several months ago i posted the majority of a letter i wrote to compassion international in regards to the wording of their sponsor documents. see the post here. after sending in the letter and forwarding it via email to a friend who works at compassion, i was able to speak for about half an hour with mark hanlan, sr. vice president of us donor relations for compassion. we talked about the language and how exclusive it feels to members of the lgbt community and its supporters. he shared his concerns about the language as well, and committed to advocate the rewrite of those documents to remove language about homosexuality, specifically, in favor of more neutral language.
fast-forward to saturday, december 6. while in toronto, i received a phone call from tony jones who was aware of the conversation i had been having with compassion. he was at an event in memphis for emergent village, and spoke to a guy (we shall call him chris) who works for compassion who had just received an email that after several months of heated conversations and dialogue, compassion has rewritten the sponsor documents and removed all language regarding sexuality. there is still language asking sponsors to consider the content of photos and letters that are sent to children (i have not yet read the language myself…this from chris and the 10 minute conversation i was able to have with him), but the language is no longer exclusive of a particular group of people. what chris was able to pass along to me is that they realized the need of children to be cared for is greater than compassion as an organization taking a stand on a particular theological issue.
it honestly took me a few minutes to wrap my brain around the reality of the impact. from my conversation with mark at compassion, i realize that there were probably conversations in the works already, but it seems as if missiongathering’s letter and subsequent conversation sparked some level of action. for me this certainly serves as an encouragement that the winds of change are beginning to blow on a wider scale. there is hope. dialogue is happening. it is only the beginning. ~aroll
Friday, December 12, 2008
i'm back...
so after way too long of not posting, i'm back. i had some time to write on the plane home from toronto and the canadian youth workers conference, so here are a couple of posts with more to come! lots to think and write about heading into the holidays during this season of advent... ~aroll
Monday, November 3, 2008
a missiongathering siting...
so i stopped by one of the many local markets walking home from the office to pick up a few items for the impromptu gathering at my house tonight, and had a cool little encounter. when i walked in, a middle-aged women wearing a lovely pink track suit was at the counter purchasing her items. i wandered around the store seeing what snacks i could come up with, and decided upon some gluten-free corn chips and salsa and some popcorn. after grabbing some cranberry juice and coke, i proceeded to the register.
while standing there waiting to check out, i noticed out of the corner of my eye that the woman kept staring at me. i turned and she said, "are you that guy from that church?" i said, "yes." she said, "i thought so...you look much taller on the stage." we chatted for a bit about her love of singing gospel music that keeps her attending another church while she loves what we say at our church and do in our community. she wants very much to get involved in our street angels ministry, our outreach to homeless teenagers. after suggesting she sing in the morning then join us for the 7:00p service, we said goodbye and she went on her way.
just a fun little encouragement in the midst of crazy times that this funky little expression of God's grace is spreading the message of grace and hope in our community...and people are listening! ~aroll
while standing there waiting to check out, i noticed out of the corner of my eye that the woman kept staring at me. i turned and she said, "are you that guy from that church?" i said, "yes." she said, "i thought so...you look much taller on the stage." we chatted for a bit about her love of singing gospel music that keeps her attending another church while she loves what we say at our church and do in our community. she wants very much to get involved in our street angels ministry, our outreach to homeless teenagers. after suggesting she sing in the morning then join us for the 7:00p service, we said goodbye and she went on her way.
just a fun little encouragement in the midst of crazy times that this funky little expression of God's grace is spreading the message of grace and hope in our community...and people are listening! ~aroll
Thursday, October 30, 2008
NO on Prop 8...part 2
i fully intended on writing more posts on this topic, weighing in on more of the arguments, but frankly i've grown weary. i see the ads, i read the articles, i get the emails sent to pastors from "yes on 8," and while this is a very emotional issue for me and my community i'm tired of dealing with it. no matter what happens on tuesday, this is not over. if prop 8 passes, there will be many hurting people to help make sense of it all. if prop 8 fails, then the conservative evangelical church will only be that much more riled up to "fight the darkness that is advancing."
really? darkness? evil? marriage is a civil institution. yes it has existed in virtually every religion that has affected humans on this planet, but "marriage" as we know it is an institution regulated by the state governments that acknowledges a commitment between two individuals and guarantees those individuals certain rights. would granting that same acknowledgment to same-sex couples really bring the demise of this country, the church and humanity? oh wait...the world has not come to an end, heterosexual marriages still function (well, 48% of them anyway), and the church is still marching - and same sex marriages have been legal now for several months in california and even longer in massachusetts. the language of the current law on the books specifically says that churches retain autonomy in choosing for whom they will perform weddings. some churches now refuse to marry heterosexual couples who are living together...what do many of those couples do? they go down to the court house and have a judge marry them. do i want my wedding to be performed by a judge? no, i would rather a minister perform my ceremony because i want my marriage to be a covenant between me, my future partner, and God because my faith is important to me...always has been and always will be.
proposition 8 isn't protecting marriage...it is stealing it from a group of people. proposition 8 would write discrimination into the constitution of california. it is the church seeking to exclude people in the name of the same Jesus that i love and worship...and it's making me sick. it makes me horribly sad to see what this issue is doing to the Church. it has caused division among the body of Christ, and i hate to think about what this campaign has said to the thousands of people around the country who are outside of a faith community and may never engage in a conversation about faith because of the hate they have seen. as a result, a group of my friends and i are drafting a "manifesto" of sorts to say that we are Christ-followers not defined by tolerance, but by acceptance. we are Christ-followers who believe in the transforming power of God, not the conforming nature of religion.
i think about all the millions of dollars that have been raised in the name of discrimination and hate. yes, millions of dollars have been raised by "no on 8" as well, but that money wouldn't have been needed if proposition 8 didn't exist. how many homeless could have been fed with that money? how many sick people could have been given medical treatment with that money? at my small group last night, a friend put it this way, "one dollar gives one person in africa clean water for one year." think about that. how much further could this money have gone in helping humanity? i am ready for this to be over so that whatever process of healing and reconciliation that is needed can begin.
if you are a praying person, please pray that God's love, grace, and truth will prevail and that hate perpetrated in the name of God will not win out. if you are in san diego, please join thousands of people in a candlelight vigil at 9:00p on university ave. in hillcrest to show unity against hate and discrimination. vote NO on prop 8. ~aroll
really? darkness? evil? marriage is a civil institution. yes it has existed in virtually every religion that has affected humans on this planet, but "marriage" as we know it is an institution regulated by the state governments that acknowledges a commitment between two individuals and guarantees those individuals certain rights. would granting that same acknowledgment to same-sex couples really bring the demise of this country, the church and humanity? oh wait...the world has not come to an end, heterosexual marriages still function (well, 48% of them anyway), and the church is still marching - and same sex marriages have been legal now for several months in california and even longer in massachusetts. the language of the current law on the books specifically says that churches retain autonomy in choosing for whom they will perform weddings. some churches now refuse to marry heterosexual couples who are living together...what do many of those couples do? they go down to the court house and have a judge marry them. do i want my wedding to be performed by a judge? no, i would rather a minister perform my ceremony because i want my marriage to be a covenant between me, my future partner, and God because my faith is important to me...always has been and always will be.
proposition 8 isn't protecting marriage...it is stealing it from a group of people. proposition 8 would write discrimination into the constitution of california. it is the church seeking to exclude people in the name of the same Jesus that i love and worship...and it's making me sick. it makes me horribly sad to see what this issue is doing to the Church. it has caused division among the body of Christ, and i hate to think about what this campaign has said to the thousands of people around the country who are outside of a faith community and may never engage in a conversation about faith because of the hate they have seen. as a result, a group of my friends and i are drafting a "manifesto" of sorts to say that we are Christ-followers not defined by tolerance, but by acceptance. we are Christ-followers who believe in the transforming power of God, not the conforming nature of religion.
i think about all the millions of dollars that have been raised in the name of discrimination and hate. yes, millions of dollars have been raised by "no on 8" as well, but that money wouldn't have been needed if proposition 8 didn't exist. how many homeless could have been fed with that money? how many sick people could have been given medical treatment with that money? at my small group last night, a friend put it this way, "one dollar gives one person in africa clean water for one year." think about that. how much further could this money have gone in helping humanity? i am ready for this to be over so that whatever process of healing and reconciliation that is needed can begin.
if you are a praying person, please pray that God's love, grace, and truth will prevail and that hate perpetrated in the name of God will not win out. if you are in san diego, please join thousands of people in a candlelight vigil at 9:00p on university ave. in hillcrest to show unity against hate and discrimination. vote NO on prop 8. ~aroll
the need for dialogue between differing opinions
sorry it has taken me so long to get these posts up, but here we go...
so as i said before, the first sunday of two gatherings was great...exhausting but great. it reminded us of the fact that there are people who haven't heard the story of missiongathering and the expression of God's grace that we strive to be. the people who typically find out about mission in our neighborhood have seen a billboard, a rave card, an ad in glt or citybeat, or better yet have been invited by a friend. most of those people are checking us out because they have been searching for a progressive church where they might experience the healing of God's love and grace.
in bringing future of forestry in to do the music for the kick-off of our evening service, it brought people who haven't had any context for who we are - a Jesus-centered, loving church with progressive theology. that sunday also happened to be the launch of our sanctuaries (our small groups) for which there was a flier inserted in the bulletin listing the groups. as soon as i finished announcements and stepped off the stage, a young man approached me. it was his first time at mission, and was there for the band. he introduced himself, and immediately pointed at the flier and asked, "what's this all about?" he was directing my attention to the gay men's and lesbian women's sanctuaries. i said, "those are groups for gay men and lesbian women to meet together and discuss their faith journey." he immediately launched into his (what seemed rehearsed...) argument against homosexuality. this was all taking place right next to the stage in the middle of our service during our "pass the peace" (ironic?) time when we mingle and meet new people. he was still arguing with me as rich was taking the stage to start preaching. i let him know that i'd love to visit more with him after the gathering, and he then walked out, taking several friends with him, and they didn't return.
it's a shame they didn't return, because i think they could have benefited from the message that night. rich talked about the need for people of differing opinions - nations, churches, politicians - to sit together at the table of dialogue. people aren't always going to agree on everything...how boring would that be?! and granted, dialogue is difficult. yet people seem too often to take the road of rallying around those different than themselves to create a common enemy...that seems to be easier than wrestling with the possibility that your ideas could change. (i've got a whole post coming on the topic of "the other.")
what did i learn from this? information in print doesn't communicate the same thing to everyone if everyone doesn't know the story of the one printing it. i have gotten comfortable in the fact that a majority of the community/neighborhood in which i live has been exposed to the story of missiongathering. when we invite people from outside of that microcosm, we need to use the lens/filter of retelling our story in the midst of communicating things that are going on in our church. then maybe in the context of that story dialogue can ensue with those who differ with us. ~aroll
so as i said before, the first sunday of two gatherings was great...exhausting but great. it reminded us of the fact that there are people who haven't heard the story of missiongathering and the expression of God's grace that we strive to be. the people who typically find out about mission in our neighborhood have seen a billboard, a rave card, an ad in glt or citybeat, or better yet have been invited by a friend. most of those people are checking us out because they have been searching for a progressive church where they might experience the healing of God's love and grace.
in bringing future of forestry in to do the music for the kick-off of our evening service, it brought people who haven't had any context for who we are - a Jesus-centered, loving church with progressive theology. that sunday also happened to be the launch of our sanctuaries (our small groups) for which there was a flier inserted in the bulletin listing the groups. as soon as i finished announcements and stepped off the stage, a young man approached me. it was his first time at mission, and was there for the band. he introduced himself, and immediately pointed at the flier and asked, "what's this all about?" he was directing my attention to the gay men's and lesbian women's sanctuaries. i said, "those are groups for gay men and lesbian women to meet together and discuss their faith journey." he immediately launched into his (what seemed rehearsed...) argument against homosexuality. this was all taking place right next to the stage in the middle of our service during our "pass the peace" (ironic?) time when we mingle and meet new people. he was still arguing with me as rich was taking the stage to start preaching. i let him know that i'd love to visit more with him after the gathering, and he then walked out, taking several friends with him, and they didn't return.
it's a shame they didn't return, because i think they could have benefited from the message that night. rich talked about the need for people of differing opinions - nations, churches, politicians - to sit together at the table of dialogue. people aren't always going to agree on everything...how boring would that be?! and granted, dialogue is difficult. yet people seem too often to take the road of rallying around those different than themselves to create a common enemy...that seems to be easier than wrestling with the possibility that your ideas could change. (i've got a whole post coming on the topic of "the other.")
what did i learn from this? information in print doesn't communicate the same thing to everyone if everyone doesn't know the story of the one printing it. i have gotten comfortable in the fact that a majority of the community/neighborhood in which i live has been exposed to the story of missiongathering. when we invite people from outside of that microcosm, we need to use the lens/filter of retelling our story in the midst of communicating things that are going on in our church. then maybe in the context of that story dialogue can ensue with those who differ with us. ~aroll
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
and so it begins...2 gatherings!
well, missiongathering is now officially a multiple-service faith community after our first 7:00p gathering last sunday. it was a crazy and long day, roller-coaster of emotions (see subsequent posts...i've got about 4 that i'm currently trying to get out of my head and onto the blog), but was an exciting new chapter in the story of missiongathering. between the two services we had over 225 people walk through the doors of missiongathering and experience our expression of the story of the grace of God. i know i was incredibly nervous about whether or not anyone was going to show up on sunday night, but we had 130+...apparently covering an entire college campus with bright orange rave cards is somewhat effective. future of forestry brought a great vibe musically, but i must admit i'm ready for the beautiful rescue to rock it next week. plus it means i don't have to break down my gear after the 10a gathering. wahoo! it's the little things, eh? alright...now the more thought-provoking posts as a result of sunday's experiences. ~aroll
Thursday, October 16, 2008
new gathering times at missiongathering
i can't believe that it's already here, but we launch our 2nd gathering at missiongathering this sunday. i'm not sure that it really has hit me (or most of the staff) yet, but it's exciting. hopefully we'll have people show up...if you go to mission, don't forget that sunday morning gathering time moves to 10:00 this sunday. we'll see you there. you can still download and save the card below by clicking here to send to your friends! see you sunday... ~aroll
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