Education Lifeline How Churches Can Power up Our Public Schools

PRISMon earth as it is in heaven: radical love made visible Education Lifeline How churches can power up our public schools

In praise of the comfort zone Finding Jesus in the profane

SPRING 2014 Also: Harmony on a Native American farm | Gender imbalance in the church Head over heels for Over the Rhine | Unpacking the Transition movement

PRISMMAGAZINE.ORG The PRISM Vol. 21, No. 2 Spring 2014 Editor Kristyn Komarnicki LimiTs Creative Director Rhian Tomassetti Copy Editor Leslie Hammond Deputy Director Sarah Withrow King Publishers Al Tizon & Paul of Alexander Operations Manager Josh Cradic Contributing Editors YOU CAN CHANGE Christine Aroney-Sine Myron Augsburger ideoLogy Clive Calver Issac Canales Rudy Carrasco M. Daniel Carroll R. Andy Crouch J. James DeConto Gloria Gaither Perry Glanzer David P. Gushee Ben Hartley Jan Johnson Stanley Hauerwas A LIFE Mary PoPlindallas willard Craig S. Keener Jo Kadlecek Foreword by Peter Larson Marcie Macolino Richard Mouw Mary Naber Philip Olson Earl Palmer Jenell Williams Paris Derek Perkins Christine Pohl Elizabeth D. Rios James Skillen Lisa Thompson James Edwards Heidi Rolland Unruh Jim Wallis Bruce Wydick Editorial Board Miriam Adeney George Barna Tony Campolo Rodney Clapp is reality secular? Luis Cortés Samuel Escobar Richard Foster William Frey testing the assuMPtions oF G. Gaebelein Hull Roberta Hestenes Four global worldviews Karen Mains John Perkins Vinay Samuel Amy Sherman Tom Sine Vinson Synan Eldin Villafane Harold DeanTrulear Ron Sider Subscription Information Renewing your subscription? Visit EvangelicalsforSocialAction.org/PRISMRenew Regular PRISM Subscription Only $24 a year. Type: US/Canada via air mail

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Prism Is Reality Secu #10405 1 2/27/14 3:41:33 PM Spring 2014 CONTENTS SPRING 2014

2 REFLECTIONS The Power of Fleas 3 TALK BACK 14 School Equality as a Matter of Faith People of faith have the opportunity—and the responsi- WHOLE bility—to help close the achievement gap and open the doors of possibility for our nation’s poorest schoolchil- 4 Why Shouldn’t We GiveDirectly? dren. 5 Good in the ’Hood; Street Children Score at World Cup 19 Church/School Partnerships = Win/Win 6 A Place at the Table A growing number of churches and faith-based organiza- 7 Modeling the Harmony Way tions are joining hands with principals, teachers, and 8 Not the End of the Story students to fortify public education and build beloved 9 Living Into Vulnerability; Connecting for community. Good 22 The World Is Our Classroom When neighbors share life, children learn valuable les- PROTESTIMONY sons about what it means to be human.

10 Ban the Box 24 A Safe Place to Grow 11 Holy Disruptions Society’s young cast-offs find a nurturing home and God’s 12 Media Watchdogs, Rejoice! Rights for love at Children’s Garden in Manila. Rapists? Laps, not Apps! 28 Revelation at the Ping-Pong Emporium Even sacrilege has something to say about the sacred: COUNTERCULTURE Jonathan Merritt plumbs the profane for signs of God.

46 Compassion on the Labor Ward 32 Christianity: Now in 3D and Living Color 47 Is Reality Secular? What if Christians were comfortable with mystery, honest 48 Transitioning to a Positive Future about brokenness, and known for our vibrant, authentic 49 Tackling the Empathy Deficit; Real Hope faith? for the Homeless; Radical Forgiveness 34 Confronting the Oppressor with Humanity Meet Palestinian activists who offer tea and kindness to CONSUME the Israeli soldiers who make their lives so difficult.

50 Meet Me at the Edge of the World; 40 Because Stones Can Speak Bringing C.S. Lewis to the Stage A look at what is lost—and who loses—when places of 51 From the Couch Commando: Commercials African American historical importance are destroyed. 52 Book reviews 54 New books and films to check out 42 What’s Wrong with Being Comfortable? Rather than producing spiritual maturity, discomfort for its own sake can squander the gifts of the Spirit. 55 esXaton Practicing ESA in India 56 THE LAST WORD Easter Morning by Qi He

[So that people] may know wisdom and instruction, understand words of insight, receive instruction in wise dealing, righteousness, justice, and equity; that prudence may be given to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth… Proverbs 1:2-4 REFLECTIONS

providing an annual award The Power of to acknowledge a student who excels at scholarship, art, or citizenship. The pos- Fleas sibilities are limited only by our creativity. I consider myself an educator at heart, but I have In these pages you’ll “You just need to be a flea never attended a PTO or school board meeting in meet Dallas-area believers against injustice. Enough my city of Philadelphia, which is dealing with more who are discovering that committed fleas biting budget and institutional crises than ever before. when they partner with strategically can make even (Facing a $304 million shortfall, the city closed 23 schools to help kids get the the biggest dog uncomfortable public schools last year. Ouch.) Beyond signing education they deserve, and transform even the biggest some petitions and marching once in a schools- they themselves learn nation.” not-prisons protest (the city also launched a $400 more than they bargained - Marian Wright Edelman million new prison project last year), I have never for—hearts expand, personally enlisted in the fight for educational eq- community deepens, faith uity. Why? Because it is demanding and time-con- surges. You’ll tour a Den- suming work, that’s why! I’m spending all my hours ver neighborhood where figuring out the best education for my own three folks are rediscovering the boys and trying to keep things together at home lost art of education via the and work. Who has the time or energy to fight for sharing of stories, wisdom, other people’s kids? and skills in the garden, But we would do well to consider what we in the kitchen, and on the hope for our children’s future. As Marian Wright front porch. You’ll meet the Edelman has said, “The future which we hold in boys at Children’s Garden trust for our own children will be shaped by our fair- in Manila, for whom educa- ness to other people’s children.” Ouch again. Yet my tion starts with finding a question about what we have time for is still valid. safe home and learning to trust others, love God, Imagine the accumulated wisdom of an entire Most of us work too much and play too little as it is. and respect themselves. church being accessible to a disadvantaged school. Playing with our children—and modeling lifelong Close your eyes for a few minutes and think Think of how many young lives would be trans- play for all the children in our lives—is essential about those moments when you learned some- formed if we shared our collective education with to their education as whole persons. Do we really thing life-changing and positive, when you gained these children. How would even our own children’s need to add one more giant cause to our lives? a sense of who you were made to be, what you futures be forever altered? This is why our cover story for this issue is were capable of, and how your mind, body, or This month we celebrate the resurrection of so compelling. It shows us that we don’t have to spirit works. They weren’t always (or even often) the greatest teacher who ever lived. Although fully take on this cause all by ourselves. Rather it urges in a classroom perhaps, but they always came at divine, he needed others to help him grow in wis- the church—individuals working together as the the hands of someone—author, teacher, mentor, dom even as he grew in stature. His parents, Uncle body of Christ—to stand in the gap for our na- friend—who led you into an experience you would Zechariah, his neighbors, the local rabbi, the Scrip- tion’s failing schools. Together, myriad small acts not otherwise have had. tures. Let us walk in their beautiful footsteps, leav- will function as a tidal wave of support for students, At 16 I read C. S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, ing enlivened minds and hearts behind us wherever teachers, staff, and principals. “You just need to be at my father’s suggestion, and tumbled headlong we go. Together, with our strategically placed flea a flea against injustice,” says Edelman. “Enough into a foreign world that was strangely familiar. I bites, we can provide a good education to all God’s committed fleas biting strategically can make even remember standing outside my bedroom with the children. the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even book in my hand, groping for words. “This book is the biggest nation.” about something, but it’s also about lots of other As a kid, Kristyn Komarnicki When the local church takes up the cause things at the same time,” I said. Dad just smiled, (pictured here in 7th grade) of the local school (or one in a not-so-privileged sensing that I had discovered the joys of subtext, was privileged to attend zip code), it becomes a community effort each of myth, and deep meaning in literature. In college good public schools. Her us can plug into according to our gifts and avail- I scrambled behind a friend to the top of several three sons didn't really have ability. And there is truly something for everyone towering stone “needles” in South Dakota’s Black that option, so she has spent here—from praying for a specific teacher, grade, Hills and descended a changed person, with new the last 15 years begging, or school to organizing donations for school sup- respect for (even awe for) my body and its capabili- borrowing, and bartering an plies. From playground clean-up days to providing ties. My father and my friend were just two among education for them through a snacks and encouragement for a teachers’ meet- the many who have opened educational doors for combination of home, public, and private education. ing. From reading with a kid for an hour a week to me throughout my life.

2 TALK BACK

Re: the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series featured in the Winter issue—I pray that once this project is completed it will be housed with an organization that will get it into the schools, to inspire our young people in knowing that change is possible and that as individuals they have the power to make a difference. I love PRISM and the ePistle. I’m so inspired and blessed every time I read them. Thanks for becoming the voice that needs to be heard. I’m a United Church of Canada minister in Etobicoke, a West Toronto neighborhood, and I pray to see the passion I read in your articles in my people—the “social gospel” descendants.

D’Thea Webster The Winter issue had many wonderful articles, but a relatively simple thing Toronto, Ont. stood out in Rebekah Bell’s “Which Way Does Your Faith Point?” Rebekah says about a lady that criticized her halter-top dress, “This girl had never once initiated a friendship with me, never asked how I was or even knew if I was a Christian. Instead, the solitary time she communicated with me @ Email the editor: [email protected] was when my standard of modesty didn’t mesh with hers.” This apparently Christian lady did not see the significance of having a relationship with f @Facebook.com/evansocaction someone before criticizing her clothing. As Christians we need to remember what Rebekah says: “It is one t @twitter.com/PRISMMagazine1 thing for a friend to gently and lovingly speak truth into a situation, but e EvangelicalsforSocialAction.org/ePistle quite another for a stranger to tell you how to live your life.” Let us build relationships before we critique others.

Randy Gabrielse ISSUE’S INCLUDE: THIS CONTRIBUTORS Grand Rapids, Mich.

The litany of lame excuses, self-pity, and contrived rationalizations presented in “Wonderfully Made” in the Winter issue simply strengthened Clay Singleton Caitlin Ng Ryan Rodrick Beiler my resolve to lose my spare tire and to help my older son do the same. The entire gist of the article is that being overweight (a) is beyond one’s control, (b) is perfectly healthy, and (c) ought not be considered aestheti- cally unappealing. Given the dramatic rise in American obesity rates in recent decades, I find all three notions ludicrous. I personally struggle to stay fit and to have our sons eat healthier and get more exercise instead of playing video games, watching TV, or screwing around on the internet. Jonathan Merritt Whitney Bauck Nicole Baker If our family took the author’s advice, we’d just throw in the towel, get Fulgham comfortable on the couch, and happily watch our waistlines expand. No thanks.

Mike Nacrelli Portland, Ore. Aria Kirkland-Harris David Schmidt Emily Dause

Keep on sending the magazine, please, for PRISM, as the Sri Lankan preacher D.T. Niles famously said about evangelism, “is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” That starving beggar is me!

Richard S. Schechter Monroe, Ohio Nita Thomason Anthony Grimes Len Schmidt

3 Photos: Coe Burchfield, The Simple Way

Good in the ’Hood ing in the tombs, a tortured soul beyond human help. As have to do is partner with it and marvel at what God is doing. Jesus turned to leave him, the now sane man “begged to When Jesus called Nathanael to join his growing go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, ’Go home to Kayla Castleberry studies nutrition and team of disciples, Nathanael was doubtful as soon your own people and tell them how much the Lord has dietetics at Oklahoma State University, Still- as he heard where Jesus was from. “Nazareth!” done for you and how he has had mercy on you’” (Mark water, Okla. She has spent time in various in- he scoffed. “Can anything good come from there?” 5:18b-19). ner cities each summer since the age of 12. (John 1:46) Like the man freed from demons, Sam tried to find She hopes to use her career as a dietitian to The answer was, of course, “Yes. Jesus.” a way to leave the ghetto behind and build a new life benefit food banks or low-income health clinics. A lot of us make the same mistake about our for himself elsewhere, but Jesus told him, “Naw, man. Go cities’ poorest neighborhoods. “Can anything good back to your crib, to your neighborhood. You got work to come from there?” we ask, and we conclude that, do there.” It is essential, said Sam, that the people living no, we must take the goodness to the ghetto in- in the ’hood, in the brokenness, be healed and remain STREET CHILDREN stead. That’s what I thought when I left a comfort- there in order to heal the community as a whole, from able life in rural Oklahoma to do inner-city ministry. within. Even if many individuals are saved, brought out But I discovered that, like in Nazareth, Jesus was of drug addictions, prostitution, or doubt, if they don’t SCORE already there. The ghetto is his home turf, and all remain in the community, the community remains un- we need to do is partner with him when we get changed. there. This was an eye-opener for me, since I have often AT WORLD CUP My team had been assigned to walk through been taught that our ultimate goal in ministering to the the neighborhood and talk to people about hope; inner cities is to “rescue” or “release” the people we This summer 32 teams from around the world will we asked whether they felt their neighborhood was serve from their bondage there, allowing them to go off gather to represent their countries in the 2014 hopeless, temporarily stuck, or moving forward. I and find a better life elsewhere. But what if God’s will is FIFA World Cup. And while that event is one of heard many different perspectives that day, from not to give people an escape from the broken commu- the world’s biggest sporting events, another those who wouldn’t admit to any problems (despite nity but to change the community itself? That is a much significant but lesser known world soccer event is shootings and drug deals going down on a daily bigger, more God-sized goal than anything I could have taking place right now. basis) to those who said the situation was desper- dreamed of on my own. It changed the way I looked at On March 28, the Street Child World Cup ate and they could do nothing to change it. But inner-city ministry, especially the local church, built and kicked off its 10-day tournament in Rio de Janeiro, talking to one man, who turned out to be a minister maintained by members of the community, not by outsid- Brazil. Ahead of each FIFA World Cup, organizers at one of our partner ministries, changed my per- ers like me. unite street children from across five continents to spective on the inner city forever. To conclude his mini-sermon, Sam called one of play soccer and join a unique international confer- When we stopped to interview this man, his friends over, to ask him whether he saw hope for the ence. The event seeks to both empower and raise whom I’ll call Sam, on a frankly frightening corner inner city. The friend looked at me and said, “Did anything awareness of children whose life circumstances have of the city, I had no idea I was stepping into one of good ever come out of Nazareth? There is good in the forced them to live on the streets. This year children the best sermons I would ever hear. Sam started ’hood.” from 20 countries (a number that’s doubled since off by telling us a little bit of his story, that he had From the most unlikely community in Israel came the event debuted in 2010) have the opportunity to been addicted to drugs and caught up in the prob- the Son of God. From the ’hood comes a crop of min- represent their country on a global stage, interact and lems of inner-city life before coming to Christ and isters who have experienced all the problems in their share their experiences with others, and advocate for getting clean. He now runs a ministry for recov- community and yet are still able to stay and change lives the rights of street children. ering drug addicts in the same neighborhood he there. There is hope in the inner city, because there are Established in response to the rounding up of grew up in. people who, like the Gerasene demoniac, like Sam, stay street children in Durban, South Africa, as a city-wide Sam compared his story with that of the where they are and create a strong local church where “clean-up” before the 2010 FIFA World Cup, this event Gerasene demoniac in Mark 5. Jesus exorcised a we, as outsiders, could never be as effective. seeks to give a voice to children who have typically legion of demons from this man who had been liv- There is overwhelming good in the ’hood. All we been silenced in their own cities. The 2010 Street Child World Cup allowed the children to partner with local 4 flict as an associate pastor, I was content with this simple task A Place at the and glad to spend the day away from other concerns. After I had volunteered for a few weeks, Sister Jacinta, the center’s director, looked at me curiously and asked, “Why Table are you staying in the kitchen?” At her urging, I began to not just serve the meal but also enjoy it with those gathered When I began as a volunteer at the Center around the table, talking, eating, and laughing with them and for AIDS Services, I knew little about it except listening to them. that it had been started by Mother Teresa’s At first I felt awkward. After all, I was healthy, while all Missions of Charity community on a visit to the people at the center were HIV-positive or had AIDS. I was Oakland, Calif.—a part of her North Ameri- straight, while many of the people at the center were gay. I can mission to care for the dying. This was was white and middle-class, while many of the people at the several years before retroviral medications center were members of minority groups and poor. The com- were available; a diagnosis of full-blown munities of gay people in the Bay Area were and are remark- AIDS meant you could measure your life in able at caring for their own. But these men and women had days and weeks instead of years. I was as- mostly been rejected by their communities because they were signed to the kitchen, putting food on plates transgendered or from ethnic-minority communities and both for the guests eating lunch at the center. gay and sick, sometimes homeless. Having just come through a season of con- Here I was the other. But the community also felt other to me. It wasn’t long before I realized that the awkwardness artists to express the plight of street belonged to me; it was not shared by the community of I belonged when one day during a rummage sale children around the world, and they people there. They simply made a place for me at the table. a transgendered woman and I ended up bickering also had a chance to dialogue with We ate together and told our stories. I was only there once a over the same skirt. Finally she threw up her hands a group of police officers about the week, but every Thursday I was both welcomed and remem- and gave it to me. “You want it that bad, girl, you conditions they endure and the factors bered at the table. take it home,” she said. that led to their living on the streets. Sister Jacinta had attended more wakes and funeral As I returned each week, I recognized that I As a result of the last conference, two masses and memorial services than she could number. But experienced at the center a truer sense of belong- documents—“The Durban Declara- she never forgot anyone she met, and she carried their sto- ing than I found in my own faith community. These tion” (presented to the UN Committee ries within her. Even though there was grief and loss, Sister men and women knew how to receive one another on Human Rights) and “The Street Jacinta’s stories kept the dead alive and remembered. And without judgment. The sick, sometimes dying com- Girls’ Manifesto”—were produced to these people within her and around her were her joy. I’m sure munity of outsiders at the center knew about wel- she felt sadness, but what I noticed most about her is the way coming; they understood hospitality. They knew she celebrated the life of everyone around her, those who about celebrating one another’s stories even when had died and those still living—including me. As director of that story was one of illness and death. the center, she trained her mostly volunteer staff by telling What I wanted was a break from my own con- these stories. As I listened, I remembered reading about the flicted community. What I found was a doorway into desert mothers and fathers who instructed their followers welcome and sharing in this richer life lived among with stories and aphorisms. those who were poor—in health, in finances, in Sister Jacinta was an amma, a desert mother instruct- family. What I found was a place at the table. An ing her disciples. Her desert was not a landscape of sand encounter with “the other” in the Scriptures is also and rock but a landscape of people and the wilderness surprisingly often a place of meeting God’s Spirit, of the AIDS epidemic. Hers was a radical hospitality that the presence of the holy. advocate on behalf of street children. reached out to anyone who came across her path, including Many of the 2010 teams me. Sometimes she would take the train from the East Bay Helen Cepero trains spiritual direc- received huge receptions upon arriving to San Francisco where she found a place to sit on the steps tors at the C. John Weborg Center back in their home countries, and local of the Civic Center with a sandwich cut in half, waiting to see for Spiritual Direction at North Park efforts have been launched to begin who would sit beside her. Whoever took that sandwich half Seminary and is executive director to address care for street children. became her honored companion for the afternoon, and she of the Spiritual Direction Formation Garnering support from a variety of their listening friend. Program at the Journey Center in Santa Rosa, Calif. sources, including soccer star David The clients at the Center for AIDS Services offered to This article is an excerpt from Christ-Shaped Char- Beckham and Archbishop Desmond me just what Sister Jacinta offered to the person who sat acter by Helen Cepero (InterVarsity Press, 2014). Tutu, the Street Child World Cup ap- next to her on the steps of the Civic Center. They cut their It appears here by kind permission of InterVarsity pears to be gaining momentum and sandwiches in half and gave me a share, and I had a place Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515 scoring big for the poorest of children at their table—the center’s guests were my hosts. I knew (IVPress.com). around the world. 6 5 WHOLE Healing a fractured world. fers in productive ways Why Shouldn’t rather than on booze and cigarettes mirrors the results of other We Give studies, such as that on the conditional cash transfer program, Pro- Directly? gresa, in Mexico. We can learn One of the most exciting new ways for people to give several things from the to the poor in developing countries is through trans- research on this inno- ferring cash directly to them—yes, that’s right— vative new approach simply giving money to the poor. The new nonprofit to development. One is GiveDirectly collects funds from internet donors and that perhaps we should then zaps them into the cellphone-based e-money learn to trust the poor accounts of rural East Africans. havior, such as keeping children in school. more with resources. Sometimes we pretend to GiveDirectly was founded in 2008 by Paul Nie- It is this second novelty that has produced the know what impoverished people need (or want) haus, an evangelical Christian and assistant profes- controversy. What if the poor spend the money on without listening to them or trusting their instincts. sor in the economics department of the University liquor, gambling, and cigarettes? That is one ques- Secondly, the technology offers innovative of California at San Diego, with colleagues from his tion Johannes Haushofer and Jeremy Shapiro of MIT new ways of coming alongside the poor to help graduate school days at Harvard. GiveDirectly has asked in carrying out a randomized controlled trial break poverty traps. We should make use of this taken the development world by storm and has of the GiveDirectly program, a study whose results new technology to become better givers, to be been the subject of significant media attention for its were released last October. In fact, in their study looser with our wallets when it comes to the needs novel approach to helping the poor lift themselves involving over 1,000 households, they found no of others. Now it’s as easy to give to the poor as to buy something for ourselves—there goes at least one excuse for being Sometimes we pretend to know what tight-fisted with our money. What the results of this study impoverished people need (or want) without also mean is that we now have the listening to them or trusting their instincts. beginnings of a benchmark that other faith-based and secular development organizations working in the area of out of poverty. increase in expenditures in the treated households in-kind goods donation must measure themselves The GiveDirectly approach is novel for two on “temptation” goods: cigarettes, alcohol, or gam- against. Given that about 92 percent of the internet reasons. First, it uses new technology creatively, bling. donations transferred to GiveDirectly go right into operating through the M-Pesa system, the mobile- So how do the recipients of these East African the bank accounts of recipients, the burden of proof phone-based money transfer service for telecom- transfers spend the money? It turns out they spend has now shifted to other development organizations munication firms Safaricom and Vodacom in Tan- it mostly on food for their families and building up the to show that their approach does as much good as zania and Kenya. Many places in East Africa have size of their animal herds. Specifically, in the year af- simply giving the poor cash. Moreover, it emphasizes leapfrogged our own paper currency system, where ter the initial transfer, Haushofer and Shapiro found the need for more serious research about what we people now make purchases routinely through elec- that households that received transfers increased can do to alleviate poverty in the developing world. tronic transfers via their cellphones. GiveDirectly food consumption by 20 percent. This brought GiveDirectly also serves as an example of what a harnesses this new technology to provide help to about a 30 percent reduction in the likelihood of a heart for the poor, advanced training in economics, the poor through a series of e-injections of cash family member going to bed hungry during the week and new technology are capable of when working into these phone-based bank accounts. Transfers preceding the follow-up survey. A 42 percent reduc- together. typically peak at about $1,000 over the course of tion was also recorded in the number of days chil- a year, when they terminate. dren in transfer-recipient households went without Bruce Wydick is professor of GiveDirectly is also a novel approach because food. These are significant impacts on hunger. economics at the University of San it begins with trusting the poor to spend donated The researchers also found that the uncon- Francisco, a writer for Christianity money in the way they view as best for themselves. ditional cash transfers led to a 58 percent increase Today, and a contributing editor This contrasts with the traditional approach, which in productive assets, in this context mainly a greater to PRISM. His novel on the lives only trusts the poor with in-kind goods, such as an investment in herd animals: cattle, sheep, and goats. of coffee growers in Guatemala, The Taste of animal donation, a new stove, a microfinance loan, Revenue from animal husbandry increased by near- Many Mountains, is forthcoming in July 2014 from education, or even a “conditional” cash transfer in ly 50 percent. Thomas Nelson (HarperCollins). which the transfer is contingent upon a required be- That the poor tend to spend the cash trans-

6 small-scale, culturally appropriate business models; Modeling the sustainable living skills; regenerative farming methods; whole physical and emotional health; marriage and parenting skills; abuse and intervention train- Harmony Way ing; educational and career assistance and devel- “It is from our place on opment; and community building and organizing. Eagle’s Wings Ministry, Inc. was founded in 1999 by the land that we derive Our goal is to heal and mentor the whole person Randy Woodley and his wife, Edith. The ministry is our identity.” who can then, in turn, offer healing to and help oth- a largely Native American community in Newberg, ers create more whole communities. Ore., where the Woodleys reach out with the good At the farm we are seeking to be a whole- news of Christ while respecting indigenous cultures. health regenerative food circle of heirloom and na- Based on the Native American “harmony tive food varieties. We are nonprofit, chemical-free, way” (shalom) tradition of spiritual and emotional and in a relationship of harmony with the land. Elo- health, social and environmental balance, and eco- heh (pronounced Ay-luh-hay) is a Cherokee word nomic prosperity, Eagle’s Wings seeks to model describing a physical place where the Cherokee and promote the wellbeing of Native American and harmony way is practiced. We began Eloheh Village other communities in ways that are culturally con- as a model, permaculture venture in rural Kentucky textual, holistic, and community-based. Central to in 2004 on 50 acres. Eventually, we were “run out” the ministry is a commitment to leadership training possessed the skills to survive in even the harshest by a white supremacist paramilitary group, which appropriate for traditional indigenous cultures. This of environments. We have known “how to fish.” But caused us to lose our life’s savings. work is advanced through the Eloheh Village for what if someone poisons the river? Then no one But in 2010 we purchased a small, 3.75-acre, Indigenous Leadership and Ministry Development, can fish. What if someone sells the river? Then only 96-year-old farmstead that needed lots of work. We which is a mentoring school, and Eloheh Farm, the one who owns the river gets to eat. are still working on it but are well on our way to a which is a demonstrational community where new Life is much more complex today than in the good relationship with the land once again. Why? life skills are acquired through direct experience. past, and simply learning how to fish isn’t enough We can eat healthier. We can eat for less. We can live We asked Woodley to walk us through his anymore. In order to develop young leaders we greener. We can share with friends and sell excess ministry’s holistic approach to community transfor- need to be concerned with the whole person and food. Our food tastes better. Our bodies respond in mation. the whole community living in the whole world. This better health. We can live more independently from means that we must understand our world as it is corporate greed and poisons. We can give freely to Tell us how Eloheh Farm came into being and but always remain grounded in the indigenous spiri- those in need. And we can show others how to do what it means to you. tuality and values that have allowed our people to all of the above. God helped us see that we not only needed to be survive for millennia. culturally contextual but also holistic. That’s when We’ve found that education must be done in What is the greatest challenge to your work? we really began to develop a theology of the land the context of land. It is from our place on the land There are many. But I think the greatest problem is and knew we needed to find a place of ministry. We that we derive our identity. Can we really learn when that American culture is rooted in a dualistic world- had in mind sort of an indigenous L’Abri, but we we don’t know who we are? Where will this learn- view, which resists a holistic way of life. I hope that also came to understand that what we were teaching go? How will we understand unless we have eventually it will sink in for people that our relation- ing our indigenous people was needed and desired the land to teach us? Living with the land—and ship with God has everything to do with our rela- by nonindigenous folks as well. In other words, we our covenant on the land and with Creator and all tionship with our neighbor, which is related to our are going to need to heal together. creation—is the lived experience and accumulated relationship with the earth, which is related to how Indigenous spirituality, culture, and education knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that distin- we obtain our food, which is related to the political must begin with the land. You know the old saying guishes us from other ministries, schools, and com- views we support, etc. Salvation or “healing” is a “Give a person a fish and they eat for a day, but munities. In such a model of community we tangibly grand construct, and Jesus is grand enough and teach a person to fish and they eat every day.” witness for Christ and bring much needed hope to good enough to help us understand all the implica- Traditionally, our indigenous people have always others. tions of our healing.

What specific kinds of things can people learn In what ways do you encounter Christ in the in your community? people you serve? The work of shalom is advanced through both Elo- Well, I find Christ in the most unlikely places. I think heh Village and Eloheh Farm. Some of the areas we Jesus occupies the whole earth and beyond. So I address while mentoring others include culturally not only encounter him in other people but also appropriate theology, mission, and ministry; train all of creation. It seems to me that God is al- ditional indigenous values, ethics, and ceremony; ways interested in my conversion, not just in the economic development opportunities through conversion of those I encounter. This means be-

7 ing changed into Christ’s likeness by his truth. I find truth of Christ in a tree, a butterfly, and even in the soil itself. I find Christ in the people who are like me but even more in those different from me. I encountered Christ in an amazing way the other day through three homeless young men. As they sat and shared, I thought about the wise men in the birth narrative of Christ. Their wisdom was simple Not the End of the Story and yet so profound. I especially sense God’s presence in community when all people have a voice. It seems to me that the Spirit especially creates new ways for us to think and find new options when the I grew up on a Midwestern farm surrounded by still more powerful than death. This is what I so often for- dignity of everyone’s voice is heard. golden fields of wheat and pastures dotted with get—that the end of the story is never really the end of cattle. In the summer I picked warm cherries from the story when Jesus is involved. How would you define success in holistic the orchard, and in the winter I built snowmen with When I was 13, I began experiencing severe neu- ministry? my siblings. It was an idyllic and carefree childhood. I rological problems. My parents took me to countless doc- I think success has to do with how we go about do- approached the world with a sense of childlike won- tors and neurologists, but none could discern what was ing what we do. I want to ask myself many ques- der and awe. I believed that God was great and that causing the problems or how to cure them. I cried out tions before thinking about success. Are all voices the world was good. to God, begging him to heal me, and heard nothing but being heard, especially the ones that disagree or Today, the world doesn’t look quite as good silence. are least likely to be heard? Have we considered as it did when I was a child. I know more now, and it But one day, in the midst of it, I reread the resur- how this will affect everything else and also future hurts to know more. I often wish I could go back to rection story. While the Bible details the horror of Jesus’ generations? Is it honoring of others and the Cre- the innocence of my childhood, even for a day. But crucifixion on Friday and the jubilee of his resurrection ator? Will this effort give whole life to others or just that innocence is gone, undermined by every atroc- on Sunday, it is strangely silent about Saturday. From my a temporary fix? ity I hear about—school shootings, child soldiers, vantage point 2,000 years after the cross, I know that And then there’s the true litmus test, for me: rape as a weapon of war. Surrounded by daily re- this violent historical moment was redeemed when a good What does my wife think about it? She’s the one minders of evil and injustice, I am tempted to believe God overturned death itself to give us hope for life be- who really knows me and can help me figure out that the world is a lost cause and people are past yond this world. I take for granted that Sunday morning how much is personal stuff working itself out in the point of redemption. will reveal a risen Lord, forgetting what that first Easter my life and how much is God’s leading. Often it is While we necessarily lose our childhood na- weekend would have been like for disciples who were not a mixture of both. ïveté, as Christians we are admonished not to lose expecting their beloved teacher to be resurrected. On that Money never really matters (much) to us, heart (2 Corinthians 4:16). Yet how do we remain Saturday, the disciples didn’t know that the following day because we never seem to have it. We just learn hopeful in a world that threatens to overwhelm us would be a game changer for human history. Saturday to do what we need to do with very little funds, so with disease, despair, and death? How do we retain was to them what many moments of life are like for us: things are never looking very successful according hope when each nightly news segment seems worst soul-oppressive and dark, with no light in sight. Saturday to worldly standards. than the last? is the middle of the story. The story of Lazarus in John 11 provides a Jesus responded to Martha’s “Lord-if-you-had- What scripture has guided you most through clue. Devastated by the death of her brother, Mar- been-here" lament with a succinct but earth-shattering the years, and why? tha greets Jesus with this heart-wrenching refrain: statement: “I am the resurrection and the life.” Luke 15. I pretty much live there. Jesus is not just “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not Even when God is silent, we have this to hold on telling the Pharisees (and us) in these parables to have died.” to—the knowledge that the story isn’t over yet, the prom- find the lost; the point of each story is to always I often think that way. Lord, if you had been ise of life in the presence of death. This is not a naïve, be extending the ever-expanding invitation to join here, the drunk driver wouldn’t have run into her. look-on-the-bright-side hope that ignores reality or trivial- the community or party to others, especially those If you had been here, the cancer wouldn’t have izes tragedy. This is a hard-fought, white-knuckled hope. most unlike us. I especially love the image of the killed him. Lord, if you had been here, the gunman This is a deep and difficult hope, one that clings to a good father in the story who has been humiliated and dis- wouldn’t have gotten into that school. You are the God despite circumstances that will never make sense this honored by his son, who seems to be daily watch- life-giver, storm-calmer, the death-reverser. If only side of heaven. This is a hope that rejects Christian clichés ing for the son to return, and when “he is a long you had been here… I guess you weren’t here after in favor of the deeper reality. This is a hope that remem- way off” the father runs to the son. The son has a all. bers, as Tony Campolo reminds us, that “it’s Friday, but standard speech prepared, but the father doesn’t Martha’s remark makes perfect sense to me, Sunday’s coming!” even hear him. It’s not about our grand schemes and yet biblical commentators insist that her re- and plans for the kingdom. It’s just about accepting sponse reveals her failure to grasp who Jesus truly Rebekah Bell is a writer and speaker who the love of the Father. Jesus portrays God as the was. She was right to assume that Jesus could have enjoys encouraging young people to em- most vulnerable being existing. And that’s what real prevented Lazarus’ death, but she didn’t under- brace God’s goodness amidst a life of power is about. It is love! stand that even if he did not prevent it Jesus was transition.

8 decisions. The process of discernment that the Quak- ers have developed over the years is known today as a Connecting clearness committee. The clearness committee is a two-hour session where three to four people discern on behalf of a friend for Good who is in need of direction. Three elements emerge that can be helpful in any circumstance as those in the church “Digital inclusion is one of the most seek to help one another. important social justice and economic development issues of our day,” says 1. Resisting the urge to fix Michael Liimatta, president of Connect- When a friend comes with a dilemma, it is only natural ing for Good in Kansas City, Mo. He calls to offer well-meaning advice intended to alleviate their the unconnected “a growing under- angst. But offering quick solutions to difficult problems class” who are unable to apply for jobs can be damaging. People need to wrestle with ques- online, connect with family and friends, tions that will shape the course of their lives, and giving or access educational resources or Living friends support and enabling them to reach their own health information. “They are shut out conclusions can be an invaluable gift. into 2. Asking open and honest questions Reflecting on the need for honest questions in the clearness committee, Quaker author and spiritual director Vulnerability Parker Palmer wrote, “The best single mark of an honest, open question is that the questioner could not possi- Asking for help is bold, even courageous. Ask- bly anticipate the answer to it...” This practice, of asking ing for help requires a confession of needi- questions that do not anticipate an answer, allows space ness. It involves great vulnerability. for the one being asked to mirror back openness to the Perhaps this is why, when faced with a one asking. If the church is after meaningful conversa- complex decision such as a marriage partner, a tion, then beginning to ask open and honest questions career, or even a calling, the easiest response of one another is a great place to begin. is to internalize the process. Choosing vulner- Refurbishing workshop manager Karita ability seems too risky. What brave soul would 3. Total Attentiveness Matlock at work announce, even to his most trusted friends, Each person in the clearness committee accepts the re- that he cannot see clearly? sponsibility to be fully present throughout the process. of the benefits of connectivity that most In recent times, it has become fashion- With innumerable distractions available at a moment’s of us take for granted.” able in certain circles to draw attention to vul- notice, imagine the gift that total attentiveness could But since 2011, Liimatta has nerability as a key attribute of godliness. This bring into the lives of friends, family, spouse, children, been changing all that. Last year alone, impulse to focus on authenticity, honesty, and and coworkers! This community vulnerability requires Connecting for Good trained over 1,000 transparency has deep roots in the church. sacrifice, discipline, and focus. people from under-resourced urban This is true even if it has been a long-forgotten The work of incarnating vulnerability takes inten- neighborhoods in its free digital life virtue. tionality, time, and practice. But by resisting the urge to skills classes, brought free in-home Where past generations focused on truth fix, by asking open and honest questions, and by bring- Wi-Fi internet to about 500 families in as objective reality, the current trend is to focus ing total attentiveness to honor the vulnerability of oth- three low-income housing projects, and on truth as an inward reality. This, again, is an ers we can change the culture of the church. refurbished and sold 600 donated com- impulse to return to that which is thoroughly The question then becomes: Will the church honor puters at low cost to qualifying students. according to the way of Jesus. Still, there is the boldness and courage that is required in asking for It has built and continues to expand an much work to be done in the incarnation of help, in admitting neediness, and living into vulnerability? innovative network of interconnected vulnerability in the Christian community. microwave dishes for increased access, While there may be several starting Casey Hobbs is the author of Trembling both in people’s homes and via free places on the road to (re)discovering what Love: Fear, Freedom, and the God Who Is hotspots in strategic locations. The it means to be truly vulnerable in the context for Us (Wipf & Stock, 2013). organization also offers tech support to of community, the church as a whole could cash-strapped nonprofits. benefit from a practice that has been quietly Learn more at Connectingfor- taking place for centuries. Since the 17th cen- Good.org. tury, the Quakers have actively sought out the counsel of one another on life’s most pressing

9 PROTESTIMONY Following Jesus in the public square.

Nor does it create jobs. Ban the Box We need more than ban-the-box laws. We need to ask ourselves as a society: Are the odds stacked so high against returning citizens that we In a growing movement around the country, advocates for formerly in- increase the likelihood that they re-offend? We need to ask ourselves as carcerated persons are pressing for “ban-the-box” legislation that would Christians: Can we influence the culture and legislation by changing our own eliminate questions concerning a person’s criminal history from an initial hearts and attitudes toward the formerly incarcerated? Are we willing to job application. Many applications require an applicant to check a box if he put our faith into action by welcoming and, whenever possible, hiring ex- or she has ever been arrested for or convicted of a felony. The job market offenders? is already difficult for the nation as a whole in the current economy; the In a recent conversation among evangelical leaders in correctional challenges are exacerbated for those who are poor, less skilled, and under- ministries, several of us talked about the need for Christians to develop a educated, so you can imagine the obstacle that disclosing a criminal past biblically informed awareness of just who the incarcerated are. First, they adds to entering (or reentering) the job market. are all created in the image of God, a theological affirmation that should Ban-the-box legislation comes in various forms. At its most basic level, mitigate against the objectifying and dehumanization of the incarcerated— it prohibits employers from asking questions about applicants’ criminal past and the 95 percent of them who come home. Many were raised in our on the initial application. In this mode, applicants can still be queried, and congregations. We knew them as children and youth; their parents and even be subject to criminal background checks, once they come in for an grandparents attend worship every Sunday, burdened by the unspoken fact interview. If you picture employment as a house, this form of legislation will that the hopes they had for their family member seem dashed and that “the get applicants onto the porch but no further. In its strictest form, such as the legislation enacted last summer in Richmond, Calif., employers in certain categories are not permitted to ask about Second Chance? criminal backgrounds at all. What is the just position? Last year the British ad agency Leo Burnett created an interactive message called First, no legislation currently exists (proposed or passed) “Second Chance” for the nonprofit Business in the Community’s ban-the-box campaign. that completely eliminates questions concerning criminal past The short film puts the viewer in the position of an employer interviewing for a job nor that requires employers to hire people with criminal records. opening. Will you listen to the applicant for even 30 seconds? Or will you click on the Some positions carry a legal and common sense prohibition “Skip Ad” button and move on? against hiring people who have committed certain offenses. It For insight into the discrimination returning citizens face, check out this clever makes sense that a person convicted of an offense against a and poignant message at BitC.org.uk/banthebox. child would be barred from teaching kindergarten or that a person with a history of retail theft (or embezzlement) would face post-incarceration sanctions concerning employment in jobs that require handling money and/or merchandise. Second, many ban-the-box provisions require employers to consider both the nature of the crime and the amount of time that has passed since an individual’s conviction. The law in Newark, N.J., considers both, where employers are only allowed to consider offenses within the past five to eight years (depending on the type of crime). This excludes such offenses as murder, voluntary manslaughter, and sex offenses (the last of which requires registry). Third, once applicants arrive “on the porch” for an interview, many employers can still perform a background check. Federal guidelines dictate, however, that a check cannot go forward without circle has been broken” by walls and wire. the candidate’s permission. What happens if an applicant refuses to give Second, most returning citizens do not have violent convictions but consent to a background check? Put this in the common sense column. rather have drug offenses that would be better served by treatment than Fourth, those opposing ban-the-box legislation consistently point incarceration. The growth of drug courts in our nation recognizes such. to issues of public safety. Retailers voice concern about legal liability to Why can’t the church? customers and coworkers. Others point to character issues they say are Third, our efforts to reclaim the offender must be matched with com- revealed in a criminal past. passion and healing for victims. Much of the opposition to assisting the for- In the end, each attempt at reform concerning the job application merly incarcerated comes from persons whose own victimization by crime process must be measured against all of these issues. The variety of ban- goes unaddressed in our pastoral care, counseling, and fellowship. Indeed, the-box measures, from Richmond to Newark, make each attempt worth many inmates, especially women (studies place women’s numbers between considering on its own merits and a realistic appraisal of what it can ac- 50 and 90 percent), were victims of violence prior to developing the be- complish. One thing the legislation does not do is guarantee employment. haviors that led to their incarceration. Restorative justice models provide a

10 context for healing past hurts and preventing further damage. Harold Dean Trulear is director of the Healing Communities Ban-the-box legislation rightly addresses the issue of justice in access Prison Ministry and a fellow at the Center for Public Justice. to employment. Its various forms require that each proposal and enactment He speaks and writes extensively on issues related to in- be considered individually. But in the end, it is our hearts—Christian hearts, carceration and is the coeditor of Ministry with Prisoners & including those of legislators, employers, and the public—that must find Families: The Way Forward (Judson Press, 2011). room for people to justly pursue gainful employment consistent with the fulfillment of human dignity.

Chab Dai. As they engaged there, they gradually found a niche helping these organizations establish a clearer framework for gender equality Holy Disruptions by translating Christians for Biblical Equality materials into Khmer and cosponsoring forums around women’s leadership. The more they learned, DONOR-ACTIVIST EMILY NIELSEN JONES the more focused their goal became: to invest their resources to further WORKS FOR GENDER JUSTICE God’s kingdom by affirming the unique creation of every person’s calling in the world. There are some things Emily Nielsen Jones just can’t accept. Girls should Today the Imago Dei Fund supports unique educational and micro- not be born into a world that values them less than boys. Women should enterprising efforts in Uganda, Cambodia, Haiti, and the United States not bear the brunt of crushing economic inequalities. And our religious so as to “co-create” a world that respects and enhances the freedom traditions should not in any way validate patriarchal gender norms that and dignity of all. Using a “gender lens,” they strategically partner with attempt to “keep women in their place.” organizations to make sure all of their policies and efforts in the world “In this moment in time, when we see how enslaving the world is, are working to increase gender balance and thus send out empowering with so many human rights violations,” says Nielsen Jones, “we need ripples of change into what are still highly patriarchal cultural contexts. to work harder to enlist our religious traditions in ameliorating these Motivated by how few Christian organizations have women on their boards, structural inequalities, not exacerbating them, by bringing out the deeper the Imago Dei Fund helped initiate a national academic study on women in essence of our spiritual ideals which support human equality. We can evangelical leadership by partnering with Gordon College, and it has been do better. We have to connect the dots so that we move forward, not instrumental in helping some seminaries create more opportunities for backward.” women. For Nielsen Jones, cofounder and president of the Imago Dei Fund The granddaughter of immigrants from Sweden and Norway, Nielsen in Boston, Mass., that means partnering with “change agents, locally and Jones was raised in upstate New York in a family where she and her two around the world, to build bridges of peace and create a world where girls sisters learned early on “not to drink the Kool-Aid” of gender messages and women can thrive and achieve their full human potential.” in their evangelical community. Her parents and grandmother instilled an As a donor-activist in the women-led philanthropy movement, Nielsen empowering ethic, and along the way she learned to tune out disempower- Jones started the Imago Dei Fund in 2009 with her husband, Ross Jones, ing religious messages and to “listen to my own heart.” When she came and Executive Director Debra Veth. Their early research and development home from church one afternoon complaining that only the boys in Sunday took them to Cambodia, where they saw anti-trafficking efforts firsthand school at her Southern Baptist church were asked to pray, the response and became partners with the faith-based anti-trafficking collaborative was along the lines of “This is not okay, and we need to go complain!”

11 “The best traffick- Thus began her journey of faith-based MEDIA WATCHDOGS, ing ‘prevention’ gender activism! “I might get into evangelical hot REJOICE! the church can be waters by saying this, but I have always engaged in is es- believed in my own equality as a woman— For the past three years, The Representation tablishing a solid and women’s equality—without needing a Project has used #NotBuyingIt on Twitter spiritual frame- biblical argument or exegesis to say so,” to call out sexism in the media and hold work of equal- she says. “Of course, it’s important to brands accountable. Tens of thousands have ity for men and find a clear biblical explanation for gender tweeted, successfully pushing companies like Amazon and Go Daddy to change equality; however, sometimes I wonder if we sexist products or practices, and making media sexism a trending topic around women alike and set ourselves up for an ongoing debate and the world. working toward disagreement, as if burying our heads in the Now you can download the #NotBuyingIt app, the world’s first app gender balancing Bible is the only way we can arrive at truth dedicated to fighting media sexism. Go to bit.ly/KIeocl to access this organizing our own organiza- rather than listening to our own hearts. Both tool, designed to put the power of social change at your fingertips. Use it to tions.” are important.” upload images of sexism in the media or larger culture, tag offending brands, That gender lens is what has shaped and spread the word about the campaign. both her personal vision and the direction of the Imago Dei Fund. Now, as more ministries and churches combat human trafficking, Nielsen Jones hopes they will also begin to look more RIGHTS FOR RAPISTS? deeply at the religious messages that prop up male power over women and legitimize male-only leadership models. These factor into the “danger- Every year in the US more than 25,000 ous humanitarian mix” that continues to devalue the dignity and worth of pregnancies result from rape. As shocking as females, making them vulnerable to a host of violence and discrimination it sounds, 31 states allow those responsible at a time when women and NGOs all over the world are working so hard to for the horrific violence to sue for custodial empower girls and women. or visitation rights over the children they “The best trafficking ’prevention’ the church can be engaged in is conceive. establishing a very clear, very solid spiritual framework of human equality Last July, Rep. Debbie Wasserman for men and women alike and working toward gender balancing our own Schultz [D-FL] introduced HR 2772: The Rape Survivor Child Custody Act. organizations.” The irony of advocating for girls around the globe while Florida is one of only six states that provide rape victims with the legal action preserving all (or mostly) male leadership structures at home and within needed to avoid custody battles with their perpetrator, and Schultz wants to see our churches and organizations is obvious, she says, and another reason more states follow suit. we need what she refers to as “holy disruptions.” The organization 31 States is working hard to raise awareness of the “We have more economic inequalities in today’s world than when issue. Go to 31States.com to learn more and to watch an interview with a brave American slavery was an institution,” she says, “and that weighs on me. teenager caught in a maddening web of legal gaps, blame-the-victim politics, Something’s wrong when people are in such duress that they sell our own and legislative absurdity. bodies and dignity in order to survive.” As long as these injustices exist, Nielsen Jones will be looking for ways to address them. “As a donor-activist, I don’t always get to see the LAPS, NOT APPS! work, but I can help connect the dots between religious ideas around gender and their humanitarian implications. I find great joy in doing my That’s what babies need, say the good folks at part in the global movement for gender balance that we see across so the Campaign for a Commercial-free Childhood. many sectors of society, including our faith traditions. But things are still They are targeting Fisher-Price for its Newborn- tenuous, so a good first step for Christians here and around the globe is to-Toddler Apptivity™ Seat for iPad®, a to look within and make sure we are not part of the problem!” bouncy seat for infants that features a holder Learn more at ImagoDeiFund.org. for an iPad directly above the baby’s face. Talk about a captive audience. Jo Kadlecek is the senior writer and The ultimate electronic babysitter, the Apptivity Seat encourages parents journalist-in-residence at Gordon College in to plug babies into the entertainment world from day one, in spite of the Ameri- Wenham, Mass. She is the author of almost a can Academy of Pediatrics’ warnings that kids under 2 should live screen-free. dozen books, including Desperate Women of To learn more about how the manufacturer is marketing this product (as edu- the Bible (Baker Books, 2006). cational, of course), go to CommercialfreeChildhood.org/actions, where you can also send a message to Fisher-Price asking them to pull the plug immediately on this appalling product.

12 What does it mean to follow Jesus in the 21st century?

The same that it always has: radically and faithfully.

Ronald J. Sider and Evangelicals for Social Action are most respected for their pioneering work in the area of evangelical social concern. However, Sider’s great contribution to social justice is but a part of a larger vision – namely, biblical discipleship. His works, which span more than four decades, have guided the faithful to be authentic gospel-bearers in ecclesial, cultural, and political arenas. This book honors Ron Sider by bringing together a group of scholar-activists, old and young, to reflect upon the gospel and its radical implications for the 21st century. Contributors include Craig Keener, Vinay Samuel, Melba Maggay, John Perkins, and Heid Unruh. 15 16 are neither typical nor characteristic of the experiences that most African American and Latino children have in our nation’s public schools, especially if they are living in low-income communities. SCHOOL When we became public school teachers (in Southern California and DC), we were hit hard by the reality that common race does not necessarily mean common experience. We had race in common with our students, but we had had educational op- EQUAL= portunities that set us apart, and that realization was a big awakening. Our students were schooled in substandard facilities—broken windows that were never repaired, rotten floorboards that had been chewed up by mice and termites, restroom ITY AS A facilities that prompted parents to call the health department, torn and tattered textbooks, food that was sometimes spoiled and moldy, and the list goes on. Those are the hurdles that we faced as teachers coming out of the gate, before we even MATTER started to think about instruction or the challenges that our students faced outside of the school walls. Many hardworking, dedicated teachers and leaders in our school buildings have learned how to make do with less, but 60 years after Brown v. Board of OF FAITH Education, they shouldn’t have to.

How Christians can INCOME AND OUTCOMES Now, before we go any further, we want to make it clear that we stand firm on the position that we do justice to public cannot allow poverty to lower our expectations for students, but at the same time we cannot ignore the impact that it has on educational outcomes. By education the time they reach fourth grade, students from low-income communities are already three grade BY NICOLE BAKER FULGHAM AND ARIA KIRKLAND-HARRIS levels behind their wealthier peers. That means that there are 10-year-olds reading on a first-grade lev- “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before el. And while their wealthier peers are working with me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found complex fractions, these same kids are still learn- no one.” Ezekiel 22:30 ing to count and struggling with basic addition. This disparity only worsens over time. Half of students espite the fact that our nation officially ended racial segregation in public living in poverty will not graduate from high school, education nearly 60 years ago with the landmark Brown v. Board of and the ones that do make it are graduating with Education decision, we still have two very separate and unequal school eighth-grade skills. Out of that 50 percent who do systems in our nation. graduate from high school, only one in 10 will go on Illustration by Linda FrichtelIllustration (LindaFrichtel.com) DThe authors of this article are two examples of public school done right. to graduate from a four-year college or university. We are both African American women of faith who grew up in stable, two-parent We cannot afford to ignore these issues. households. Our parents were able to pursue higher education, and those values The set of statistics and inequalities that we were instilled in us from an early age. We had teachers who warned our parents just laid out are collectively referred to as “the about underperforming neighborhood schools, and our parents figured out how achievement gap” or “educational inequity.” In its to navigate the system and got us into stronger schools in other neighborhoods. most technical sense, the achievement gap refers We went to magnet middle and high schools with competitive AP courses, STEM, to the persistent disparity in educational outcomes and International Baccalaureate programs. With the help, love, and support of our (or test scores) between different subgroups of parents, teachers, and church families, we were able to parlay our public school students, particularly those defined by gender, educations into Ivy League educations and doctoral degrees. race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. But the But the cold truth is that the educational opportunities that were afforded us inequalities go much deeper than standardized test

15 Five Things Every Christian Can Do—Right Now—to Help

Close the Achievement Gap scores. Some describe it as an “opportunity gap,” bringing at- ① VOLUNTEER AS A TUTOR, MENTOR, OR READING PARTNER. tention to the difference between School-based and off-site tutoring and mentoring programs are always in need of volunteers. Their lessons are typically scripted, a child’s potential and her actual and they provide training for people who may need to brush up on those old elementary school skills. National service organi- achievement. Others describe zations like Boys and Girls Clubs of America and The United Way will facilitate the volunteer placement process for you as they the gap in terms of having “low specialize in connecting volunteers with direct reading, tutoring, and mentoring opportunities. expectations” for students in poverty and believe that there is ② SUPPORT PUBLIC SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH YOUR CHURCH. widespread acceptance of me- Many congregations are already supporting schools and families through book drives or school clean-up days and by sponsor- diocrity in how we value our na- ing field trips or offering after-school and summer programs for neighborhood students. Find out what your church is doing and tion’s most vulnerable children. volunteer. Many of these ministries need administrative and logistical support, so even people with unpredictable work schedules However you choose to de- can still help. For more ideas, check out the terrific resources in the “More than Paper and Pencils” on page 18, and read about fine the achievement gap, these the many exciting things happening in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area in “Church/School Partnerships = Win/Win” on page 19. gross educational disparities are at the core of our nation’s ③ ADVOCATE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND OTHER IMPORTANT REFORMS IN YOUR STATE. struggle to provide pathways This can be done through the traditional routes of civic engagement by contacting your congressperson or state legislature. You out of poverty, and we must can also educate yourself and others on pressing educational issues by researching the following organizations: National Asso- do something to change them. ciation for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC.org), The Children’s Defense Fund (ChildrensDefense.org), Stand for Children Since a quality education helps (Stand.org), and The Education Trust (EdTrust.org). open the doors of opportunity for children to engage fully in a ④ MAKE FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATIONS. civic, academic, and purpose- Most educational equity organizations are nonprofits that rely on the gracious financial stewardship of individuals. In addition filled life, what is our role and to offering our time and talents, financial contributions are yet another way that we all can support organizations that are work- responsibility as people of faith ing tirelessly to make educational equity a reality for all children. Most organizations also accept online donations through their in eliminating educational in- websites. (See “More that Paper and Pencils” on page 18.) equity? How can we close the achievement gap to ensure that ⑤ BECOME AN “AMBASSADOR” FOR THE EXPECTATIONS PROJECT IN YOUR REGION. all God’s children receive a high TEP Ambassadors are a huge asset to us as they help form grassroots coalitions of churches in regions where TEP does not quality education? have a permanent office. TEP staff will provide training and support materials for those interested in educating others about This is the lifeblood of the achievement gap, forming small groups around the book Educating All God’s Children, committing committing to praying for our work at The Expectations our children and schools, as well as a host of other opportunities. For more information, go to TheExpectationsProject.org > Project, and, more importantly, Get involved. it is the hope of the gospel. We believe that the same God who

Race Equity Equality byRace Clayton Singleton(ClaytonSingleton.com) specializes in making old things new, the One whose strength is made perfect in our weakness (and our lack of answers), the God who loves justice and commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves, can and will heal our broken education system. We believe that if more faith-motivated people will commit to this work of closing the achievement gap, we can shift the paradigm and transform the way the education community thinks about reform.

THE CHALLENGE OF PRIVILEGE As is often true with social challenges, the decision makers in the education reform space who influence policy do not

18 overwhelmingly reflect the backgrounds of the individuals most in need of support for sustainable solutions. Consensus building may be messy and transformational change and equality. At first glance, it may seem as though take longer, but we believe it’s a more authentic, faith-filled approach that most of us do not fit the description of education leaders and influencers. genuinely values everyone. This is no easy task, so it must be done with a After all, only a few privileged individuals possess that level of power. But if spirit of humility, civility, and desire for reconciliation. we dig a little bit deeper, we will find that these decision-making privileges also exist in the day-to-day interactions between those who exercise an CHRISTIAN CIVILITY IN THE DEBATE ability to influence systems, to whatever degree possible, and those who The question about civility’s role in the education space is complex, but do not. Within the context of education, privilege boils down to opportu- it doesn’t have to be. It has proven to be one of the biggest challenges nity and choice. That means that if you had the advantage of attending a in education reform. At its best, civility helps newcomers feel welcomed in high-performing school, based on zip code, rather than an underperforming unknown spaces, something that is desperately needed by our disenfran- school, then you are privileged. If your child has the option to enroll in honors, AP, or gifted classes, when plenty of schools do not offer these options, you are privileged. These are wonderful options that all children The same God whose strength is made should have, and parents should not feel guilty about doing whatever they can to make these opportunities a perfect in our weakness, the God who reality for their children. But as Christians, we are com- manded to love our neighbors (and their children) as loves justice and commands us to love our ourselves, so shouldn’t we be fighting for all children to neighbor as ourselves, can and will heal our have these opportunities? This question seems like a no-brainer, but navi- broken education system. If more faith- gating these challenges of limited opportunity and choice has proven to be a momentous challenge for motivated people will commit to closing the everyone involved—privileged or not. However, if the achievement gap, we can shift the para- group of education decision makers in the room is made up exclusively of those who have educational, ra- digm and transform the way the education cial, or economic privilege, can we really expect to come up with solutions that will be acceptable and fair for all? community thinks about reform. If we are going to do this work right, we must reflect on our own experiences with privilege and be honest about how those experiences affect the ways in which we engage others. chised families. Feeling at ease in a new place is a blessing and helps us We must acknowledge our privileged educational circumstances, be truthful to open up and share our thoughts and ideas with others, and that is what about our desire to have what’s best for own children, and then humbly authentic community engagement requires. But at its worst, civility can lack and fearlessly use our power, privilege, and influence to extend the same respect and the sincerity of heart that true collaboration and open dialogue opportunities to others. require. Far too often, “being civil” is used to describe how we behave with Every faith tradition argues for working on behalf of the disenfran- people we don’t care for and prefer not to spend time with; we use empty chised, and as Christians we are called to “speak up for those who can- courtesies that mask disdain or disapproval. Unfortunately, the latter is of- not speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute” (Prov. ten seen in public education debates. This work is hard, even painstaking at 31:8). Scriptures like this one, along with the opening passage, from Ezekiel times, and progress requires strong commitment, conviction, and a willing- 22:30, remind us that our God is looking for intercessors. The education ness to compromise. Christians have a tremendous opportunity to make an sector calls it advocacy, but when you look closely, advocacy and interces- impact in this space of need. sion are really the same thing. We hope to settle disagreements between Once individual participants in the education reform space have opposing sides. We defend those who cannot, for whatever reason, defend achieved genuine civility, we must open a new dialogue and invest the time themselves. We have all been called to stand in this gap. and care that it takes to develop authentic relationships. If we can forgive Educational advocacy organizations are constantly trying to figure out past hurts, put disagreements aside, and focus on our shared belief that all how to authentically and respectfully engage members of communities that children deserve the best education that our world has to offer them, then have been failed by the public education system. If we want to fix this broken we will have a real shot at fixing this broken system. education system, the voices and perspectives of those who are impacted by poverty must be included in the policy- and decision-making processes. PUTTING FAITH INTO ACTION It’s one thing to reach out to a group of low-income families and tell them The Expectations Project has as its sole mission to mobilize and equip peo- about our idea for change, but it will largely remain at the surface level. A ple of faith to help eliminate inequity in public education. We wrestle every more effective and sincere approach would be to truly seek out ideas from day with the notions of privilege and authentic community engagement, and those same families and be willing to change our own perspectives based we are deeply committed to operating in a way that will help children in our on what we hear and learn from them. That mindset and action will help most disenfranchised communities—and to holding ourselves accountable us dismantle our own privilege and will more likely yield true community to doing the work in a way that reflects our faith.

17 More than Paper and Pencils We have been given amazing opportunities to support faith leaders and congregations who want to help our These national organizations help Christians partner with their public schools through nation’s public schools. We are partnering with national de- mentoring programs, community revitalization, and more. nominations and faith-based organizations to educate their members about the massive inequities in public schools, and ✎ America’s Promise (AmericasPromise.org) helps mobilize Americans to act via we are encouraging them to get involved at the local level. In their 400+ national partner organizations and local affiliates. Its top priority: ensur- Indianapolis, our faith leaders are working with area super- ing that all young people graduate from high school ready for college, work, and intendents and parents to ensure that all of their city’s chil- life through its Grad Nation movement to end the nation’s dropout crisis. Their work dren have access to exceptional early childhood education. involves raising awareness, creating connections, and sharing knowledge to provide In Washington, DC, we have a growing network of clergy who children these five key supports: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effec- are partnering with neighborhood schools and are support- tive education, and opportunities to help others. ing efforts to educate and empower parents to advocate for educational equity. Growing networks of local pastors want ✎ BeUndivided (BeUndivided.com) helps churches that want to invest time and to ensure that teachers in their local schools are trained effort year-round in students and schools—whatever the need and without agenda and supported so they can do the herculean work of closing or strings attached. Their resource-rich website will walk you throughout the steps achievement gaps. needed to initiate and establish your own church-school partnership. It’s an exciting time to be involved in this work! It can be hard, messy, and complex, but we learn as we go, and it is ✎ Communities in Schools (CommunitiesinSchools.org) began in the 1970s when glorious. There is much work to be done, and we need your founder Bill Milliken, then a youth advocate in New York City, came up with the idea help. Consider getting involved in educational change. Get of bringing community resources inside a public school building where they are ac- started today by checking out “Five Things Every Christian cessible, coordinated, and accountable. Since then it has become the nation’s leading Can Do—Right Now—to Help Close the Achievement Gap” dropout prevention organization, with a unique model that positions a coordinator on page 16. inside schools to assess needs and deliver necessary resources that remove barriers As people of faith, we serve a God who will help us re- to success. flect on our own privilege, reconcile caustic debates, and op- erate in a way that truly engages communities and changes ✎ DonorsChoose (DonorsChoose.org) engages the “public” in public schools by the game for kids. Together, we can help change educational giving people a simple, accountable, and personal way to address educational ineq- outcomes for this generation and for many more to come. uity. Teachers post classroom project requests—“ranging from pencils for poetry to microscopes for mitochondria”—and donors can give as little or as much as they The Expectations Project partners with faith-motivated indi- want. Requested items are then purchased and shipped to a classroom in need. viduals, leaders, congregations, and organizations to develop local and national campaigns that help enact transforma- ✎ Faith for Change (FaithforChange.org) is a growing coalition of houses of faith tional change for low-income public schools. They strategize across the country united by a desire and calling to improve academic outcomes for with, equip, and support their faith community partners by underperforming and high-needs public school students, from pre-K to 12th grade. developing media campaigns, influencing local and national Through the Community School Model, educational reform, and programming re- decision makers, and mobilizing people of faith to take ac- sources, the coalition works to bring about academic success for all students. Faith tion on key education issues. Learn more at TheExpectation- for Change is a community foundation operating under the Institute for Educational sProject.org. Leadership. Nicole Baker Fulgham is the founder and president of The ✎ Kids Hope USA (KidsHopeUSA.org) offers churches and schools a proven, Expectations Project and is the author of Educating All God’s award-winning model to meet the emotional, social, and academic needs of children. Children: What Christians Can–and Should–Do to Improve Its programs create one-on-one mentoring relationships between adult church mem- Public Education for Low-Income Kids (Brazos Press, April bers who are willing to give a little time and a lot of love and at-risk elementary school 2013). children in their community who desperately need loving, caring adults in their lives. Aria Kirkland-Harris is a child advocate, educator, and inter- ✎ National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative (ChurchAdoptaSchool.org) was cessor. As a former elementary school teacher in Washing- formed to both train and equip churches to replicate Dr. Tony Evans’s proven model ton, DC, she came face-to-face with the achievement gap of social outreach in their area. NCAASI promotes community revitalization through and eventually decided to explore and implement communi- church-based social services by leveraging the existing structures of both churches ty-based approaches to school turnaround. and schools.

18 CHURCH/SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS= WIN/WIN A church that wants to impact the community needs look no further than the public school BY NITA THOMASON

“I was driving through West Dallas recently and barely recognized it,” a woman said at a recent gathering of Christian leaders. A few weeks ear- lier, similar sentiments were expressed among a group of friends discussing tutoring in a Title I school in the Dallas-Ft. Worth suburbs. At a meeting of culturally diverse church leaders in Dallas, there was increasing enthusiasm for church collaboration, and an attitude of hope prevailed. As the largest recipient of refugees of any US metropolitan area, DFW is home to a popula- tion of which 44 percent are first- or second- generation immigrants. The Dallas schools are nearly 70 percent Hispanic and over 20 percent African American. Rebecca Walls is executive director of Unite, a network of DFW churches joining forces to engage and transform the community. She sees these changes as an unprecedented opportunity for churches to mobilize collaboratively in externally focused community transformation. Last year Christians from across Dallas joined together at Park Cities Baptist Church to launch a Christ-centered network called A Prayed For City (AP4C.org) and began covering the metroplex in united prayer 365 days a year. Churches, private citizens, and government of- ficials are joining together to work for, among other things, improved schools with effective principals leading them and skilled teachers in every classroom. Walls believes that the single most impact- ful thing a church can do to positively change a Linda Frichtel (LindaFrichtel.com) Linda Frichtel 19 lieve that true and lasting change will be brought about by the residents of their com- Hopefully one day soon, munity but that sometimes an infusion of hope is needed from the outside. Garrett Smith, Mercy Street’s director of mentoring, reports that while many of their staff live in the every Title I school will West Dallas community, their pool of 400 mentors comes from churches both inside and outside the West Dallas area, with many coming from Watermark Church in North Dallas have at least one church and Park Cities Presbyterian Church. Trey Hill, executive director of Mercy Street, says, “We believe that community trans- partner coming alongside formation happens primarily through relationship and not through programs. So what we ask people to do is get engaged in the life of a child and walk with the children from 4th it to provide quality to 12th grade, believing it is the long-term relationship where the real impact is made, not just in the student’s life but in the mentor’s life as well.” education and care for Watermark Church and the Village Church are two of a number of Dallas churches becoming known for community engagement through relational ministry. A younger gen- every child. eration of evangelicals is picking up the tempo for change. With less interest in making money and more interest in making a difference, many young people in their 20s are choosing service among the poor as a way of life. Lindsey Boatman is a single young adult who teaches “at-risk” high school students community is to partner with a public school. Unite has already identi- ages 16-21 at Cornerstone Crossroads Academy (CCA), exposing them to the hope and fied 175 church-school partnerships in Dallas and Collin Counties. abundant life found in Jesus. Boatman lives in the Fair Park community where she teaches “We’re in the process of determining what each partnership in- and attends the Village Church, where many young adults have seriously engaged trou- volves,” says Walls,“so that together we can increase effectiveness, bled youth in Dallas through mentoring programs and by living in impoverished neighbor- build capacity, and encourage more churches to build these kinds of hoods and developing relationships with the young people there. relationships.” She hopes that one day soon, every Title I school will Located directly across from the local middle school, Village Church also sponsors have at least one church partner coming alongside it to provide quality clean-up days at the middle and high schools, hosts faculty/staff breakfasts, and invites education and care for every child. students over to the church for basketball games and barbeques. “I wouldn’t want to Schools frequently welcome church engagement. The Turn- be [here] without that kind of support,” Thomas Jefferson High School Principal Sandi Around Agenda (TTA) of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church has be- Massey told the Dallas News. “The outside force of the community coming in gives us come a model for church and public school partnerships as it seeks this hope and courage to not stop doing what we are doing and not give up on our kids.” to rebuild communities from the inside out by addressing moral and Woodcreek Church in a northern suburb of Dallas has developed a vibrant ministry spiritual foundations. Utilizing public schools as a primary vehicle for with a Title I school, Forman Elementary in Plano, over the past seven years. Strong delivering social services, the TTA model incorporates technology and friendships grew from the start between school personnel and church members. The education programs, a family care pregnancy center, human needs partnership includes a classroom academic tutoring program staffed by church volun- assistance, and school-based after-school and summer programs. teers. Principal Tramy Tran explains, “The Woodcreek mentors are what we think of when TTA began as a crisis intervention when a local high school principal we think of academic mentors.” The church also collects and donates thousands of dol- asked Pastor Tony Evans for assistance in dealing with gang activity lars of school supplies to Forman each year. and other disruptive behavior among students. Today their volunteers The evolution of the church’s holiday gift program for the students shows how the partner in 61 schools in the Dallas area and offer services as varied hearts and attitudes of the church members have matured through the relationship with as one-on-one mentoring, literacy and computer instruction, sports the school. Initially Woodcreek members adopted Forman families identified by the school leagues, and abstinence education facilitators. as particularly needy, and church members offered huge bags of gifts chosen specifically Larry James, author of The Wealth of the Poor: How Valuing Ev- for them. Donors enjoyed sharing their abundance, but the Woodcreek team felt unsettled ery Neighbor Restores Hope in Our Cities, started his urban ministry by the charity aspect of the process, which robbed parents of the joy and dignity of decades ago when he left his suburban church in response to an in- selecting their own gifts. Instead the church began hosting a big party for the families vitation to start a food pantry for some of the poorest residents of each year, where Christmas stories, holiday food, and festive songs created a climate of Dallas. Now with a ministry called CitySquare, James lobbies hard for celebration that all could share in, and gifts were provided in a more discreet manner. fair immigration policy. Why? His friendships with many young people Still, church leaders recognized the chasm between the givers and the receivers. who are undocumented have led him to ask, “Why would we want to So following the suggestion of Principal Tran, the church moved away from the family waste the investment we’ve already made in these young lives in the gift-giving to providing “parent gifts” for the Forman “store.” Each year thousands of form of public education?” James understands that advocacy for the dollars’ worth of note cards, body lotions, tool kits, picture frames, etc., are donated and poor frequently involves challenging the systemic forces that contrib- displayed so that children can shop for their parents for the holidays. The school uses an ute to poverty. Certainly the complex issue of educational equity is incentive program, awarding students with “Falcon Bucks” for positive behaviors such as frequently entangled in the political arena, and partisan roadblocks turning in homework and demonstrating admirable character. Students exchange their hinder positive change. bucks for goods in the school store or other rewards. Change is reverberating west of the Trinity River where Mercy The “parent gifts” are hot items during the Christmas season. The program encour- Street Ministry leads the charge for community transformation, com- ages generosity in the children, promotes self-initiative, and helps students learn impor- mitted relationships, and catalytic leadership development. They be- tant lessons about the free enterprise system as they “spend” their own earnings on gifts

20 for their parents. Last December three other churches—Legacy Church, Plano Bible Chapel, and North Dallas Community the adults attend English classes. Church—helped provide gifts, and all four churches worked together to sponsor Forman Game Night for the students so Program Director Kay Hurley says, “A parents could go Christmas shopping. high-quality preschool environment, Another way that Woodcreek supports Forman is through the Pine Cove Base Camp sponsored by the Forman PTA. geared to teaching toddlers and Church members provide scholarships so Forman students can attend this upscale summer day camp experience. Wood- preschoolers the English language creek also sponsors a vibrant ESL ministry, a strong component of which is the program provided for the children while through a rich experiential learning environment, enhances the development of the children’s ability to understand and speak English. So when EDUCATE YOURSELF they enter a more formal program, Resources to explore and share such as Head Start or public kindergarten, they will already have a better Educating All God's Children: What Christians Can—and Should—Do to Improve grasp of English.” Public Education for Low-Income Kids The Stewpot of First Presbyterian by Nicole Baker Fulgham (Brazos, 2013) Church of Dallas started serving the This book provides concrete action steps for working to ensure that every kid gets the hungry in the inner city in 1975, but quality public education she deserves. Personal narratives from Christian public school now it provides a wide range of so- teachers demonstrate how the achievement gap can be solved. cial services, including a program for children. Suzanne Erickson, director "Experiencing Public Schools: A Process of Immersion and Discernment" is a short of children and youth at the Stewpot, online guide from the United Church of Christ to help a congregation set up, carry out, and understands that poverty doesn’t reflect on an immersion trip to a local public schools. Access it at bit.ly/1mZl7jX. need to be the future of the children they serve. Give Me Strength: Personal Prayers for School Teachers “Our program for middle by Sharon Harris-Ewing (Pilgrim Press, 2013) school and high school students This book not only makes a great gift for the school teachers you know but also sensitizes includes homework tutoring,” says non-teachers to the challenges those in education face. Erickson,“but it also provides enrichment activities such as engineering How It's Being Done: Urgent Lessons from Unexpected Schools and art projects that promote higher by Karin Chenoweth (Harvard Education Press, 2009) thinking skills. We incorporate career This book provides detailed accounts of the ways in schools with high-poverty and and college exploration into our pro- high-minority student populations have dramatically boosted student achievement and gramming with trips to Texas univer- diminished (and often eliminated) achievement gaps. sities. We then provide $2,000 in college scholarship money per year for The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way students up to a $10,000 total.” by Amanda Ripley (Simon & Schuster, 2013) Many challenges remain in the In a handful of nations, virtually all children are learning to make complex arguments and solve problems they’ve DFW schools, but an invigorating never seen before. This book is about building resilience in a new world, as told by the young Americans who have the wave of progress is moving through most at stake. the area in the form of collaborative partnerships between churches and Unfinished Business: Closing the Racial Achievement Gap in Our Schools schools, with efforts moving away by Pedro Noguera and Jean Yonemura Wing (Jossey-Bass, 2008) from charity and toward empower- This book investigates the dynamics of race and achievement at Berkeley High School, ment. When community sectors such where cultural attitudes, academic tracking, curricular access, and after-school activities as schools, churches, nonprofits, and serve as sorting mechanisms that set students on paths of success or failure. government work together, everyone wins. TEACHED (from Loudspeaker Films) is a series of short documentary films that candidly address the causes and consequences of our nation's race-based achievement gap, Nita Thomason teaches future teach- looking at continuing inequality in our public school system and taking viewers into those ers in the education department of communities where its effects are most severe. Learn more at Teached.org. Collin College. She leads the Com- munity Impact Ministry of Woodcreek Church.

21 These neighborhood girls love to roam the block and check in on neighbors. The World Is Our Class - room: Recovering the humanity of education by Anthony Grimes

he form of education should follow its function. That is to say We do this by reorienting society to that once we agree upon the purpose of education, dialogue better value the informal and far less tangible ways Tabout which pedagogies best accomplish this end becomes more that kids everywhere are becoming more human. Let’s celebrate much more a meaningful. We may even dare to raise the question, “Does compulsory kid’s effort to think critically and compassionately about the world and far less schooling as currently constructed actually educate kids?” By “educate” one who can simply regurgitate the disembodied names of continents. What I don’t necessarily mean help them to become more obedient or more our country needs now more than ever is an awakening of ordinary citizens assimilated to white American culture––schools do these things quite well. to take on the task of rehumanizing education right in the magnificently com- By “educate” I mean help kids to become more human. plicated neighborhoods where children live. School starts on the block––the Does school encourage kids to think more critically both about the world is a classroom. world and all the profound, life-giving possibilities that they themselves Let’s summon our inner Moses to tell Pharaoh-like institutions “Let my embody? The great American crisis is that for all too many precious, children go!” Don’t disown them, but set them loose; let them create; encour- pliable, and eager children riding the assembly line of schooling from age them to follow their naturally curious selves into awe-ful discoveries that preschool to a college degree, while sitting through thousands of hours we adults often overlook for the sake of expediency. Let them be a little less of lectures and evaluations, the answer is “no.” The greater crisis is that predictable and manicured and far more dangerous. After all, it was children some fall off this conveyor belt prematurely, robbing them of even the who eventually led the Birmingham Campaign of 1963 that toppled the cities’ mediocre status quo. Both realities should cause us to pause and grieve. discrimination laws—children showing up by the hundreds, skipping entire Selah. As my wise uncle and teacher Dr. Vincent Harding often repeats, days of school, enduring high-pressure water hoses at the hands of racist “We’ve got work to do!” police officers, and, yes, being locked up in paddy wagons and then school Of course, we have the important work of innovating curriculum. buses on their way to jail. Maybe we underestimate the revolutionary potential Of course, under-resourced schools need more funding and better policy. of our little ones. Or maybe it’s that the very design of schooling makes it (I recently worked for months in Colorado on a failed campaign attempt difficult for these kinds of expressions of democratic creativity to take place to pass an innovative school funding act called Amendment 66, because, today. Instead, the next standardized test looms. as a former teacher, I recognize the economic restrictions that handicap Creative education gets stifled in a market-driven society. The privatiza- urban and rural public schools.) Yet the much more important and often tion and professionalization of schooling has influenced more and more neglected work lies outside of the classroom––in the people themselves. academic institutions to elevate job placement as their crowning achievement. We must find ways to shrink the ever-widening gap between schooling and This is evidenced not only by more job-centric advertising methods at major education. universities but also by increasingly sparse enrollment rates in humanities

22 These neighborhood girls love to roam the block and check in on neighbors.

departments. Consider, for example, a recent Wall Street Journal ing herd, the children scurry along to whomever welcomes them–– article, which revealed that the number of humanities degrees sometimes traversing in and out of our front door––always picking at Harvard University has dropped by more than half since up valuable nuggets wherever they go: a recipe here, a history lesson the 1960s.1 there, family training everywhere, the spirituals of their African ances- Likewise, it’s become rare to find subjects such tors, social critique by Joel-the-Conspiracy-Theorist. This is learning as physical education or music offered in primary undomesticated by a discombobulated series of bells and analysis. They or secondary schools. When the financial future are becoming, in the words of Freire, “people educat[ing] each other of students (or teachers) becomes the supreme through the mediation of the world.”4 Jesus himself taught like this–– end, school gets reduced to its most expedited like a person who realized the infinite potential of the world around him form. The street hustler and student alike have to illustrate the mysteries of his kingdom. the same goal––get paper at all costs. Such a I know, I know. “This kind of ’education’ is wildly unpredictable, process, void of passion for discovery and true irreproducible, and intangible,” the critics will be quick to respond. character, would be utterly foreign to the ancient Indeed, and that’s exactly why I would never claim that the experience Greeks, who viewed education (paideia) as the on our block can replace formal schooling. Still, I wonder: What would means to becoming a more humane and involved happen if we took the best of what is happening on Eudora Street and member of community.2 in renewed pockets of poverty-riddled communities all across the US We are seeing glimpses of a reorienting, and, somehow, someway merged it into more formal classroom spaces, rehumanizing educational movement in Northeast and vice versa? I think it would be revolutionary. Because although the Park Hill, an urban neighborhood in Denver, Colo., education served by this ragtag roster of eclectic resident-teachers may where I was raised and to which I recently returned, not formally prepare these kids for the next standardized test, it does along with my wife, Erika. Northeast Park Hill is home to what education is supposed to do: It makes us all a little more human. some of the most vulnerable youth in Denver. Roughly 56 And it’s about time we celebrated that. percent of the kids in my neighborhood were born to teen mothers, mothers without a high school education, or born at Writer and activist Anthony Grimes (AnthonyGrimes.com) has a vision or below the poverty line. What’s more, Holly Square, situated a few to see empowered neighbors building beloved community. He is the blocks away from us, has an infamous reputation for its long history of founder of UrbanMuse Media. As a leader within the Christian Community gang violence. A $5 million Boys and Girls Club was recently built there, but Development Association, he locally and nationally engages the social the area still evokes a debilitating aura of fear for some. A young street kid issues of education and mass incarceration. once sadly explained to me why he desperately wants to escape the neighborhood: “Everyone gets shot in Park Hill.” (Editor’s note: endnotes for this article are posted at PRISMmagazine. One day, I curiously walked across the street to talk with Mrs. Jones–– org/endnotes.) our 85-year-old Caribbean neighbor who has lived in her house since before I was born––and asked her, amidst the noise of sirens in the distance, what she felt our neighborhood needed most. Her response was simply that she wished people would unglue themselves from the TV and talk to each other more. Our block was missing that intangible quality of togetherness that I enjoyed as a boy and that makes a place a neighborhood instead of just a ’hood. In response to Mrs. Jones’s wish, we launched a backyard community The author and his son tend the backyard community garden. garden on our street to provide a safe place for kids to learn the life skills contained in farming and, more importantly, for them to rub shoulders with the gray hairs of the block. Our crops won’t win any farmer’s market awards anytime soon, but the vision caught. People are coming out of their mini fortresses––kids are outside painting Zechariah’s vision with the skid-marks of their scooters: “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing” (Zech. 8:5). They’re beginning to plumb the deep wells of wisdom and knowledge all around them. The world is a wondrous classroom, filled with gifts. In this classroom there are no expert teachers, because everyone has lessons to teach, even them. And this process of eliminating the teacher-student contradiction is, as Paulo Freire describes, the starting point of education.3 I often look across the street, right next to Mrs. Jones’ house, and see kids huddling around Mrs. Cici’s steps as she tends her front yard. Mrs. Cici’s imposing 6’2” frame houses the spirit of a hilarious Southern monarch. There’s always a funny joke imbedded in her riveting stories about characters she once met in Europe or deep inside Latin American jungles. Like a migrat-

23 A SAFE PLACE TO GROW At Children’s Garden in Manila, young lives reach for the light

Story and photos by Whitney Bauck

oday’s young people have sometimes been referred to as “Gen- was entirely funded out of the volunteers’ own pockets. Regardless, the young eration Me,” and their use of social media to fill the world with volunteers loved what they were doing so much that the project quickly snow- endless updates about everything from their breakfast fare to balled. One of the original volunteers, Sharon Gersava, recalls, “We did it once a the ever-popular “selfie” seems to justify the label. However, even week, then twice a week, and then we were just kinda like, ’Okay, who’s going there amongst a demographic often chastised for their self-centered- today? Who’s going there tomorrow?’” For about two years, the young people T ness, pockets of young people are doing God’s will in innovative, continued to spend their evenings playing with the boys, feeding them, getting to sacrificial, and redemptive ways. know their stories, and building friendships with them. In 2004, in the crowded capital of the Philippines, one such group was Though the volunteers didn’t yet know it, the seed for the ministry that forming. A young Filipino pastor named “Buddy” Gallo, along with a handful of would become Children’s Garden had been planted. It was becoming clear that 20-somethings from his church, had begun hanging out every Thursday evening “we needed to do something more,” says Gersava. As they prayed about their in an area called Antipolo, getting to know the teenage street boys who would next step, the volunteers concluded that they needed to shelter their new friends. show up on the curb after the police had vacated the area. The informal ministry But as young people either still in college or having just entered the workforce,

Thanks to God’s provision to date, Children’s Garden cofounder Sharon Gersava is optimistic about the ministry’s ambitious plans.

24 “Now I have this hope, and I know that God has given A SAFE PLACE TO GROW me great talent to use.” coming up with the money necessary for serving, because they’re minis- such an endeavor appeared impossible. tering to people who come from However, as the volunteers contin- their same background,” accord- ued to pray faithfully, an answer popped up ing to Gersava. seemingly from nowhere when Pastor Gallo Now CG’s administrative bumped into a woman who was willing to let head, Gersava declares that the group use a property in Antipolo, free of “Whenever I talk about Children’s charge. Before they knew it, the team was Garden I always say, ’It’s all God’s meeting with the board members of a wan- thing, from day one.’” The staff’s ing organization called Children’s Garden, conviction that God “orchestrated which had served as an orphanage, feeding everything” certainly doesn’t program, and preschool at different stages stem from a lack of setbacks, since its founding in 1955. After countless however. Despite the early volun- legal discussions, the new group decided to teers’ full-time commitment to the carry on the legacy of Children’s Garden by ministry, they essentially worked adopting the name for their own endeavor. for free. As a new board of directors was assembled “These were passionate and all the necessary permits renewed, “CG people who knew this was their part II, the new beginning,” as Gersava calls calling,” explains Gersava. “You it, came into being in 2007. don’t really earn money [work- In its current manifestation, Children’s ing] here. They don’t care. They Garden provides residential care for former just have the heart to help these street boys aged 10-18. The program people.” provides the Alternative Learning System For the first year or two that (ALS), the Filipino equivalent of a GED, to volunteers lived fulltime at CG, help older boys who dropped out of school their only tangible compensation My name is Francis Kim. I grew up without parents. My brother and I were at an early age to earn their high school di- came in the form of free room taken care of by an uncle, but I was really hurt by what had happened with plomas; younger boys are enrolled in regu- and board and enough money my parents. My attitude soured, and I screwed up my studies. lar public school. The boys can also enroll to cover toiletries. Even now, staff At 13, they transferred me to my other tita [aunt], and my life got in TESDA, a technical/vocational education salaries are almost always late, worse. I started smoking, drinking, doing marijuana, drugs. And if I didn’t program instituted by the government, and the administration is often have money, I had sex with men. I was very rebellious, and I was asking where they can learn practical skills like car- uncertain about how it will pro- myself, “Why is my life like this?” pentry or welding to help render them em- vide for their needs. Then I had a friend who was talking about skills training, and I asked ployable in the future. CG’s five full-time staff But Gersava’s attitude to- if I could join him, because I wanted to earn money. So we attended this members also disciple the boys through wards the perpetually tight bud- camp, and I’m very thankful—if it hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have this informal mentoring, Bible studies, and wor- get remains doggedly optimistic. relationship with Jesus! During the camp, one of the staff asked if I wanted to ship. CG feeds into another program called She describes one situation when continue studying. So I filled out a form, and I was thinking, Why not try CG? After Care, which caters to young men who CG had no food for the next meal I was brought to Children’s Garden in January 2010, and I had this fire have passed through Children’s Garden but and no money to buy any as in my heart to know God more. If I hadn’t known him I wouldn’t have expe- are not yet living independently. “one of the highlights of working rienced all these things; he brings me to places I don’t know, to situations CG’s ministries don’t stop with the here.” where I can only trust and rely upon him. Now I have this hope, and I know boys: The staff also runs numerous out- “We gathered and were that God has given me great talent to use. reaches to the community throughout the like, ’God, we don’t have food I am now involved in the ministry. I am in charge of maintaining this week, including service to neighborhood anymore.’ We had 20 boys and building—I started with a mop, sweeping the floor, arranging the chairs. squatters, Bible studies with prostituted 10 staff. We were praying, ’Just Now I’m in charge of the audio system, and I’m part of the worship team. women and in the nearby women’s prison, provide for us. You called us to I really thank God, because if he hadn’t taken me from the dark part of my and of course the Thursday evenings with do this, and you will sustain us, life, I wouldn’t be like this. I know how to have a good relationship with other the street kids of Antipolo that date back to we know that.’ The moment right people; God has changed me. The most important thing is that the fear of the early days of the ministry. The boys ac- after that prayer, the phone rings. the Lord is in me. company the staff to many of these street The man on the other end was outreaches, where they are “very good at asking where CG was—but we

25 were very careful about giving out information, for safety reasons. We didn’t give the man CG’s location. But a few minutes later, a car parked at the garage, and he got out with bags of groceries, rice, “Before I and toiletries that would last us for several weeks. We still don’t really know who he was.” wanted Gersava notes that this is just one of the many incredible acts of provision that have helped sustain CG since the beginning. This to be a strong sense of God’s presence, as well as the undeniable impact of the ministry, is what keeps the staff going. soldier, “To see lives transformed really warms our hearts,” says Ger- sava. “These were delinquent boys, most of them. They were pick- but God pocketing, using rugby [glue to get high] and other drugs; they even sold their bodies back in the street just to survive—all these messy, changed ugly things... But to see them now, living their lives with meaning by the grace of God—there’s really hope, you know? They can dream. that to They’re not perfect, they still have struggles, but to see God change them is awesome.” dreams Although constant funding issues would be a deterrent to many, Gersava refuses to stop dreaming about the future of CG. “I of be- think God has told me not to worry anymore,” she says, claiming that she’s seen enough unexpected provision that she’s “excited for how coming God will show himself, because he always does.” The staff’s current hope is to be able to open a safe house a mis- for the women in prostitution that CG has begun to reach out to. She relates the story of 17- and 21-year-old sisters who never finished sionary.” elementary school and are now in prostitution, a reality for many girls and young women due to lack of alternatives. “They say to me, ’I know this is really wrong. But I don’t have an option, I have to do this. I have a kid who has to go to school.” Others end up selling themselves out of emotional desperation, as My name is Michael, and I’m 21 years old. When I was 5, I lived on the streets of Manila. I picked demonstrated by the tragic story of a 12-year-old who used to at- pockets just to survive. As I grew up, I began using drugs, and I learned to rob. tend CG’s Bible study. Gersava recalls, “She just longed for the love, At age 12, my friend and I were so high on solvent that we beat a guy and left him for dead. you know? And she’s like, ’These guys need me. I don’t have to try After that, we robbed a jeepney [a public transportation vehicle], but the operation didn’t work for their attention; they want me.’” and I got caught. “What we’re praying for now is to have a drop-in center,” Ger- They couldn’t put me in jail, because I was a minor, so they put me in rehab. I stayed there sava continues. “And then people can come there, and we can talk for three and a half years while attending court hearings, and I kept asking why God allowed these to them, mentor them, counsel them, disciple them, tell them about things to happen, if there’s really a God that cares. Jesus. A place where they can be safe, a place where they can learn.” I was truly angry. I wanted to be a soldier someday—not to help people but to have She notes that such a safe house might serve as an intermediary revenge on the relatives who hurt my family; all five of my sisters were sexually abused by my step towards the ultimate founding of a girls’ home, similar to what relatives. So when I received my dismissal, I thought that maybe it was the right time to take my is in place for boys now. revenge. Regardless of what possible expansions the ministry might But they sent me to Children’s Garden. The people here told me how to know God. I didn’t make in the future, Gersava and the other staff members keep mov- really care, but I paid attention to what they said. Then they said how to forgive people who sin ing forward in the belief that “we must be blinded in our own physi- against you. cal eyes to see how God’s going to work.” The staff continue to be Forgiveness was very hard for me—how could I forgive people who were supposed to care grateful for the ways they see God using them, and the testimonies of for us but instead did something bad? But after a few years, God worked in my heart. He used the changed lives continue to propel them forward. staff here, and I decided to forgive, because God had forgiven me. Gersava sums up the Children’s Garden mindset simply, asking, I was lucky I made it here. I was blessed. I was a grade 2 student when I came, around 15 “If you can do something now, why not do it?” or 16 years old. What’s amazing is that I can thank God for everything in my life, even if it was awful—it’s all God’s plan, and he has a purpose for me, like he said in Jeremiah 29:11. He gave Learn more at ChildrensGarden.ph. me opportunities that not all people have. Right now I have a good job at CG. I’m on junior staff, helping the other staff relate to the boys, because I’ve experienced what the boys are facing. A missionary kid who grew up in the Philippines, Whitney Bauck is Before I wanted to be a soldier, but God changed that to dreams of becoming a missionary a photographer and art student at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. someday. And I’m looking forward. I don’t know where God will put me, but I just keep on asking and praying. If he wants me somewhere, I will go.

26 Is the GOD who created us better than the GOD we’ve created?

In his new book, acclaimed writer JONATHAN MERRITT tells never-before-shared stories of how he learned to encounter Jesus in unexpected ways, and invites us to discover the messy mercy and crazy grace of a sometimes startling savior.

“ He shows you the Jesus who challenges the chosen, includes the excluded, assaults closed minds, opens hard hearts, and deﬁ es all the boxes, categories, and camps.” — Shane Claiborne, activist and bestselling author of The Irresistible Revolution and Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers

“ Brutally honest and stubbornly hopeful. Grace permeates every page.” — Rachel Held Evans, New York Times bestselling author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood and Evolving in Monkey Town

jonathanmerritt.com www.faithwords.com 29 Available in hardcover and e-book FAITHWORDS IS A DIVISION OF HACHETTE BOOK GROUP Instead it is a faith that simply seeks to see and hear the people and stories around us and help where we can. It is a faith that communicates at Christianity: its heart, in the words of Over the Rhine,

All my favorite people are broken Believe me, my heart should know Some prayers are better left unspoken I just want to hold you and let the rest go

All my friends are part saint and part sinner We lean on each other, try to rise above We are not afraid to admit we are all still beginners We are all late bloomers when it comes to love

This type of colorful, multi- Now in 3D and dimensional faith requires honesty about ourselves as weak, broken people. It also by Caitlin Ng Illustration Living Color requires a humility regarding the uncertainty tied up in belief. Paradoxically, our lack by Emily A. Dause of completeness and surety is one fact in which we can be confident. Instead of hiding behind a false and uninter- esting image, we can emerge as complicated and insecure people to truly engage with God and others around us. ife’s reality is very different from what I was taught to expect growing I am blessed to have the people in my church help me to move beyond up as a middle-class American Christian. In that context, church meant a two-dimensional, uniform faith to one that acknowledges life’s hardship and L traditional families brushed and smiling, all members present. Religious uncertainty as inevitable and even good. In my church, there are people who activities meant coloring books of a clean-cut Jesus and his disciples and Bible are married, single, divorced, and widowed. People who have no family and at- stories as two-dimensional as the flannel board on which they were played out. tend church alone, people who have family yet attend church alone, and families. Testimonies meant point-by-point speeches that described hardship and sin in People who are younger and older, both in terms of actual age and in terms of the past tense—and dramatic and permanent change suddenly materializing the experiences life has thrown at them. People who feel confident in their faith to save the day. Christianity meant a clearly defined right and wrong for every and people who doubt more often than not. People who struggle with depres- situation—and absolute judgment for those who did not abide by our standards. sion and people who cannot understand its pull. People who have found relief As a young adult, I know Christians who live and share lives that are three- from a difficult situation and people who seem so valiant in their efforts to climb dimensional and colorful, lives of depth and experience-reflecting truth that look out of a situation, though a reprieve seems nowhere in sight. People who find beyond false absolutes and black-and-white thinking. This kind of living involves common ground despite disagreeing with one another about theology, politics, a faith that does not worry as much about hardline “shoulds” and “should nots” and even the ins and outs of everyday morality. People who, despite all these and lists of “rights” and “wrongs” as difficult to prove as they are polarizing. differences, are equally welcome and, as my pastor has said, all “completely and

32 utterly dependent on God’s grace and kindness.” explains, when we approach someone with a differing view, we typically come Going through the process of counseling has similarly challenged my per- from a place where we consider our own views and experiences above theirs. ceptions about what it means to be a Christian. Prior to counseling, while I was We automatically assume we need to make a decision about whether we agree aware to a certain extent of my flaws and maladjustments, my knowledge of or disagree or give some kind of biblical advice. When engaging in literalistic my own depravity was also paired with an uncompromised belief that I was still listening, however, we allow the other person’s views to “challenge and unsettle “okay” and, however subconsciously, that I was somehow better off than others. our own.” Instead of assuming we know what they are trying to say or that we Through counseling I have come to a more honest assessment of my own state, need to make a judgment, we consciously monitor our own experience-based one that is strangely more aware of my own brokenness and unknowing while filters and try to imagine the other person’s position as they see it. This is not an much less disturbed by it. It is in increasingly fuller knowledge of my own bereft attempt to understand someone’s perspective in a way we cannot or to assess and fragmented state that I have begun to realize I am no less weak and destitute their position so as to persuade them otherwise, but to genuinely consider their than anyone else. position with more weight than we give our own. And yet, although we all have it in common, it seems we would rather hide our weakness and destitution. Since Adam and Eve and their useless fig leaves, we have been trying ineffectively to hide. We don’t use fig leaves anymore, but What if Christians we wear masks and labels, such as “Christian,” that we use to thank God that we were comfortable with “are not like other people,” like the Pharisee in Luke 18. Whatever sins we have committed, whatever situations we find ourselves in, however flawed our theol- mystery, honest about our ogy, at least (we believe) there is someone out there who is worse than we are brokenness, and known or who knows less than we do. We are not willing, like the tax collector, to beg for for our vibrant, authentic mercy or acknowledge the depth of our inadequacy. faith? Wouldn’t people It is only in seeing and sharing our brokenness that we can truly realize be drawn to the person and share the power of Christ’s redemption, even redemption not yet realized. of Christ rather than Christ’s redemptive power is more vast than we can comprehend, especially given the physical comfort and less visible sins and trials that define most of repulsed by a religion our lives. Most of us do not have stories like that of Cambodian Kang Kek Iew, that is static, flat, and so or “Comrade Duch,” of the Communist Khmer Rouge base. He oversaw the easily caricatured? torturing and execution of tens of thousands of people during the late 1970s. I am not suggesting we glorify our brokenness or that we abandon Between fleeing Cambodia because of Vietnamese invasion and eventually being our sense of absolute truth. We do not need to start introducing ourselves with discovered and arrested in the late 1990s, Kek Iew converted to Christianity and our name and a description of our issues and ask others to do the same. We spent time working for refugee and relief organizations, including World Vision. also do not need to begin and end every explanation of a particular conviction During his trial in the late 2000s, Kek Iew fully confessed to his crimes and begged with the qualifier, “but I really have no idea what is and is not true.” However, for forgiveness, despite other leading members’ refusal to acknowledge their there is a demeanor of grace and humility with which we can present ourselves part. This kind of radical transformation—from unspeakably horrific actions to and engage others, a demeanor that will encourage authentic interactions that remorse and full cooperation—is one we are unlikely to witness or experience acknowledge our weakness in order to point towards our hope of redemption. in a concrete fashion. The past few years of my own life have been tumultuous, and I have in- In the context of our relatively protected First World lives, our wounds (both creasingly found myself seeking out people who are open about experiencing inflicted and received) are less dramatic and less noticeable, as are the redemp- hardship, wanderings, and doubt. These are people with whom I can be in true tive patterns that may coincide with those wounds. All the more need to identify relationship, because I can relate to them and they to me. They live in the reality and communicate both our wounds and our healing, regardless of whether either that we have no guarantees about how earthly life will unfold and the realization line up neatly with the way we want or expect life to happen. that there is much about life we do not know or understand. If we are to present ourselves to each other and to unbelievers in this The reason movies in color and 3D are exciting is because they seem more authentic manner, we must let go of our need to command and wield the Scrip- real. What if Christians were comfortable with mystery, honest about our broken- tures for our own purposes. “To take the Scriptures seriously is not to take them ness, and known for our vibrant, authentic faith? Wouldn’t people be drawn to literally,” writes Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest and founder of the Center for the person of Christ rather than repulsed by a religion that is static, flat, and so Action and Contemplation. “Literalism is invariably the lowest and least level of easily caricatured? What would happen if, as Christians, we could communicate meaning.” Instead, when we read the Bible for its transformative message rather the words of Over the Rhine to the world around us? than a historical or utilitarian text, it becomes “true on many levels, instead of trying to prove it is true on just the one simple, factual level.” We can become so All [our] favorite people are broken concerned with proving our faith that we forget that the nature of faith is that it Believe [us], [our] heart[s] should know cannot be proven. A faith ironed flat to avoid any hint of ambiguity is not much Awful believers, skeptical dreamers, you’re welcome of a faith at all. We should never stop trying to learn and understand, but at the Yeah, you’re safe right here, you don’t have to go. same time, we live in the mystery of a peace that passes understanding. When we let go of the desire to feel secure in our own knowing, we can Emily A. Dause is a public school teacher and freelance writer. She blogs at truly listen to others. In The Idolatry of God: Breaking Our Addiction to Certainty sliversofhope.blogspot.com and is @EmilyADause on Twitter. and Satisfaction, Peter Rollins terms this practice “literalistic listening.” As Rollins

33 Confronting the Oppressor with Humanity

Mahmoud Al'aa Elddin confronts heavily armed Israeli soldiers in a weekly nonviolent demonstration against the Israeli separation wall in Al-Masara, West Bank. If the route of the separation barrier is completed as planned, it will cut off the village of Al-Masara from agricultural lands belonging to village residents.

36 Confronting the Oppressor with Humanity

Peaceful protesters get up-close and personal with Israeli soldiers

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN RODRICK BEILER

ahmoud Al’aa Elddin spends most Friday afternoons in “dialogue” with the Israeli soldiers who invade his West Bank M village of Al-Masara. Each week since 2006, Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists have attempted to march from Al-Masara to agricultural lands that will be cut off by the Israeli separation barrier if extended as planned. Armed only with a Palestinian flag, Al’aa Elddin faces a row of gun-toting, riot-shielded conscripts blocking the road. Here, as with 85 percent of its route, the barrier would take more Palestinian land for Israeli settlements instead of separating the West Bank from Israel on the internationally recognized border, or Green Line. Both the barrier and the settlements are illegal under international law because Israel is building them on occupied Palestinian territory. Many believe the barrier that is in place has stopped Palestinian suicide bombings, which ended in 2008. Between October 2000 and Feb- ruary 2008, these and other acts of violence killed 1,012 Israelis. During the same period Israelis killed 4,536 Palestinians. Most victims on both sides were noncombatant civilians. But even now, only two-thirds of the barrier’s planned route is complete. Large gaps, which could easily be infiltrated by would-be attackers, allow tens of thousands of unauthor-

35 Al'aa Elddin offers a cup of tea to unreceptive Israeli soldiers during a weekly demonstration against the separation wall.

ized Palestinians1 to enter Jerusalem or Israel on a daily basis to find work. Even according to a leaked US State Department cable.5 The same document describes former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Arens told an Israeli newspaper, “It’s clear how the military will “be more assertive in how it deals with these demonstrations, there is no connection between the wall and the cessation of attacks.”2 even demonstrations that appear peaceful.” “Some people think that this wall is just to protect the Israeli people for While the army has used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the Al- security,” says Al’aa Elddin. “But they don’t know at the same time this wall is Masara demonstration, most weeks the marchers get very up-close and per- dividing the land and separating families.” sonal with the soldiers blocking the road. The ensuing “dialogue” embodies the To protest the barrier, several Palestinian villages started weekly demon- problem often ignored by would-be peacemakers who recommend reconciliation strations, including those documented in the films Budrus and the Oscar-nom- without acknowledging the power disparity between Palestinians and their military inated Five Broken Cameras. In these two cases, activism succeeded in mov- occupiers. Those with greater power have little motivation to risk genuine conver- ing the barrier closer to the Green Line, leaving more village land accessible for sation, or to change anything as a result. cultivation. “We just want to put some keys in their mind just to open it and to think Most of the organized protests are peaceful. But unaffiliated youth some- more as a person,” says activist Moath Al Lahham of Bethlehem. “Sometimes

“Just put your guns on the ground and come to our side if you want peace,” Al’aa Elddin tells one soldier. “We will welcome you, and we will drink coffee. We will discuss it, and we will find a solution.”

times throw stones at the wall, jeeps, or soldiers. At the Al-Masara demonstration, they don’t want to speak, they just want to stand and block the road. Some of there is almost never stone-throwing. “Peaceful resistance is important because them said, ’I don’t like it, but this is an order. I want to leave, but I don’t have the there is no reason for the Israeli army to shoot,” says Al’aa Elddin. “And this will chance.’ And some of them said these words like a machine: ’It’s our land. God show who uses violence.” promised. You as a Palestinian, you shouldn’t be here. It’s just for Jews.” The Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem has reported on the army’s Though none of these activists are Christians, their actions often embody systematic “dispersal of demonstrations using force, even when demonstrators the kind of radical reign-of-God subversion that Jesus preached in the Sermon were not violent in any way.”3 In the last decade, the military has killed 15 protest- on the Mount. What some dismiss as passivism in Christ’s commands to turn the ers4 and injured scores more through unlawful use of tear gas projectiles, rubber- other cheek, offer the cloak as well as the coat, and go the second mile (Matthew coated steel bullets, and live ammunition. 5:29-31), others interpret as confronting the oppressor with one’s humanity. Ac- “We don’t do Gandhi very well,” admits Israeli Major-General Amos Gilad, tivists have even offered the soldiers cups of tea, bites of birthday cake, and

36 plates of pasta. Each gesture asserts the dignity of the host, while heaping hot coals (Romans 12) on the heads of uninvited guests. “Just put your guns on the ground and come to our side if you want peace,” Al’aa Elddin tells one soldier. “We will welcome you, and we will drink coffee. We will discuss it, and we will find a solution.” When asked about his response to this invitation, the soldier says in unaccented English, “I didn’t understand him.” When reminded that Al’aa Elddin was speaking English, the soldier says, “I didn’t listen.” But these activists know their main audience lies beyond the row of riot shields. Even if a few soldiers’ hearts and minds are opened, a just peace will only come through pressure on an Israeli society content with the status quo. “I think in this peaceful demonstration, the important and the first thing is to make a change in the thinking of many people around the world,” says Al’aa Elddin. “I have the hope and I have the power inside me to continue. But in the same time I don’t have power like the Israeli occupation. They have the power; they have all the guns. But for me, my weapons and my power are more and more the international people and the Israeli people who come and stand by my side.” “Our problem is not with the Israeli people,” says Al’aa Elddin. “Israeli people come, and they par- ticipate with us in our demonstration. The problem is with the Israeli army and the settlers who occupy the land, build the settlements, and use violence against Palestinians.” According to Israeli activist Sahar Vardi, her main role is “simply to show solidarity, to convey the message that Palestinians are not alone in resisting the occupation.” Other Jewish activists express a religious motivation. “The most important teaching in the To-

37 “For Jews, it is a profound challenge for us," says Rabbi Brant Rosen, an activist with the US group Jewish Voice for Peace, "because we need to look inside ourselves and understand the ways that we have become oppressors ourselves.”

rah is that God stands with the oppressed and that God demands that we stand spent a week in Israeli prison, charged with assaulting an Israeli officer. Despite with the oppressed,” said Rabbi Brant Rosen, an activist with the US group Jewish video evidence proving his innocence, the military court ordered him to pay 3,000 Voice for Peace, at one week’s protest. “For Jews, it is a profound challenge for us shekels for his release—more than five months’ wages for the average Palestin- because we need to look inside ourselves and understand the ways that we have ian. become oppressors ourselves.” Yet despite such risks, Mahmoud Al’aa Elddin remains committed to non- Solidarity activists also leverage their presence and privilege against unjust violent activism: “I think that peace will not come by using violence. Peace will structures. “The cost of getting arrested for an Israeli activist is much smaller come by the nonviolent way, because violence never brings peace or freedom to than for a Palestinian activist for the same action,” says Vardi, who once physically any people.” blocked soldiers attempting to arrest a Palestinian boy.6 While Israelis live under civil law, Palestinians like Al’aa Elddin live under the Ryan Rodrick Beiler is a service worker with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) military rule of occupation. “Palestinian residents have no vested freedom of in Palestine and Israel. He blogs at MCCPalestine.wordpress.com. protest,” reports B’Tselem.7 “Even nonviolent resistance and civil protest involving peaceful assembly are forbidden.” (Editor’s note: endnotes for this article are posted at PRISMmagazine.org/end- Many Palestinian activists have been imprisoned under false accusations notes.) of violence or charges of organizing “illegal demonstrations.” Al’aa Elddin once

Palestinian activists wrapped in chains in solidarity with prisoners in Israeli jails.

38 41 Because Stones Can Speak Doing justice to African American historic places by Andi Cumbo-Floyd John Robinson

40 n Charlottesville, Va., a small graveyard sits quietly amongst a grove of tect these sacred sites. I have spent over a decade trying to locate, research, trees behind a two-story farmhouse. Here the bodies of at least six promi- and protect historic African American cemeteries. I have come to view this work Inent African Americans lay at rest near the area they knew best—the Hy- as an opportunity to bring the past lives of ordinary and extraordinary African draulic Mills Neighborhood, a once thriving community of free people of color. Americans into the light.” Jesse Scott Sammons and his family have been interred in this cemetery And light is needed. So much of African American history is marginalized for over 100 years, but in 2013, their peaceful rest was nearly destroyed when or unknown. Because enslaved African Americans in the United States were not a proposed highway bypass called for their bodies to be exhumed and moved to often allowed to learn to read and write, and because Jim Crow laws in the South another location. While the moving of any grave is a troubling, disruptive experi- kept many African Americans from receiving a full education for many decades, ence, this removal was particularly disquieting since it was planned without the the accomplishments, stories, and daily experiences of many black people in permission—or even the knowledge of—the Sammons family descendants. the United States went unrecorded. Thus, the places in which these people As Erica Caple James, a Sammons descendant and professor of anthro- lived, worked, and were buried sometimes provide the only information we have pology at MIT, said about the news that the bypass had been rerouted around to learn from and understand a crucial segment of our American history. a pet cemetery but not around her own family’s graves, “It’s tremendously Further, the lack of care shown to the Sammons Cemetery and other his- disturbing and makes one wonder about the politics involved.” torical places associated with the lives and accomplishments of African Ameri- Fortunately someone informed a Sammons family member and told a cans indicates a larger societal disregard for these people and their stories. group of local historians, the Central Virginia History Researchers (CVHR), As Cinder Stanton, former historian at Monticello said, “You already have to about the planned exhumation, and they informed other members of the Sam- be written into history to some degree to have your properties or your person mons family, who leapt to action and garnered media coverage and political or your social status to be considered significant.” Yet, in the case of African will to stall the removal. At this moment it seems that the bypass will have to Americans, American history has largely written them out. Thus, the places as- take another route, but the Sammons family and the members of CVHR are still sociated with their stories are even more important as we try to build a society vigilant to be sure that the highway doesn’t disturb the graves of these people. where equality is a fact and not just a myth. Sadly the near destruction of the Sammons Cemetery and the nearby Jesse Scott Sammons house Once a month, the Central Virginia History Research- Americans in Central Virginia. Their work has led is just one example of the countless ers (CVHR), a group of professional and independent to the creation of the African American Families places of African American histori- historians, meet to share their own research endeavors, database, a public space where people can trace cal importance that have been de- genealogical traces, books—and sometimes they hear African American genealogies in Virginia. For stroyed through ignorance, apathy, from people who want to trace their ancestry. The spe- more information, visit their website at or occasional malevolence. In Char- cialty of this group is the history and genealogy of African CentralVirginiaHistory.org. lottesville, the Hydraulic Mills neighborhood was flooded when the local reservoir was built in 1966. At plantations all over the South, slave cemeteries As Christians, we are called to be agents of justice, or mishpat. In an are paved over or bulldozed through. At the plantation where I was raised, my August 2013 article in Relevant magazine, Tim Keller explains the most basic father accidentally mined the stone foundations and hearths from slave cabins meaning of the word justice: “to treat people equitably. Mishpat, then, is giving when building walls around the estate, a decision he rues to this day. With every people what they are due, whether punishment or protection or care. ... It also destruction a segment of our important history as a country is erased. means giving people their rights.” Shelley Murphy, president of the Central Virginia Afro-American Genea- In our culture, which values story and place and family as core features logical and Historical Society, explained to me just why these places are so of our identity, one way we can bring justice is to work and preserve the places important to the African American community and the American culture at large. of historical import for everyone in our community. If we couple that call to jus- “It is important for children today to understand who was here and how that tice with the biblical mandate to serve those who are oppressed and silenced, person connects to them. I believe it is critical to the family as well as the then we find ourselves with a clarion call to be sure African American history is community to be able to identify and honor those that came before us. Burial preserved—be it in story, archival document, or place. grounds are a way to show who was here and their contributions as a family or Perhaps if we, as followers of Christ, will begin to learn about these community member. It is another way of ’telling the story.’” places that are so important to the African American members of our family I spoke about this with Lynn Rainville, author of Hidden History: African and our nation, if we will begin to appreciate them and treasure them like we American Cemeteries in Central Virginia (University of Virginia Press, 2014) do other great places often associated only with European American history— and professor of anthropological archaeology. “In the case of African Ameri- Monticello and Mt. Vernon, for example—perhaps then we will move one step can history,” said Rainville, “not only is this subject sometimes overlooked in closer to building a nation that is truly just and equal. the history books—like ignoring the role of Maggie L. Walker, the first black woman to form a bank in America—but the sites associated with black families Andi Cumbo-Floyd (AndiLit.com) is a writer, editor, and writing teacher whose (the farm where Booker T. Washington grew up), their contributions (the first book The Slaves Have Names tells the story of the people enslaved on the safety hood for protecting firefighters from smoke inhalation, invented by Gar- plantation where she was raised. She and her husband live on God’s Whisper rett Morgan), and their burial sites (the New York African Burial Ground that Farm in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. was almost destroyed by a federal building project in the early 1990s) are sometimes forgotten and/or destroyed. It is an important shared duty to pro-

41 44 What’s Wrong with Being Comfortable? IN PRAISE OF THE MUCH-MALIGNED “COMFORT ZONE” by Len and David Schmidt

o matter where we turn these days, we seem to run into a language or culture, the Midwestern couple relocated to Mumbai to live in preacher telling us that we need to “get out of our comfort misery for six unproductive years. zone.” The exhortation is often couched in positive terms: No Hollywood-esque happy ending awaited them, no victorious “You can do it! God wants you to move out of your comfort accomplishment that made all the sacrifice worth it. In the end, the pastor Nzone and into your faith zone!” Sometimes, however, the message contains and his wife anticlimactically decided that their calling was over and moved darker undertones and nearly threatening implications: If you’re in your back to the States. Rather than redeeming the experience or impregnating comfort zone, if you’re using your natural talents and gifts and feel fulfilled it with any sort of meaning, he simply (and ominously) concluded: “Some- doing so, watch out…God just might take it all away from you. times God will take you out of your comfort zone and send you somewhere To be sure, at certain times in life we definitely need to move beyond you don’t want to go.” our personal comforts. The “comfort zone” becomes a problem when we The implication of this sermon, and others like it, seems to be that fall into complacency and laziness, when we trust in our material abun- there is something inherently holy about unhappiness and discomfort. dance as if it were eternal, when we assume our spiritual life no longer has Unpredictability and chaos are canonized and beatified ad absurdum, any room for improvement. We must stretch ourselves to pursue worth- baptized as “the place where God wants us.” while goals, to help others in need, and to answer even the most delightful But is this really something we should be striving for? And should we calls on our lives—a marriage, for example, or a cross-country move for feel inadequate as Christians if we stay inside the comfort zone? a new job. Most importantly, getting out of our unhealthy comfort zones is an integral part of spiritual growth. When we move beyond our customary The blessings of the comfort zone patterns, ruts, addictions, habits, and dysfunctional relationships, it almost God often uses people’s personal comfort zones to do divine work. When always feels uncomfortable—but it is always worth it in the end. As C. S. a person goes under the knife for major surgery, the patient is put at Lewis once said, “The blows of [God’s] chisel which hurt us so much are ease by the knowledge that the doctor is working within his or her area of what make us perfect.” comfortable expertise. The last thing the patient wants to hear from the If all we meant by the “comfort zone” were a state of indifferent surgeon is, “I’m really much better at driving a tractor than performing complacency, it would make sense to always set our sights beyond it. Many surgery, but I feel God wants me to challenge myself to work outside of my preachers cast a broader net with the term, however, suggesting that we comfort zone.” When we entrust trained professionals with the wellbe- should make a conscious effort to be uncomfortable for the sake of being ing of our bodies, children, and cars, we are rightfully consoled by the uncomfortable—that discomfort is a desirable state to inhabit. knowledge that these people are operating within their respective comfort zones. The theology of turmoil In addition to the service we can provide to others from within our A pastor once described how he and his wife ended up on the mission field comfort zone, there are plenty of other reasons why this can be a bless- in India. The couple had been happily serving a church in the US for years, ing. using their talents, abilities, and natural inclinations to bless the lives of Productivity: While Germanic efficiency isn’t everything, the fact their congregation. Suddenly and without warning, however, the pastor remains that we are at our most productive when we’re doing those

Illustration Caitlin Ng by felt that God was unhappy with this situation. He began to experience guilt things that are within the scope of our interest, training, experience, and that he and his wife felt happy and fulfilled, and he drew the conclusion competence. that God was calling them to be missionaries. With no knowledge of the Joy: If you’re working in a field you enjoy, living in a place that suits

43 you, and are happy about the people who ness, former members of the Russian mafia, populate your life, this type of comfort can be and recovering drug addicts in Mexico, the a source of great fulfillment. Rejoice and be statements are nearly identical: “The coun- glad. selors couldn’t help me, doctors couldn’t Comforting others: When you are in help me, psychologists couldn’t help me… your own comfort zone, this can itself become God was the one who helped me.” a tremendous source of comfort to those who We don’t doubt that God often helps desperately need it. Without even realizing it, people in astounding ways. The implication you may be providing them with stability and of these testimonies, however, is that God is security by virtue of the simple fact that you especially present in occurrences that seem are not, yourself, distressed or destabilized. out of the ordinary, abnormal, illogical, or In addition, when we are in a grounded place unnatural—in those that seem supernatu- in life, this makes it much easier for us to look ral. Whereas Augustine defined evil as the beyond ourselves and expend attention, emo- absentia boni, the “absence of good,” many tion, and energy on others. contemporary Christians seem to believe So if the comfort zone can serve as a that there is an inherent absentia Dei in the place of refuge, a source of strength for our- natural world. selves and others, and a resource that God can This view of God’s intervention is use to bless others, this begs the question: Why what one college professor coined the the obsession with getting out of it for the mere “jelly donut” model. If the natural world is sake of discomfort itself? Why the guilt-induced the dry, baked cake—devoid of God’s activ- encouragements to leave the comfort zone? ity—God’s supernatural intrusion is the jelly Part of the answer may lay in the theology that being injected into it. If we adhere to this one might call “deism-lite.” worldview, it can be easy to relegate our comfort zone of inclinations and abilities to The myth of the the dry sterility of the natural world. Many “supernatural” assume that a vocation can only be of God Whether or not they articulate it as such, many (or, at least, is more God-ordained) if it lies contemporary Christians unconsciously hold entirely outside of our own proclivities and to the false notion that two separate realms talents. The proof verses commonly invoked exist: the natural and the supernatural. While to back up this view are myriad: “…His the deists of the 18th century believed that power is made perfect in our weakness…”, the natural world functioned on its own accord, “…not by might, not by power, but by the without any interference from the Creator, many Spirit of God…”, “…if God is for us, who in the church today adhere to a watered-down can be against us?” version of this philosophy, believing that the Of course, the Scriptures are full world usually follows natural laws and every of stories in which God used people in now and then God intervenes in the natural ways that went beyond what we would call world with what we would call a “miracle.” their own natural abilities. All of us have To be sure, God often works in extraor- heard how Moses suffered from a speech dinary ways, with what the biblical authors impediment, David was dwarfed in size by referred to as “signs and wonders.” The Goliath, Abraham seemed too old to have Passover, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrec- children—but God used them anyway. tion—these are wondrous occurrences that When we focus only on these stories fall outside of ordinary human experience. of wonders and marvels, however, we run The mistake committed by many believers, the risk of implying that God is less pres- however, is when we describe these occur- ent when humans exercise their natural rences as “divine intervention”—as if God inclinations and abilities. As such, God is were not already present and active in the left to prove God’s presence by supersed- ordinary and the mundane. ing our talents, leaving a divine calling card The myth of supernatural intervention by using us in ways that are unequivocally is a mainstay for dramatic personal stories supernatural. Inspirational stories abound of faith. Deism-lite is common in testimonies that tell of a ministry that prospered in of faith across the globe. In the case of spite of all the rules of logic. The tale of Americans who have overcome a terminal ill- the mission outpost, parachurch ministry, or

44 new congregation that was run by unqualified, inexperienced people but asked by humans since time immemorial: “Where is God?” The answer somehow succeeded has an unfortunate subtext: The more it sounds like usually given has been that God is “someplace else.” (To this day, most a bad idea, the more God’s hand must be in it. human languages use the same word for “the sky” and “Heaven.”) If God The infatuation with supernatural experiences can take turns farci- is “out there” or “up there,” it stands to reason that most of the time, in cal—and sometimes deeply tragic. Shortly after the horrific earthquake most places, and in most circumstances, God is not here, making interven- struck Haiti, one church from Temecula, Calif., sent a team of 10 men tions all the more extraordinary and unusual. to Port-au-Prince on a mission trip, beyond the bounds of their comfort In order to cling to belief in this supernatural/natural dichotomy, zone. The trip leader emphasized that however, we must ignore all the biblical figures participants would “see how God can use that God used by way of their talents and abilities. people in spite of their own abilities.” The apostle Paul used his brilliant rhetorical clarity The American volunteers were set to to exhort the early church; Solomon instructed work building crude wooden benches and through his wisdom; Esther used her privileged performing other menial tasks for a Hai- If all we meant position to prevent genocide. These people were tian church. Regarding the inspirational not acting on their own in the natural world, an experience, many of the mission-trippers by the “comfort enclosed biosphere devoid of God’s activity. They repeated variations of this statement: zone” were a were active participants in God’s work on earth, an “This is amazing. I’m not a carpenter, I’ve earth in which every good and perfect gift is from never picked up a hammer, but God used state of indif- God, where all of us live and move and have our me to build these benches for a church ferent compla- being in God. In a universe whose very existence is in Haiti!” constantly sustained by God, there is no such thing The tragedy, of course, is that the cency, it would as the “natural” world—every second we are alive Haitian believers could have built their make sense is a miracle. own benches for a fraction of the cost. Of course, sometimes God does use people More significantly, the thousands of to always set in remarkable ways. Sometimes God’s presence is dollars that were spent for the volunteers our sights be- revealed in an unexpected manner despite horrific to have this beyond-the-comfort-zone conditions, sometimes doing great things with experience could have been used to save yond it. Many projects, churches, and ministries that were poorly Haitian lives had the money been donated preachers cast planned from day one. But to canonize the mythical to Haitian groups operating within their land of supernatural miracles as especially holy is comfort zone. A qualified Haitian ministry a broader net tantamount to ignoring God’s presence inside the or NGO could have provided desperately with the term, comfort zone. needed food, shelter, or medical care to To be sure, challenging yourself and moving an entire camp of earthquake survivors however, sug- beyond what you are comfortable with can bring with the same funds. But for many people, gesting that we spiritual growth. But more often than not, feeling when humans bless other humans in a neurotically guilty about being in the comfort zone logical, orderly fashion, it “just feels less should make a can, in fact, stifle spiritual growth. In addition, it can supernatural.” conscious ef- blind us from seeing the everyday miracles that take place inside our comfort zone—the place where Where is God? fort to be un- we are content and fulfilled, doing what we do best. According to an old anecdote, the pastor comfortable When a skilled surgeon relieves a man’s suffering, of a country parish discovered a couple a well-trained counselor brings a woman back from of local boys stealing from the collec- for the sake of the brink of suicide, or a persistent human rights tion plate. Hoping to instill in them some being uncom- attorney rescues a child from prostitution, God is respect for the church, he sat one of the very much present and active. youngsters down in his office and stared fortable—that at the boy in silence for several minutes. discomfort is a Len Schmidt has spent 25 years in the ministry as The pastor eventually leaned across his a pastor, associate pastor, youth minister, and US desk and asked in a stern voice, “Young desirable state Air Force chaplain. David Schmidt, Len’s son, has man, where is God? Where is God?!” to inhabit. experience in cross-cultural ministry in Latin America The boy ran out of the office and and Russia and is a freelance writer, author, and met up with his friend. “Man, are we in translator who speaks eight languages fluently. trouble,” he gasped. “I don’t know what happened, but I think they’ve lost God, and they’re trying to blame us for it!” The pastor’s question has been

45 COUNTERCULTURE Swimming upstream.

she argues, is compassion. Biblical writers, Trible says, saw the womb as the seat of a love that “protects and nourishes but does not possess and control,” though it does not restrict this quality to women alone. God is also said to be rahum: merciful. Womb-like. Perhaps not incidentally, for millennia—and, indeed, among many traditional cultures to this day—compassion was considered the most important qualification for a midwife. It is ironic that as medical technology has advanced, the very quality once considered most essential is now regarded as luxurious if not useless. Neighbors and friends here in Malawi acknowledge the neces- sity of modernizing maternity care—their mothers may have delivered them in grass-roofed, mud-floored huts, but they make sure to get to the hospital or clinic for their own deliveries—but they also regret the sensitivity that is often lacking, and they express apprecia- tion for even the smallest human kindnesses. “I had a difficult labor

with my third-born,” said my neighbor, “and the nurse came and put Doula

her hands on my shoulder.” It was a tiny gesture of sympathy, but she by Gioia Albano (AlbanoGioia.com/index_uk.html) remembered it with gratitude more than five years later. So why, in countries like Malawi, which are striving to meet the Millennium Development Goals for improvements in maternal health, should compassion be considered an unnecessary extra? I have Compassion on the been told of a hospital several miles away from here where women are slapped if they cry out during labor, and the Washington Post recently reported that nurses in a hospital in nearby Zimbabwe had Labor Ward taken to charging women the equivalent of $5—nearly 5 percent of the average annual income—for each scream. It’s a dynamic that by Rachel Marie Stone sometimes occurs when traditional birth cultures are displaced by contemporary Western practices, according to anthropologist Brigitte The first time I walked into the hospital here in Malawi, I felt awkward and useless. I’m a volun- Jordan. teer doula, trained to give physical and emotional support to a woman as she labors, but clinical Maternal health improves—and it is improving in Malawi as duties like measuring blood pressure or listening for fetal heart tones lie outside my scope. In a elsewhere in Africa—but “useless” amenities like hand-holding and place with such grave material needs—and shortages of trained staff—why should I take up back-rubbing often become relics. Studies in some countries—such space in a crowded maternity ward? as India—have suggested that incorporating traditional birth at- tendants into modernized medical contexts (performing much the same role as doulas) can have tremendous benefits. Here in Malawi, Empathetic connection with a person suffering the mothers of the women giving birth wait nervously outside the from pain undoes that world-contracting isolation labor ward even as their daughters cry for them. Their presence that is pain’s essence. could so easily be made more useful than either they or any of the medical professionals might suspect. Inexplicably, the hospital where I volunteer allows no one—not even the baby’s father— Philosopher Elaine Scarry suggested that an empathetic con- to accompany a woman to the labor ward, but, inexplicably again, I’ve been granted permission nection with a person suffering from pain undoes that world-contract- to volunteer there. I sit by the women as they labor, wiping brows, rubbing backs, whispering ing isolation that is pain’s essence. Reading this a few months ago encouragement. and reflecting upon my time in the labor ward and my conversations The midwives, who have been trained to manage the medical side of delivery, tend not to with my neighbor, it occurred to me that compassionate presence in see much purpose in sitting by a laboring woman until the baby actually emerges and there are times of great suffering—even, or perhaps especially, when there’s tangible medical tasks—cord clamping, suctioning, suturing—for them to do. Even if they did nothing more to be done except to be—may be as far from useless see value in just sitting by and waiting, they might not be able to do so: Wards are routinely so as birth is from death. overcrowded that some women deliver lying on the floor. Once, I was alone with a woman when she delivered. I caught the baby and handed her Rachel Marie Stone is the author of Eat with Joy: to her mother, feeling keenly my lack of medical training. Later, the woman whose baby I caught Redeeming God’s Gift of Food (InterVarsity Press, gave me a high-five and a broad smile, then grabbed both my hands and held them to her. 2013) and The Unexpected Way, a forthcoming Other women whose backs I’ve rubbed and brows I’ve wiped during their labors have done children’s book about Jesus (Olive Branch Books). the same. She is a regular contributor to both PRISM and Her. “In biblical traditions,” writes biblical scholar Phyllis Trible, the womb, “an organ unique to meneutics, Christianity Today’s blog for women. the female, becomes a vehicle pointing to the compassion of God.” The meaning of “womb,”

46 By the late 1980s I was work of her Missionaries of Charity. teaching radical feminism, After two months of working primarily with social constructivism, critical sick and handicapped babies in the spring of theory, and postmodernism; 1996, I returned from sabbatical. Groups began I tried much of what the New to ask me to share about my experience. Aware Age movement had to offer. I A few weeks later I found my- thought of myself as smart, self at a communion rail, mur- open-minded, and happy, re- muring, “If you are real, please gardless of the fact that I was come and get me.” taking antide- pressants, was serially mo- that many of these were primarily secular groups, nogamous, and was instruct- I found myself explaining Mother Teresa without ing students that they could describing her relationship with Jesus. I was lying use any book except the to make her more acceptable to intellectuals who Bible in their written work. had long ago given up the idea that Christian- I called myself “spiritual ity has any unique knowledge. We see the same but not religious,” meaning secularization of the religious motivations of I did not need a religion to Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson be “good.” I had excluded Mandela, Elie Wiesel, César Chávez, Alexander Christianity altogether from Solzhenitsyn, Simone Weil, Dorothy Day, Sojourn- any real consideration, and er Truth, and Lech Walesa. From the worldviews no rational apologetic could I was teaching and had been taught, the real have convinced me otherwise. Mother Teresa was completely incomprehensible. Is Reality But in 1992 I had a profound dream unlike Right before I left India, Mother Teresa told any I had had before; I remembered every de- me that God does not call everyone to work with tail—thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and the poor or to live like the poor, as she and the Secular? color (a first for me). Christ figured prominently Missionaries of Charity had been called. Then in the dream, and I was able to see clearly the she exclaimed emphatically, shaking her finger at My father faithfully took us to church each deplorable condition of my soul. When I woke, I me, “But God does call everyone to a Calcutta; Sunday. With its towering stone structure, dark realized the dream’s gravity and shared it with you have to find yours!” wooden beams, and intricate stained glass win- a colleague from a different university whom I I discovered my Calcutta in a profound dows, the church felt holy. I remember weeping believed was spiritually attuned, although I did intellectual crisis that forced me to define and at Good Friday services, as if at the funeral of not know of what order. My colleague suggested reexamine the worldviews dominant in the elite a dear friend whom I did not really know, yet ex- I begin to read the Psalms, Proverbs, and New intellectual culture: material-naturalism, secular periencing great joy when we sang the Hallelujah Testament, a suggestion I found shocking even humanism, and pantheism. The dominance of Chorus on Easter morning. Beyond this, I didn’t though Jesus himself had appeared in the dream. secularism, especially in the last century, has really understand the gospel; church was some- A few weeks later I found myself at a communion convinced many in the world, including many thing we did on Sundays. rail, murmuring, “If you are real, please come Christians, that reality is secular and religion just After teaching elementary school for sever- and get me.” At that very moment I felt the same a feel-good option. al years, I left my hometown for graduate school, indescribable peace I had experienced at the end What is your Calcutta? What is it that drives where I became intellectually awakened. The of the dream, and I tentatively began seeking to you to allow, as Dallas Willard puts it, “the reality world opened up to me, and I enjoyed walking follow Christ. Only three months had passed since of God to stand in the midst of your life”? through doors where the enticements were not the dream. only intellectually engaging but also sometimes A year later, I saw Ann and Jeanette Pet- Mary Poplin is a professor of personally dangerous. There I shed the last ves- rie’s documentary on Mother Teresa, in which education at Claremont Graduate tiges of Christianity. The intellectuals in my circle she said that her work was not social work but University and the author of the considered Christianity irrelevant to serious religious work. I found the film strangely moving new book Is Reality Secular? scholarship at best and oppressive at worst. The and sensed that if I was going to understand how Testing the Assumptions of Four world and our work had to be secular because my newfound faith related to my work—research Global Worldviews (2014) and Finding Calcutta: secularism was considered more objective, neu- on the best ways to educate the poor—I would What Mother Teresa Taught Me (2008); both are tral, pluralistic, and safe. need to go to Calcutta and immerse myself in the published by InterVarsity Press.

47 ing to buffer cities, towns, and villages from outside Transitioning shocks. Alexis de Tocqueville pointed out the value of “intermediate institutions” in the 1830s America he our own to a Positive described—book clubs, volunteer fire departments, food, social clubs, burial societies—and described their mend our functional value for social stability, political organiz- own clothes Future ing, and local problem-solving in response to difficul- and houses, and ty. Social scientists like Robert Putnam and cultural repair our own machines; Circulating under the radar, in the hands of commu- commentators like Chuck Colson have lamented the re-skilling workshops involve nity organizers, victory gardeners, slow food advo- decline in “social capital” that comes with the loss residents helping other residents recover cates, social justice workers, climate activists, loca- of these institutions. Transition movement advocates that knowledge. vores, and do-it-yourselfers, is a book—rather a agree, and they put forward a host of ideas for re- Failure to pass meaningful climate legislation couple of books—written by a Brit who is subverting plenishing that social capital. or economic reforms after the financial crisis has left not only the dominant narrative of globalization and In Berea, Ky., one of the first US municipali- many despairing for the future. But that’s putting all runaway economic growth but also the gloom-and- ties to declare itself a “Transition Town,” residents our eggs in the political basket. Fans of the Transi- doom of much of Western environmentalism. The banded together to create a “50 x 25” goal in tion movement suggest that reforming communities Transition Handbook (2008) and the newer Tran- response to external threats, including the loss of and municipalities first will pave the way for meaning- sition Companion (2011) receive little public press electricity from ice storms, the loss of jobs due to ful change. For Sherry Maddock, a missionary who but have captured the imagination of thousands of lives with her family in an intentional community in in- people concerned with restoring the integrity of lo- INTERESTED IN LEARNING ner-city Lexington, Ky., seeing the work in Berea and cal communities and the resilience they display in the MORE ABOUT THE TRANSITION reading the Transition books enlivened her thinking face of disaster and shock. Beginning in the United MOVEMENT? about what working for shalom in her neighborhood Kingdom but rapidly becoming a worldwide phenom- CHECK OUT THESE RESOURCES: meant. “The things I had been reading were pretty enon, the Transition movement is taking root in the bleak. But the Transition movement seemed com- US as well. •British Christians Andy Mellen and Neil Hollow pletely, extraordinarily positive.” She has found the Emergency preparedness as it is typically have written an entire book about the concept books to be relentlessly practical—and highly ap- understood is about getting communities back to of peak oil (No Oil in the Lamp: Fuel, Faith, and plicable to her urban experience of working for the where they were before the crisis hit—whether that the Energy Crisis, 2012), and their chapter common good. is a tornado, hurricane, flood, or fire. The Transition on Transition Towns is particularly helpful. The Peak oil was the original impetus for Transition movement purports to prepare communities for book was reviewed in the Fall 2013 issue of initiatives as they emerged in the UK, and that theme the deeper crises that will come with the inevitable PRISM. continues to be woven into most Transition conver- disappearance of cheap oil, the disruption that will sations, but the current fossil fuel boomlet has taken accompany climate change, and the collapse and •The foundational books for the movement the edge off that perceived crisis, according to Mad- retrenchment of the global economic system. are by Rob Hopkins: The Transition Handbook: dock. She also cautions that the movement has yet How is this to be done? In the dominant From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience to attract significant interest among poor and minor- industrial-environmental complex, the indicated (2008) and The Transition Companion: Making ity populations, but she says that may be changing responses to energy crises, global warming, and Your Community Resilient in Uncertain Times as people discover the virtues of self-reliance. economic instability are about national and interna- (with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, 2011). Andy Mellen and Neil Hollow are British Chris- tional policy: treaties, agreements, laws, and regula- tians who see the pros and cons of the Transition tions that constrain behavior and restrict freedom. •Several feature films are available online; the movement in the UK, and they encourage Christians Innovation, when it is sought, is believed to emerge most recent is the one-hour In Transition 2.0 to engage, noting an interesting convergence: Both from investment in “research and development” (bit.ly/1aWdgfz). For those who are limiting Transition and Christianity invoke a powerful and with an optimism that technology can and will save their screen time (as we all should be!), try a positive vision of the future. “With Transition, the us. Individual households are fed messages about dose of Rob Hopkins via his TED talk at bit. future is a sustainable, resilient, vibrant community; green purchasing and recycling but encouraged to ly/1e16xn9. for Christians, the future is the full appearance of the stay on the treadmill of resource consumption. Little kingdom of God.” There’s no reason to doubt that attention is given to the communities and institutions regional economic shifts, and the threat of climate the hopes and energy behind the Transition move- that could generate true novelty and that sustain change. By 2025 they aim to be using 50 percent ment are God-given desires for shalom, and that changes in lifestyles. less energy, sourcing 50 percent of food locally, Christians could find a happy partnership there. In the Transition movement framework, new and generating half of their income through locally ideas come from “unleashing” (a favorite word) local owned, independent businesses. Like other Transi- A natural resource economist, Rusty people to think about local solutions to their prob- tion Towns, they also address the “great forgetting” Pritchard is the CEO of Flourish lems, reconnecting in ways that counter the modern induced by our integration into global markets, (FlourishOnline.org), an environmental deconstruction of social relations, and reorganiz- whereby we lose the ability to grow and preserve ministry.

48 Radical Forgiveness

Ronnie Smith of Austin, Tex., was shot dead in Benghazi last December. He had moved to Libya with his wife and their infant son to teach at an Tackling the Empathy Deficit international high school, incarnate peace, and be a good neighbor to the people of Benghazi. “We live in a culture that discourages empathy,” then-Senator Barack Obama told college students in When asked by CBS News if she thought she 2006. “A culture that too often tells us our principle goal in life is to be rich, thin, young, famous, safe, and her husband were naïve to move to such a and entertained. A culture where those in power too often encourage these selfish impulses.” dangerous part of the world, Anita Smith’s replied, The Stand in My Shoes Project seeks to change that. Billed as a “global empathy moviement,” "Not at all. We knew before going into Libya that it is a film-driven campaign that advocates for empathy as one of the most powerful tools for social there was risk. We change. The team is filming around the world, raising awareness, and developing empathy-training were doing this programs for schools and businesses. With the film set to release at the end of 2014, there’s still because we wanted plenty of time to get in on the ground floor action at StandinMyShoes.com. to follow what God has for us, and that’s to show the Libyan + The state of Utah is taking a novel—and people his love and Real Hope for radically respectful—approach to dealing with his forgiveness." homelessness. Over the past eight years, Utah has Within days of moved over 2,000 people into apartments—no the murder, Smith the Homeless strings attached, no questions asked. Why? When wrote an open decision makers added up the average annual letter to all Libyans: "I + A program of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Com- cost of emergency room visits and jail stays for the hear people speaking with hate, anger, and blame munity First! Village is a 27-acre master-planned homeless, they realized that providing a free apart- over Ronnie’s death, but that’s not what Ronnie community poised to provide affordable, sustain- ment and a social worker to the homeless repre- would want. Ronnie would want his death to be an able housing and a supportive community to about sented an almost $6,000 savings—per year, per opportunity for us to show one another love and 200 disabled, chronically homeless people in Cen- person! With the help of a caseworker, participants forgiveness, because that’s what God has shown tral Texas. A collection of miniature houses, mobile work toward self-sufficiency, but even if they fail, the to us." To his killers, she writes, “I love them. And I homes, teepees, and refurbished RVs will come with apartment is still theirs. Learn more at Housing- forgive them, and I have nothing against them." a low monthly rent, and the village will include a Works.Utah.gov. three-acre community garden, chapel, medical facil- ity, and outdoor movie theater. + A few years ago, Doniece Sandoval, a suc- According to Alan Graham, who has been cessful marketing exec in San Francisco, over- been doing wasn’t enough,” she says. helping homeless folks find jobs and get off the heard a homeless woman sobbing desperately, That moment led to her researching the situ- streets for 14 years, the cost to taxpayers of not “I’ll never be clean!” Sandoval started to imagine ation for her city’s approximately 6,500 homeless housing these people amounts to about $10 million what it would be like to be without the possibility of people, half of whom live outside of shelters—and a year. Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ capital campaign is showering or doing laundry, and something inside she learned that only 16 public showers are avail- two-thirds of the way to its $6 million goal. Learn her shifted. “There was something about that mo- able. more at MLF.org/community-first. ment, in that place, that made me realize what I had Long story short: She quit her job, raised $75,000 through a crowdfunding campaign, and launched the nonprofit Lava Mae (a play on lava me, Spanish for “wash me”). The result: retrofitted mu- nicipal busses that hook up to public fire hydrants, heat the water with propane tanks, and deliver it through stainless steel showerheads. Changing rooms, toilets, and sinks are also on board. “Delivering dignity one shower at a time,” Lava Mae launches officially this month in San Fran- cisco. Learn more at LavaMae.org.

49 CONSUME It’s not all bad out there. taking the time to be rooted in the locale of their home in Highland County, Ohio. On this soil or concrete and within the relationships they have called their own, they clearly have found a reverence for this world. OTR’s songs wander into your ears like a familiar dog into your home— the plunking of keys, the gentle and methodical strumming, Karin’s longing and plaintiff voice, and the smoky meandering of an electric guitar—these are welcome guests. This familiarity plays out with the traditional instruments they use: an upright piano and bass, harmonium, chamberlin, autoharp, accordion, and mandolin. And this down-to-earth philosophy is manifest in the authors from whom they draw inspiration: Annie Dillard and Anne Lamott, two writers who, like OTR, while grounded in this world clearly point to and long for the next. Driving away from the camp through Jackson County’s sleepy landscape of rolling corn fields and leafy trees with a scattering of high clouds above, I listen to Karin and Linford sing, “Just the whisper of a breeze / Rollin’ up these threadbare shirtsleeves / Love makes me want to bruise my knees / Sweet Jesus can you n a camp in Southern Indiana, the air mattress lies on the linoleum floor of come release me / Underneath a blue jean sky / Underneath a blue jean sky / a rec hall. While dense and warm outside, it’s too cold in here; someone Open up your love and lay it on me / Underneath a blue jean sky / It’s just a faded I turned the air-conditioner on high. Earphones in, I am collapsed upon the blue jean sky / Gimme a swig of a little kick ass beauty / Gimme a swig of a little flocked, inflated plastic, taking a much-needed rest from the week’s activities as kick ass beauty.” And I’m seeing what they are saying a little clearer after the leader of a five-day intensive men’s retreat. Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler week, and I can’t help but be thankful to have them along for this ride. sing to me, "All I wanna be is a thousand black birds / Bursting from a tree into the blue / Love—let it be not just a feeling / But the broken beauty / Of what Tim Timmerman is a visual artist (TimTimmer- we choose to do." The piano, the sleepy electric guitar, and Karin’s tender voice man.com) and professor of art at George Fox are a comfort as I doze and, later, waking up, mark how long I’ve slept by noting University in Newberg, Oreg. which songs I’ve missed. Over the Rhine’s new double-disk album Meet Me At the Edge of the World has been grounded into a place and time for me, as any good album should be. You buy a CD, and a new relationship is formed. The music speaks and marks where you are in this time and place, and you listen to it until it’s stuck in your internal iPod. More people relate personally to Karin and Linford’s music than to the music of any other artists I know. We take ownership of their lyrics as if they’re ours. My friends remark that having a new OTR album is like having a wonderful hour-long phone call with a dear friend they haven’t heard from in a while. They play back the conversation again and again, each time finding new insights and nuances. Friends see their lives in the poetic reflection of these two very sincere musician/songwriters. Anyone who is alive and awake to this world’s care and cruelty can’t help being caught in the authenticity of Linford and Karin’s songs of love or absence. Bringing C. S. Lewis to the Stage Faithfully making music since the mid-’90s, OTR is now in their mid-20s of album-making. With that volume of creativity as a bulwark around them, there is After the New Testament, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis was the second clarity of vision and maturity to their writing that clearly can come only with time Christian book that literary and theatrical artist Max McLean read while in his and experience. Karin sings, “The newness of uncovered skin / Your messy hair early 20s. New to both Christianity and theater, McLean was fascinated with your goofy grin / Your shattered places deep within / All of it was music.” And the Lewis because of “his ability and will to organize the world under a Christian next verse: “To those I’ve wronged, Please forgive me / I hope this song, helps framework.” He had no idea at the time just how big a role the book would one you believe me / The holding on the letting go / It all gets buried soft and low / day play in his life, career, and ministry. But even then a song might grow / All of it was music.” There is wisdom of see- As an undergraduate at the University of Texas in Austin in the early ing both love and pain as part of the bigger melody. There is maturity in seeing 1970s, McLean struggled with social phobia, the fear of doing common things that forgiveness of what we have done and what we have left undone may be in front of others. In an effort to overcome the phobia, he enrolled in a theater used as a part of beauty and wonder. class, which proved to be the perfect antidote. According to McLean, “acting Over the Rhine’s music is made up of grounded musings of their surround- is about borrowing from yourself and applying that to the text you’re working ings: a tupelo tree, ironweed, goldenrod, barren fields, a blue heron, a highway with.” He graduated with a BA in history and, smitten with the stage, continued shoulder, red-winged blackbirds, starlings, the Cuyahoga River, a chain-link fence, his theater education at a drama school in London, England. and dishes left in a sink. They are not artists who look for grace, hope, and life in Attracted to the idea of combining his theater skills with the Scriptures, the teeming streets of Paris or on an exotic beach. Instead they find wonder in McLean began a theater ministry in partnership with the Christian and Ministry

50 From the Couch Commando: Commercials Alliance, performing oral presentations of the Bible across the US during the '80s. In 1992 McLean founded his own arts ministry, Fellowship As much as I love television, I really hate television advertising: the volume (both auditory for the Performing Arts, based in Manhattan since 2010. and quantitative), the predictability, the messaging. Though there are a few commercials McLean’s reconnection with the book that had fascinated him as a that are clever, most every part of the vast majority of television advertising makes me new Christian began after Drew University Professor Jeff Fiske saw him feel sad to be human. in a performance of Genesis and emailed him to suggest that he would So, at great personal sacrifice, I sifted through a few “Best and Worst Commercials make a great Screwtape. of 2013” lists just to see what was panned and praised. Skipping the commercials that McLean and Fiske acquired the rights to Lewis’ book in 2005 and rely on the same old schtick (sex, envy, cheap laughs), here are a few notables: began adapting it for the stage. The play enjoyed a 309-performance run in New York City in 2010 and has since been performed in more ACTUALLY KIND OF COOL than 40 additional cities. Along the way it has garnered reviews like this Goldieblox “Girls” (bit.ly/1d7peDC) shows a trio of elementary-school-aged girls, one by Don Aucoin in the Boston Globe: “A none-too-subtle allegory on uninspired by pink-princess-themed toys, who create a Rube Goldberg machine in this behalf of Christianity ... manages to be both engrossing and entertain- entertaining commercial for a company that encourages girls to engineer, invent, and ing largely due to McLean’s silky, viperish performance ... loaded with innovate. clever commentary on human foibles.” One of Lewis’ most famous and influential books, The Screwtape Letters addresses Christianity from an intelligent and persuasive demon’s point of view. It centers on a series of letters between a senior demon named Screwtape and his nephew Wormwood as the younger demon seeks the damnation of a man referred to only as “the Patient.” The book is both satirical and apologetic, and McLean and Fiske used those elements to create a play that is funny yet poignant. In his role as artistic director of the Fellowship for the Performing Arts, McLean has three guiding principles: (1) carefully select and pro- Skype “Stay Together” (bit.ly/1gHAbfD) tells the story of two young women, each duce work that captures Christianity’s intellectual integrity and dramatic born with one partial arm, who develop a friendship over e-mail and Skype, despite never power, (2) execute work at a level worthy to be produced in main- meeting face-to-face. Warning: this commercial will make you feel all the feelings. But it’s stream cultural venues where a diverse audience will see it, and (3) ask quite a beautiful testament to the power of friendship. the Christian community to support it. The health of the Fellowship is evidenced by a second successful play—McLean’s recent adaptation WOLF IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING of Lewis’ brilliant allegory The Great Divorce. Adapted for the stage by Dove “Real Beauty Sketches” (bit.ly/1bizaoP) McLean and Brian Watkins, the play opened last September at the Kaye The marketers over at Dove, owned by Unilever, maker of Axe body spray (the best at Playhouse in New York. scummy adverts preying on body insecurity), must think consumers are pretty shallow The Great Divorce, whose title refers to the separation between and stupid. Sadly, given that the YouTube version of this commercial has been viewed heaven and hell, centers around a bus ride from hell to paradise with well over 61 million times, they might be right. The ad’s message is insidious and racist. some fascinating passengers. “This collection of self-satisfied day Out of more than six minutes of video, women of color are on the screen a scant few trippers,” reads the promotional material, “includes a belligerent bully seconds. The ad strongly implies that “beautiful” means thin, young, and pale, and it out- who only wants his rights, an old woman who can’t stop grumbling long right says that beauty is critically important to happiness. It’s the worst kind of damaging enough to question whether she has anything to grumble about, a message, masquerading itself as a public service for women. bishop too ’wise’ to actually believe, and a famous artist more focused on his reputation than his art.” (Learn more at GreatDivorceonstage. com.) The idea of Christian theater, according to McLean, is that if Christianity is true, a well-written—and enjoyable—play about faith and God can reach a lot of people. “The power of theatre and storytelling is that it flies ‘under the radar’ and hits us in our imagination—the place where a knowledge of God (Romans 1:19) already exists. Art draws people in. After a while they begin to wonder if the ideas that inspired Chipotle “Scarecrow” (bit.ly/1kwCzWt) the work are really true.” It really gets my goat when big companies try to pass themselves off as the mom-and- pop-shop-next-door. The Funny or Die parody (bit.ly/LN6LlA) of Chipotle’s original ad Kara Lofton is a senior communications major at Eastern does a nice job pointing out the underlying messages of Scarecrow, and Mother Jones’ Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va. “Behind the Burrito” article (bit.ly/LZUVpb) expands the critique. Bottom line: if you want healthy food, and if you want to advocate for healthy foods in your community, you’re not going to find an ally in a national fast food chain.

Sarah Withrow King is the deputy director of ESA.

51 OUR HARSH LOGIC Christians in an Age of by Breaking the Silence Picador Wealth by Craig L. Blomberg Reviewed by Rebecca Hall Zondervan

Every nation living in the midst of conflict creates Reviewed by Shayna L. Lear its own master narrative, which serves to ideal- ize its cause and excuse any collateral damage. In his new book, Christians in an Age of Wealth: In the case of Israel, that narrative is extremely A Biblical Theology of Stewardship, Craig Blom- pronounced—one last outpost of “civilization” in the midst of a chaotic Middle berg offers a biblically sound resource for Christians seeking to apply their faith to East, a beacon of Western civilization threatened by terrorism and barbarity. This their financial lives. He begins by establishing the need to address stewardship, narrative is extremely popular in the West, and the United States in particular. calling attention to the poor giving patterns of the church and the abundance Unfortunately, it completely disregards the lived experiences of Palestinians resid- of advertising and propaganda that we are faced with on a daily basis. He then ing in Occupied Territories, whose lives and resources are so often appropriated poses several questions that he attempts to answer in the subsequent chapters, and exploited by both settlers and members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). being careful not to raise any questions “that the Bible does not address,” and Thankfully, the Israeli organization Breaking the Silence is living up to its name by concludes with reflection. educating Israel and the world about the realities of the Occupation. Their book, Blomberg begins by examining the goodness of wealth as revealed in the Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers’ Testimonies from the Occupied Territories, 2000- Bible, with an eye to avoiding not only the idolizing of it (as does the prosperity 2010, is unflinchingly honest in its portrayal of the IDF, its operations, and its theology that has taken hold of so many Christians) but also the demonizing of intentional disruption of the lives of Palestinian citizens. it. He then examines the seductive power of wealth—to which we are vulnerable The book is a compilation of close to 150 Israeli soldiers’ stories about their when we view it apart from God as owner of all—and invites readers to see that experiences serving at different bases. Some unapologetically recount instances generous giving is not only a biblical precedent but also a safeguard against the of harassment against Palestinians, naming terrorist attacks and the murder of idolatry of wealth. friends as excuse for their own violence. Others, however, even those who partici- Tackling the topics of tithing and taxes and their place in the life of a Chris- pated in violence, recognize the injustice of the situation. Some even recount in- tian, he carefully argues for the “graduated tithe” while cautioning against giv- stances of trying to protect Palestinians or their property, only to find that they had ing with manipulative intentions. He concludes by outlining the urgency of the no support from their superiors. Many mentioned the total disconnect between life church’s need to deal with stewardship as a matter of Christian maturity. as a citizen in Israel and their experiences as soldiers, participating in actions that The reflection section, which focuses on the relevance and application of they knew folks back home would never understand. each topic, offers a welcome relief from the more academically heavy parts of the The book is divided into four sections meant to mirror the four aspects of Is- book by presenting anecdotal case studies. Blomberg relates the theology of raeli policy in the Occupied Territories: prevention (of terrorism), separation (from stewardship to the individual, government/business, and the church, while dem- Palestinians), “preserving the Palestinian “fabric of life,” and “enforcing the law.” onstrating how these principles can lead to transformation. The chapter on gov- Each aspect reveals not only specific policies that disrupt Palestinian life but also ernment and business merits its own book-length treatment, as space prohibited actions taken by soldiers on the ground. Soldiers recount how, in the name of the author from delving into the complexities of systemic sin and its implications prevention, they would enter Palestinian neighborhoods in the middle of the night, on wealth. throwing stun grenades to announce their presence. They also recall shooting Seminarians and those in ministry will most likely find this book to be a Palestinian children and secretly occupying Palestinian homes, in effect holding valuable resource to help them work through their thoughts and feelings regard- the occupants hostage. ing wealth and how it will be communicated in both the words and deeds of their Our Harsh Logic is a book every American Christian should read. Through churches. Laypersons may struggle with the academic nature of the book, but the testimonies of ordinary soldiers, it presents a compelling image of the de- they may benefit by using it for a group Bible study on stewardship. Steward- humanization both of Palestinians and of Israeli soldiers themselves, trapped in ship issues specific to certain subcultures of Western Christianity are not overtly systems that compel them to engage in senseless and reactionary violence. The addressed and, therefore, ministers of diverse populations should refrain from format of short testimonies and interviews adds to the sense of chaos and sense- presenting the book as an across-the-board standard for all Christians. lessness and may prove emotionally exhausting to the reader, who is repeatedly confronted with stories of abuse and violence. The geography and IDF terminol- Shayna L. Lear is a financial planner and financial literacy educator in Philadel- ogy may also prove confusing to the average US reader, but the relevancy and phia, Pa. She assists with the Urban Affairs Coalition and the City of Philadelphia’s poignancy of the testimonies themselves remain. Anti-Predatory Lending Initiative, helping low- to moderate-income families find Our Harsh Logic was originally compiled to enlighten Israelis about actions suitable home repair loans. Her book, Money on Purpose (Judson Press, 2012), carried out in their name and for their “protection.” Would to God that it would gives insight into how to live a financially balanced life. also enlighten US Christians to the violent actions we endorse when we give our unwavering, unquestioning support to the state of Israel.

Rebecca Hall is an ESA Sider Scholar and MDiv student at Palmer Theological Seminary.

52 Bonhoeffer the Assassin? The Locust Effect by Mark Thiessen Nation, Anthony Siegrist, by Gary Haugen and Daniel Umbel Oxford University Press Baker Academic Reviewed by Tim Høiland Reviewed by Bryan Stafford In this game-changing new book, Gary Haugen of The overarching narrative on the theological life International Justice Mission and Victor Boutros of of Dietrich Bonhoeffer has remained essentially the US Department of Justice argue that the experi- the same since the day he was martyred: He start- ence of being poor nearly always includes vulner- ed his adult life as a nationalist Christian from a proud German family, became ability to violence, which in turn fuels the cycle of poverty. “It turns out that an antinationalist Christian pacifist, and ended his life as an antinationalist you can provide all manner of goods and services to the poor,” they write, “as Christian realist who was involved in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler. Calling into good people have been doing for decades, but if you are not restraining the doubt the last of these assumptions is the goal of the authors of Bonhoef- bullies in the community from violence and theft—as we have been failing to fer the Assassin? Challenging the Myth, Recovering His Call to Peacemaking. do for decades—then we are going to find the outcomes of our efforts quite The question mark in the title is well chosen, since the whole book disappointing.” interrogates the broadly held belief that Bonhoeffer was involved in certain This book doesn’t make for easy bedtime reading. No one who reads it will attempts on Hitler’s life and therefore had reneged on the pacifist views ex- forget the story of Yuri, an 8-year-old victim of rape and murder in a remote Pe- pressed so clearly in his book The Cost of Discipleship. The authors do this ruvian village, or the countless other stories of violent crime committed against through a multipronged approach that utilizes their comprehensive knowl- people living in poverty throughout the world. Moreover, while the authors’ thor- edge of the theologian’s life and works. ough documentation of studies related to violence and poverty will give the book Two ideas are central to the authors’ approach. One is that they chal- credence among those whose decisions can truly affect the lives of billions, this lenge several common historical misconceptions regarding Bonhoeffer, writ- intellectual seriousness makes for a heavy read. ing, for example, that he was neither arrested nor executed for involvement Haugen and Boutros avoid offering “silver bullet” solutions to poverty or in a failed attempt on Hitler’s life, as is commonly thought. The other is their recommendations for any particular type of intervention. Rather than diminishing belief that Bonhoeffer’s pacifist theology was so well established and essen- the importance of traditional approaches to development, they say such efforts tial to his being that he was incapable of being involved in any assassination should be redoubled. The authors’ aim, however, is “to make sure that we are attempts, even if the target was Hitler. safeguarding the fruits of those efforts from being laid waste by the locusts of It is hard to imagine any Christian pacifist not wanting Nation, Siegrist, predatory violence.” Making a forceful and convincing case for one thing does and Umbel to succeed in their quest to reclaim Bonhoeffer’s pacifist identity. not require pretending that nothing else matters; others who write about poverty After all, as Stanley Hauerwas says in the book’s forward, Bonhoeffer has and development should take note. long served as the case in point to the idea that pacifism is not a viable option Published by the prestigious Oxford University Press, The Locust Effect is in the face of extraordinary evils. But do the authors prove that Bonhoeffer not an overtly Christian book. Nonetheless, anyone familiar with the work of Hau- died a pacifist? gen and his IJM colleagues knows they are unquestionably motivated by deep Not quite. The authors do manage to create reasonable doubt around Christian faith. Further, it seems to me that this book outlines a distinctly Christian the previous model, which stated that Bonhoeffer was no longer a pacifist way of doing human rights work, however subtly it is presented. Whereas ac- during the final years of his life. However, they do this mostly through cir- tivists often pit themselves antagonistically against corrupt systems and public cumstantial evidence. Unfortunately, the book suffers from a dearth of direct figures, Haugen and Boutros call for a different approach. They recognize the evidence and deals unconvincingly with several of the major arguments that corruption for what it is, to be sure, but they also understand that true flourishing have traditionally pointed to Bonhoeffer’s eventual acceptance of violence. requires the transformation of unjust systems and people—not the eradication Bonhoeffer the Assassin? is a well-researched and well-written book of them. that never quite fulfills its promise of reclaiming Bonhoeffer’s “call to peace- Therefore, IJM isn’t content to shame corrupt or inadequate governments making.” Hopefully, it will serve as a springboard for further scholarship into and law enforcement personnel into changing their ways. Rather, the goal is to Bonhoeffer’s life as a pacifist. If nothing else, it should garner quite a re- establish trust and, ideally, one day become authentic partners in defending the sponse from several of the more traditional Bonhoeffer scholars. vulnerable and ensuring justice for all. “This can be a longer process than the approach of the dramatic, damning exposé,” they write, “but the truth is, it’s simply Bryan Stafford is Master of Divinity student at Palmer Theological Seminary. naïve to believe that meaningful transformation of a dysfunctional criminal justice King of Prussia, Pa. system can ever occur without champions taking up the fight from the inside.” With great moral urgency, The Locust Effect calls for courageous action on behalf of the vulnerable poor. The sobering news is that the plague of hidden, everyday violence is real. The good news is that it is not inevitable.

Tim Høiland is a writer, editor, and co-director of communications for Lemonade International, which supports locally initiated community development in an urban slum in Guatemala. He tweets about faith, culture, and justice @tjhoiland.

53 LET’S GRAB THE TABLE BY THE WINDOW! Soak up the spring sunshine and savor these new books about mission at home and abroad.

Learning from the Least by Andrew F. Bush Wild and Wonderful Cascade by Stan L. LeQuire and Chantelle du Plessis Come on a journey with Palestinian Jesus followers, whose Resource Publications radical servanthood out of weakness is a prophetic challenge to Western Christians, a call to put aside the prerogatives of It sounds too good to be true: economic power and wealth, to question triumphal theologies, and to development to reduce poverty in a way discover the vulnerability of the way of the cross. that protects the environment and respects indigenous cultures while offering stunning experiences and spectacular From Times Square to Timbuktu sights for ecotourists. But it is happen- by Wesley Granberg-Michaelson ing. This delightful, carefully researched Eerdmans book tells encouraging stories and offers helpful analysis on how to expand and improve The post-Christian West meets the non-Western church in this noble effort to discover this exciting, important development. bridges that can cross vast cultural, theological, and geographical distances. “As global -Ron Sider shifts create new local realities,” writes the author, “the church can discover fresh pathways for fashioning a vital missional presence within the culture.” Incarnate by Michael Frost IVP Books Letters from “Apartheid Street” Written by an Australian missiologist, this by Michael T. McRay book examines the church in an age of Cascade unprecedented rootlessness, addiction, ambiguity, and disengagement—an age Suffering matters. Justice matters. Hope matters. of “excarnation.” Frost digs deep into Stories matter. This book by a Christian peacemaker the manure and mulch of contemporary in occupied Palestine matters because it has real culture to extract a living, breathing stories that show true suffering, hope, and longing body of believers. for justice and peace—borne from the depths of experience and reflection. It will serve us well to listen closely. -Paul Alexander

Not My Life Who’s making Directed by Bob Bilheimer Worldwide Documentaries

the popcorn? Available in both 30-minute and 70-minute versions, Not My Life reveals the brutal- Movies we think you should watch, too. izing practices endemic to the multibillion dollar trade in human beings around the world. Filmed on five continents, the film provides a tour through the exploitative world of modern slavery, focusing specifically on the most vulnerable of all—children in forced labor, domestic servitude, begging, sex tourism, and soldiering. Learn more at NotMyLife.org.

It’s Better to Jump Directed by Patrick Alexander Stewart, Gina M. Angelone, and Mouna B. Stewart Cinema Libre Studio

For centuries the ancient city of Akka, along the northern coast of Israel, has protected its citizens with a 40-foot sea wall. But as the city endures harsh economic pressures and social changes, Palestinian families who have called Akka home for generations are being pressured to leave. This film captures the spirit of the town’s Arab citizens and their leap of faith towards a better future. Learn more at ItsBettertoJump.com.

54 esXaton

Practicing ESA in India separated, ESA strives to cultivate theologically informed practitioners and practically minded theologians. It was the day before I left for India with a team from City Line Church of One day, we went on a long prayer walk together, allowing the poverty, Philadelphia, a partner church of ESA. We thought it would be fun to go to the temples, the diesel fumes, and the hustle and bustle of daily life in Ban- an Indian restaurant as part of our last-minute preparations. We walked in, galore to inspire short prayers to the God who loves these people and their moved a couple of tables around to accommodate the nine-member team, pulsing, vibrant city. At ESA we are acutely aware that the battle we wage and made our way to the buffet. I noticed two women at a nearby booth, against poverty, injustice, oppression, and deception in the world is ultimately staring at us. Questions about this strange mix of people who just took over a spiritual one. We still have to get our hands dirty (see the rest of this issue the restaurant—three Asians, one Anglo, and five African-Americans, two of of PRISM!); but if we do not grow as practitioners of prayer, I fear that all of whom were children—were written all over the faces. “I hope we’re not being our ministries of evangelism, compassion, justice, and reconciliation will be too noisy,” I said. for naught. “Not at all,” one of them replied. “But if you don’t mind me asking (long While in India our team began every morning with prayer and a brief pause as her neck craned in the direction of our motley crew), what is this?” meditation from the Scriptures. Those prayer times were a highlight for us, “We’re from a nearby church, and we’re headed to India tomorrow to as God met us, sometimes intensely and sometimes gently. We sensed the lend a hand at an orphanage.” Spirit at work in our hearts with healing and conviction, as well as with a “You’re from a nearby church, and you’re headed to India to work in an desire to grow in love for God and neighbor, especially the poor. This, too, is orphanage?” I love East Coast repeat-talk. mission—that those sent out to change the world undergo profound change “Yes.” “Amazing,” said the other woman at the table. “I “Amazing,” said the other woman at the table. “I didn’t didn’t know churches like this existed,” obviously referring to the colorful diversity of the group. “It’s beautiful.” know churches like this existed,” obviously referring to I was gratified that our mission seemed to have begun even before leaving for India. Just by virtue of the colorful diversity of the group. “It’s beautiful.” being a multi-ethnic church group, we were already bearing witness to the good news of Christ’s peace and reconciliation. The City Line Church team in front of the rescue home in Bangalore Beginning with this show of diversity, the trip as a whole reflected other core values of ESA. The team and I went primarily to work in a rescue home called Nireekshanalya (which means “place of hope”), a ministry that seeks to meet “the needs of body, spirit and mind of some of the over 150,000 street children” in the city of Bangalore. That’s a pretty good definition of holistic ministry, if you ask me, and in fact we did get to know and love these boys in both word and deed. They loved on us as well, feeding us, praying for us, and guiding us around town. We played together a lot, too: The pogo stick we brought was a hit, they taught some of us how to play cricket, and one of the boys kicked my butt in chess. Faithful servants Prem and Kelly Bandaru, who established the home, have committed their lives to these kids, and we were privileged to come alongside them for this brief time—a beautiful example of the body of Christ working together in partnership across the world to serve the themselves. poor and powerless. If ESA can facilitate more of these kinds of holistic, on- So this trip was about diversity, church, culture-crossing, holistic min- the-ground collaborations between churches and ministries all over the world, istry, serving the poor, partnership, theological reflection, prayer, and inner we would be doing well. and outer transformation. It was about radical love made visible. The next The team and I led a chapel service at SAIACS, the South Asian Institute time someone asks me what ESA is all about, I’m just going to tell them about for Advanced Christian Studies, also located in Bangalore. My friend Dr. Paul my trip to India—at least until the next adventure. Where should we go next? Joshua serves on the faculty there, and he set me up to teach for a half day as well as to present a paper to the doctoral students and faculty. To have Al Tizon is Ronald J. Sider Associate Professor of Holistic Ministry and co- connected with a seminary as we did may seem unrelated to the hands-on president of Evangelicals for Social Action. ministry we were involved in, but from ESA’s perspective, they align perfectly. Convinced that theological reflection and ministry practice should never be

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265240_Prism_3_14.indd 1 1/29/14 10:53 AM PRISM STUDY/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS SPRING 2014 ISSUE

Good in the ’Hood (page 4)

Kayla Castleberry centers her article on a verse in John where, referring to Jesus’ hometown, Nathaniel exclaims, “Can anything good come of Nazareth?” What is your (or your church’s) Nazareth? How do you interact with that place and its inhabitants compared to the people and places that impress you? What steps can you take to authentically engage these areas or people and look for the good that necessarily exists there?

Castleberry describes one man’s belief that members of marginalized communities are healed not only for their own beneit but also so that they can stay and work to heal their own communities. Think of the ministries that you or your church support with time or money. How many of them involve this kind of inside-out vision? What steps could you take to enact a more community-wide form of ministry?

A Place at the Table (page 5)

Helen Cepero describes how she—with all her privilege as a white, cisgender, middle-class woman—was shown hospitality by those who, because of their sexual orientation, non-binary gender, ethnicity, or economic status—and medical status— were deeply marginalized. Have you ever put yourself at the mercy of marginalized people? Have you ever learned from or been blessed by those you reach out to help?

Why Shouldn’t We GiveDirectly? (page 6)

How do you react to the idea of transferring money directly into the hands of the poor overseas? Would it be hard for you to trust people who are poor to spend the money in the most helpful ways? Why or why not? What is your response to the author’s statistics on how the money is spent? Does this have any effect on the way you view the charities you support? Modeling the Harmony Way (page 7)

Randy Woodley asserts that his greatest challenge at Eagle’s Wings Ministry is that “American culture is rooted in a dualistic worldview, which resists a holistic way of life.” How many churches or ministries do you know that promote holistic ministry, addressing the needs of soul, mind, and body?

Consider the questions Woodley asks in order to evaluate his ministry’s success, and apply them to any ministry you are involved in: How would you answer each of these questions? Are all voices being heard, especially the ones that disagree or are least likely to be heard? Have we considered how this will affect everything else and also future generations? Is it honoring of others and the Creator? Will this effort give whole life to others or just a temporary ix?

Not the End of the Story (page 8)

Rebekah Bell points out that although the Bible has much to say about Resurrection Sunday, it has very little to say about Saturday—about the “soul-oppressive” darkness and doubt that we can ind ourselves in. What Saturdays have you faced in your own life? How have you managed to keep your faith in God in the midst of such dificult situations?

Living into Vulnerability (page 9)

Casey Hobbs describes a practice within Quaker tradition that allows those facing major life decisions to receive feedback and support from their faith community in a safe, non-judgmental way. Does your own faith community have any similar practice? How do you practice vulnerability, transparency, and authenticity within the context of that community? What do you think would encourage greater vulnerability among members of your faith community?

Ban the Box (page 10)

Harold Dean Trulear calls on Christians to model acceptance and reconciliation for the larger culture by being willing to hire the formerly incarcerated. What do you think of his arguments? Would you or other members of the faith community be willing to follow his call? What might be the beneits of hiring someone who has been in prison? What might be the challenges?

Watch the video at Business in the Community’s website and hit the “Skip Ad” button at various intervals to experience what a former prisoner might ind at a job interview. Discuss how you might react to such a job applicant if he were asking you for a job, paying close attention to how his mounting desperation affects you—does it soften or harden your feelings toward him? Why do you think that is?

Holy Disruptions (page 11)

According to Emily Nielson Jones, “The best traficking ‘prevention’ the church can be engaged in is establishing a solid spiritual framework of equality for men and women alike and working toward gender balancing our own organizations.” How does that statement strike you? What does the gender balance look like in your faith community? To what do you attribute the presence or lack of balance?

School Equality as a Matter of Faith (page 14)

Read over the conditions on page 15 that the authors list as “normal” parts of the educational experience of minority, inner-city kids—broken windows, termite infestations, old, almost unusable textbooks, and bad food. Now look at the signs of privilege listed on page 17—opportunity (in terms of being able to attend a high- performing school) and choice (in terms of the availability of advanced placement or other enrichment classes). Which of these situations is closest to your own school experience? What beneits or challenges in your life do you attribute to your educational experience?

Look at “Five Things Every Christian Can Do—Right Now—to Help Close the Achievement Gap” (page 16) and brainstorm about these and any other options you can think of. Which would work best in the context of your community? What is one step (no matter how small) that you can take, individually or as a group, to reduce the opportunity gap?

Church/School Partnerships = Win/Win (page 19)

Title I schools (where more than 40% of the students come from low-income families) do better when partnered with a congregation. How many Title I schools exist in your area? What could your church or your region do to promote collaboration?

Consider some of the examples of partnership included in this article—mentoring, pregnancy centers, summer programs, tutoring, Christmas parties, school stores, etc. Do any of these stand out to you or your faith community as particularly attractive and feasible? What would it take for you and your faith community to engage in at least one of these practices over the coming year?

The World Is Our Classroom (page 22)

Anthony Grimes opens his article with a compelling question: Do schools help students to become more human? Think of the schools in your neighborhood. In what ways do they work holistically with children to develop character, curiosity, and community? In what ways are they lacking?

Grimes points out that in a system designed to ensure that children are ready for job placement (and little else), creativity is stiled and education becomes narrow. Think about the children in your life: Does their school experience broaden or narrow their education? What kinds of other opportunities exist for them to express their creativity and engage in critical thinking?

Where do you see opportunities for informal education in the world around you? How have you experienced, in the words of Freire, “people educat[ing] each other through the mediation of the world”?

A Safe Place to Grow (page 24)

Sharon Gersava and other workers at Children’s Garden rely on God’s provision, secure that they are doing what God has called them to do. Have you ever felt a similar security in the face of scarcity? How important do you think it is for a ministry to focus on being inancially solvent?

Gersava and others tell stories of transformation—boys illed with anger and hurt, involved in drug abuse and crime, who now have a chance at a better future. When you see troubled young people in your community, can you imagine them transformed, or do they seem like a lost cause? What helps or hinders you when picturing transformation for them? Revelation at the Ping-Pong Emporium (page 28—this article is available in the print version of the magazine only)

Jonathon Merritt writes that “What we call religion is often a malformation of true faith.” How do you distinguish between faith and religion? Do the faith communities you know put more emphasis on following Jesus or on following rules? What do you think it would take for you to follow Jesus more authentically and vulnerably?

Merritt reminds us that Jesus himself did not avoid “sinful” people—on the contrary, he speciically sought them out and hung out with them. Who are the “sinful” people you or your faith community avoids? How can you work to put an end to that?

Christianity: Now in 3D and Living Color (page 32)

Emily Dause writes that “our lack of completeness … is one fact in which we can be conident.” Does your faith community encourage you to be honest about your “lack of completeness,” or does it demand the kind of performance Dause writes about? If the latter, in what settings or relationships are you able to show and accept your own brokenness and vulnerability?

Dause points out how our inability to admit our own brokenness limits our ability to experience transformation and reconciliation, as well as our ability to witness to others about Christ. Why might this be true? How have you seen this in your own and others’ stories?

Confronting the Oppressor with Humanity (page 34)

Activist Moath Al Lahham remarks that he and other activists engage the Israeli soldiers in order to “put some keys in their mind just to open it and to think more as a person.” What effect do you think this humanizing of Palestinians has on the conlict? How might reaching out to Israeli soldiers as individual people have an effect on the structures they work within? (Check out the review of Our Harsh Logic on page 52 for some possible insights.) Beiler writes that “those with greater power have little motivation to risk genuine conversation.” Where have you seen this dynamic play out in your own community? What means have you used (or seen used) to induce genuine dialogue and conversation?

Because Stones Can Speak (page 40)

Andi Cumbo-Floyd connects the preservation of historic African American spaces with the biblical call for mishpat, or justice. Think about your own community. In what ways are the collective experiences (or spaces) of marginalized peoples disrespected? What can you or your faith community do to ight for mishpat in this context? Think about one area that you might begin to pray about, seeking God’s guidance before acting.

What’s Wrong with Being Comfortable? (page 42)

Len and David Schmidt are disturbed by the fairly widespread teaching that “there is something inherently holy about unhappiness and discomfort.” What does this belief say about God?

The authors point out that many Christians sense that God is more or “especially present in occurrences that seem out of the ordinary, abnormal, illogical, or unnatural—in those that seem supernatural.” But they contend that God is “already present and active in the ordinary and the mundane.” Where/when do you tend to sense God most at work? What are the implications of God being active in the mundane?

Compassion on the Labor Ward (page 46)

Rachel Marie Stone paraphrases Elaine Scarry, who suggests that “an empathetic connection with a person suffering from pain undoes that world-contracting isolation that is pain’s essence.” What does this statement mean to you? Think back to times in your own life when you have been in extreme pain. Was there anything the people around you did (or could have done) to lessen your pain? In what ways do you offer comfort to people who are in pain? Is Reality Secular? (page 47)

Mary Poplin has a rather dramatic conversion story of Christ appearing to her in a dream. Ask each person in your group to share his or her conversion story. What do the stories have in common? Who most often plays the role of the seeker—the person or Christ?

Relect on the question Poplin asks at the end of her article, after describing her own process of conversion and call: What is your Calcutta? To what are you called at this point in your life?

Transitioning to a Positive Future (page 48)

The Transition movement is based on the idea that communities can work towards preparing for future economic shifts and climate change—and they can do it themselves, without waiting for governments to act on their behalf. To deepen this discussion with your church or neighborhood group, watch Transition 2.0, a story about how Transition groups around the world are responding to the challenges of depleting and costly energy resources, inancial instability, and environmental change. Or listen to Rob Hopkins’ TED talk about transitioning to a world without oil. What can you and your community do to prepare for future (whether close or far) challenges?

Practicing ESA in India (page 56)

Al Tizon highlights how, on a mission trip to India, he and his church were able to embody many of the principles of ESA—diversity, holistic ministry, and the connection between theology and praxis. Think about the ministries that you or your church is involved in. How do you embody these values within your context? How might you do it better?

What are the costs and beneits of short-term missions? What is their purpose, and who do you think most beneits from them? In what ways might we maximize the beneits of short-term missions? ESSENTIAL RESOURCES FROM BAKER ACADEMIC

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265240_Prism_3_14.indd 1 1/29/14 10:53 AM The International Christian Alliance on Prostitution (ICAP) unites, equips and empowers practitioners and advocates who compassionately challenge injustice and offer freedom to people exploited by prostitution, including sex trafficking. Join us for the upcoming ICAP Global Conference at Green Lake Conference Center in Green Lake, Wisconsin, May 18-23, 2014. Go to ICAPGlobal.org to learn more.