: “Life wins, love wins, and God wins.” That is how the kingdom of heaven works.
So that brings up thoughts on the death penalty for me, thoughts on how I would react to someone who broke into my house, thoughts on how we respond to nations and people that threaten our country.
First of all, I need to say that I don’t think that I have a “right” to anything as a Christian. My allegiance is to Jesus and the kingdom of heaven alone. Derek Webb (www.derekwebb.com) puts it this way:
My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
It’s to a king & a kingdom
As Americans, we love to talk about our rights. We have a Bill of Rights and we make sure that everyone knows it. We are entitled to say what we want, to go to church where we want, own property, defend ourselves with a gun, and the list goes on. But as a Christian, I believe that I need to lay down those earthly “rights” in order to live by a higher standard. How many times did Paul say that we are “slaves” to Christ? SLAVES? The thing I know about slaves is that they don’t have rights and they don’t get what they want. My whole perspective changes when I see myself as a slave to the life and teachings of Jesus:
Love your enemy…
Love your neighbor as yourself….
Sell everything you have and give it to the poor…
And the list goes on- ways in which we should give up what we want, give up our rights, and give up the things that we think we are entitled to.
Do you hear about “rights” or “entitlement” or anything of the sort in the words of Jesus? It seems to me that its all about putting others before yourself, in everything. The pursuit of selflessness.
If you have some arguments on how we have rights as Christians, let me know. Otherwise I’ll move on…
So if I don’t have any right to property, protection, or even human life as a Christian- how should I respond to someone who threatens me or the ones I love, in any given context. If I truly believe that life wins, love wins, and God wins- then how should I react? I believe that violently taking someone’s life is exercising evil. Even if its defensive, especially if its preemptive.
Some say would say that if there was a room full of people and someone walked in with a gun and started shooting everyone, then it would be okay to kill that shooter. But would Jesus condone that? Not a chance in my mind. Look at how he reacted to the Romans. They were responsible for the death of at least thousands of Jews through violent oppression and terrorism. If Jesus would have just called upon his angels and overthrown the Roman Empire, he would have saved countless lives (especially Jewish lives if we consider the destruction of Jerusalem shortly after his death). But that’s not how God works.
So I’m thinking that violence, especially lethal violence is never justified. You can’t fight fire with fire. Fighting evil with evil is doesn’t work. The Kingdom of God overcomes evil with love every single time. I think I’ll post more on this issue. I think there is a lot to say about God’s view towards criminals (murderers and rapists) like, I think he actually loves them. And if God loves them, I should love them, and if I kill them for my own benefit,
am I loving my enemy?
