Lenten Reflection #1

Like the rains that seem to come every week, the last month I've been mostly sick fighting off a respiratory infection that seemed to affect everyone I knew, including my family.

The experience was dreadful at times; I had a terrible sore throat the first week, and the second week I was so congested I would wake up a few times at night because I couldn't breathe. There were times I could only squeeze out a "please God"--I couldn't remember the last time I was in such sickly misery.

I think people of faith can fall under two extremes when it comes to sickness: is it a God-given opportunity to exercise greater faith, or is it spiritual warfare, a concrete expression of the falleness of our world and therefore to be resisted at all times? Most extremes tend to destroy truly life-giving faith; perhaps discernment in the particulars of a life when we deal with sickness leads to a more truthful reality than a broad theological brushstroke.

Since this all happened during Lent's beginning, it was difficult not connecting it to the themes of sacrifice, suffering, and limitations. Compassion, according to Henri Nouwen, "removes all pretensions, just as it removes false modesty." In my case, my miserable state helped me understand in small part what it may be like for those around me who deal with chronic conditions or are frequently sick. As one who is usually healthy, it's easy to start tuning these people out as either hypochondriacs or just no fun to be around--what a drag being around sickos! But it also made me respect the great strength and willpower of those who despite it all don't complain, go to work, raise families, and create beauty around them.

If this bout of sickness has helped create a little bit more compassion for others who suffer, then I guess it was worth it--as a God-opportunity to deepen faith.

Encouragement for Kingdom Workers

The following is an excerpt from Howard Thurman's The Inward Journey. It is a reflection on the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. To me, it's an encouragement to those of us who feel like we're laboring without any sort of results, and thus losing heart. It's also a great corrective for us who perhaps trust too much in our ability (or at least try to project the image) to "make things happen." Please excuse his old school non-inclusive language :)


The unfortunate servant was not 'cast off' because he did not realize any profit for the nobleman. No. He was cast off because he did not 'work at it'...

We are never under obligation to achieve results. Of course, results are important and it may be that that is the reason effort is put forth. But results are not mandatory. Much of the energy and effort and many anxious hours are spent over the probable failure or success of our ventures. No man likes to fail. But it is important that under certain circumstances, failure is its own success...

There are many forces over which the individual can exercise no control whatsoever. A man plants a seed in the ground and the seed sprouts and grows. The weather, the winds, the elements, cannot be controlled by the farmer. The result is never a sure thing. So what does the farmer do? He plants. Always he plants. Again and again he works at it--the ultimate confidence and assurance that even though his seed does not grow to fruition, seeds do grow and do come to fruition.

The task of men who work for the Kingdom of God, is to Work for the Kingdom of God. The result beyond this demand is not in their hands. He who keeps his eyes on results cannot give himself wholeheartedly to his task, however simple or complex that task may be.

Catalyst Defined!

We at Kingdom Causes call ourselves "catalysts" and even have that name printed on our business cards. I've had to muddle around what we mean by that when people ask or give blank looks, often substituting "director" to help people understand.

But this book I'm currently reading called The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations has given me a great answer as to why we call ourselves catalysts--it even has a whole section on what a catalyst does to help effect change in communities.

For those who don't know the contrast between a starfish and spider is really a contrast about organizational life: do you have a centralized hierarchy (a spider) or a decentralized organism (starfish)? It's the difference between the music industry (spider) and Napster and all its permutations (starfish). You can chop a spider's head off and the whole body dies; a starfish can be chopped several times and each one grows into another starfish!

Anyway, one of the keys to a starfish organization is a catalyst. A helpful chart at the end of the chapter on catalyst contrasts a CEO's characteristics with a catalyst's:

CEO: boss, command-and-control, rational, powerful, directive, in the spotlight, order, organizing
Catalyst: peer, trust, emotionally intelligent, inspirational, collaborative, behind the scenes, ambiguity, connecting

The above really captures my values and approach as the "catalyst" for Kingdom Causes. But I still can't explain this any more succinctly the next time someone asks what a "catalyst" is!

Happy Sabbath New Year!

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted; I got sick and injured during the days following Christmas, and I'm still not 100%. While I was in that time of recovery, this passage from a book on Sabbath by Wayne Muller came to me:

"If we do not allow for a rhythm of rest in our overly busy lives, illness becomes our Sabbath--our pneumonia, our cancer, our heart attack, our accidents create Sabbath for us. In my relationships with people suffering with cancer, AIDS, and other life-threatening illness, I am always struck by the mixture of sadness and relief they experience when illness interrupts their overly busy lives. While each shares their particular fears and sorrows, almost every one confesses some secret gratefulness. 'Finally,' they say, 'at last. I can rest.'"

The fact that this came at the beginning of the new year was also a reinforcement of this Sabbath lesson as I couldn't just jump out the gate with new ideas, projects and plans. Phone calls weren't made. E-mails weren't answered. I didn't go into the office.

On the other hand, I felt more compassion for those who were sick and chronically ill. I had to surrender the idea that life, ministry, and work is all going along fine without me (at least temporarily). I needed to live within my limits.

I hope we don't forget to be "useless" regularly this New Year!

Reflection on "Missional Living"

Guest Blogger Intro: Eunice is an intern for Kingdom Causes this year. She is living and worshiping missionally in Monterey Park. Below she shares about her experience teaching a Sunday School Class at her church on “Missional Living.”

Although I knew that mission work did not have to involve getting on a plane and going to another country, there was still a part of me that believed that it was not fully mission work unless I traveled elsewhere. But since taking classes at Regent College and learning to read the Bible better, I know otherwise. True mission work is wherever I am. This is not because I can do so much. It is because God is a missional God. And since He has a desire for all humanity to know and love Him, mission exists everywhere, including the hodgepodge suburban city of Monterey Park.

As an intern for Kingdom Causes, my basic job description involves helping my own church in Monterey Park to be more missional in our own community. But the general mentality of the people who attend my church is still very much like mine was before learning more about missional living.

In the class, we basically covered four big concepts with Bible learning, application discussion and field trips. Here is a short and imperfect summary of each concept:

• Incarnational Hospitality: Jesus was hospitable (welcoming) everywhere he went—in others’ homes and in public areas. How can we be hospitable everywhere we go—in our residential neighborhoods, in our churches’ surrounding community, at the grocery store, in restaurants, while eating with our friends/family, while driving, etc.?
• Shalom: Because of sin, we are no longer fully in shalom. In other words, we are not wholly the creations that God wants us to be. How do we seek shalom (wholeness) for ourselves and in others?
• Kingdom of God: God’s kingdom is not a place; it is His realm over all things. It is here and not yet. This is the concept that God is in control, and not us. When we do mission work (as all ministry should be), we are not doing things for God, but we are participating in what God is already doing for His people.
• Church of the City: In the past, there used to only be one church in each community. That church was then responsible for the spiritual growth of the entire city. But in the present, there are often several churches in one city. In Monterey Park alone, there are over 25 churches. How can all these churches (despite different denominations, cultures and buildings) work together as the Church of the City?

Now that the official class has ended, here are a few personal reflections.

Highlights:

• Most of the students were regularly consistent. I hope this means they were interested and learning.
• A few of the students told me that they were seeing their lives differently—seeing how being hospitable to those around them was part of being missional.
• Our McDonald’s field trip showed us that people in the city are in need and how we can be hospitable in a public setting.
• Our church-visiting field trip opened our eyes to what other churches are doing in Monterey Park and how we can maybe join forces in being the Church of the City.

Challenges:

• One quarter Sunday school is not sufficient. In fact, two years of seminary are not sufficient for fully learning about our missional God and how we can participate. But in being and doing, I hope we will all keep learning.
• There are over 700 regular weekly attenders at my church. Only 10-15 students were in the Sunday school class. We wanted more. But the hope is that these few will spread the word. After all, the entire Christian church spread from 11 totally inadequate guys who learned to follow Jesus closely.
• We are so big and have so many resources that we think we can handle many things on our own. But so much more could be done when the Church of the City works together.

Regarding this Sunday school Jesse asked me, “Would you do this again?” My answer is “Yes!!”

Giving Thanks

We had our annual Community Thanksgiving Service this past Wednesday night at the 1st United Methodist Church of Alhambra, with about seven churches from the area participating, including two from Monterey Park. The best part of it for me was seeing all the different churches working together, connecting, and coming together for the specific cause that connected to the theme of the evening "Our Daily Bread."

I was glad we were able to get a representative from People for People, our local food bank to share the needs in the long term as well as the short term: three of the low income families with Christmas wish lists were "adopted" by attendees to the service, and we collected a whole car load of cans and dried food that we asked attendees to bring to the service for People for People's annual Christmas dinner delivery to the 150 or so families in our area.

Although I'm thankful for the chance for the Church of the cities to come together for a worship service, the whole theme of showing compassion to our needy neighbors made me think that perhaps the better alternative for the Church is to actually host our low-income neighbors and share a meal than have a worship service about it. Better yet, have a worship service added so they can be a part of it as well. Wouldn't it be great if we had a dinner together and had an open testimony time to express our gratitude as the Church with the community? Let a deeper justice and worship flow together!

Prayer Garden Walk Reflection

This reflection post is from guest blogger Tiffany C, one of our walkers of the 4K prayerwalk and garden fundraiser on 10/31/09. A gardener herself, she also started one of our neighborhood gardens in Monterey Park and helps maintain our current gardens. Pictures courtesy of Tiffany as well.

When I take the time to walk someplace instead of drive (if possible) I notice things that I wouldn’t if I was inside a car. When I sit in a car with the heater on or the air conditioner blowing, the windows up, and music playing, I am blocked off from the world around me; I don’t notice the details I am driving by. On the prayerwalk this past Saturday it was an opportunity to notice the details in the city. I saw beauty: roses, birds of paradise, pumpkins, pomegranates, and new growth on trees…Fall. I saw neighbors: people going on walks, working on their garden, washing cars. I saw community: churches preparing for a Fall festival, friends walking and talking with each other, and new friendships being made. As we prayed for the city of Monterey Park we were blessed with meeting new brothers and sisters in this city. It was a blessing to experience God’s children acting as one body, regardless of what church we go to on Sunday or our political affiliations.

I am so excited about what God is doing in this place. It is so encouraging to see people praying for neighbors they do not know, for students, and businesses. I am so excited about the neighborhood gardens that are growing. It is a blessing for me to be a part of planting these gardens and helping them grow. I can see how they are helping build community and friendships in addition to just growing a crop of vegetables. And I can’t wait to have a harvest that is bountiful so that we can share food to our neighbors, some of whom may be hungry. For where there is food people will gather.