Wallace Smith :: Blog

So we are several days into the Beijing Olympics, and by now you have probably seen the sepia/gold-toned Visa commercials with Morgan Freeman's voice guiding us to cheer "Go World"....  Morgan Freeman always sounds so wise (and hey, he's out-acted George Burns' version of the Almighty) so I pretty much melt by the sound of Freeman's voice.  And he's onto something... we all need to be a little more "Go World" and a little less "us" centered.  ("us", "me", "u.s.", etc.)

To be "Go World" means that we all need to realize we're all on the same planet, and this is it folks... what we do with God's creation matters. Where and how much we think we "need" to drill for oil matters.  How we share resources with all of humanity matters.  How humanity fights for land grabs such as South Ossetia or power grabs in Mauritania or power/control/security grabs in Iraq or Afganistan or Pakistan matters.  Human Rights travesties hidden behind makeshift brick walls and thick smog in China--all of it matters.  How might we be more "Go World" as people of faith speaking and working for justice and hope and freedom and love and grace in all the world?  ... and not just cheering the wide-angle-flat-HD screen from the comfort of our crumb covered couches and our air-conditioned perspectives on how the rest of the world is "going".

 Last night, (yes--from my couch) I watched the showdown between the female gymnasts from China and the USA, with a few glimpses of Romania tossed into the coverage.  As we watched some amazing and disciplined atheletes, we heard commentary on the differences of their lives and the cultures they were raised in--some atheletes taken by their government at age three to live regimented lives, other atheletes with the desire, and the privelege, to choose the life that led them to this moment--and the Romanian girls, who began years ago in a communist system and now, having been "westernized" struggling within the structures and systems of two worlds.... In this glimpse into these young lives in the spotlight of the world, we saw grace and strength and beauty and determination.  We also saw stumbles and balance problems and pain and regret and sorrow.  We saw joy and pain.  we saw a glimpse of life.  We saw our differences--vast differences.  And we also saw the humanity... at the heart, we are very much the same. 

We are all about "go out into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...."  Yet it is amazing to me that those who are out and about preaching and teaching and evangelizing are so wrapped up in their own cultural bias and competitiveness that they forget just how "Go World" Jesus and Jesus' commission was and is...  Our culture's nature (in politics, business, and competition) is to be "us" versus "them", and our churches are the same way, competing, and pointing out the "thems" rather than cooperating toward a more loving and just world--living in such a way that encourages all to walk together in the way of Jesus.  It is not assimilation that we need to be about--authentic community embraces diversity and finds commonality in our human-ness as we grow in relationship, and transformation is the work of the Spirit.  "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."(Gal. 3:28)   That does not mean that there are no differences, but instead that they don't matter for we are one in Christ--in Christ we belong--even in our human-ness and differences, we are embraced, and we can be transformed.  Everybody wins... that is something to cheer for.  Go World! 

"Two dollars."  Thats one of the running storylines woven into the most underestimated John Cusak movie of the 1980's, "Better off Dead."  It was also the prize for fourth place divided seven ways at the wednesday night trivia battle at Westport Flea Market.  I was invited to join in the fun by my old/new friend Amy and her brother, Brian.  I had not seen Brian since high school days (which is half a lifetime for us).  Yet we picked right up and in the midst of trivia tension found ourselves quite at ease and enjoying each other's company.  We had a solid team, and it was nice to be included in this fellowship.

We all live busy lives.  Yet it is so easy, even in the bustle of a growing city to live very isolated lives.  So it really feels good to make connections and find authentic friendships and to share life together.  That is what "authentic community" is about--coming just as you are, sharing the path of life with others, building relationships, having permission/freedom to question, to change, to learn, to grow, to be.  So many places (mostly churches) try very hard to "market" "authentic community", but I think that is a hard sell--not necessarily a dishonest attempt, for the effort is from the heart--but sometimes community "finds" you rather than the other way 'round. 

I was invited to join a group of several strangers and two old/new friends. I could have stayed home and played on the Wii, or get caught up on emails, or feed the addiction to Facebook.  Instead, I went to a new place and joined up with a group of people who in the midst of trivia night have found/encountered a sense of place/connection that is "community".  And I was included.  Thats worth more than what I invested.  And hey, the $2 (half a gallon of gas) got me more than all the way home.  But what will get me to go back to trivia night is the (priceless) connection with re:newed and new friends--and the sense of "common-union" that found me...

So I'm at the airport.   This time its Denver International, and I'm on my way back to Kansas City for a pit stop before heading to Indianapolis.  We just wrapped up the National Gathering of American Baptist Youth, this time known as MtW ("More than a Week") and it certainly was more than a week, because I've been here for twelve days and I miss Christy and the girls immensely.  (more than a week was meant to convey that the mountaintop experience with a diverse group of 1300+ people from more than 31 states is meant to be an equipping moment for a lifetime journey of discipleship, but I digress).

One of the cool things about this week was the chance to share meals with old and new friends.  Some of the planning team and volunteers of the conference have been a part of the process of these events for over a decade, with at least two meetings a year and then the national gathering taking place once every four years.  Over these years some of us have become quite close.  In fact, this has become a community of trust for me and some of the only people I have been able to completely open myself to as we have shared experiences in ministry, even though we come from far off places and different backgrounds.  It was good to just be with friends once again, (and one of the only reasons I had returned for another four year commitment that officially ended yesterday).  

 It was also cool to be able to place my tray of powdered eggs and (un)crispy waffle at any table and over the course of breakfast share a glimpse of abundant life with strangers/friends who had also come to the mountaintop to worship and share the path of discipleship.  There were "reunions" with kids from Winfield, Kansas (who were not born yet when I first attended a national youth gathering in 1990), my hometown and home church, and I learned that things in Winfield were pretty much the same now as then.  I met youth from Connecticut, Rhode Island, California, Michigan, and more.  I really enjoyed stolen moments at the table with the youth from Indiana and especially "my kids" from FBC Indianapolis.  I had orange juice on my lap one meal as I sat with some of my new friends from Kansas.  And I snuck off the grounds with some of my oldest and dearest friends in the world--we had steak at the Chop House in honor of Houlker.  

The food was average, predictable, industrial, conference fare.  Some meals I opted for a protein bar in place of more chicken or fake eggs.  One meal I skipped altogether to spend precious time with two friends from Indiana that just happened to be passing through the YMCA of the Rockies and at the right moment walking though the registration building as I was having coffee and talking about church planting with another good friend.  I left our time together at that cafe table more than a mile high and that unexpected time together with John and Carol was more nourishing than any food.  

The week ended with an extra day to take the FBC Indy kids to the top of the continental divide and then down to Denver for a hotel night and horrible Mexican food at the infamous Casa Bonita.  

All in all, not the healthiest week food-wise.  But the best part of the week was every moment I had to share the table, to break bread, to linger longer, to hold one another in the care and nourishment of God's spirit-at-work when lives touch.  Jesus knew something of the abundant life and introduced it to us at the table.  If you reflect on your own times when you are simply sharing life at the table with others, (instead of snarfing instant food from impersonal food chains in isolation and in hurry), when we share the table, when we break bread together, we too have a glimpse of and can taste the abundant life.  After all, and especially in moments of communion (common-union), its not the food.  Its the company. 

  Delayed at the Kansas City International Airport.  There is not much you can do at an airport this "efficient".  It was designed to be user friendly, with terminal "islands" and your ride can just about drop you off at your gate.  But when delayed, and with 9-11 security measures, it is not the airport to get stranded in.   Not very many choices for food or shopping like Minneapolis or Denver.  But I didn't come here to shop.

I am on my way to Colorado for the National Gathering of American Baptist Youth.  In youth ministry years, I am feeling my age.  An old dog, not in the mood for new tricks.  It will be good to connect with friends, but this is the first time in two decades I am not going with a group or taking youth with me.  I'm just "working" as the curriculum guy and the trainer for about 70 high school and college small group peer leaders.  Speaking of delayed, I could wait another week--more time to prepare and organize.  We've had four years to prepare and it seems like every team could use a week or two more. 

So--back to "delayed".  Story of my life these days.  We had a timeline for the new church start that right now is "delayed" until we build more of a core group and identify some leadership for the new church, particularly in music and worship.  It can be frustrating when things don't go according to the "paper plan", but then again, I am (re)learning that the timeline is just paper, and the paper is authored by me.  My timeline, my way.  So we let it go.

What we don't want to let go of is a sense of urgency, a "holy discontent".  We don't want to let go of the vision and mission that we have been called to.  We don't want to let go of the hope.  We can let go of the timeline and "wait upon the Lord"...  God help us discern and then live fully within Your time and Your grace.

So, the wandering Israelites, grumbling about their own delay in the desert, even longing for the "comfort" of the life they knew--slavery in Egypt... I imagine they were much like this growing crowd of frustrated travellers all delayed at KCI.  Delay upon delay, unsatisfying explanations, only the manna of almost fresh Cinnabon to partake of...  Okay so they had it a bit worse than this mass of humanity grumbling around me.  In a previous life, I'd be grumbling and stressing a bit more than now, and yet what does that really gain?  does it change the length of the airline delay in any way? "And by worrying do you gain any span of time in your life?" 

Delayed can be good.  Delayed gratification can be rewarding.  Honest.  Hard to do in this culture, I know!  But "Delayed" can be a (re)learning moment for all of us to put things into perspective, those in our control and those not in our control.  A (re)learning to live in peace with your neighbor (even the fellow traveller in 31B), and especially in peace with your Pilot, whenever it is time (kairos) to TAKE OFF! 

The Hooters were one of my favorite 80's bands (laugh all you want at the name, it had nothing to do with the restaurant with the "owl" mascot--it was a small keyboard like instrument that used wind to play it... kind of an updated rock accordion/harmonica with keys.  But I digress....) They had a song called "You Never Know Who Your Friends Are." 

Today, I got to hang out with my friend Mike.  We could never have predicted or planned the circumstances or choices that brought us both back "home" to Kansas; both of us had rooted and connected our lives in other places far away from here.  Both of us have most recently felt more at home elsewhere and not (yet) here, in Kansas.  But today, after more than two years since we last saw each other and really four years since he moved away, we were back together again. 

There are some people you just feel "at home" with.  Mike has been one of those people for me over the years.  Even though its been so long, and there has been a lot of life and experiences that have come and gone, it was like picking up right where we left off.  Our conversation wandered through catching up to issues of faith and life and money and choices and social justice and politics and grace and love and places in our lives that need a little healing.  We treked from Shawnee through Westport and Midtown to downtown KC and then over near 18th and Broadway we entered the "First Church of Arthur Bryant's" and shared a communion of rib tips and a pitcher of Boulevard. 

 We could never have predicted, planned, or ever even remotely wished for the circumstances and choices that led us on the path of life to this reunion.  But here is the grace for the moment (from the Hooter's song, and Mike if you read this, especially for you...) "Its funny how the road can lead back to all the ones you need, you never know who your friends are..."

Today, I do know.  Thank you, Professor Dude man.

We took our girls to see "Kung Fu Panda" and we enjoyed it immensley.  The animation was great!  What I didn't expect was to connect with the movie so much.  I had previously said before going was "I think I saw that movie the first time, when it was called 'Beverly Hills Ninja' (starring the late Chris Farley)..."  I went in ready for summer popcorn fare, and I was pleased to be surprised.

There were several lines in the movie that stood out to me, most from the wise and toothless turtle master, Oogway (of course I know turtles are toothless, but this guy was really toothless--drawn to look really old...).  One of the lines was: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift; that is why it is called the present."  I'm sure the writers of the script borrowed that Moment of Zen from somewhere else, but the old turtle said it, and so I'm giving Oogway the credit as the source of those words.  I resonated with those words, especially in our present situation of figuring out how to plant and grow a church from the DNA up; our comfort and security of "yesterday" is now an unseen shore, our destination "tomorrow" is unknown, and "today" we are floating, trusting, navigating, by the gifts of God's spirit and dependent on the graciousness of strangers.  But the gift of today is what we do with the opportunity; how we live this day is a gift to God, to others and to ourselves.

Without giving away the deep secrets of the saga of the Kung Fu Panda, there is one other line that stuck out: "You are the Secret."  (Watch the movie to find out more).  But it made me think about Jesus' words when he sent out the disciples the very first time on their own to preach and heal (see Matthew 10 and Luke 9 for the story).  Jesus said, in essence: "Take nothing for your journey; no money, no extra tunic, or sandals, or staff.  Travel light."  Eugene Peterson's The Message says it this way: "You don't need any extra equipment.  You are the equipment."  The turtle Oogway might say, "You are the secret.  the secret ingredient."  In other words, we already have what we need to accomplish what God desires of us as disciples of Jesus--just as we are, we can preach and heal and proclaim God's grace and glory.  Just as we are, broken and imperfect and seeking and weak and small.  We are enough, just as we are, today, to be God's gift of love to others and to offer ourselves as a gift to God.  There it is, folks, your Moment of Zen.  LIVE THE GIFT!! 

You know the Cheers song--"making your way in the world today takes every thing you've got..."  "... sometimes you want to go where everybody know's your name, and they're always glad you came..."

Yeah, I'm feeling that way.  Moving to Kansas City has been something like an episode of "Sliders"--the sci fi show where Jerry O'Connell and friends jump/"slide" through wormholes into alternate realities of earth where many things seem the same but something is always off.  We recognize restaurants, we see some things between KC and Indianapolis as very similar, we experience some things (and people) that are totally different.  I'm in the local grocery store and see someone that I think I recognize, yet the person I know is 500 miles away.  

 And nobody knows us.  Not just our name, but WHO we are and what we are about.  In many ways we are starting from scratch; missionaries in a different culture, learning the language, discerning the cultural norms, navigating new roads, pioneering a new community of faith in this "wild west" that is just different enough from what we know and where we are known.  

It would be so much easier to just go back East to where we are known...inside and out.  God give us the patience and the strength to forge ahead in this new world, that we may become known, but much more than that, so that the people we come to know may come to know You.

"Living Room" is something we all need a little more of.  I'm not talking about a larger physical space for our stuff or to couch potato in.  I'm talking about grace--room--freedom, to question, to explore, to learn, to change, to grow, to Live toward an abundant life--abundant in grace, in freedom.  

Whenever I experience this kind of room to breathe, to explore, to be wrong and still be loved, I am renewed.  And in this kind of graceful renewal, I find I become more invested, more willing to be challenged, more able to be graceful in return than I ever find in places of confrontation, strict pharisaical rule keeping, or judgment.  

Can the church be a "sanctuary" (a "Living Room") for a shifting and questioning and pensive collection of people, and by grace and by creating safe space to ask those questions, to explore, to struggle, to embrace mystery and also admit when we just don't know, when there is no one (pre-packaged) answer to someone's question or pain, but that we will walk together, one step at a time toward faith, one step at a time toward relationship, companionship, community, because we care enough to simply be present, patient, caring, and grace-full  with one another.  

It is a "gentle revolution".  And gray is a warm and welcoming color for the "living room" we can create for and with each other.  And the design for the "living room" comes from the work and life of a carpenter from Nazareth.  Thank God for that!