MLK, jr.

So, I did it again, I wrote another rap. The framework for this rap is derived from wanting to give credit to Martin Luther King, jr. for initiating the Reformation. October 31st is Reformation Day, so I decided to write a poetic/rap honoring the leader of the Reformation, MLK, jr. I know some would say that actually Martin Luther was the leader of the Reformation, but I have not seen how Luther's, "Justification by faith alone" creates a willingness to "bear the cross" and follow Jesus. It seems that justification by faith alone makes people rely upon a "belief in 'belief in God'", which is somewhat dangerous, since then I can believe that I am justified as long as I "believe in God" (whatever that means). Sanctification for Luther was somewhat non-existant, therefore, we need to rely upon others for the process of sanctification.
Hope you enjoy! Also, I am not finished, so it ends abruptly. Thanks.

Alabama, jim crow, why can't we know
Speakin’, preachin, walkin’ ridin’ comin’ all up on ya’
Wasn’t what we thinkin’ it was just too much for ya’
Holdin’ the torch, lightin’ the flame’ this ain’t Ellis isla’
Marchin’ on the capital, up town down town, does it matter to ya’

Blame game, no name, I know we ain’t the same
CIA who’s to say, I wouldn’t it past ‘em
Drinkin’ over there why they gotta’ stare?
What he was speakin’ they didn’t want to hear

In a non-violent protest he spoke of the injustice
Laid it out simply so we could comprehend it
Didn’t want to offend, but he couldn’t help it
Lyrical, beautiful, the man was a miracle
Lyrical, beautiful, the man was a miracle

Just as an outcast what he say come to pass?
Pushed aside marginalized, for redemption, pay the price
Civil Rights, civilized, beatin’ so unrecognized
Couldn’t walk couldn’t write snuffed out, prime of life

Proclamation to this nation, isn’t this God’s creation?
Holdin’ in the tension, livin’ the crucifixion
Incarnation for the mission; speakin’ of God’s whole vision
Segregation for the Christian, societial humiliation

Hearin' in that Southern drawl, we gonna' make you crawl
Stand tall, don't fall, in the South what gall
Usin' all that violence, law and order, Common Sense
Lovin’ on the people, white, black, it was the call

Hearin’ the oppressed, never did he dismiss
Articulate, communicate, why there so much hate?
Be for, not against, MLK crushed the fence
Holdin’ people in chains, walked with ‘em in their pain

This rhyme, no time, he paid the price for the climb
Up hill, slowly, white pride, apartheid
Speakin’ with confidence, trustin’ in intelligence
Callin’ people in the street, this cause is gonna’ defeat

Lookin’ at all the hate, who do they incarcerate?
Racialized, close your eyes, don't want to here their cries
Children of innocence staring through that prison fence
Make no sense, penniless, spiritualize my witness
Sit down, don' t rise, know your place, demonized
Liftin' up, head high, blood comin' out your side

Who cares, who’s there, projectin’ out, societies stare

The words are here, the marks we bare, why ain’t life fair?

Does God care, can’t you hear, what’s that, sirens blare

One more time, don’t resist, hatred collapsed in a brutal fist

Simply askin’ for the equity, promised in this democracy

Inalienable equality, who me? It Couldn't be that I'm free?

When will freedom ring? When will we "hear the people sing?"

Where, oh, where is our Martin Luther King?

Construction of Race in the U.S.

This academic quarter at Fuller Seminary has been very enjoyable. One of the classes which I am involved this quarter is a class entitled, Race and Identity in Paul. It is taught by an incredible professor, Dr. Love Sechrest. This class has facilitated my ability to research the issue of race within the context of the New Testament, where I have learned that the term "Race" is a social construct within the walls of this country, whereby the political society needed a term to determine who was white and who was not, for purposes of 'land rights', voting, etc. This gives new meaning to the Declaration of Independence, since it states that:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...
"Deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed?" Therefore, the governed have to agree to the power instituted within the structure of the Government, but if certain human beings are not considered equal, then the entire Declaration of Independence does not apply to them.
This started me thinking about Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson wrote another book which is not so well known, entitled Notes on the State of Virginia where he was seriously wrestling with the issues of slavery, but does not concede that Africans should in any way be considered equal to whites. It does not seem difficult to understand how Jefferson as a European white Enlightenment thinker would believe such a lie, yet many within modern Christianity look at Thomas Jefferson as the greatest Christian of all time, even though he was a Deist, not a Christian. He believed in God, but Jefferson's God does not involve himself in the affairs of humans, but allows humans to "run the earth". Jefferson has approximately 25o slaves by the early 1800's, and signed a bill to end the importing of slaves into the U.S., implicitly knowing that the value of slaves would rise, i.e. laws of supply and demand, then Jefferson sold his slaves to creditors to free himself from debt. Jefferson in his earlier career had wanted to end slavery, but his career as a politician would never have maintained such a bold move. Without actively moving towards justice, we as humans will become entrenched in the environment in which we live, which is what I believed happened to Jefferson.
Since this is now well known concerning the construction of race as a politio-social development of late modernity, how does this affect our theology concerning the engagement with God's creation? Should then integration, i.e. the church as another race of humans be something which we are pursuing, or should we merely let segregation continue?

Jesus to Luther or Luther to Jesus??

Reformation Day was on October 31 and if you are like me, you had no idea that Reformation Day fell on Halloween, nor did you know that there was a Reformation Day. I spent Halloween by handing out candy to children, not mulling over how Martin Luther "discovered" God's grace. How on earth did Jesus make it without Martin Luther? Anyways, I am definitely not against traditions and to think that someone does not possess traditions is simply silly. We are shaped by our traditions, whether formal, informal, or tacit, the traditions of our churches can not and must not be ignored. See that is the point of the Reformation; not ignoring traditions which place dogma upon humans shoulders which prohibit them from understanding, comprehending, or seeing God in his glory. Therefore, Reformation Day should be spent thinking of ways to "Reform" our culture, our world, and our relationships.

Martin Luther of course did not "discover" God's grace, he discovered that some traditions, i.e. religious society was prohibiting people from experiencing God's grace. The problem in my opinion has become that we somehow believe Martin Luther had a "pure" interpretation of Scripture and understood God more than others. This again is to ignore the earlier statements that no one is free from traditions and it shapes our thinking, our lives, and how we interpret the mission of God in the world. Luther was deeply flawed and ignorant (not knowledgeable) in his worldview concerning certain groups of people. I do not ignore these aspects of his life, but I seek to understand why Luther made the comments he made.

In one such discussion, someone stated that "Luther was a product of Europe at the time he lived." This is true, because we also can not separate our culture from how we think concerning culture, but if culture is racist and I follow the culture is that satisfactory with God? Jesus was so angry at the end of his life because he knew what God's truth was and the ones to whom he had extended grace, failed to see that he was also extending to them, an amazing opportunity for life. Jesus said, "I will die on a cross to display this life". In many ways this happened with Luther, whereby he extended God's grace to a group of people to whom he believed God wanted to give life, but when they rejected his offer, he took up his humanity and derided them. Luther was an amazing person, who failed as we do, but in his failure, we must learn to live the life of Jesus.

Gas Station Football

The other day I was pumping gas at a Mobil in Pasadena when I noticed two teenagers standing on the curb watching me pump gas. I looked at one of the teenagers who was smoking a cigarette and his friend said, "I know, he (the smoker) shouldn't be smoking near the pumps", which is something that had never crossed my mind. I was thinking to myself that he was filling his lungs with something harmful to himself. I said to the one smoking, "You shouldn't smoke since you look like a 'baller". Now, of course I had no idea if he was good at basketball, and yes, I was making an assumption, which I did believe was true, but immediately he smiled and said, "You know I can play 'ball." I did not have a basketball, but I did have a football in my car, so I reached in the car, took out the football and pointed him, to "go deep", at which point he took off running across the "empty" section of the parking lot, catching the pass in stride. His friend had decided to cover him, so he took off running also. They threw me back the football, then I threw a pass to the other teenager, then they started throwing passes back and forth in the parking lot. When they were done, they ran back over to me, handed me the football and stated in the most respectful gesture I have ever been given, "Thank you sir." I felt a little shameful that they called me sir, because it hold such an ideal of respect, I am not exactly sure why I felt like that?

In my mind I was thinking that I need to develop an organization where opportunities are created for teenagers who "hang out" at gas stations. The problem is not engaging in dialogue, that is the easy part, as I am sure most Christians engage strangers in conversation, but how to invite those "strangers" into our worlds is more difficult. I also have fear, because obviously I don't know these people and I have a wife which I of course need to consider, but I was thinking of creating an organization whereby people who may not have had opportunities are given the abilities, which have been granted to others. In honest reflection, I can say that it has not been my own "hard work" which has allowed me to participate in everything God has created, but it has a lot to do with the fact that I am part of the dominant culture. I want that to change.

Gangs of the Church!

Personal Update: I am currently in my "almost last year" at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA. It has been and continues to be a wonderful journey. I have personally gained some marvelous insights into the inner workings of human development and interaction, as well as, processed my own faith journey, seeing how the "faithfulness OF Christ" has allowed me to experience God's amazing grace in difficult times. Kelly and I have taken on new responsibilities and we share our daily lives with one another, whether at home, at school, or at work, each area of our life overlaps one another.
So, enough about me. Anyways, I am currently doing some research on the appeal to gang life in the U.S. It is funny how some people can not understand why gang life is appealing to youth in our country as well as other countries. The question that I have encountered is, "Why do people want to join gangs?" To merely say that it is a "breakdown" in effect of the nuclear family does not encapsulate the overall appeal of gangs. Gangs are formed by a bond which transcends what only families can offer. Gangs are outlets for people to be able to freely express their anger, conflict, and sense of abandonment which they have experienced at the hands of other human beings. The Church is called to be that outlet for the anger, conflict, and therefore the reconciliation of being abandoned by other human beings.
When I was a police officer, the community offered within the Police Department, although sometimes extremely unhealthy was still more appealing than the community offered in the church, because meeting once a week could not provide the basis for dialogue which I needed as a human being to survive. If someone asked me the question, "Sum up Christianity in one sentence", I would have to say (although I do not believe it is possible to sum it up in a sentence) that, "Jesus liberates our language in order to express everything which is in us, so that we can be at peace with ourselves, others, and God." Without this language we can never experience healing, freedom, and release from sin. Gangs offer a language to others which may only be understood by other gang members and although unhealthy is still appealing to someone to know that they have a "brother or sister", i.e. another gang member who will die for them. Until gang members understand that God himself took their anger, rage, and death upon himself, and manifested it in the body of Jesus, i.e. THE CHURCH, what appeal is for them to walk in a different lifestyle. This is not the job of individual Christians to display this to other, but the vocation of the Church.

Fixin' what ain't "broke".

The longer I am a follower of Jesus, the more I understand that Jesus continually invites us into his "space". When I use the word space, it is defined as the ministry in which Jesus himself is doing. The word "doing ministry" is thrown about in Christian circles, as if somehow, we are called to "do ministry" like I am fixing a car. "If anything is broke, we fix what is broke", whether it is people, churches, whatever. I have to confess that I have fallen into this paradigm, whereby I think that I "fix" whatever I need to fix.

This causes Christians to insert and assert themselves into the space of others, but never invite others into their own "space". I think that this happens because we have objectified the subjective, meaning those things which truly feel, think, change, reason, and love are not invited into our lives, but in some ways are objectified, things which we can control and attempt to fix. I think we should also use different language in Christianity in terms of our language of "brokenness". Human are created in the image of God, so maybe we should start there, (Genesis 1 &2) instead of Genesis 3. It also happens because we are shaped by our surrounding culture of the nuclear family and suburban living, this is the reason that it is so hard to communicate effectively to people we don't know, meaning make friends with people we don't know. (This is why so many people go to college, for the social networks)

Take for example the story in Exodus of Mt. Sinai, when Moses was on the Mountain receiving commandments from God, the Israelites, instead of focusing on the "subjective", Yhwh himself, they focused on an "object" which could be controlled, i.e. the golden calf. (Exodus 32)

The reason that I have been thinking about this concept is because I sometimes keep people at distances, because it is safe for me to do that, an invitation implicitly involves vulnerability, the possibility of rejection, so a lot of times we do not invite others to participate with us. Maybe if we started with this understanding, "Humans are going to hurt one another, whether on purpose or accidentally." Our churches have in many ways dulled our senses, they have created us in their image, which is an image of complacency, and image that says, "If there is no conflict, then I am becoming more like Christ."

I am also a person who continuously invites others into my space, so I continually have conflict. Sometimes I convince myself that the conflict is because of my sin or anothers sin, but then I think, "Jesus had so much conflict it is unbelievable, and I can be relieved." I still believe that these invitations into my space need to go further into the depth of God's care, love, forgiveness, and reconciliation though. Anyways, these are simply thoughts about what following Jesus should maybe look like.

Where is the language of pain?

I have recently been reading a story about what has been termed, "The Jena 6", who are six African-American youths and I say youths, not because they are under sixteen, but because they are teenagers, who have been charged with an assault against a white teen in Jena, Louisiana. The reason that the African-American teens assaulted the white teens is due to he and his friends hanging three "nooses" on a tree; a tree which has an unspoken rule that it is only for "Whites". One of the black teenagers asked the Principle if he could sit under this tree, whereby the Principle stated that he could sit anywhere he wanted to sit it is "free country". The African-American youth sat under the tree and the rest is history.

It seems to me that the Principle has a responsibility to be aware of what is taking place at his high school. Was the Principle aware of this "rule", was he aware of the racial tensions? We have such an individualized culture that when these African-American youths reacted with rage and anger, (which I am not condoning), at three "nooses" being hung from the tree, after the African-American youth sat there, we can not understand his reaction. We in white suburban America say, "He should have contacted the Principle, he should have contacted the police." The Principle is the one who told him to sit there. Did the Principle set him up, knowing what would happen? Is that too far fetched? It is so difficult for people to understand how human beings function from a physiological perspective (adrenaline, tunnel vision) and from a historical perspective (slavery, dominant white culture), that when these situations do take place, we think it seems so "inhumane".

In our higher education institutions, i.e. Academic Universities and Colleges, there are numerous professors who will teach classes aimed at understanding the African-American experience, Western Culture, and Religion, yet in high schools, these classes are definitely lacking. We are not cultivating humans to develop a language in order to express grief, doubt, fear, anxiety, of which were all feelings associated with this situation, on both sides. Our culture has created humans to react with anger, rage, contempt, and violence, then when they do, we wag our fingers at them and act with disdain that they reacted violently. The U.S. reacted extremely violently after 9/11, this situation is NO DIFFERENT!!!! We expect individuals to react differently than this Nation, but in reality God believes forgiveness is for individuals and for Nations. The hanging of the "nooses" IS a violent crime, because violence does not have to be something which is actualized, it can be something which only creates a violent reaction in another. (Uh-Oh, that means that the white students "need" to be prosecuted in this case).

The goal of reconciliation to remember rightly, and remembering rightly surely needs to be done in this case. We need to remember that the Principle told him to sit under the tree, that at other points in the African-American students' lives they had been ridiculed, insulted, and possibly suffered assaulting themselves. In order to remember rightly we also need to know the story of Jesus Christ. Dr. Ray Anderson of Fuller Theological Seminary has said that the fullness of Jesus' humanity and Deity was found when he cried out on the Cross, "Eli, Eli, Lama Sabacthani?", "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Why are we as Christians not developing this language in other humans? Probably because we don't have this language ourselves. The Civil Rights Movement with Martin Luther King, Jr. was exactly that, to form a language which had not been know before. It is in the heart of God for humans to finally speak about what is in them, it frees us from bondage.

Jesus forgave because it is in the heart of God to forgive and offer this gift of forgiveness to all humans, all nations, the entire cosmos. Through this offer of forgiveness, we are then brought to a position of stability, forming our identity in the one who has deeply loved and given himself for us, therefore calling Jesus followers to do the same for others. Reconciliation is part of the world to come, when God will "set right", the injustices done against humans, why not do it now?