Imago Andei

Ben Lowe for Congress

 I'm sitting on an overstuffed plaid couch that looks like it belongs in a college dorm in an apartment full of what I can only assume was used furniture covered with stickers touting environmentally free slogans like "Don't treat your soil like dirt" and "I hug trees for Jesus."  Why am I sitting here?  This is Ben Lowe's home and campaign office.

I heard about Ben about a week and a half ago, just days after he had decided to run for congress from my new friend Tyler.  Ben is young (25), moderate, and forward thinking.  He runs a national student environmental activist network and has been involved in ecological conservation for years.

This is going to be a great campaign.  Ben's district, the 6th of Illinois, has a Republican incumbent and is a very Republican district but he's seeking to neutralize the main issue that seems to be found in the district, he's pro-life.  That's right, Ben is a pro-life, moderate, democrat.

If you live in Illinois, especially if you live in the 6th District start following Ben on Twitter and check out his campaign website.

*Full Disclosure-I will be joining Ben's campaign in some form.

Are MegaChurches the new Walmart?

 I came across an interesting article on mega-churches and zoning yesterday on the PoliticsDaily blog.  It talks about the Religious Land Use act which basically helps religious organizations get a leg up in zoning battles.  It was put in place to help churches fight zoning boards who didn't want a non-profit religious organization taking up valuable commercial space.  I have some mixed feelings about this though.  With the ever increasing growth rate of megachurches (defined as more than 2,000 in regular weekend attendance) more and more churches are looking to build spaces the size of Walmart and bigger and I'm not sure I want the next megachurch down the block.  These monstrosities can create massive increased traffic, environmental waste and degradation, and they aren't even chipping anything in to the tax pool.  Now I'm definitely not against megachurches, I worked at one for a while, I think it's time for churches to become creative in how they expand and the relationship they have with their community.

For the article click here.

Donald Miller-A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

 I had a break in homework this weekend and so was finally able to pick up Donald Miller's latest book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.  I knew that it was around the theme of story and had heard him give a couple amazing talks on the topic but I wasn't really sure what I would think of the book.  It was amazing.  I think this could easily be described as Miller's best work, even exceeding his extremely popular Blue Like Jazz (which is definitely worth reading).  I think in Million Miles we find a more refined Miller who is able to tie his thoughts and insights of life and faith into a more congruent movement and story.  The book is beautifully written, gripping, and enjoyable.  I literally hardly put it down from the time I began on Thursday evening till I finished reading around lunch on Friday.

The book follows what happens after Miller was approached by some filmmakers wanting to turn Blue Like Jazz into a movie.  As they edit his life he realizes that he might not actually be living a good story and sets out to make some changes.  He pursues a girl, rides a bike across the country, and starts a foundation that provides mentors to fatherless children.

This book will properly push you to examine the story that you are living.  It will encourage you and inspire you to live a good story.  It is definitely worth reading the next time you have a few hours free.  I highly recommend A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.

A Prayer

I sometimes find myself in these periods where my soul separates from my body and I see the world around me as a movie.  Things are happening but I watch them as if I were my own stranger. I disappear into the cracks and shadows and engage the world like a stand-in.  I find myself sitting and watching, searching for something that I’m not sure I would even recognize.

I like reflecting but I wonder how much I do this because I can’t handle the world and the people that inhabit it.  I can’t deal with the pain that accompanies life experience.  I can’t handle the sorrow of not truly knowing my father.  I can’t take rejection, humiliation, or shame.  I wonder if I leave and reflect because I am afraid to experience.  I think and I examine because I do not want to feel.

I wonder too if I leave because I am afraid of who I am.  I’m all too aware of the places I fall short.  I’m afraid that I would be rejected, unloved, unaccepted if I let down my guard and lived.

Loneliness frightens me.  And yet the risk of community seems too hard.  I sit well liked, maybe even loved by some, and yet I am lonely.  My life seems bound by fear, of failure, loneliness, and immorality.  I realize all this in the moments I slow down and examine.  It is good in a sad kind of way to realize these things and I hope I can call upon the courage to leave the safety of this inaccessibility and reengage my soul and body, that I will invite others into my story and call out a better one from them. 

I want to experience life fully.  I do not want to anesthetize myself from pain and sorrow and I do not want to quench joy for fear of the vulnerability of happiness.  My soul is thirsty for Your drink.  So pour it out from above.  If you send rain I’ll leave the umbrella behind and lay in the field letting each drop refresh my bare skin.  I want to run through fields and laugh over wine.  I want to sit with friends and share dark nights of the soul.  I want people to know the things about myself that most scare and shame me.  I want to stand confidently before men in my own skin and love others with a purity that reflects you.

I cannot do this alone and that is what scares me the most.  I am incapable.  This is impossible even for me and You.  I need to risk and share and open and trust.

I think I am ready to leave this separation behind and to join my mind, body, and soul.  To truly engage and love those around me and hopefully in that process my soul will be filled.

Audio From My Conversation with Tyler Wigg-Stevenson

The audio from Friday night's conversation with Two Futures Project founder Tyler Wigg-Stevenson has been posted at GenerationAxis.com.  Click on Listen & Watch and the Launch Sermon Player.  You can either stream or download the audio.

Tyler Wigg Stevenson and Two Futures Project

 I got to spend some time on Friday with a guy named Tyler Wigg-Stevenson.  Tyler recently launched an organization called Two Futures Project with the simple goal of ridding the world of nuclear weapons.  Tyler is a great guy and you should definitely check out his organization.  I'll admit that I was a little skeptical of the goal and necessity of nuclear disarmament but after spending a few hours with Tyler my views have changed.  This is something that can and must be done.

If you are anyone of any influence in any organization you need to talk with Tyler.  Get ahold of his organization because he is in the process of getting the word out.  He's a great guy with an amazing heart as well as being a thoughtful nuclear policy expert and engaging writer.

Check out 2FP here and read this article on how nuclear weapons brought him to Jesus.  I'll post the audio from my interview with him as soon as it becomes available.

How Nuru Works featured by Motionographer

The guys over at Nuru have done it again.  They've created a beautiful and informative motion graphics piece explaining their innovative, community by community, work in Kuria.  The video was so good it was featured yesterday on Motionagrapher, one of the best sites for motion graphics.  Check it out below and as always be sure to check out Nuru.

How Nuru Works from Nuru International on Vimeo.

I Love Nuru

This organization does some amazing work.  I love how they think and how they promote their organization.

Nuru Year In Review from Nuru International on Vimeo.

Glenn Beck Hates...Vegetarians???

So I have to say I don't really watch Fox or their cadre of right-wing crazies like Glenn Beck but this clip was on a blog I frequent and I couldn't believe what I saw.

It seems like he doesn't even get the point.  It's not that people are saying we should never eat any meat, just less of it.  Apparently in Beck world though, this suggestion seems to infringe upon his God given right to meat.  Well Glenn, in the beginning we were all vegetarians.

I couldn't believe he goes on to attack the idea that meat might get more expensive, it should get more expensive!  When you consume a porterhouse steak, as expensive as a nice one might be, you are not paying the full cost of that meat.  With the direct subsidies that the government gives to ranchers and farmers in this country the feds are footing part of the bill (and this doesn't even begin to amount to the externalities a steak costs the world).  It seems that Glenn is ok with this kind of government intervention but when schools begin to not serve meat on Mondays it amounts to "indoctrination."

I fully agree that you should have the right to eat whatever you want but Mr. Beck you aren't paying for that steak in full and it's not the worst idea in the world to ask people to eat less of it.  I know all media is biased but I couldn't even believe this made it on the air.  It's ridiculous from start to finish and is all commentary without any understanding of the underlying issues.

Cornel West, The Oracle

 There's a nice short article about Cornel West in The New Yorker.  If you are unfamiliar with Dr. West, he is an accomplished professor at Princeton University who has recorded songs with Andre 3000 and John Mellencamp alike, appeared in two of the Matrix movies, and has quotes on Starbucks cups.  He is a brilliant African American philosopher and theologian who has brought much good to the world.

The article looks at his interesting relationship with the president.  A socratic and critical supporter, West has treated the President very fairly offering praise when it is due but not holding back criticism either.

Dr. West is someone who I think will continue to shape thought and theology in this country, especially around issues regarding race and is someone I believe we should all become familiar with.  To read the New Yorker article click here. 

What Does Love Look Like? (Warning this post is PG-13 and might not be appropriate for young children)

This morning I listened to a very fascinating story from NPR’s Radio Lab (a wonderful show out of New York that you all must begin listening to) that literally moved me to tears. It’s the story of Stu Rasmussen.

Stu is from Silverton, Oregon a tiny town where, to quote someone from the show, “You could call a wrong number and still have a conversation because you just know everybody.”

Stu is a stand-up member of the town, he grew up there, inherited the movie theater his father owned, and was even elected mayor.  What makes this story so interesting?  Stu is a transvestite.  “I just like myself better when I look like a woman,” he says.

So why did this story move me to tears?

Well word got out pretty quickly that this small, conservative town from Oregon had elected the nations first openly transvestite mayor and that caused some problems for Stu and his town.  The biggest being that in between the time he was elected and sworn in some evangelicals from Kentucky decided to stop by and let their voice be heard.

“Fag!  God hates Silverton.  Your preacher is a whore!” their signs shouted and voices echoed.  (The hate humanity is capable of, that people who are trying to love God are capable of, just astounds me.)

At this point I’d like to pause.  I’d like us to think what we would do if lived in Silverton.  Remember, most of the people of Silverton had grown up with Stu, they visited him at his movie theater, he was and had been a part of their community, and while many people in the town did not necessarily approve of his choice in clothing, he was still a member of their town.

So what would you do if someone who made choices you disagreed with was being abused and humiliated?  Would you think that they were just getting what they deserved?  Or would you stand in the way and try and protect that person?

Luckily the members of Silverton fell into the latter camp.   They, and I absolutely love this, created a counter protest on the small streets of Silverton with the brilliant idea that all the men where dresses and the women dress up like men.  I can only picture this in my head, grandmothers, children, moms, dads, business men, conservatives and liberals alike, all standing out on the street having a party to protect, and honor, Stu.

The story immediately reminded me of how Jesus interacted with the woman caught in adultery.  A group of religious Pharisees are prepared to stone a woman who they caught doing something they didn’t approve of and Jesus steps in, standing up in the most clever of ways, to protect her.  He defends her and lets her know she is loved.

Now I am sure many of you are thinking, “and then he tells her to go and sin no more, who is telling Stu this?”  And you know what, I’m not exactly sure what God thinks of Stu’s wearing dresses.  I’m sure that it pains him that Stu struggles so much with the body he was given, but who among us can say that we love everything about who we are.

The thing that I am certain of is that God loves Stu and I think that He would have defended him from his attackers.  I think God was probably more with the men wearing dresses than the evangelicals waving signs.

I think that in some ways many Christians have jumped to the “Sin no more” without having first loved and defended.  Until we are willing to lay down our lives for those that we deeply disagree with our words will probably fall short.

What are your thoughts?  What would you have done if you lived in Silverton?  Have you ever been in a situation like this?

Catching Up and Memories of my Grandfather

Sorry the blog has been neglected the last week or so.  Life got crazy.  My grandfather passed this weekend and I was out at the funeral Tuesday and Wednesday and had class on top of all of that.  I hope to have some good posts up in the next couple days.

I was pretty close to my grandfather as a kid.  I spent many weeks during the summer with him and my grandmother including a 6 week RV trip through Alaska when I was 7.  My grandmother asked me to speak at the funeral and I wanted to share with you all what I said.

I feel blessed to be able to say that Louis Wells was my grandfather.  When I was a kid I spent a lot of time with him and grandma, taking adventures in their RV, swimming in their pool, and spending evenings watching the news.  I didn’t say all of these activities were fun for a kid.

 

Growing up, granddad had a large influence on my life and I would attribute many of my characteristics today to the time I spent with him over the years.  One of the most meaningful things granddad taught me was the value of an adventure.  The stories I heard growing up of his years in the service and his time as a pilot always seemed larger than life to me.  To become a pilot at the time when Louis did required courage and a sense of adventure, he had both in full.

 

I felt like he entrusted me with that spirit when he and grandma invited me to join them on the Alaska portion of their great American road trip.  I was only 7 years old and could barely find Alaska on a map. To me it was the most adventurous thing anyone I knew had ever done.  For 6 weeks we journeyed the Alaskan Highway, having snowball fights on glaciers, playing catch at midnight, and exploring the wilderness that defines Alaska.

 

I remember one time we were driving along the side of a mountain looking for a gas station.  From where we were we could see down into a town at the bottom of a valley.  Figuring they must have a gas station we turned off on the next road assuming it led to the town.  Well the road quickly left pavement behind but we just kept going.  Then the gravel road turned to dirt and the trees started getting closer and closer to the side of the RV, but we kept forging ahead.  Finally we got to the point where we could not go two feet further.  There was no place to even turn around and Louis said, “Well I guess we better go back.”  Grandma and I got out of the RV and started helping him back up the road we had followed until we could finally turn around and continue down the highway.

 

To me that story exemplifies his adventurous spirit.  He would take a risk, turning off the well traveled road, and he would keep going until he hit a wall.  At which point he wouldn’t be upset, he wouldn’t get scared or anxious, he would just back out and try something else.

 

Another one of the things I always appreciated about granddad was his trust in others.  It was on that same trip the he entrusted me with his 38 foot RV.  Every night when we would pull into a campground I would hop outside and guide him into our spot.  It was a crazy site I’m sure to see a little 7 year old directing his granddad on where to park the RV but it taught me that I could be trusted with valuable things.  He showed me in a small way that I was a capable and most importantly that he trusted me.  I think it was experiences like that that helped me to journey into the unknown of adolescence with the confidence I did.

 

But looking back the thing I most valued in granddad, and I actually didn’t realize this till the last few days, was his comfort with himself.  In a world that is so full of insecurity and a desire to be someone different, Lou seemed absolutely at home in his skin.  From his sense of humor, telling every waitress, every time we went out to dinner, on every single occasion that he only had half a stomach, to the way he so easily embraced others much different than himself.  It was his security in his own identity, in the person whom God created, that allowed him to face the world and others with such ease.

 

As I continue in my life I hope I can become a little bit more like him.  I hope that I will never turn down an adventure, that I will trust others, and live generously, but mostly I hope to be able to become comfortable in my own skin in the way granddad was.  I’m lucky to have had someone plant those seeds in my life and as they grow and bloom I will remember the man who planted them.  And for that I will always be thankful for my granddad.

 

Thank you.

Kiva Responds Beautifully

Yesterday I posted about how Kiva was misleading their lenders and today they have updated their site to become much more transparent, a beautiful move.  To see the new site click here.

Is Kiva Misleading it's Donors and is that Wrong???

 I need to begin by saying I love Kiva.  They are a brilliant organization that is making a tremendous difference in the fight against poverty but every organization has its challenges.

A few days ago I saw this blog article linked by the head of another innovative non-profit and the title of Kiva being misleading perked my interest.  It's actually a very well balanced summary of what has been swirling around about Kiva over the last few weeks.  Essentially the debate centers around how true Kiva's person to person model really is.  I guess what happens is that local micro-finance institutions, who Kiva vigorously screens, go ahead and give loans to individuals, then post their picture and story to Kiva, and in essence are repaid out of the big pool of money that Kiva gets from individuals donating money to the posted stories on it's site.

Let's be honest, it is actually way more efficient that way.

While I was first kind of offended at the beginning of the story by the time I read all the way through I understood why it is the way it is, though I wish Kiva was a little more transparent in this area.

What are your thoughts?  Do you feel as if Kiva is in the wrong?  Would you still give if you knew your money was going into a giant pool?

This American Life Does it Again

This American Life is once again teaming up with the news team at NPR to tackle a complex issue and bring it down to the average person.  They just posted the first of a two part series on the health care debate and I have to say I thought it was really well done.  Good stories.  Interesting insights.  Check it out here.

Jacqueline Novogratz's Blue Sweater

 I've mentioned Jacqueline Novogratz on the blog several times recently because I am an increasingly huge fan of her and the work of her organization The Acumen Fund.  A few days ago this article was published in Philly and it's a great short retelling of her story and organization.

Hong Kong Girls Entering Prostitution for Spending Money on Rise

 It's a sad state of affairs when girls willingly enter prostitution to buy a new cell phone.  But that's exactly what a 14 year old Hong Kong girl did when her previous cell phone was lost and her parents wouldn't buy a new expensive one.  Of course she didn't view it as "prostitution", it was just compensated dating.  She would get in touch with men online and they would give her some money to go on a date with her.  More often than not that date involved sex.

There are several things in this story that I find upsetting.  First, it saddens me that we live in such an over-sexualized culture where sex is so casual.  And not even casual but viewed as a harmless activity with no consequences.  If sex was still something sacred, and I use that term loosely, then these girls wouldn't even consider compensated dating.  But instead it is a viable means to a high income.  These girls thought about this like teens a decade ago thought about getting a job at the mall.

Second, the consumerism that is in this story is really disappointing.  That you would sell your body for a cell phone just seems wrong.  Are we not more than the collection of our things or have we forgotten that?  I see in this story both a devaluing of ourselves and overvaluing of our things.

It was not meant to be like this.

We need to be reminded that we are valuable apart from what we own.  We need to be reminded that our bodies are sacred and should be cherished.  We need to be freed from the need to consume.

To read the article from CNN click here.

Mars Hill Tackles the Sermon on the Mount

 I don't think it'd be any surprise to my blog readers that I love Mars Hill.  This church in Grand Rapids, MI has really changed my life and the teaching of Rob Bell never ceases to push me to new levels of spirituality.  They recently started a series based upon the text of the Sermon on the Mount.  It's really been wrecking me in a good way and I wanted to let you all know about it because you should definitely start listening.

To download the podcast and catch up on this great series go here.

Doing Well by Doing Good

The social capital market seems to be picking up steam.  Nearly 900 people gathered for SoCap09, a conference centered around building social capital markets, at the beginning of last month.  During the Clinton Global Initiative the Global Impact Investing Networking (GIIN) was launched.  Community development and micro-finance organizations are beginning to turn a profit.  It seems as though we are beginning to see the financial fruits of working in socially responsible ways.

Some of the dreams that are out there seem a bit far fetched, including a social stock exchange, but I think that the socially oriented financial systems are beginning to hold their own.  They are being tested and tweaked and beginning to work.  Who knows, I could be completely wrong and a social stock exchange takes off, I'd love for someone to try.

There is something exciting right now about all of this.  Brilliant people are giving their best to tap into the financial potential of the worlds poor.  This is a huge market and it's is exciting to see people doing well by doing good.

To hear more about social business' place in the economy, check out this article from The Economist.

You Know You're at The University of Chicago...

...a guy is walking around campus with a Census 2000 umbrella.