I’ve always wanted to be one of those bloggers who had a “Speaking Schedule” on their website. And really, I don’t have one now, but I am going to be speaking to a group of teens at a local community center. They are doing a series on loving your neighbor and I’ll specifically be talking about loving across cultures.
If you are so inclined, please say a prayer for me this evening.
Carlos Whittaker of Ragamuffin Soul invited Andrew Marin of Love is an Orientation (both blogs are on my reader and are pretty good)to answer a hypothetical question:
If a fat man can lead a church, serve on a church staff, and not be held responsible for his lack of self discipline when it comes to gluttony…
Then why can’t a gay man lead a church, serve on a church staff and not be held responsible for his lack of self discipline when it comes to homosexuality?
“When people told themselves their past with stories, explained the present with stories, foretold the future with stories, the best place by the fire was kept for The Storyteller” - From the opening of Jim Henson’s The Storyteller
As becomes pretty clear to anyone who knows me. I love the work of Jim Henson. I grew up watching The Muppet Show, Muppets Tonight, Sesame Street and The Storyteller. One of the things I love about Henson’s work is the story he tells. Before you ask, I know that there are many movies that tell many different stories, but I’m talking about the story beneath those stories. Here’s a couple other quotes from It’s Not Easy Being Green And Other Things To Consider
“I believe that we can use television and film to be an influence for good; that we can help shape the thoughts of children and adults in a positive way. As it turned out, I am very prowd of some of the work we’ve done, and I think we can do many more good things” - Jim Henson
“Jim wanted to make a difference. He was brave enough to be able to say, “I want to do a show that brings peace to the world, and I want us all to sit down and talk about it.” He knew that television shows do not bring peace to the world, but he was not so cynical as to say we can’t think about it. There was a kind of idealism there that could seem naive and childlike, but that didn’t mean that it couldn’t come true” - Jerry Juhl
“I know that it’s easier to portray a world’s filled with cynicism and anger, where problems are solved with violence. That’s titillating. It’s an easy out. What’s a whole lot tougher is to offer alternatives, to present other ways conflicts can be resolved, and to show that you can have a positive impact on your world. To do that, you have to put yourself out on a limb, take chances, and run the risk of being called a do-gooder” – Jim Henson
It’s easy to see how Henson’s principles were explicitly and implicitly woven into his stories, and he did not sacrifice his art in order to do so.
“I really do believe that all of you are at the beginning of a wonderful journey. As you start traveling down that road of life, remember this: There are never enough comfort stops. The places you’re going to are never on the map. And once you get that map out, you won’t be able to refold it no matter how smart you are.
“So forget the map, roll down the windows, and whenever you can, pull over and have a picnic with a pig. And if you can help it, never fly as cargo” – Kermit
What’s my point? I believe stories do change the world. Unfortunately, for a long time, those who care about doing good things abandoned the art of storytelling, because what they were doing was a Very Important Thing and that meant that it was too serious for storytelling. I would propose that this is exactly the wrong impulse.
I would propose, to my fellow world-changers that it is because what you are doing is a Very Important Thing, that you need to tell stories about it.
I filmed this yesterday afternoon from the rooftop deck in my office building and then later from the window behind my office. I love the majesty of thousands of crows flying across the Minneapolis skyline every evening at sunset. It’s one of my favorite things about working in Minneapolis.
The reason JDI does this work is simple: sexual abuse in detention is a perversion of justice and an affront to our society’s essential values.
There’s a parable in the bible that ends with Jesus’ famous words “Whatever you’ve done to the least of these, you’ve done to me.” I’ve been thinking recently of who the “least of these” are in Western, North American Society. I think that prisoners as a group are one answer to that question
So here are some interesting relationship-related data things I’ve been finding around the web. I suspect you might find this interesting, and I’d be curious to hear your take on it.
First the pretty non-scientific from BoingBoing and Google
And consider the following on attractiveness and message replies
As you can see from the gray line, women rate an incredible 80% of guys as worse-looking than medium. Very harsh. On the other hand, when it comes to actual messaging, women shift their expectations only just slightly ahead of the curve, which is a healthier pattern than guys’ pursuing the all-but-unattainable. But with the basic ratings so out-of-whack, the two curves together suggest some strange possibilities for the female thought process, the most salient of which is that the average-looking woman has convinced herself that the vast majority of males aren’t good enough for her, but she then goes right out and messages them anyway.
I thought this was a pretty good story about a church that is serving their community in a way that unique, but so obvious you wonder why it isn’t more widespread
Riverside Park Church of God is reaching out to seniors who need a little extra TLC.
At the same time, it’s assisting families who need respite from caring for an elderly loved one.
“We specialize in dementia,” said Justin Zarb, director of the Livonia church's adult day care ministry. “Taking care of someone in advanced stages of Alzheimer’s gets to be challenging. Caregivers need a break.”
I hope you all are having a great new year. I’ll post a personal update soon. In the meantime, what other cool and unusual church or community based service have you heard about in the past year?
This year, I’m creating a Christmas list. Instead of asking for gifts, I’m asking for people to give to one or more from a list of non-profits that I’ve found to do good work, and/or serve causes that are close to my heart. I found out about Bolder Options through work earlier this year, and have been really impressed, not only by the work that they do, but the way that they do it. So I’m glad to have Bolder Options on this list
Bolder Options is a youth mentoring program uses running and biking to intervene in the lives 10-14 year olds in order to combat truancy and juvenile delinquency. To be fair, it’s not just running and biking. Here’s a quote from their website
The Bolder Options’ program combines mentoring, goal setting, athletic activities, learning support, case management, life-skills education, volunteerism, community support, and parental involvement to foster the social and academic success of youth who are at risk of academic failure, dropping out of school, and developing delinquent behaviors.
Working in both Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Bolder Option pairs up youth and mentors. Each pair meets between 2 – 4 hours per week and work on a variety of health, academic and community involvement goals with the aim of “forming healthy habits, building confidence, instilling trust, and improving the quality of life for youth and their families.” Check out the following video that talks about their program.
There are two reasons that I am including Bolder Options on the Christmas list this year. The first, is that it definitely works. Since I first heard of them, I’ve been hearing lot’s of stories about their successes, and you can see the program’s evaluation data on the Impact page of their site. The second reason is that I am impressed by how much passion and care Bolder Options puts into making sure they work well. They are relentlessly data and research-driven. They care about the kids that they serve, and that care shows up in the way they run, and evaluate, their programs.
There are two ways you can support Bolder Options. The first is simply to give to Bolder Options. The second way, is to apply to be a mentor. I know several of you already enjoy running and/or biking, consider using something that you already enjoy to make a difference in the life of a 10 – 14 year old youth.
