Words That Create Community

The word is always a word for others. Words need to be heard. When we give words to what we are living, these words need to be received and responded to. A speaker needs a listener. A writer needs a reader.

When the flesh - the lived human experience - becomes word, community can develop. When we say, "Let me tell you what we saw. Come and listen to what we did. Sit down and let me explain to you what happened to us. Wait until you hear whom we met," we call people together and make our lives into lives for others. The word brings us together and calls us into community. When the flesh becomes word, our bodies become part of a body of people.

These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Wake up, finally

In the past month my life has been flipped upside down in the most wonderful way possible. No matter how many classes we went to, books we read, or advice we got from anyone and everyone...nothing fully prepared me for the moment standing in the delivery room, when one second there were five of us in the room, and the next there were six. I still can't get over it. The best part is, I thought I had a plan. What a fool I am.

For the better part of the last 13 years I have worked with kids...large groups, small groups, one on one, kindergartners to college aged, affluent to needy. In all of that experience I had developed at least a few ideas of what I wanted to be as a parent. Some of ideas came from watching great parents do great things, some from watching kids who couldn't get an adult to give them the time of day, some from child development courses in graduate school, some from sitting next to kids at Wendy's. But in a single moment, all of that experience and time with kids seemed to fade into a mass of nothingness. When everything in me seemed to scream "JASON, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!"

The truth is there are a whole lot of things out of my control. Ellery will grow up to be who she will, and she will experience so many things I can't even begin to imagine for her, both good and bad. But laying heavy on my heart is how to expose her to things that I hope will build compassion, love, honor and responsibility in her. How to let her taste God's love for other people in a way that breaks her heart and molds her spirit. One overwhelming thought has struck me as I have tried to think about how to be intentional about exposing her to a life of compassion...the thing that will make the biggest difference, where she will most see God's heart for his world, is not in special trips or rare events, but in how we choose to live every day, what we talk about when we are together, what becomes common place, not what is extraordinary. Suddenly the Shema means so much more to me.

Even more challenging to me is this deep sense that I want to figure out how to display compassion and love more in the everyday fabric of my life. I am excited for what it can mean for my family, for me, and for my daughter. But to be honest, I am a little saddened. Because I know that my daughter is not the only one that my life should be communicating God's love to. Why is it that it has taken me being father before I decided it was time to get intentional about things God has entrusted to me my whole life? So in the joy there is a sense of regret. I am thankful to wake up, but know God has been calling me to wake up for some time, and it took the lifeshattering joy of my daughter's birth for me to finally respond.

The Cupid Shuffle

I've been in Mt. Ida Arkansas for the last week working with Camp Ozark on launching a camp blog, and various video and creative projects. 

Each night there is a camp wide special activity. Last night the activity was 'Pump it Up", which includes several large inflatable obstacle courses, games, loud music all wrapped up with some group dancing. 

At some point they began to play the song the cupid shuffle, and Scott Torn turns to me and says, "Asher, its time for you to Cupid Shuffle." 

So Cupid shuffle I did. 

There I am, out in the middle of a field with several hundred young people, in the cool summer evening, dancing. 

At Camp Ozark there is freedom to do the cupid shuffle. 

I'm not usually one to dance, but this was a LOT of fun, and to be honest, for me it was the peak of the experience you get when you are at Camp Ozark. 

The experience that you can come to Camp Ozark and you are free be who you are, and that is a lot of fun. 

Free to be yourself.

You're not the athlete. 

You're not the star. 

You're not the bully. 

You're not the bullied.

You are you and you can experience joy and excitement. In this you experience a freedom, a joy, a connectedness to a deep part of us that I think God created and put in us. 

Later that night, heading to bed, I began to think about the world outside of Camp Ozark and the freedom we may or may not experience in it, and I began to think about how can I make the world around me, a place of joy. 

A world free to dance. 

A world connected deeply to its Maker.

Jesus' Compassion

Jesus is called Emmanuel which means "God-with-us" (see Matthew 1: 22-23). The great paradox of Jesus' life is that he, whose words and actions are in no way influenced by human blame or praise but are completely dependent on God's will, is more "with" us than any other human being.

Jesus' compassion, his deep feeling-with us, is possible because his life is guided not by human respect but only by the love of his heavenly Father. Indeed, Jesus is free to love us because he is not dependent on our love.

These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

Your Horses Cannot Save You

Isaiah 31 – Doom to those who go off to Egypt, thinking that horses can help them.
Within a single year, God has reminded us that our little god is of no help.

In the late summer, we experienced a devastating hurricane and weeks without electricity. There was no amount of affluence that would have restored your electricity sooner or caused roofers and contractors to fix your house quickly. In early May, about 1/3 of the homes in my neighborhood flooded as ten inches of rain fell within 1.5 hours. Some people did not have flood insurance and are only left with the option of selling their home for the value of the land. Your money god is not strong enough to save you from natural disaster.

In November, we began to realize the symptoms of a deep economic recession, with home values dropping across the country by as much as 50%, banks and credit seizing, the stock market decline of more than 30% and the highest unemployment rate in decades. No amount of affluence could keep the creditors at bay, your home from losing value, your 401K from devastating declines or your company from cutting payroll. Your money god is not strong enough to save you from economic collapse.

In the spring, world health officials began to give warnings about a global pandemic. A new highly contagious strain of flu had the potential to cause death and there was no immediate vaccine. Schools in poor and affluent neighborhoods alike began to close their doors as students were found to be infected by the virus. Your money god is not strong enough to save you from sickness and disease.

How long will we continue to serve this little god? It cannot save us from natural disasters, economic collapse, disease, and loneliness.

Mexico

Mexico is not a volunteer.  But that's where I am.

Jim Kelley

This is Jim Kelley. Jim Kelley is an all around renaissance man here at the FOM. Jim is known for his wide range of knowledge in bible and biology. He is also the rhythm behind all of the FOM worship time.

Jim can tell you a lot about lots of things. Give him just a few minutes and you will know more than you ever thought you could about one particular subject. He is a smart man. Jim is authentic in faith in a way few have seen. He accepts the challenge to wrestle with the angel, and God meets him there each time. He engages God in relationship, plain and simple.

Jim is a volunteer. Like others he leads because he loves God and people. He fills holes where he is skilled. He is an asset as a hands on builder, a drummer, a set up guru, and he does it all selflessly. He never complains, countless times have I wished for a loving and grateful heart like Jim's. Jim Kelley. Friend. Role Model. Authentic. Humble. Loyal. These are words that describe Jim Kelley. Thank you, Jim.