Year End Close Out

17 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Churches, Diversity, Faith Communities, Hospitality, Minorities, Missions, Spiritual Life, Uncategorized, Working and Preparing, Workshops Tags: , , , ,

As we close out 2014, I just want to share the lyrics of a Stevie Wonder Christmas song. I think it says it all. My heart is heavy with the state of our world but these words encourage me. I pray someday comes soon.

“Someday At Christmas”
By Stevie Wonder

Someday at Christmas men won’t be boys
Playing with bombs like kids play with toys
One warm December our hearts will see
A world where men are free

Someday at Christmas there’ll be no wars
When we have learned what Christmas is for
When we have found what life’s really worth
There’ll be peace on earth

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime

Someday at Christmas we’ll see a land
With no hungry children, no empty hand
One happy morning people will share
Our world where people care

Someday at Christmas there’ll be no tears
All men are equal and no men have fears
One shining moment, one prayer away
From our world today

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime

Someday at Christmas man will not fail
Hate will be gone and love will prevail
Someday a new world that we can start
With hope in every heart

Someday all our dreams will come to be
Someday in a world where men are free
Maybe not in time for you and me
But someday at Christmastime
Someday at Christmastime

Blessings and Merry Christmas.
Pam

Protest or Cooperate

04 Dec 2014 1 Comment

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Churches, Diversity, Faith Communities, Minorities, Spiritual Life, Working and Preparing Tags: , , ,

Christians, believers, and white people who get it and all (Christians, believers, and white people) who don’t –

Please take notice of what’s going on in the US. So far, it’s just been the destructive voice of the few and the rallying voice of some that we have heard this year. But I tell you, if you continue to sit by and think everything is okay, you will be in for a rude awakening. As more killings, discriminatory acts and attacks, etc. continue to happen, people of color collectively will rise up and demand change. Might I remind you of the Bus Boycott and how effective it was and they didn’t have all the social media and technology that we have available today. People of color weren’t in all types of critical positions and levels of employment back then. While you may think you’re safe in your little world, please know that when massive boycotts occur, massive strikes happen and other large scale events occur as a sign of protest, your safe little world will be affected, infected and invaded.

Speak out in your churches; imploring your church to join in the fight. You can either join the fight willingly or unwillingly but you will become involved. You can either help or just be in the way. Which do you think Jesus would require? Martin Luther King Jr. said, “[The person] who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.”

Will you protest or will you cooperate?

The Ebola Crisis

13 Oct 2014 5 Comments

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Churches, Diversity, Faith Communities, Hospitality, Uncategorized Tags: ,

The Ebola Crisis is a good case that shows 1) how we are all interconnected and 2) why we should care for our brothers and sisters.

1. We can pretend that we don’t know what’s going on or what’s happening to our brothers and sisters but it will eventually present itself at our doors. Our media had mentioned only a little about the Ebola crisis in Africa before it made it to the US. However, even with that little bit, we could have still rallied forth to do something to help. I’m sure there were probably some groups and organizations that tried to do something to help but by and large, the US did little to help. Some probably felt like, ‘Oh, it’s over there. What does that have to do with me?” You can keep telling yourself that only up until the moment you are faced with it directly, and then what…. So, if Ebola is over there then we don’t have to worry about it impacting our lives and we don’t even have to prepare for it.

You don’t even have to look overseas for examples. Right here in the US there are people being abused, mistreated, oppressed and yet we sit by and do nothing. “It’s not our problem.” “They brought it on themselves.” “They deserve it.” “I feel sorry for them but what can I do?” “It’s a shame they are doing that to those people.” Do any of these sound familiar? The time for burying our heads in the sand, or trying to isolate ourselves from the problems are over. It’s time for all people but in particular Christians to say enough! We are our brothers and sisters keepers. It does affect us. You don’t see the elevated crime rates? You don’t see the fluctuating state of our economy? You don’t see the children and young adults who feel as if they’ve been abandoned yet again. Well, keep ignoring the situation and you will.

2. Why should we care for our brothers and sisters? Why is that so important? The South African concept of Ubuntu, social unity and generosity of spirit, is widely known here in the US but only practiced sparingly. A society does better when it cares for its entire people. When all have the necessities, then everyone is contributing to the benefit and growth of society. We seem to think that if we spend money to help people, that it’s wasting our money. However, it’s actually the best way to spend money – investing in people. Otherwise, we will be investing in prisons, medicines, and other negative expenditures. Looking at the Ebola crisis, we see that when we don’t care for some and think it doesn’t matter to us, then we are living irrationally. To think that we can ever be isolated from the problems and woes of our brothers and sisters is ludicrous. It will impact our lives and families one way or another. However, if we collectively reach out to the hurting, sick, lost or oppressed, we can aide in their successes in life, which will ultimately help our own successes. Had we collectively reached out to Africa when Ebola was first found, then we could have worked together to minimize the deaths and spread of it. The thinking that one life is less important than another and therefore disposable goes against the whole concept of Ubuntu and, I believe, God.

So, with all this in mind and this model of the Ebola crisis:
Look anew at what’s going on in the world, Israel, Palestine, Middle East, Africa, Asia, etc.
Look anew at what’s going on in the US and all the senseless killings by police and other racists. Look anew at the attempts to suppress voters from exercising their right to vote
Look anew at how separated and disjointed our country has become, racially, economically, etc.
Look anew at the unequal education system, judicial system, housing system, etc.
Look anew and begin to talk with those in your community (whether they look like you or not, whether they think like you or not, whether they have as much as you or not, etc.) about possible things that can be done by you individually and you as part of a group.

A good place to start for resources, suggestions, etc. is your local place of faith – Christian, Muslim, Jewish, etc. They will typically have some working knowledge of who the organizers and workers are in the community on the different issues. You can also search the internet for nonprofits, community development groups, outreach and community centers, etc. I would not limit my online search to the local area because you can get great general information that can be applied locally.

I’d love to hear back from you about what you did and how you felt when doing it.

Beautiful Diversity!

02 Aug 2014 1 Comment

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Churches, Diversity, Faith Communities, Hospitality, Minorities, Missions, Spiritual Life, Uncategorized, Working and Preparing Tags: , , , , , ,

27 Arenal Kioro View 4

While on vacation in Costa Rica (which is BEAUTIFUL!!!!), I was inspired by this view from our hotel room to write this poem.

Allow – Ask – Do

Nature is so beautiful and peaceful, something that cannot be packaged, bought or sold.
It soothes my heart and spirit and does miraculous things in my soul.
The refreshing rain intermittently comes to cleanse the earth and cause more growth as a whole.

The rich and different varieties of every color and hue, size and shape, texture and feel.
Amazing and inspiring as they all are interspersed on numerous hills.
Interacting and not, supporting and not, propping up, colliding yet all are still here.

Allowing for difference
Allowing for observing
Allowing for intrusion
Bending and touching as they will.

Oh, that we humans would take note and learn from nature.
Communities of diverse plants living together each individually yet so beautiful together.
Interacting, supporting, upholding, respecting and embracing one another.

Just like nature, we are different, distinct and yet come from the same source.
Each created by God to a particular time, place, race and purpose.
A people of God and if we are believers, then people of blessing and not curse.

Asking:
How can I help you today?
How can I ask God to bless you today?
How can I serve you today?
As God helps, blesses and serves me.

To get away is so important to do so we can relax and reflect.
Whether the leaving is mental or physical, it is something we should not neglect.
We will become more focused and purposeful in our talk; then our walk, it will affect.

As I’ve learned from a country of peace I, in turn, share this with you.
How refreshing and rejuvenating embracing peace can be if one embraces it true.
I vow to go home and do more to bring peace in all that I do.

Being peace in the midst of chaos.
Doing peace work at every opportunity.
Modeling and teaching peace to all I encounter…
To help bring peace to our world.

A Thought

24 May 2014 Leave a comment

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Churches, Faith Communities, Spiritual Life, Uncategorized, Working and Preparing Tags: , ,

“A thought:  Just because the people around you may allow you to be less than doesn’t mean you have to be that.  Push yourself to do better and be better and always be open to learning from ANYONE!!!!!”

I put the above message on Facebook.  It was for individuals but as I was reading this book, “Building A Discipling Culture,” it occurred to me that many churches have also chosen to be less than.  They don’t push themselves, their leaders or their members to do better and be better.  They do not possess a ‘discipling culture.’  

Building off the three main ways we learn (Classroom/Lecture passing on of information, Apprenticeship and Immersion), they say that in order for churches to create or build a ‘discipling culture,’ churches have to provide the information, imitate the process and allow for innovation.  They cite many instances in scripture where Jesus modeled this process for us but somehow we have mixed things up.  We don’t realize that “If you make disciples, you always get the church.  But if you make a church, you rarely get disciples.” (Mike Breen and the 3DM Team, Building A Discipling Culture, Second Edition, Pawleys Island, SC, 2011)

For those interested in creating and building a ‘discipling culture,’ this is a must read.

People of Blessing

06 May 2014 4 Comments

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Churches, Diversity, Faith Communities, Missions, Spiritual Life, Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

This past Thursday, I attended a ‘Missional Forum’ put together by BODY | Oak Cliff.  The speaker was Fuller Seminary professor, Reggie McNeal and it turns out he and I have very similar thoughts about the state of the church today.  Two things I took away from the gathering were:

1.  As the people of God, we are to be a people of blessing.

2. We are to partner with God in his redemptive mission in the world and this means our lives are to be a mission trip – the way we live, how we treat people, who we engage, etc.

It was a good reminder for me at a time when I’ve been somewhat frustrated with churches and Christians.  Another reminder was a clip a friend sent me where they were testing to see if people would see the homeless people as they walked by.  In this clip, the ‘homeless’ people were the loved ones of the people walking by.  Yet no one noticed.  How I live my life, how I see and treat people, who I reach out to and seek to know, all say a lot about whether my walk and my talk are in sync, whether I am a person of blessing or not and whether I am partnering with God in His work or seeking to create my own.

Churches have somehow gone astray and don’t focus as much on living as Christ lived and blessing others. McNeal suggests that over the years we have some confused things and see going to church as the end point, not being the church. Being involves giving of ourselves, our time and our resources to help those in need of assistance and to reach out to those in need of a friend. So, at the end of each day, let’s reflect on whether we have been people of blessing and what more can we do the following day. Lord God, please bless us so that we can be a blessing to others and help in building your kingdom.

Diversify! Diversify! Diversify!

23 Feb 2014 2 Comments

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Churches, Diversity, Faith Communities, Hospitality Tags: , ,

And no, I don’t mean your financial portfolio.  We like diversity and variety in a lot of things.  When going out, we like to go to a variety of places, doing different things.  It might be to the movies one time, out to eat, to the park, to the museum, etc.  We like to eat different types of food.  We would complain if every day we had to eat the exact same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  We definitely like a variety of styles of clothing and even have them categorized; casual, business casual, semi-formal, formal, after five, etc.

I could go on and on about how we diversify our lives in so many ways.  So now, I would like to talk about how we diversify our financial portfolio.  We diversify so that we can have the greatest yields from our investments while minimizing the risks.  Risk and profit should be shared among a large group.  A typical portfolio will include 1) stocks, 2) bonds, and 3) short term investments.  Stocks have the highest risks but also the highest rewards.  Bonds have lower risk, so lower rewards but are more predictable.  Short term investments have the least risk (such as money market funds) and yield the least return but are the safest.

We could compare this to diversifying our congregations.  The higher risk individuals to welcome into our congregations would be the ‘other’ who is not a believer and is of a cultural group that our denomination has shunned or criticized in the past.  Those of lower risk would be the ‘other’ who is a believer yet also of a disparaged cultural group.  The least risky individuals are those like us but they are not welcoming to the ‘other.’

A friend talks about a church that he belonged to that practiced radical hospitality.  It was an imperative to them that they welcomed all of God’s creation through their doors.  Amazing!  You’ll notice that I don’t speak about the returns or rewards in regards to diversifying our congregations.  That is because our job is to welcome people in and share the good news.  God gives the increase.  God provides the return.  In the end, the ministry yield is fruitful with a variety of fruits of all colors, types, sizes, tastes, etc.

So, I say:  Diversify!  Diversify!  Diversify!

Our Call

31 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Diversity, Faith Communities, Working and Preparing

These are not my words but seem to fit with my recent posts.  God is doing a work.  Our you ready to answer your (our) call?

{American preachers have a task more difficult, perhaps, than those faced by us under South Africa’s apartheid, or Christians under Communism. We had obvious evils to engage; you have to unwrap your culture from years of red, white, and blue myth. You have to expose, and confront, the great disconnection between the kindness, compassion, and caring of most American people, and the ruthless way American power is experienced, directly and indirectly, by the poor of the earth. You have to help good people see how they have let their institutions do their sinning for them. This is not easy among people who really believe that their country does nothing but good, but it is necessary, not only for their future, but for us all.

September 1, 2005 – When I stand before my Maker, I would rather be judged for having my arms too wide open and welcoming as a person of faith or citizen of a nation than to have them crossed over my chest to keep people out.  Peter Storey

Rev. Dr. Peter Storey is a South African Methodist minister, former president of the Methodist Church of South Africa and bishop of Johannesburg, and former president of the South African Council of Churches. Born in 1938, Storey was raised under apartheid and became a leading voice against it as the leader of the ecumenical South African Council of Churches. He also served as the prison chaplain to jailed African National Congress leader and future South African president Nelson Mandela. He played a major role in constructing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the fall of apartheid, and he founded the Gun Free South Africa movement. He recently served as a distinguished professor at Duke University Divinity School. An outspoken peace activist, he was selected in 2009 by the TED organization to be a member of the Council of Conscience, a group of spiritual leaders selected to draft the Charter for Compassion.

Sojourner’s Email 1/31/14:

For God is not unjust; [God] will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for [God’s] sake in serving the saints, as you still do. And we want each one of you to show the same diligence, so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.  Hebrews 6:10-12

“Wage peace. Never has the word seemed so fresh and precious: Have a cup of tea and rejoice. Act as if armistice has already arrived. Celebrate today.”  Judyth Hill}

Collective Change

29 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Diversity, Faith Communities, Working and Preparing

In the State of the Union address, President Obama said, “We must put our collective shoulder to the wheel of progress.”  To build off of this, I say to believers and churches, we must put our collective love of Christ to the wheel of healing, reconciliation and unity because all of the issues that are dividing our nation are also dividing our churches.

These words are a good follow up from my previous post, The Will to Embrace.  It challenges me and I hope you as well.  Let’s start the conversations that need to be started and do the things that need to be done TODAY.  In my peacemaking class tonight they talked about the way to bring about deep societal change is to:

  1. Change the Stories
  2. Create the New Realities (outside of the systems of the present realities)
  3. Change the Rules

Today is the day.  Let’s search ourselves to see what our strengths and gifts are that we have been blessed with.  Then let’s seek God’s guidance on where, what and with whom we are to labor together.  Finally, let’s continually seek Christ and be Christ at all times.  Collectively following Christ and being His beloved community.

The “Church” and The People of God

27 Oct 2013 Leave a comment

by Visible Unity, Inc. in Diversity, Faith Communities, Uncategorized

After I moved back to Dallas, I joined a church that had become diverse by merging 3 congregations (White, Black, Hispanic) because of the community changing but they had not really prepared for the merging.  It ended pretty badly.  Some people not only left this church but “church” in general; having had one too many bad experiences in the “church.”  For way too many believers, the “church” is no longer the place they want to belong to and share their lives.  I will include myself in that number.  After this church fell apart, a few of us created a faith community where we meet regularly, do Bible study, take Communion and share our lives.  We are somewhat diverse – Black, White, men, women, younger, older.

Earlier this year, I went to a conference entitled “What is Church” and there were a few other people there from faith communities.  Since then, I have emailed a couple of different people in my denomination and had conversations with people about the “church” and denominations.  I was inquiring about the “church” having some discussions about incorporating, including and making space for faith communities but I have not gotten positive reception nor been able to make any progress.

I was doing my devotions this morning (I am reading a little booklet by David Platt – What Did Jesus Really Mean When He Said Follow Me?) and wanted to share the following passages.  Platt writes about people not in the church.

“So many sit back and say, ‘Well, what other people do is between them and God.  Their sin is their life, their decision, and their responsibility.’ (He is suggesting that because people are not participating in the life of the church that this is what they say.)  Aren’t you glad that God pursues us despite our sin and pulls us away from that which destroys us?  And don’t we want people in our lives who will love us enough to look out for us when we begin to walk down a road of sinful destruction?….  Being a member of a church means realizing that we are responsible for helping the brothers and sisters around us to grow as disciples of Jesus.  In the same way, they are responsible for helping us.  We desperately need each other in the daily fight to follow Christ in a world that’s full of sin.” (Platt p. 37-38)

I agree with him that we don’t need people to just sit back and abdicate their brotherly and sisterly duties to one another as this is not what is required of us.  God does pursue us.  My difference from what Platt is saying is that the “church” should also pursue others while being mindful of how the “church” has harmed people.  The “church” should expand its thinking and be more open and welcoming to people involved in faith communities and provide space for these brothers and sisters.

Our faith community did have more people that were participating but as we shared our lives and welcomed them in, they were able to be healed and have since rejoined with a “church,” although not the same “church” as before.  Faith communities can be a place of healing for some.  I feel that I am called to be a part of faith communities and help people who have been hurt by the “church” to heal and rekindle a relationship with Jesus and to reconcile with Christ and then others.  Diversity, relationships, reconciliation can be found in faith communities and they are not in competition with the “church” but another place for God’s people to share in the great work of God by loving God and one another so that the “world will recognize disciples of Jesus by their distinct love for one another .” (Platt p. 40)

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