Why do homeless people piss us off?

This is a bit of a re-post from an older blog, but news today brought it back to mind: Attacks on homeless will be hate crimes in Florida:

The slaying of the homeless veteran, Daniel Case, on Florida’s west coast is an example of that brutality. Two street gang members were charged with wielding a baseball bat and golf club to beat him while he slept in a lawn chair behind a Bradenton business.

Nearly two years ago I sent out an e-mail to Twoshirts members inviting people to join our efforts to collect food and clothing for homeless teens in Oceanside, Ca, I received this response from a (now former) member:

“they can get jobs like most normal people!! dont send me your bull**** !!!”

Why all the anger?

According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, violence against homeless people are on the rise nationally, and this story in the Detroit News from back then covers the murder of a homeless man by two young teenage boys who were allegedly involved. The motive remains a mystery, and in all fairness, we presume their innocence until they’re proven otherwise.

Still, there were a couple of quotes in the article that struck me. One of the boys mothers believes her son is innocent, partly because, in her words:

“We were homeless once,” Hazard said. “We don’t have much, but I raised him and my other children to respect others. I was a working mother and taught them morals and to be honest.”

I’m sure she did, but perhaps her son saw a bit of himself in the homeless man. Often our anger towards others is rooted in self-rejection and shame. When people represent the worst of us, or by their very presence seem to confirm our greatest fears, we can lash out in anger.

Or perhaps the motive is even more banal. At the time, Michael Stoops, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition for the Homeless, said,

“We think crimes against the homeless should be classified as a hate crime…People feel it is safe to hate and attack the homeless.

Michael Stoops touches on a deep-seated human reality: we often repress the evil inside of us until we have a safe, anonymous target. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all have that inside of us. Wherever the anger and hate comes from, the poor and homeless are practically relegated to the category of non-human in cultures of affluence like ours, and are particularly vulnerable to all manner of attacks, abuses, and crimes.

My wife Jenell and I have been particularly challenged by Jesus’ words: ” Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back” (Luke 6:30), and of course, John the Baptist’s words, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11). We’ve tried to live these words out in concrete ways. What are some ways you’ve been challenged on this issue?

If you’re looking for ways to help or get involved, check out the Homelessness Resource Center. Or, check out Interfaith Community Services here in North County San Diego and, better yet, get involved by volunteering or even becoming a facebook fan and helping to spread the word.

Technorati Tags: Hate crimes, homeless, Jesus, John the Baptist, Luke, poverty

Criminalizing the mentally ill

Two articles in the news today converge in an interesting way for those interested in mercy and justice work:

First, The Texas Tribune interviews author Pete Early, who says we’ve criminalized the mentally ill:

Right now, as we’re talking, you’ve got 365,000 people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression in jails and prison. You’ve got a half-million on probation, you’ve got a million going through the criminal justice system every year, and the largest public mental facility is not a hospital; it’s the Los Angeles County Jail.

Second, and a little closer to home, the San Diego City Council is off to a slow start on the discussions for this year’s downtown Winter Shelter. Of particular interest to me are some of the public comments on the article. There’s this…

You can sleep anywhere you like on City streets, you have dozens of free food outlets to choose from, you have a constant flow of tourists and others to panhandle from and when the weather gets cold the City builds you a cozy warm shelter to sleep in. How is the City planning to address the homeless problem or do they just look at it as an alternative lifestyle that they need to support?

And my nomination for idiot of the week goes to..

No homeless magnet.

We already have more than our share of bums. Why attract more with freebies, handouts, and “services”?

I’m moving to Reston VA in two weeks. No bums in Reston Town Center. Want to know why? It’s private property. Bums will get thrown out. It’s wonderful to be able to have a drink and a meal without a parade of smelly, drug-addled bums demanding money, screaming incoherently, fighting over booze and cigarettes, etc.

No “services” for bums == no (or fewer) bums.  Simple math.  If you love homeless, move to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

No services = no homeless? Wow, that’s brilliant.

Homelessness is, of course, massively inflated by the impact of the mentally ill. The simple fact is that, one way or the other, we are going to pay for the care of people who can’t completely care for themselves (can anybody, really?), either by throwing them in jail when they break the law (which is inevitable), by putting them in government institutions, or by subsidizing private and non-profit programs (check out the Fairweather Lodge model we use at Interfaith).

Two questions: What are the humane, just, and responsible ways to care for such people in need and what kind of biblical guidance is there for this topic?

How important are interfaith efforts today?

Please take just a few minutes to answer these 7 questions. Your perspective is very important to me!

3 questions about Jesus: Bryan Dormaier

My friend Bryan Dormaier is next to answer our 3 Questions About Jesus: Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker | Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark | Ben Sternke | JR Rozko | Amy Rozko | Steve Burnhope | Jason Evans | Daniel So).
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Is there anything worse than a person who only does things looking out for themselves?

You know the type- the only thing they worry about is how things will effect them. And we all know if we’re honest that we do it, but at the same time we see it in others and it disgusts us.

If I am to talk about Jesus in the most basic way I know how, I think that Jesus was all about saying that worrying first about oneself is not a good way to live. One of the sayings of Jesus that I find most interesting was about wheat. He said, “think about wheat – if the kernels stay on the head, what good do they do? They remain just one grain. But if they are willing to give their lives, ‘if they fall to the ground and die,’ they produce something much greater than themselves, something exponentially greater, for think, from one kernel of wheat, an entire plant grows and that plant grows many kernels.” And so in this way, Jesus says, “if you want to have a meaningful life, it has to be about something greater than your self preservation.”

Another time, Jesus was asked to sum up what it meant to live the spiritual life. He answered two things: love God first and foremost, and love others as much as you love yourself. In doing so, he said, you really would be living the spiritual life.

But Jesus didn’t just put this forward as some sort of romantic idea, this idea – that life is best lived for serving others than for serving ourselves was the message that Jesus lived in his actions. That is, the Christian story says that Jesus willingly let himself be arrested and killed for teaching this message, he took his message that self-preservation isn’t what life is all about to it’s logical end, that when it became an unpopular message he allowed himself to be murdered to illustrate his point.

Now, the Christian story is told by people who followed Jesus and believed that not only was he a fantastic human, but he was also God. And as proof they offered that after he had died, he came back to life – an almost unbelievable thing. But for these early followers of Jesus, it was an authentication to that entire way of living, that life is about more than ourselves and that God wants us to not be focused on ourselves because God is not focused on Godself but on serving others.

This is why I think Jesus is so important, because if that kind of God exists, I believe it is very, very good news.

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Bryan Dormaier is a graduate of Multnomah Biblical Seminary where he received his Masters in Pastoral Studies. Bryan also has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Whitworth University, in Spokane, WA. He is currently involved with a missional church plant in the Portland area.

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, Bryan Dormaier, Jesus Christ

He who is the Accepting of repentance

Today, along with several others in honor of September 11, I am blogging from the Koran. Our hope is to foster respect and understanding between Christians and Muslims (scroll down for a full list of the bloggers).

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I’m no Koranic scholar, so I apologize in advance to my Muslim friends for any gross misinterpretations. But as a Christian minister I must admit much in the Koran seems awfully familiar.

For example: the Koran tells a creation story that is meant to help its followers find a sense of identity in their relationship to the world. Like all origin stories (including scientific ones), it attempts to make sense of the violence and destruction we see everyday, and reconcile the paradox of good alongside evil.

Surat Al-Baqarah 2 tells us that mankind owes its existence to a power that is greater than all life and all matter. The Koran calls this power Allah (or the Lord), and teaches that Allah made the earth for mankind’s enjoyment, made mankind above the angels and, like the angels, made mankind with an ability to choose disobedience. Allah then placed the first man, Adam, as His authority on earth, in a garden paradise and instructed Adam not to eat from a particular tree. But Shaitan, a rebellious angel, led mankind to disobey, which produced enmity among the inhabitants of the earth.

At this point, in Surat Al-Baqarah 2.37, the story takes a surprising turn:

Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful (Sahih International).

Despite the work of evil that has infected mankind and brought destruction to the paradise God created, there is mercy. In fact, what makes this passage so surprising is the strong context of punitive justice. The purpose of the chapter is to exhort people to lead righteous lives, and promise eternal destruction by fire for those who reject Allah’s righteousness. Accordingly, one should expect judgment for Adam and all those who disobey. No doubt – knowing full well the justice of Allah – destruction for Allah’s newest creation is exactly what Shaitan had in mind when he sought to deceive.

But the Lord has surprised us all; as it turns out, He is accepting of repentance.

By His great mercy, the justice of the Lord has become a path for redemption rather than destruction – a path for those who, “seek help through patience and prayer, and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allah ]” (Surat Al-Baqarah 2.45).

This is the way forward for the good Muslim: a life of humility, realizing that our own brokenness is part of what is wrong with the world and a turning toward the Lord in order to receive His mercy – which then provisionally recreates the original paradise of life with Allah in the enjoyment of His good creation.

Like I said – awfully familiar.

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I realize that some may find it offensive that I’m blogging from the Koran on September 11. Perhaps they think the Koran and Islam are what the 9/11 hijackers represent. Although that is certainly what they themselves believed, it is not the bigger truth. Those terrorists don’t represent Islam, they represent religious fundamentalism in its worst possible form. Like Pastor Terry Jones, those who capitulate to the naive belief that Muslims are evil and Christians are good (or vice versa), or who create divisions of fear, hatred, and violence based on ideology, stand with the 9/11 terrorists, not against them.

Today’s blog was brought to you by Tall Skinny Kiwi. Full list of bloggers: Paul | Kathrin | Berthe | Scot | Andrew Parle | Joel | Brian | Eddie Gonzalez | Emily | Wolfgang Fernandez | Melody Harrison | Hanson | Matthew Kelly | UM Jeremy | Alley C | Chris | Andrew Jones | Joshua Seek | Hannah P | Relirel | Randy Olds | Ella

Technorati Tags: Allah, Ecumenism, Islam, Muslims, September 11, Surat Al-Baqarah, The Koran

3 Questions about Jesus: Daniel So

This week Daniel So answers our 3 Questions About Jesus: Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker| Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark | Ben Sternke | JR Rozko | Amy Rozko | Steve Burnhope | Jason Evans).

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Jesus is the most remarkable person I’ve ever known.

In him, everything that has gone wrong is being put back together, in all the most important relationships we know — with God, others, ourselves, and the world. For many years, because of my disconnected sense of identity, I sought escape. The longer I have followed Jesus, though, the more I have come to see that he offers something better than escape: in him is genuine hope.  That which is lost, broken, and dead is found, restored, and made alive in Jesus.

Before Jesus found me, I struggled with a sense of being “neither/nor” as an Asian American — neither fully accepted as “American” nor fitting in a “home” culture to which we never belonged. In, through, and because of Jesus, I am learning to see another way forward. “Both/and” people learn to navigate fluidly between worlds and cultures, with empathy for those at the margins. Jesus is not obliterating my ethnic identity; rather, he is restoring it and freeing me to embrace it for the sake of loving God and people more fully.

On one day recently, I sent my daughter off to her first day of school, prayed at a funeral service, and visited a family in the hospital who was celebrating the birth of their child.  Life, death, new beginnings – everything all at once.  Days like those remind me of why I love and follow Jesus: the world we long for, which requires the courage, compassion, and creativity he fills our lives with, is already here and is on its way.

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Together, Daniel and his wife Jeya pastor United, their church community in San Diego, where they seek to cultivate better expressions of God’s love for the world. Their daughter lights up their house with her beautiful singing and electrifying dance moves.  Daniel also serves on the board of directors for Justice Ventures International, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening ventures that promote justice around the world. As a freelance writer and graphic designer, Daniel explores the connections between faith, culture, and identity. For more, visit headsparks.com

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, Daniel So, Gospel, Jesus Christ

3 Questions about Jesus: Jason Evans

Yet another installment of our latest series is provided by Jason Evans, who tackles 3 Questions About Jesus: Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker| Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark | Ben Sternke | JR Rozko | Amy Rozko | Steve Burnhope).

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I don’t think you make up a story like Jesus’ and hope it convincing. Gods aren’t to be born in barns, to peasant girls and laid in feeding troughs on the edge of empire. You have to really believe this to be true to write it down for others. And I guess that is why I believe. It is so ridiculous, that it just might be true.

There’s no pretense. There’s nothing trying to convince me. Yet, I’m convinced.

I think Jesus was on to something. Jesus got it. He saw how the world was intended to work. He could see that in our broken, feeble attempts we-meaning humanity-had missed the point. He knew what it would take to set us straight. The way he lived his life, the things he said and did showed us a way of living which would draw us back into a way we were intended to. Yet, I think he knew that the death we let enter into our lives had to be removed. And we couldn’t do that on our own. So, he defeated death for us.

I think that is something only God could do.

I have found this to be so in my own life. I look at the Gospels’ account of how Jesus lived his life, and I see a way to live my own. Yet, I quickly find that I am quite incapable of living as I want to. Jesus said he was “the way, the truth and the life.” And as mystical and ill-defined as that may seem I find it to be true. When I conclude that I cannot do it on my own, and I submit to this God-made-flesh I find life.

Some would call this, a crutch. I prefer, a stretcher.

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Jason is currently a student at Fuller Theological Seminary and has a certificate in Urban Ministry from Hesston College. Before joining our team, Jason was a church planter and church planting consultant. These efforts have been documented in several books. He and his wife, Brooke, have three children, Paige, Matt and Sam. They live in the South Park neighborhood.

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, Gospel, Jason Evans, Jesus Christ

3 Questions about Jesus: Steve Burnhope

This week my friend Steve Burnhope answers our 3 Questions About Jesus: Who is Jesus the Christ? What has he done? And why does it matter? (Previous installments: Jason Coker | Jesse Schroeder | Cari Jenkins | Jason Clark | Ben Sternke | JR Rozko | Amy Rozko).

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To me, the reality of a creator God is the most likely explanation of the created order; and to be in relationship with that God, humanity’s most likely calling.

Christianity understands a perfect God wanting a perfect creation to love and be loved by.  But for any love to be genuine, it must be freely offered.  Love compelled, even by God, is abuse.

Creation had to include choice, the option of living in a different story.

Christianity sees humanity choosing badly, collectively and individually, and finding ourselves living in the consequences of our bad choices – dominated and polluted by selfishness, independence and alienation.

Screwed up relationships with God, each other and our world.

A humanity once somehow made in the ‘image’ of God, now like a badly-faded portrait, stained and ripped.

Surely, though, a perfect creator God would know that this possibility would arise?  Yes – from the very beginning.  The potential, the risk, could not be programmed out without compromising perfection.

Surely, then, he must accept some responsibility for what happened?

Actually, not just some.  The Christian explanation says he intended all along to take the full responsibility; to pay the entire price of restoration.  To give us back a choice.

In Jesus, God became human and entered his own created order.  Sharing in the suffering caused by our choices, submitting himself to humanity’s abuse of humanity, fully and genuinely participating in the best of what it means to be human in relationship with God and in the worst of what it means to be human in a damaged world.

God’s solution still requires us to choose.  There is still no compulsion.  This time, though, we know better what our God is like.  Who and what we’re choosing for.

And what he, in Jesus, has done to make it possible.

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Stephen Burnhope lives in Buckinghamshire in the U.K. and is part of the North Thames Vineyard. He was awarded the Master of Arts with Distinction by the London School of Theology and will begin PhD research in 2010. Stephen is married to Lyn, a religious education teacher and fellow MA graduate of LST, with four children and one grandson.

Technorati Tags: 3 Questions About Jesus, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Steve Burnhope

A reader critiques my portrayal of race and violence

We had a bit of a feisty discussion here recently around the subject of gender roles and relationships on my post Men are in charge because the Bible says so. Not long after, I received a challenging email from Jana (who agreed to let me share our correspondence):

Sorry to leave this on a contact form not a comment. I didn’t want to start a nasty comment fight so I thought this would be best. I saw [the] article a while back and the picture disturbed me. I ignored it, as usual dismissing it, excusing it. I’m just being upity again!

But then I stumbled across it again and I just had to ask. What on earth made you pick a picture of domestic violence taken from rural Africa? Sorry to be a pain but I just can’t fathom why you would have chosen this particular picture and I just had to ask. Sorry!

Jana

Here’s my reply:

Hi Jana,

Thanks for being willing to ask. I chose the picture because it perfectly captures the spirit of male power inherent in patriarchy. When men exert power in the world it is typically through verbal, physical, or political threats, coercion, or violence. I find that highly disturbing, and I needed a disturbing picture to capture the essence of patriarchy.

So, why does it disturb you? Do you think it’s an inappropriate picture for that post?

Thanks,
Jason

Jana’s response made me realize I’d missed the point:

Hi Jason,

Yeah you are right the image definitely captures the image which you talk about in the piece. And I am in total agreement with your points. What disturbed me was why did you pick this one out of an African rural context? How many of your readers can identify with this scene? I found these with a quick search. Seem to convey the same.

http://runninginheels.co.uk/articles/domestic-violence/
http://objectifythis.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/dolce-and-gabbana-rape-ad.jpg
http://www.topnews.in/files/Sexual-violence-women.jpg

Now I am not trying to accuse you of racism or anything like. But by using the image you did, all you did was reinforce the idea that violence against women is something which those barbarians do. Because your readers won’t identify with that African villager at all. Why use a picture of an African man when there are plenty of pictures of men from your own culture doing the same?

I hate racifying things. But sometimes I feel a bit of a duty to say something which I know a lot of us BAME’s are thinking! “not again” “not another shot of a dark skinned man doing something barbaric”. Probably should have just left you alone but felt compelled to say something.

Thanks for listening!
Jana

Frankly, I hadn’t considered any of that.

That’s a fair critique Jana. To be perfectly honest I chose that particular picture 1) because it was dramatic, and 2) because you can’t really make out anyone’s face – and I’m somewhat cautious about showing people’s faces on my blog if I don’t know them, particularly when they’re portrayed negatively. BUT, I never thought about the racial or cultural messaging. I should have – which is not quite the same thing as saying I shouldn’t have used the picture, but it’s very possible that upon reflection I wouldn’t have used it, if for no other reason than to avoid perpetuating negative stereotypes about blacks and black Africans. There’s an interesting, complicated, and very important discussion in there somewhere. Either way, I do appreciate you bringing it to my attention.

Regards,
Jason

And, our last email:

Hi Jason,

Yes I never thought that you would have chosen the picture with the express purpose of putting across that message. And I realise that it’s hard to find appropriate images especially when you are trying to meet so many criteria (not sexist, not racist, hides faces, communicates the point etc.). The last thing I would want is to suggest anything else. Race and gender issues are so interwoven and overlapping so it all very complicated. But I think you are right, there is an important (though complicated) discussion in there and it is just waiting to be had.

I heard something is going on over on your side of the Atlantic with regards to race in the church, that things are changing and shifting? In any case the race issue still exists (Obama or no), and we have to have a global discussion for a global church.

Thanks,
Jana

Friday Later I’d like to complicate this topic with some thoughts about race, violence and the Kingdom. But until then, I’d be interested in your thoughts – with the caveat that any comments on this sensitive topic need to be appropriate. Otherwise, they will be edited or deleted.

Technorati Tags: Critique, Kingdom of God, Race, Violence

Should Christians be the most powerful people in the world?

On facebook this morning I took a line I’d crafted related to recent thinking on gender issues and reworked it. Here’s the original line, taken from a paper I wrote Monday about much of the Church’s teaching on gender and sexuality:

Men are domineering leaders who, through sheer expression of their potency, conquer hostility in the marketplace and reluctance in the bedroom, bringing forth a dual harvest of subservient wealth and children as their enduring legacy.

Personally, I don’t believe this is what it means to be an authentic man, but, unfortunately, many Christian men and women do (including many pastors). I think their belief betrays a fundamental error about the nature of Christian power in general and the nature of Christ’s power in particular.

So, today, while thinking of the recent idiocy surrounding the so-called Ground Zero Mosque (which, is an imaginary figment of right-wing propaganda), I took that line and reworked it:

Christians are domineering leaders who, through sheer expression of their potency, conquer hostility in the world and reluctance in the heart, bringing forth a dual harvest of subservient nations and converts as their enduring legacy.

Obviously, I don’t believe this is true either, but I think it is what many Christians believe – that the consequence of Christ’s victory on the cross is that Christians should come to rule in this present age, whether that be through governmental power (i.e. the Religious Right), cultural power (entertainment media), commercial power (business success and dominance), or familial power (husband/wife, parent/child). For me, the very nature of the gospel, and especially Christ himself, speak directly to these issues in a remarkably clear way.

Then in the comments, Jonathan Brink asked me a provocative question:

Jason, how would you say that to my 8 year old son?

Hmm. Good question. I took Jonathan’s prompt and asked my own 9 year-old daughter, Alannah:

“Alannah, I have a question for you. I have a friend who says that being a Christian means we should be the most powerful people in the world. What do you think?”

“What? Who’s this friend?”

“Oh, just someone I know on the internet.”

“Um, No.”

“No? Why not?”

“Well, first of all, I know some people say that we should make everyone Christians, but I don’t think so. I think if you’re Jewish or whatever, that’s not wrong. It’s not wrong to be Jewish. And, if we had all the power that would ruin everything! I mean, the only one who should have all the power is God. That way we would all have a leader.”

Wow. She covers alot of ground in that answer. Freedom, power, evangelism, and a sense of God that transcends religion. You can tell Alannah had thought about this before my question. We continued our conversation. I wanted to share with her my own thoughts about how Jesus exercised power in a surprising and truly revolutionary way, and how his life informs and empowers his followers’ recapitulation of that same pattern.

But what do you think? How should Christians wield power? Can they? What ought to be the power relationship between ourselves and non-Christians? Or between us and other family members? Between men and women, parents and children? Or between Christians and the State?

Technorati Tags: Church and State, Gender, Gospel, Politics, Power