What's Your Mark?

Everyday, or mostly everyday, I make my way over to the park with my 2 dogs so that they play. Anywhere from 2 to 12 dogs could be there during the weekday evenings, all with the same agenda... play! I am thankful for these neighbors and their dogs. It's ever entertaining to watch the dogs play and enjoy the time outside. Each dog has a general mode of operation. Conner, the German Shepherd, barks. Chaco, our Lab mix, watches and wanders sniffing the grass. Lucy, our GSP, runs and then lays on her back so the slowpokes can have a chance to wrestle her. Winston, the Bulldog, gets out of breath chasing Lucy. ( I could go on...) Finally, there is Casey the Golden mix, whose m.o. is to surprise the humans with a little urine on their leg. At first, I thought it was just me that Casey had "marked." Apparently, he has done this to most of the regular humans. Thankfully, Casey's owner was apologetic, and those of us Casey has done this to have good senses of humor.

Just like the dogs, we humans each have our go-to/fallback modes of encountering the world. And, just like the dogs, we make a mark on those with whom we interact. No one is perfect, and we all have bad days, but if our general persona is one that leaves people with figurative yellow stain on their legs, something is wrong. What is interesting, though, is that when we are negative, our affect on the world is merely one person deep. According to this study, happiness/a good attitude makes a 3 deep difference. If our mark is positive, we encourage a better world with more happy people. (Thanks go to Jill for pointing out this study in the first place.) I choose to encounter people with compassion and joy (even when they don't treat me with the same dignity.) What's your mark?

Fruits from the tree

I am pretty sure that many people are filling their blogs this week with their take on the presidential inauguration. It is a historic occasion. It is King's legacy the day after we celebrate his life officially. Wherever someone falls on the political spectrum, there is no doubt that this Tuesday will be a mark in our minds. I've seen interviews and read articles about people who never thought a black man would/could be elected. Their stories and histories and the fact that most of them are over 50 lay a framework for that understanding. For those of us who learned about King, the civil rights movement, and watched after school specials that taught tolerance, this election and the results are not out of what we expected to happen in our lifetime. It may have come earlier than expected. This is just the beginning of a United States that truly reflects the values that we teach: that everyone can have a chance (if they have adults in their lives that work hard and teach them to work hard), that skin color doesn't really matter (although we aren't there yet), that perseverance and hard work pay off, that encountering people with dignity and treating them with respect is the better way, and... I think every person could lift up something they have learned from this experience and the next 4 years (or more). I've learned to have more hope in the American people and our resilience in the face of difficult times. May we find even more wonderful fruits from the tree of democracy.

There's More to Us than THAT

I LOVE Hip-Hop. The radio stuff, the booty stuff, I love it all. (I'm done with Kanye, though. How many times can you screw a voice a not be called a poser. It was cool at first, but holy cow.) I mostly listen to something called Conscious Rap. These are people who combine their passion for justice with rhyming. Such artists speak to my heart that aches for equality and justice in this world with my love of a beat that moves me. Talib Kweli is one of those artists. He has a song called "Drugs, Basketball, and Rap." The song describes the stereotypes of young black males and alerts people to the actual depth of those who are easily disregarded because of their big t-shirts or where they grew up. It connects people with the history deep in the story of Africa and asks that people expect more out of life that getting rich quick. If more people would seek out GOOD music, they might learn about another group of people in an authentic way. (The same argument could be made about Country music, easily. The stuff on the radio is generally terrible.)

All that being said, I've been thinking about this song in the context of my faith and my vocation as a pastor. Yesterday on Oprah's Best Life Week (yep, that's what I said) Rev.Ed Bacon described being gay as a gift from God. Oprah's response was that he was the first pastor to say that she ever heard. It made my heart break. Not all pastors believe that something is wrong with those in the GLBT community. In fact, there are many pastors, like Bacon and myself, that believe being gay is indeed a gift from God. I would say, however, that our sexuality is a gift from God whether you are gay, straight, or bi. God made us the way we are, and so many Christians have retreated from that, or allowed only certain people to celebrate who they are. At one point in our American Christian history, blacks were considered less that fully human. People with disabilities were considered less than fully human. Single people were considered less than fully human. (Many people still think this, considering our overt pressure on young people to get married at all costs. But, that is another post.)

There are many conservative and moderate Christians who will gladly judge me and my opinion. Overwhelmingly, they will quote Deuteronomy and Paul and give reasons why those outside the tradition are going straight to hell along with me for supporting them. My belief is that above all, God is love. And, those moments in our lives where we find the joy of love, real love that doesn't manipulate or abuse or ask us to be untrue to ourselves, those are surely ordained by God. That is what I feel with my husband. How could I deny that deep joy to someone else? God sent Christ to continue to teach us how to treat each other. Jesus loved and reached out and asked people to do the same.

My hope, even in presenting my own opinion, is that Christians can worship together however we feel individually about sexuality. That we can treat each other with love even when we don't understand or disagree. So, whoever you are, however you feel, we are all children of the God of grace. May our prayers echo in heaven together.

Give and Take.

First, I feel the need to make an obvious statement: if the federal government had spent the same type of effort and money on all their projects as they have this DTV transition, the state of our economy (among other things) would be much different. The countdown to the change is ridiculous. Alert people, get the word out, but is it really necessary to use up so many resources on telling people. If someone has watched even an hour of tv in the past 30 days, they should know. Now, on to the regular God/Jesus/Love/Hope stuff I'd rather occupy my time writing about.

This Christmas Santa stuffed my stocking well. It was filled with well-spent time and hugs and warm conversation. We made it to Shreveport (my home town) and Tulsa (my hubby's hometown) and back to KC. We saw friends and family. It was wonderful and the most meaningful Christmas I've had in a long time. One of the tangible things that Santa put in my stocking was some cash. It was given with the expectation that it would be spent on me. (Not the hundred other things I really want to use it for like the electricity bill or groceries or...) I considered boots. I've recently been on a hunt for wide-calf boots. (That doesn't describe the baby cow that was used to make them. Rather, my wide calves after years of ballet.) But, my attention soon turned to the lack of music in my workout routine, and I purchased an Ipod Nano. (For those of you who know me, and know I LOVE a good deal...I found someone on craigslist selling an unopened Christmas present for $50 off its list price.) I was, and still am super excited about it.

Without much waiting, I started loading my cd's onto my computer. The Beatles Let It Be was last and the song that stuck out as I carefully pushed it into my cd drive was "I ME MINE." Immediately, I felt pointed at for such a lavish expensive item when I am currently/technically unemployed (church planting doesn't exactly pay well-but that's not why I do it!). And, after I had my moment of guilt, I started thinking about the stories from the Holidays Season about people giving from the little, or a lot, they had to help one another. Craigslist was flooded with ads to share dinner, a free turkey, a free Christmas tree, gently used toys, and on and on. A Jewish friend of mine told me how her synagogue takes over the local Ronald McDonald House on Christmas Eve Day, Christmas Day, and the day after so that the staff can spend it with their families. Volunteers run the place for 3 whole days so that Christians (and people who want to be with family) can do so. Then there is the Kansas City Santa who gave away $100 bills to strangers every year for decades. He passed away last year, but people continue the legacy and give.

This year -2008- brought a great deal of hardship to many people. Many talk about how we are in a cycle and the economy has to go down since it went so far up, and it will go up again. My hope is that while the economy may be in a cycle that the efforts of giving do not dry up. Whether it is our own neighbor, ourselves, or someone across the world, the needs exist always. But, it doesn't have to exist always.

When Jesus said the poor (and those in need) will always be with you, he was only talking to the actual disciples with him. He was telling them to learn as much as they can from him while he was there. Many Christians have used this phrase to resign themselves to doing very little to help others. We seem happier to judge someone's circumstance and send a bag of used clothes than to engage that person in conversation and discover the world from a different point of view. If we would find ways to experience life in new ways, perhaps we could do something more to widdle away at the percentage of the world's population that are hungry when they go to sleep at night and lack proper safety from the night as they sleep. In 2009 I look forward to expanding my horizon and find new ways to help make this world as great as its potential. Every step we take to make a difference matters. Every penny given to help matters. Every chance taken to spread the news about a cause you are passionate about matters. Every moment can matter, if we are so bold to do so.

So, here is a chance to share with you a cause about which I am passionate. The Grand Avenue Temple United Methodist Church in downtown Kansas City serves lunch on Saturday and Sundays to the homeless and/or hungry. They also house a cold weather shelter for single women.

Blessings upon blessings,

Kelli