mbjones

‘Pay close attention to these things also. Go up to the hill country and bring back timber to build the temple. Then I will be pleased and honored,’ says the Lord. ‘You expected a large harvest, but instead there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away. Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house! This is why the sky has held back its dew and the earth its produce. Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.’”

Haggai 1:7-11

I’ve been thoroughly enjoying spending time reading the so-called “minor prophets” of late. They generally aren’t highlighted segments of scripture and a lot of folks ignore them. And I’ve rarely heard sermons from them (the exceptions that come to mind are when Micah and Joel have been taught at NormCom). Anyways, its been good reading and this passage highlights one of the reasons.

Even though so much of it applies to a time and place incredibly distant from “now” and “here,” the weight of the passage’s conviction is still incredibly palpable. Here in Haggai, the Lord is commanding that His house be rebuilt. The Israelites, now back in Judah, have failed to do this — focusing instead on their own rich dwellings. As a result of this displeasuring the Lord, the entire land is affected. Rain isn’t falling and crops aren’t appearing and things are on the verge of getting much, much worse.

Now, we don’t have a physical house for the Lord anymore. With the death of Jesus, the veil in the temple was forever torn and the Lord now dwells with all of us. And this is where it gets convicting. It doesn’t mean we need to now go out and build up our church buildings and dump millions upon millions of dollars down the drain there. Instead we need to be paying attention to where the Lord IS and WANTS to be dwelling now: our lives. Our we favoring our own special wants, lusts and desires in our hearts? Is the Lord’s temple in ruins because of this? Or are we intentionally building His home in our lives? And certainly even more convicting — have we given up all notions of a life our own and given it totally to God?

Like I said — reading the minor prophets is good. I recommend spending some time. You shouldn’t come out on the other side the same.

Last week I finally bit the bullet and did something I’ve been meaning to do for quite sometime: join Kiva. For those unaware, Kiva is an organization whose goal is to see worldwide poverty eliminated. They go about things differently though than your typical aid organization: they provide local people with small micro-loans (generally only a few hundred US dollars or less) that empower them to start, expand and develop their businesses, with an end goal of financial independence.

How It Works:

Kiva directly partners with various micro-financing across the developing world who then provide the Kiva community with loan opportunities. These various institutions upload pictures of the people, their history and a detailed plan on what the money is to be used for. When I first heard about it, I was intrigued but at the same time skeptical because it sounds like a system just ready for scams of all sorts. But Kiva does their homework. Not only do they do detailed checks on all of the micro-finance institutions they partner with but they also keep detailed records of all loan history. That way, you can see payback rates, default rates and more for every institution (and even those receiving loans if they’ve had them in the past). Everything is designed to be completely transparent so that you know exactly where your money is going and what type of risk is involved. Oh and Kiva keeps none of your monies themselves. They rely completely on the donations of the community to function. One hundred percent of what you lend goes straight to the field, so to speak.

Why do it?

A lot of organization operate under the “handout” system (I’ll call it) where the provide goods and service without price to those in the developing world. And in a lot of cases, these organizations are great, needed and much appreciated. But one thing that was expressed to us repeatedly by the missionaries in Cape Town this summer was the importance of letting the people take ownership in what they are doing. There, the m’s told us that rather than pass out Bibles for free, we should charge some nominal sum (and I do mean nominal…practically nothing) because if the people purchased their Bible they were immediately vested in it whereas if they were given it, many times they would turn around and sell it (and head for a beer at the nearest Chabean). The same principle is at work in the ideology of Kiva: empower and enable the people to work for change in their lives — vest them in it in fact — and you’ll begin to see real change.

And so — I’m directing a portion of my charitable givings (even though this really isn’t a charity) to Kiva. It’s encouraging to know that my monies last month went to helping Abena Banwah, widow and mother of three, expand her food business in Ghana. And, once she repays (8 months from now), I’ll be able to relend that money! If you want to join with me, let me know! We can start a group and impact people’s lives together! (note: I’ll be focusing on African countries and any business that isn’t a bar. If that sounds intriguing, let me know!)

Some Stats for the Curious

• Total value of all loans made through Kiva: $40,462,385

• Number of Kiva Lenders: 331,071

• Number of loans that have been funded through Kiva: 57,186

• Percentage of Kiva loans which have been made to women entrepreneurs: 77.45%

• Number of Kiva Field Partners (microfinance institutions Kiva partners with): 88

• Number of countries Kiva Field Partners are located in: 42

• Current repayment rate (all partners): 98.47%

• Current default rate (all partners): 1.53%

• Average size of loan for funding: $473.41

• Average total amount loaned per Kiva Lender (includes reloaned funds): $123.61

• Average number of loans per Kiva Lender: 3.24

It’s fascinating (but not super surprising) that the majority of the loans go to women. Also, a 98.47% repayment rate is not to shabby at all and makes it totally worth the risk (in my eyes).

This was a big topic at Defcon too. If you have a new passport or an RFID credit card, pay the money to get a special wallet. It’s seriously worth it.

Well — Obama gave his acceptance speech for the democratic nomination last night. It was a pretty historic event — the first African American to ever be nominated for president. I didn’t actually watch the speech, instead choosing to do other things, but I did today on youtube. And if there is one think that is certain — should he be elected he would likely be the most regal president in modern history. He is by far the best speech giver of any politician I’ve seen: enthralling, inspiring, honest and to the point in many circumstances (typical political posturing not withstanding).

So what were my thoughts on it as a whole (since I’ve already been asked once and will probably be asked again)? I like Senator Obama. It’s hard not to, truth be told. And I agree with many of his policy decisions and choices (with a few notable exceptions). But will I vote for him? I don’t know yet. Here some quick thoughts about the speech that help move me, one way or the other to a decision on that.

I like that Obama is unafraid to speak to the current political situation. Voting for Bush the second time around is honestly one of the biggest regrets in my life and something that the Holy Spirit has used to intensely convict me in regards to my beliefs and understandings. The vision of change naturally, it follows, speaks to this as change is what I desire to see in our grand country.

Obama starts by speaking to the American promise, that every American, through hard work, can pursue their own dreams. He lays out how the current administration has threatened it intensely (by entering an unjust war, by allowing debt to pile, by creating an economic situation where markets are crashing all around us…) with their neoliberal economic policies. “We are a better country than this…We love this country to much to let the next 4 years look like the last 8,” he says (which gets a resounding “Amen!” from me). And the next 4 years (under McCain) would like the last 8. McCain’s primary economic advisor would like nothing more than to continue the process of shocking and destroying our economy (we are a nation “suffering from mental recession…a nation of whiners”). I’ll likely post more about this later but I just can’t in any way, shape or form stand behind the neoliberal methods of shock to completely reshape an economy. Not everything can (or should) be privatized (One of Bush’s most nefarious legacies will be the privatization of war but I digress; that is a discussion for another time).

Obama goes on to spell this out clearer, how our job market is rapidly in decline (with multinationals taking jobs where labor is cheap) and how new jobs aren’t being created (23 million were under Clinton) and how the average American income fell $2000 under Bush (it grew $7500 under Clinton). And then he lined out how he saw the government functioning in society, how it is to (broadly) “protect us from harm, provide a good education, keep our water clean and toys safe, invest in new schools, roads and science and technology” and ultimately be “for us not against us,” insuring opportunities for every American willing to work for them (and not just the rich and powerful).

Again — he is really a powerful orator. There are echos of Martin Luther King Jr in there (which he recalls specifically before the speech is done). But to this point he has yet to outline his platform in any grand sense of the word. We know what he doesn’t like about Washington currently but what change would he push upon election?

Taxes:

• A tax code that rewards businesses and workers NOT lobbyists.
• Stop tax breaks to companies who ship jobs over seas (instead doing the reverse).
• Eliminate capitol gain taxes for businesses and startups.
• Cut taxes for 95% of all working families (so as to not tax the middle class).

These points I honestly agree with. I think pushing our own economy forward specifically by enabling and rewarding job creation and innovation here is a grand idea. And while I’d prefer a 1 or 2% VAT tax on everything over an income tax OR a flat tax across the board with no breaks whatsoever on income I’d much prefer to see cuts come in such a way that encourages the middle class to be involved in the market and that does not put the load of the tax burden on their backs whilst simultaneously taking it off of the back of the wealthiest in the nation.

Energy:

• End dependence on oil from the middle east in 10 years.
• Invest in reneweable energy/reuseable fuels (wind, solar, bio) — thereby creating new industries and new jobs.
• clean cole/nuclear/natural gas/retool autos/

This is something I whole heartedly agree with. I can’t wait for the day when we have no dependence on oil. Truth be told — big oil actually owns patents that could completely get us off of it but its not lucrative to them to make use of them. That needs to change. I would love to see some actually lead out in this area and stimulate awareness. I think in many ways (regardless of what you think about him — I’m not a big fan by any means) Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” has been an excellent catalyst and we really need to take advantage of the situation. And it will likely take someone whose pockets aren’t lined with big oil money.

Education:

• Provide world class education for every child.
• Invest in early childhood education.
• Support teachers
• Higher standards and accountability
• College edu to all willing to serve country

Again, this is an area thats hard to disagree with. Public school education is good (but not sufficient). Privatizing it has proved mostly disastrous (as New Orleans post-Katrina attests to). It would be wonderful if this were an area a President was diligent in speaking to (particularly supporting teachers, and higher standards and accountability).

Health Care

• Affordable health care to every American.
• Lower premiums.
• Health care like congressmen have for those that don’t have it.
• No discrimination against those that are sick and NEED care.

I’m for socializing health care. In fact while Obama’s plan is probably better suited to make use of the existing infrastructure, I quite like the idea of a fully socialized health care (particularly after spending time in countries that have it and discussing it with their inhabitants). Regardless, I like a WHOLE lot that health care would be offered across the board to those that don’t get it/can’t afford it. Finally. Also, I’d love to see an end to corporate discrimination against those who are sick and in need. It breaks my heart to read of those with cancer and other diseases who could SURVIVE with proper treatment but are refused.

Random points:

• This would all cost money.
• Close corporate tax loopholes.
• Eliminate programs that don’t work and make those that do more efficient

This first point here fits in his tax plan. I’m not an accountant but it makes sense that close loopholes in the tax code would increase government revenue. The second point also makes a lot of sense (and is eerily like “limited/small government” of republicans of lore). Working for a state institution, I know a lot of programs “don’t work” and could easily be made much, much more efficient.

• Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility.

This is one of the best points I’ve heard a politician make (and one that almost makes me want to toss my vote his way). He spent several minutes talking about the need for individual responsibility and how Washington or a single politician could never be expected to do everything, that at some point mom’s and dad’s needed to stand up and turn off the TV’s and raise their kids, etc. WOW! Great, great points to be made, both inspiring and a-traditional (as far as politics are concerned).

Foreign Policy:

• Opposed war in Iraq from the start.
• Has voted for more troops in Afghanistan (including taking out Bin Laden) and wants to see the fight finished there.
• Time frame to remove troops from Iraq.
• Tough diplomacy with Russia and Iran.
• Build new alliances.
• Restore moral standing.

One of Obama’s strengths in this election is his foreign policy. It helps that he was adamantly against the unjust Iraq war. It helps that he understands that the Iraqi people want us out of there. And it helps that he is a non-interventionist (willing to take tough stands against Russia and Iran for example). This last point actually does bother me though. Being increasingly an advocate of non-violence, I found our quick attitude for intervention that precedes diplomacy troublesome. I like though that Obama is calling for diplomacy above…other…options. And I like that he recognizes a lot of our struggle with Islamic societies specifically and the rest of the world in general comes from how they view our moral standing as a nation (look to the NIE reports for the truth of this, as well as take some time to talk to people from other cultures). This
is important — much more important than a lot of people realize.

Obama also appeals to a common purpose transcending traditional political boundaries (democrat/republican agendas) which is helpful. He specifically appealed to the desire to see a reduction in the number of abortions in general, an upholding of the 2nd amendment whilst keeping AK-47’s off the streets and basic human rights for the gay and lesbian communities. I think these appeals are areas that are garnering him support from a much broader crowd than the democrats usually pick up (including many from evangelical circles). In fact one well known registered republican pastor (Joel Hunter) points to some of these ideals as being the way of pro-life politics going forward (see here).

My Conclusions

All that being said, the question still remains: vote for Obama or not? At this point McCain isn’t even an issue as I disagree with him on most everything. It’d take a complete renunciation of neoliberal economic theory and a foreign policy revision to get me to even consider him again (things I don’t foresee happening). And I love a lot of what Obama is saying. But I don’t love everything. For one I don’t like the messianic language that surrounds his campaign. He is not now, nor will he ever be my savior. It out right troubles me to see how people almost bow down in worship to him. One of the driving forces in this phenomena is his use of spiritual/otherly language in his campaign. There’s lot of “hope” and “transcending” talk as well as dabblings of “salvations.” Add to this biblical imagery like “a city on a hill” and you’ve got yourself in a tricky spot. While I’m not going to doubt or call into question his personal faith — it troubles me to see a man put himself into a place like this. It’s an ill-conceived notion and brings forth imagery of the Roman empire and a Caesar who was the salvation of his people (and who Jesus explicitly subverts with His very presence in this world). The continued escalation of this just turns me more and more away from his campaign.

Actually this last point really gets to the heart of where I’m at. It’s hard for me, at this time, to justify voting because I see myself as a citizen of the Kingdom of God and NOT of the US of A. Increasingly I see my social role as actually being the Kingdom before man (meaning actually living out its principles). This is something that no politician could actually get away with legislating because the power structure is so radically different, leaving an ambassador of Christ in the place of choosing between two different evils (whichever they perceive as the lesser). And as we all know — evil is as evil does. Anyways — this speaks to the dilemma I have and what I’m working through and towards. Actually there will probably be further posts about this in the future so don’t think I’m purposely skirting this issue. There is a LOT more I could say.

And, because this post is getting quite long, I’ll leave you with this: Obama calls us to “hold firmly without wavering to the hope that we confess (Hebrews 10:23)…” Do do this, but know what that hope is. It’s not the promise of America or Freedom or any president or leader but the hope of Christ and what He alone can offer.

* So as not to confuse folks to badly, I use the term neoliberal instead of neoconservative as it’s what the rest of the world calls such policy directions…

If anyone wants to buy me a gift, I highly recommend this option: The Criterion Edition of Bottle Rocket. If you’ve spent anytime around me when I’ve talked movies, you probably know that my favorite comedies are the quirky Wes Anderson flicks, Bottle Rocket being my favorite. I already have the regular edition DVD and its gotten TONS of use. This edition includes commentaries, documentaries and the original 13-minute short that the movie is based on. Also it has 11 deleted scenes and lots more.

I can’t wait!

This weekend was NCC’s leadership retreat where all of the leaders in the clusters get together and spend time fellowshipping, worshipping and catching the vision for the coming year. And this year should be exciting as the vision is begin to cement on seeing God move radically in Norman. If you could boil it down to a single verse from the Bible, it would be:

…My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power…

1 Corinthians 2:4

For surrounding context, Paul is talking to the Corinthians here about how he came to them preaching, and how it wasn’t based upon persuasive words, apologetics, or any wisdom of the world but from power that flows from being concerned with nothing beyond the Christ that was crucified.

It’s exciting to (slowly at the moment) begin to see this played out in Norman. It was evident everyday in Cape Town but here in America the faith level in most Christian communities seems to be non-existent in regards to demonstrations of the Spirit and power (particularly because people a — don’t think it happens anymore which is one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard or b — are afraid because of abuses like Lakeland). But even here in the states where faith seems dead it can happen. As a church, we’ve seen several miraculous healings around town and things only seem to be picking up steam.

What’s important to remember (and what leads to abuses like Lakeland) is that the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” is intimately connected to mission. It’s in this context of the missio Dei that Paul proclaims it. It’s not designed to center around a single earthly man. It’s not designed to single around getting a single ministry lots of money. It’s designed to spiral out in mission, “so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God. (vs 5)” Repentance and new life is intimately connected and its terminus isn’t ever just with a single body.

These are exciting times to be in Norman, indeed.

Back to school, back to school/to prove to Dad that I’m not a fool/I got my lunch packed up my boots tied tight/I hope I don’t get in a fight!

Billy Madison

Today I helped work the back to school tent for my work. This consisted of standing around and talking to scared and hopeful students as they prepared to embark on their college careers (and also giving them free stuff: cups and candy in our case).

It brought back memories from when I did this in the fall of 2000. The only difference now though is that everything is much, much smoother and automated. I remember one trouble spot being parking. Today they had that mostly under control with special valet lanes and attendants ready to stuff your junk in big boxes and cart it up to your room. Everything was surprisingly slick. I didn’t see the checkin process but hear tell it was the same: slick and automated. What I was told is that students just swiped their ID and everything was printed out/taken care of automagically.

I’ll definitely miss the quiet that summer brings to campus but the energy with everyone there was quite nice. Campus is a fun place whilst school is in session…

You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16

As I previously mentioned, I spent 7 days in Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Vegas, suffice it to say, is not my favorite place to be in this world (particularly where I was: the strip). Everywhere is a casino and it seems that the big seven sins are glorified (particularly greed, lust, envy and pride). Everywhere you go in fact, it seems that they are thrown in your face. It was quite meaningful then to read and meditate on the above verses.

You see Las Vegas (both physically and metaphorically) is the “city on a hill” that the world presents. It epitomizes everything the world holds dear and glorifies everything Christ doesn’t. Physically it’s a wonder to behold. The strip is lit as bright as day at night due to all the lights (as evidenced in the picture). The Luxor Hotel shoots an incredibly bright spotlight up to the heavens even (visible in the center of the picture). Metaphorically, we need look no further than its bold proclamation “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!” It appeals to all of our base and dark emotions as humans: the greed to get more and more from the casino machine, the lust to do what we want — see what we want — however we want, and the pride to know that its all OK here, to name just a few things.

It was both encouraging and emboldening then to read this passage (in the light of the surrounding Sermon on the Mount) and to know that this isn’t at all what the city of God is. To know that it shines brighter than anything the world can throw at it is so encouraging. Regardless of how bright the strip of Vegas seems to be in the darkest night — it’s all artificial and is nothing compared to God’s kingdom. And it’s incredibly emboldening to know that we can (and are) to walk in this light, shining before everyone that we meet regardless of where we are.

And so — this simple truth, that my life shines before people in contrast to the artificial light that the world produces, became my prayer throughout my days in Vegas. I don’t pretend perfection but I was able to have several encouraging encounters with folks. I would commend any one reading to contend as well for a life that shines brightly and in contrast to the light the world produces.

While in Vegas, I did find the time to start and/or finish three different books. The best of those three is actually the third book in the Church and Postmodern Culture series called GloboChrist: The Great Commission Takes a Postmodern Turn. It is the best short book on missiology I’ve read since Transforming Mission by David Bosch.

Within its pages, it looks at what the great commission means in light of the postmodern, globalized world that we live in (including the challenges to it and how it can shine, if the great commission is going to mean anything in the next age). It starts with an exploration of postmodernity and globalization and what it means to religion in general and how Christianity specifically should adapt. What intrigued me about this exploration was its use of Derrida’s idea that globalization marked a return of religion but instead of that return being in the form of Christianity, it has instead taken the shape of radical Islam challenging global imperial powers (as once the early church did with Rome). His summation of how a global, postmodern Christianity should look follows from this: decentralized, deinstitutionalized and indigenous (where universal concepts are understood in the light of specific circumstance — the cultures we all find ourselves in).

The book moves on from there to discuss postmodern ways of doing mission, the importance of incarnation, and specifically what a global, postmodern Christianity looks like (beyond the brief definition in the beginning pages of the book). On top of that, one of the most interesting chapters of the book looks at the challenge Islam poses to the Great Commission (and globalization/westernization/etc). I had not really considered Islam heavily as a major contender to globalization (or necessarily as the religion that the world was looking to, although I knew this to be more and more the case). He claims nothing short of a radical reinvention of itself will allow Christianity to triumph over radical Islam.

Anyways — when everything is tired together, this is a fascinating and thought provoking read. If you are looking for a good book to read on missiology/evangelism (in a broad sense), this is definitely one worth picking up. It will probably stay as a high recommendation of mine for quite some time (and I hope to be able to explore it more in this space as well). 5 of 5 stars, easily.

These past few weeks have been busy, busy, busy.

Last week I spent 7 days/6 nights in Las Vegas attending two different computer conferences. The first, Blackhat, was on Wednesday and Thursday. It’s a computer security conference and is quite expensive and formal but quite good as well. Lots of vendors and companies show up and there is a lot of good information disseminated among the attenders.

The second conference is plainly put, one of the best conferences I’ve been to. It’s called Defcon and ran from Friday through Sunday, 10am to after midnight most days. Lots and lots to see and do. It tends to center around computer security but has sessions involving physical security and a range of other things. For example, two of the more intriguing sessions I went to were on corporate espionage techniques and urban exploration principles. Both were just fascinating. A bit of the computer security info from Blackhat is replicated here but is generally better as the speakers are more laid back, open and willing to talk. People watching is also amazing here. There were about 10,000 attendees from what I heard and it’s the oddest mix of academic types, “feds”, and serious hackers. And the setup is also just different. For example, they had a “chillout room” setup for people to meetup with others and relax with different DJ mixing beats all the time.

I also was blessed to be able to spend time with some old friends while there. Thanks to the hospitality of Brian Clifton and his wife, I was able to enjoy a home cooked meal and a trip to In-N-Out with them and Tim Hearon. Lots of good eating and a trip to the airforce base also rounded out my time in Vegas. Much to the dismay of some of you though, I didn’t win any money. I didn’t lose any though either — I made it out with out playing on a single machine or table.

This past weekend was quite busy too. My girlfriend’s BFFE (that’s best friend forever and ever) got married and she was the maid of honor. So, Thursday night I had a rehearsal dinner to go to and then Friday night a wedding. They were both fun though (especially dancing at the wedding).

Here’s to a slow coming week though.