Reasons to love Detroit #18

18. Cheap land. Back in the summer The Padre and I were talking one day and decided that we should have a garden. A community garden would be a good way to grow some food, meet some new people in the community and generally make our way towards having a positive impact in the city.
During the course of several discussions we roped in MJ the ideas man. It turns out that the City of Detroit actually owns quite a bit of the land in Detroit(Former Detroiters have made a habit of leaving their houses untended for the city to take over over the last 30 years), and it would rather get rid of that land than have to maintain it. So every month there is a list printed of all the available lots. Not many sell so they pretty much stay the same from month to month.
So we went off to the city land office to inquire about the possibility of using one of the lots for a community garden. But as it happens they were more than willing to sell us the land...so for 300 dollars--cash on the barrel--we walked out the proud new owners of our own little slice of Detroit.

Here it is after a few improvements...

the sign wil soon say something...

can't find the original pictures

Reasons to live in Community-78, 2, 161

Number 78
You don't have to eat duck by yourself

I know this is basically a repeat of something I already said. Last weekend I wanted to cook a duck. Age wanted no part in an such endeavor. But since we live in community, I didn't have to eat duck by myself. The guys had duck and then played games, and the girls went out to dinner and a movie.

Which brings me to

Number 2
It's more fun

There is almost always someone to joke around with, hang out with, have serious conversation with, share a cup of coffee with...etc. It's more fun. And when you play games you aren't limited to chess or checkers. When you want o play raquetball you don't have to play against yourself. Killer Bunnies is the current hit game, though Settlers of Catan is the old standby.

Which brings me to an important corollary

Number 161
When you play the Settlers of Catan, you can always special build

Communal Living

Hey, so now that I remembered that I have a blog, I suppose I should give an update. I realize there's probably noone who reads this anymore, but in case someone stumbles upon this site ten years from now, carries it up from the google vault and dusts it off, I should give a brief summary of the missing 6 months.

Life has been busy. We moved into the VDP with 4 other people on the first weekend in may, began to become more involved in our church, MACC, found out the missus was pregnant, then a short while later I started the third year of medical school, which has been a wild ride all by itself.

There are 7 (almost 8) of us in the house. There are many reasons to live in community. I may at some point sit down and try to explain why we do. For now suffice to say we feel it has been a great experience.

And now the cast of characters in our little play.

1. me.
2. my wife. balloon like belly, about to pop. Ready for number two. SHe's the cook and cleaning lady rolled into one. As the only person in the house all day every day, she ends up doing the most work around the house. And everyone appreciates that.
3. Big B-15 months old now, acquiring an independent identity, standing, playing, moving around. Just popped his first tooth.
4. MJ-guitar playing engineer, good sport and general chief of new ideas. Part owner of Detroit's newest community garden, cook, part time meat smoker, and connoisseur of any and every thing you can be a connoisseur of.
5. The Sellinator-newly engaged hockey playing medical student. Deer killer extraordinaire, selfless dish washer and infective laugher. Once bounced a goldfish off a balloon and caught it in his mouth. Never hesitates to watch Big B by himself or with the Shoes to give the missus and I a break.
6. The Shoe-married to Mrs. Shoe. Would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you might ask for it. Game winner, peacemaker, appliance fixer, and king of racquetball. The kids next door knock every day and ask for the Shoe because he is the nicest person in the house and makes time for them.
7. Mrs. Shoe-married to the Shoe. PA student, graduates this spring. Gift giver, hard worker, queen of shopping, kind spirit. I have to say that Mrs Shoe is the person in this house most tormented by my idiosyncrasies, so I have to give her a shout out for her patience.

When opportunity knocks...

2 Thessalonians 3:1 "Pray that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you."

"There is great opportunity right now for the church to spread the word of God in the world and to bring those who are in darkness into light."

I am convinced that this statement is true, not just now, but always. We live in a broken world full of broken people...broken people who want to be made whole. I have been thinking a lot about this recently, and I think that if these people can't find the way to truth, the problem isn't them, it is the church. If we aren't connecting with people, we're not using the right words.

The Word of God is eternal--but the vast majority of what the church does to connect to the world isn't directly mandated in the Word. I am not aware of a directive that says this is what the church should look like--other than; it should be the temple of the Holy Spirit, the bride of Christ, the children of God in one body, united in worship. But the worldly part of us wants to be right, and wants to be in charge. We want everyone to look like us(whoever us may be). And so when the church reaches out to the world I think we try to transform the world into the image of our fathers rather than the image of our Father.

There are a lot of calls to lots of things in the Bible. But as far as I know there isn't anywhere in the Bible where it says that you have to sing a couple songs then pass the offering plate, then have a sermon then sing another song, and all stand up and sit down on cue. There also isn't any place in the Bible that I am aware of that it says that we should divide the church along racial and economic lines. I'm just sayin is all...

But back to my original point. There is a great task and opportunity to sow and reap. Now. But the church has to be willing to reach out to people who wouldn't be caught dead in most churches in this country. It has to be willing to reexamine what it means to worship. and ask the questions: Is the performance we put on every Sunday morning enough? Are we called to be a theater? Or is there something more we should be aiming for?

Don't get me wrong. The message can't change. The gospel is for all time. And the Word is eternal. But it just seems like sometimes we get the delivery all wrong.

Word? or Deed?--what's it gonna be

We are called to two different things: To "feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, invite the stranger in, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned." And to "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

St Francis said: "Preach the gospel always and if necessary use words." The idea I think is that if you live your life in a Christ centered way people will see the light in you and be drawn to Christ. Then, as I have heard it said in many Christian circles, people will ask you, why are you so good--and you can then use words. As far as I can tell that's a load of hooey. I know that I for one have never been asked--why are you so great. That's probably because I'm arrogant, caustic, and, in fact, not all that good. But how about a show of hands. How often is it really that this works?

Words are necessary. I think it is absolutely essential to any mission to speak truth and to make clear the purpose of what we do. I think that most of the time when people begin to talk a lot about lifestyle evangelism (the idea you can convince someone that God exists by the way you live) what they mean is "I'm scared to acknowledge Christ because I think people might think less of me." At least that's what I mean when I start talking about lifestyle evangelism.

And Deeds are necessary. Christ called us to serve the down and out, the have-nots, the children, the needy. Over and over and over again he preached that message. And I don't think the point of good works is to bring people to Christ. He draws us to himself. The point of good works is to express our love for those who are made in the image of God (i.e. all human beings).

Words are not sufficient. James said faith without works is dead. We have to act on our faith and we have to be willing.

Deeds are not sufficient. Without faith, good works are just that. There are lots of people out there who do lots of good things without having any sort of faith. But ultimately they are still broken, without hope.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is that in Christ we are filled to overflowing with love for the things that God loves, and that the expression of that is to desire good things for those God has created. And so we preach the gospel to bring life and healing to the dead and broken, and we feed, heal, clothe etc those who cannot make it on their own. Word and Deed are the same thing. They are both essential and important.

In fact I think I can go so far as to say that without the other each one individually is exposed as a lie. We convince ourselves that we're ok--I preach the gospel, I don't have to feed the hungry--or I do good things for people and lead a good life, I don't have to preach the gospel. That is a lie. We are called by Christ to both feed the hungry and feed the hungry.

Hey Jude

I'm just going to keep going. I don't know if It'll ever make it to publication. But let me preface this with "I don't really know what I'm talking about. I'm just writing what I've been thinking about the last few days.

These men take the truth of God and twist it so that they can use it to heap abuse on others.

So here are some more things Jude says

6. They have taken the way of Cain:
I understand this to mean, holding the best of everything for myself, and offering God what is left over
7. they have rushed for profit into Baalam's error
That is using whatever spiritual gifts and authority I have to bring profit to myself.
8. They have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion
I think this means that they have grasped at spiritual authority that is not theirs, and attempted to speak for God what he has not spoken

Then there is a whole list of descriptions that I don't have the wisdom to decipher. shepherds that feed only themselves, clouds without rain blown along by the wind, autumn treas, without fruit and uprooted twice dead, wild waves of the sea, wandering stars

So as I look at the church leadership that I have witnessed, I see the public voice of the church particularly engaging in 7 and 8, leaders profiting off their positions and gifts and attempting to grasp at temporal power by claiming to speak for God. Consider two examples:

7. People who use the gift of music that God gave them to write worship songs and profit off them. If you want to sing most worship songs at a church service have to pay the person who wrote the song, and the company that collects the money, and the recording company. A similar thing can be said about books. If you write a book to help people grow spiritually, shouldn't you offer it free online?

8. People who "speak for God" and claim that they know what political party God is rooting for. Strangely pastors of large churches who get involved in politics seem to get invited to be the president's spiritual adviser, or to sit on committees or to pray at inaugural addresses or whatever.

When I read 6 I think of the face of Christianity in this country. The vast mass of wealth that walls itself off and does its best to keep the poor people out. That keeps 95 % of its wealth and almost all of its best time for itself. Who has time to go help poor people, or preach the Word in love-I've got a job to do.

I recognize the irony here. I am of course guilty of the very thing I railed against in my last post on the subject. I apologize. Let me be clear though--I think this is just as much an indictment of myself as anyone else.

The Elephant in the Room

I feel, perhaps, that I should communicate my feelings over the last forty-eight hours with the community of people that surround and love us. Because, after all, life is not what we plan, and sometimes God prepares a way for us, that we cannot predict.

My son (I know I'm still getting used to the idea too...it's kind of scary), has Down Syndrome. At least I believe he does. The blood test won't be back until early next week. But the doctors are fairly confident, and so, for that matter, am I (though admittedly my experience is limited.

It has been an interesting experience, communicating this fact to the people I love. Because no one knows how to react. A few people say, "I'm so sorry..." To which I respond "I'm not." Some just say "ok", some "that must be a shock," but the most common reaction is simply silence....or "really???" One friend couldn't figure out if I was joking or not. (I wasn't). Really, I don't know what reaction I expect...I wouldn't know which one to give.

So let me tell our story. Adrienne got pregnant 9 months ago (a predictable number I know). About six months ago she had an ultra sound...everything was normal, then two days later her doctor called. There was a barely perceptible fuzzy spot on the tape. Something that probably was nothing, and something that if it was something, still probably meant nothing. But, if it was there, and it meant something, then in less than two percent of cases it could indicate Down Syndrome. She offered furthur testing, but we really didn't care...it wouldn't have changed how we proceeded. Adrienne and I talked at length about it. Down Syndrome was something we had never imagined for our children. We feel called to reach out together to at risk, and special needs children...but our own offspring. It hadn't occured to us. But we prayed about it together.

Two days later, at school we had a panel of families with children with Down Syndrome. And it was incredible. The kids that came were some of the cutest, friendliest, happiest kids I had ever encountered. And I learned there to see children with Down Syndrome as children...who just needed a little extra care. On my way home that day, I prayed for our child (I didn't know it was a he yet) and I prayed that God would open my heart to whatever he had in store for us. And I prayed that if our child did have Down Syndrome, that I would rejoice in thanksgiving. That evening, Adrienne and I prayed together again, that we would accept whatever he had in store for us with joy.

I continued, throughout Adrienne's pregnancy, to experience God's work preparing my heart to accept his will. As I prayed for our child I knew the bond was forming between us, despite our physical separation.

So, when he was taken to the NICU, I went with him, to watch him begin to breath. When the pediatrician called in the neonatologist, I knew. When she said the words, my heart leapt for joy. God has blessed us with a child who will bring light and joy into our house. It is right, It is good. It is not a difficult thing to accept, or something to get used to. God has already done that work in our hearts. My son has Down Syndrome, and I am glad.

I know it will be difficult. I know that there will be trouble. I know that my life will never be the same. I also know that all of those things would be true if he didn't have Down Syndrome.

On nationality

So Steven wrote some time ago about the experience of being an American in Russia (which would probably be a bit more tense now than it was just a few months ago).

He wrote "So then, I told her, what separates us? Legal fictions, Bokononian categories that hinder intimacy. We have said, and shall always say, that we who know Jesus have more in common with an Iraqi Christian than with an American non-Christian. We must come at others with these two categories in mind only, no supremacy, no victory. Just those IN CHRIST who will fellowship on that level."


I think Steven, that you are correct. When I first began to travel, I found myself often trying to defend the actions of the United States. Now that I understand that I have more incommon with a Christian from any country than an American who isn't a Christian, I can say..."I don't agree with that." And I can claim my citizenship in the kingdom of heaven to say, "the false reality you call 'the United States' does not define what I think or do and is not a real pert of my identity in Christ."


Anyway...I've said enough

things you learn when you're not in school

We had a nice evening at the Raymonds tonight. Aunt Ginger made soup. Nan came over with Ursa her Swedish Moose hound

1. Ice skating is fun. especially outside. I suppose over the last fifteen years I've gotten used to ice skating being an indoor activity and forgotten how fun it can be. Needless to say, I'm not a particularly proficient. But we had fun.
The last time I was skating out of doors was March 2004 at the Rockafeller Center in New York, with Mark. That was fun.

2. Hockey is much more difficult than it appears. Getting the puck to move in the direction you wish is a challenge. Skating while attempting to do so is not recommended.

3. Homemade hot fudge is tasty. Particularly when combined with ice cream. Vanilla and chocolate...who'd have guessed.

On hospitality

We're heading home tomorrow--after six months in the desert. well ok, maybe it hasn't been all that bad--it just feels that way after the tests I've had over the last few days. Talk about a brutal experience.

But it is done, 1/8 of the way there. And we're coming home. But before we do I would like to offer a word of gratitude. Our family here has reached out to us and made our time here thus far an enjoyable experience. I don't know if we could have made it without them. So if you are reading this (and you may never do so--my readership is pretty low) thank you. In particular I would like to thank Poppy and Grandma for having us over whenever we call. And Aunt Ginger and Uncle Dave, who have treated us like their fourth child and made a consistent effort to include us in everything (last weekend we had a great time going to the tree farm and picking out a tree with them, we didn't get to have one this year).

So to those of you I will see soon, I have missed you, and look forward to seeing you. and to those of you here--thank you..

Dietrich says

"Our community with one another consists solely in what Christ has done to us...because Christian community is founded solely on Jesus Christ, it is a spiritual an not a human reality. In this it differs absolutely from all other communities...The basis of the community of the Spirit is truth; the basis of human community of spirit is desire."

I like this. Perhaps this is the point of the church, to show what true community can look like. To paint a contrast between the community of human desire and the community of the Spirit of Truth. In this we are what the Pilgrims (fitting reference inserted as a tribute to the holiday recently observed) envisioned themselves to be: a City on a Hill, shining out the light of Christ as a witness to the work of God in this world.

Comments on a comment

The commentator Jedi said: "What if you view you home - your life - as manifestations of the the Kingdom of God in the world? Could the reward in relationship simply be the joy of seeing someone touched by the Kingdom."


Yes


My home, just as much as the church is a manifestation of the City of God in the world. It is in my home that true relationship occurs. Relationship begins outside the home--at church, at work, at the park--but it is brought to fulfillment in my home and in the homes of my friends. This is where the bonds of relationship are forged. When I invite a friend into my home I expose myself, and open myself to relationship. When I spend time with someone around my dinner table, or working in the yard, The connections we have are magnified. This is where God's work in relationship is accomplished.

When this friend is outside of the City, the part of the reward in bringing them into my home is seeing them encounter the reality of the Kingom of God that is present here. But and important caveat must be made. The joy I feel in seeing a friend encounter the City, even for a short time, is not an abstract joy. It is concrete, rooted in the fact that this is my friend, that we enjoy each other.

Thus the reward is not "simply the joy of seeing someone touched by the Kingdom;" it is "simply the joy of seeing the one that I love touched by the Kingdom."

So what

A healthy church is a veritable Gordian knot of intertwining relationships that easily expands to introduce new strands...so what? Couldn't that just be the way any healthy organization looks? Why discuss the church specifically?

The church differs from other social institutions in one important respect: it is established by God. The church is the goal of creation. Our purpose on Earth is to know God and to enter into relationship with him. God created each member of the church with specific abilities and gifts and called them into the church. The formation of Christian community is therefore both one of the tools God uses to call us into relationship with him, and the goal of that calling. We are not islands separated form each other in our relationships with God. As a church we form what Augustine refered to as the City of God.

What is this? The death and ressurection of Christ and the commision of the Spirit of God established an outpost of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth--the church. We are therefore the emmisaries of Christ, and the church is to be the model of true human relationship. It is, along with the Bible and the Spirit our key to forming relationship with God.

So then if our goal is to know God and enter into relationship with him how do we do that and how does the church fit in? I think that relationship with God is not so different from relationship with other human beings as we would suppose, though there are differences due to our complete unworthiness.

When I walk into a new church I don't walk up to the pastor and begin to talk to him expecting to enter into relationship with him. Why not? He is above me, more important in the church and probably a very busy man. I am merely a passerby. Out of respect for his higher position, I wait for him to seek relationship with me. This is natural in human relationship not just in church but in all human activity. The new hire doesn't expect the company president to want to talk to him and the average voter doesn't expect the President to want to talk to him. Position is an instinctive calculation for all of us when we seek out relationships, even if putting itt his way seems repugnant.

These are models for our relationship with God with a few important provisions. First, he is so far above us as to be incompareable to us, and second we have renounced every claim on relationship with him. We have no right to form a relationship with him.

But, the great thing is, he seeks out relationship with us, and calls us into the church to enter into communion with him. And he continually calls us into deeper relationship. The difficulty is that in this relationship, invitations to a deeper relationship are not as directly perceivable as in human relationship. But the parallels are there. We enter into relationship with God at his invitation--this is the beauty of the gospel.

Thus the importance of the church. Along with the Bible and the Holy Spirit, it is one of the avenues of relationship with God. The church was created to showcase human relationship and human-divine relationship. The point of the Gordian knot is to strengthen and enliven the bonds which link us to God and through encouragement and intervention to sustain us in that relationship.

misconceptions

Relationship is a two way street.

Lots of churches and Christian organizations have programs or mission statements that talk a lot about forming relationships. We are encouraged to form relationships with people who are new in the church or with "unchurched" people. It is a popular method of evangalization. This is great. In its formulation this model is a marvelous improvement on slick advertising campaigns and shout-it-from-the-corners. But is it practiced correctly? Do people understand what they mean when they say "I want to form a relationship with a non-Christian to bring them to Christ."?

Human nature requires us to act in our own self-interest. Altruism in its pure form is unattainable. Try doing something that brings no benefit to yourself. If you succeed you will have accomplished the goal of your quest and gained self-respect by having proven me wrong. Joking aside, we are incapable of forming a relationship with another person without the prospect of getting something in return. So, if I go out to form a relationship with someone in order to bring them into the church, "What's in it for me?" That depends, the danger here is that many people who participate in the relationship model don't understand this.

Why is this a danger? Can a constructive relationship form if the only thing one member is going to gain is a warm fuzzy feeling? Maybe, I know it happens, but in most cases, no. Especially in programs that have a target audience, like high school, the evangalist goes out and seeks a relationship with someone for the sole reason that they fit the profile. This is not the way to form lasting, valuable relationships. Why does the church have such a high attrition rate? I think the answer is twofold. The first, (which is not my subject today) is that many people are drawn in by flashy services with high advertising budgets, but little substance behind their facade. The second(which is), is that many people are drawn into the church by relationships which are transparent and single fibered. A member of the church goes out to form a relationship with a non-Christian, finds one, talks to them for a while and brings them to church, but there is little substance to the relationship because neither has much to offer the other.

Does this mean that the relationship model of church growth and evangalism is bunk? No! It is the most valuable and oldest method of evangalism. But in order to work it must be approached with eyes wide open. We should seek relationships with people, both within the church and outside of it. But instead of seeking relationship for relationship's sake because our pastor thinks its a good idea, we should be seeking relationships for what they offer. Relationships tend to be much more constructive if both parties enter asking not "what can I do for them?", but "what can they do for me?". True relationship is difficult business. It requires commitment, sacrifice, and dedication. How much are you willing to sacrifice for someone you don't understand or respect? Consider the ultimate human relaionship--marriage. Or the ultimate relationship--Christ and us. These are the models that we should look to in forming a relationship. I can't form a relationship with someone I don't understand or enjoy. You can't pick a friend out of an unknown crowd. When I become friends with someone, it is an organic process grown in mutual appreciation. I can fertilize it with conscious effort, but I cannot create the seed.

So what does a healthy church that emphasizes relationship look like? It is one in which the members understand what friendship is--an exchange in which both participants win. It is one in which the members seek to cultivate relationships both within and outside he church, not randomly, but consciously at every level. It is one in which the members spend their time wisely, cultivating relationships with people that God with whom God has connected them. Relationship is supposed to be fun. It is a duty and an obligation, but its rewards should be rich. It is a sacrifice, but the sacrifice is worth it. It is one in which members quickly work to strengthen new bonds to new people. When I bring a friend to church I hope that other members reach out to that person and weave them into the life of the church, welcoming them with open arms into the family.

A healthy church is a Gordian knot of interweaving tightly-bound relationships that is impossible to untie. I am friends with different people for different reasons, and the diversity of my own desires ensures that I am conneced to the church in many different places. In a healthy church this is true of every person so that the web of relationship is impossible to untangle.

A house divided will not stand

The church is the body of Christ. If this is true, can we segregate it into distinct units and hope to achieve growth? It seems that the answer should be no, so why do we do it? If you don't believe we do look around. Step into many churches and ask yourself if the youth are connected to the body. Do highschool and college ministries give the same message that the rest hear? Are they connected to the rest of the church? How many only attend youth programs and eschew the general gathering? How many organizations are there dedicted to a particular age group? Are they connecting the youth of the church into the body through the bond of relationship?

A phenomenon has swept the church in the past few decades. Around the age of twenty a suprisingly large number of people stop going to church. Why? Why does the church seem powerless to hold them? What pulls them away? Is it a lack of training? Are we not bringing up our children in the way they should go? How are we failing the youth of the church? We have sought to dam the breach with programs designed to appeal to youth. And yet the hole tears itself wider. Why?

I was a part of a church for several years that for some reason didn't lose its youth to this phenomenon. They continued to play a vibrant role in the church through highschool, college, and beyond. Contrary to popular reason there were no youth programs to speak of. The high school had its own Sunday school, and occasionally met on Saturday nights, but that was it. In fact, young people were drawn into this church. Many of their families did not attend any church. Why? What was the source of its success? Where is a large part of the church failing?

A Hypothesis

What is the purpose of the church? Why don't the followers of Christ each have a solitary direct line to God? What function does the church serve? Community. The church is to be an example of what God intended for human beings--to show what true relationship in community can look like. It provides a support system for Christians that allows them to face reality--we live in a broken world. We live with an emptiness that cannot be completely fulfilled in this life. We sin and yet are declared holy in the eyes of God. These are tough issues to grapple withand it is only through community that we can do so. The church also helps us to grow spiritually as others speak into our lives.

So what happens when we segregate the church into distinct age groups? This denies the reality of the fullness of the community of God and cuts out a large part of the community. This denies the unescapeable reality that relationships formed accross age lines are not only possible, but essential to the vibrancy of the church. This denies that Older Christians carry a treasure trove of wisdom and experience that can and should be mined by the youth in the church and segregates the two so they don't interact.

Can relationships form across age lines? Yes. We pander to popular culture when we deny this. The church has a responsibility to encourage relationship. This is the tie that binds us to the church, gives us strength when we falter, and makes it possible for us to live as God's children in a fallen world. God has given us the church as a means of butressing our faith, how can we deny this?

The model of the church I spoke of was that of a family. About a third of the church was from one large extended family. But the astonishing thing about this church was its openness. They had taken the kind of relationship you expect in a family and extended it to everyone who walked in the church. Church was not an event, but a way of life. They ate together, spent time with each other, and they extended to bond of family to everyone who came. The youth continued to take an interest in the church because they had the bond of relationship with everyone in the church. It was their life, their support system and the place they came to speak and to listen.