Two Crosses

Yesterday we had our first "Good Friday Prayerwalk for Peace" amongst the churches of Monterey Park. We had no idea who would come since it was at 1pm, but garnered at least 70 odd people across a wide variety of ages. I thought it was a great show of unity as a concrete example of what "Church of the City" looks like when we talk about it in Kingdom Causes.

Anyway, from a more personal reflection, I had the chance to carry two crosses during the prayerwalk: the gold processional cross to lead the walk, and the simple wooden cross at the end of the line. Carrying the processional cross out on the streets of Monterey Park carried mixed feelings--one of being a little proud to be so publicly witnessing on the streets, saying "We are Christian" to the gawkers and pedestrians on the sidewalk we almost barreled over at times. And then a strange feeling about how this gold cross represented the sort of Constantine/Crusader emblem of conquest and triumph in much of Church history.

Then I got a call from my intern who asked for me to slow down, since she was holding up the back with the wooden cross. She called TWICE to ask me to slow down. So I ended up transferring the cross (while still holding the heavy stand for it) over and having the group proceed while I waited to see what the hold up was.

After all the prayerwalkers had passed me, I saw way off at the street corner of Garfield and Garvey my intern with the wooden cross and one elderly, deaf woman walking very slowly towards me. We walked together for a short while, but the stand for the gold cross needed to go to the front of the line. I told my intern to go on ahead with the stand, and I would walk with this woman with the wooden cross. And so we did, a veritable two person prayerwalk, with me holding this wooden cross that now felt foolish and strange, and also a marked contrast to moments before: no longer leading the crowd, but now with the one almost forgotten, the one easily marginalized.

I was glad to be able to be first and last during the prayerwalk. If I had spent too much time leading the way, the way of the cross would not have included those most easily forgotten and marginalized. Maybe next year, we'll have the leader and sweeper switch places at each transition, so as not to forget this central aspect of bearing the cross of Christ.

It was a Good Friday.

Lenten Reflection #3

We had a fellowship group from my old church come to repaint the former office today to begin its transformation into the City Prayer Room (CPR, get it?) for Kingdom Causes Alhambra-Monterey Park. The vision of this room is for it to not only be a place of personal retreat, but to tap into that outward stream of praying for our cities.

Since the office is located in the central section of Alhambra, I had them first go out and prayerwalk for the police, school, church and court buildings right around the corner. They wrote some prayers I will post on a future wall board of city prayer people can post when they are praying.

Here's the quote I put for the prayerwalk from Eugene Peterson, appropriate as we near the end of the Lent season, but a great reminder for me that I need to get over myself a lot when I pray!

“The only way to escape from self-annihilating and society-destroying egotism and into self-enhancing community is through prayer. Only in prayer can we escape the distortions and constrictions of the self and enter the truth and expansiveness of God. We find there, to our surprise, both self and society whole and blessed. It is the old business of losing your life to save it; and the life that is saved is not only your own, but everyone else’s as well.”

Lenten Reflection #2

I shared this reflection at our first local training in Alhambra-Monterey Park today. Can't wait to let people post their reflections in later posts. But this reflection talks about the "both and" of prayer and action in Kingdom activity.

Prayer challenges us to be fully aware of the world in which we live and to present it with all its needs and pains to God. It is this compassionate prayer that calls for compassionate action. The disciple is called to follow the Lord not only into the desert and onto the mountains to pray but also into the valley of tears, where help is needed, and onto the cross, where humanity is in agony.

Prayer and action, therefore, can never be seen as contradictory or mutually exclusive. Prayer without action grows into powerless pietism, and action without prayer degenerates into questionable manipulation. If prayer leads us into a deeper unity with the compassionate Christ, it will always give rise to concrete acts of service. And if concrete acts of service do indeed lead us into a deeper solidarity with the poor, the hungry, the sick, the dying , and the oppressed, they will always give rise to prayer. In prayer we meet Christ, and in him all human suffering. In service we meet people, and in them the suffering Christ.

--From Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

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!