Ramadan Kareem

As I was reading the ISU Daily today I had the opportunity to read a nice little article about Muslim students who were observing Ramadan. So I read the article with great interest, and when I noticed the comments I went to read them with interest. When I opened the comment page my heart sank. It was full of hateful and frankly false speech, so I left my Ramadan wishes for my Muslim brothers and sisters, not acknowledging the commenters spreading hate, because they did not deserve acknowledging. But as I have been thinking the rest of the day I think I owe it to my Muslim sisters and bothers to write about my positive experiences of Ramadan and of Muslims.

For those of you who did not know my wife and I spent time teaching in Bahrain (the island Kingdom of the Coast of Saudi Arabia). Less than a month of us arriving in Bahrain we got our first experience of Ramadan. It completely changed the entire country for that month. Things were closed during the day so that people could observe the fast. They opened back up in the evening as people broke the fast. I truly admired how much commitment it takes to fast from Sunrise to sunset for a whole month.

I taught 5th graders and a good number of them were trying to observe the fast for one of their first times, so out of respect for my students I fasted while I was at school. Being that I was fasting I used that fasting as a time for me to be intentionally spiritual in my Christian faith as well. It surprised me just how much of a time of spiritual renewal this was for me. I got to spend time thinking about those who could not afford to eat everyday. I got to learn how to rely on God in those times when physically you are not at the top of your game but you need to keep going. I spent time thinking about all of the famous fasts that were in the scripture. And in the end I found, as I did many times when I was in Bahrain, that my Muslim sisters and brothers had spurred me on to be a better Christian.

The fact is that the people I met in the middle east were easily some of the most welcoming, accepting and warm people I have ever met in my life.

I am tempted to tell you how "they" are this and "they" are that, but I don't want to label them as "they." The truth is that "they" are us, we are sisters and brothers. I tired of the fear mongering people are people and deserve to be treated as such.

So in this holy month I wish all people a Ramadan Kareem and as Ramadan ends next week eid mubarak. And hope that maybe this Ramadan we can all because better adherents to our own faiths. That maybe we can find understanding, because we have much to learn from one another.

Debunking the Sacred and Secular Divide

I've been thinking about this a lot recently I refuse to put my faith in a box and divide my life between the sacred and the secular... let me explain.

Those who know me know I'm a bit of a movie nerd. I love movies and the art that is cinema. When I was in college I started noticing something the movies I watched and loved often times at themes that tied into faith, or spoke to my spiritual side. Over the eight years sense that realization I've discovered that I am not the only one who recognized this, I have sat with countless groups, watching countless movies that have spurred countless theological discussions. If I were to discount these movies or themes simply because they were "secular" I would have missed many great insights about my faith and my spirituality.

I believe that God can and does speak through art, through movies, through music. I reject that that art must specifically speak about God to have something to say about faith. I heard a speaker say "we need less Christian music, and more Christians making music." I agree this this statement totally. I'm tired of having my faith sold back to me in the form of "christian" music, movies and art. Not that there is not some good "Christian" music, movies and art out there but I think the majority of it is spiritual junk food. It may be sweet but your in trouble if you are trying to live on it.

I don't want to have to leave God at the door when I leave the church and I don't want to have to leave behind the insights I've gotten from watching the latest episode of House as I walk in the church door. Our faith should effect our journey and I would hope that we would bring that viewpoint to the things we are watching and listening to.

After all am I worshiping God any less if I'm doing it while singing "Big Yellow Taxi" and not "How Great Thou Art"? I don't think so. So I pray that God effects every part of my journey and that it does not become divided between the sacred and secular. Instead let me see God where ever God may be.

Thank God for College Students!

I love my job working as a campus ministry associate. I can not express to you how fulfilling what I do each day is.  This blog is not about me though this blog is about my students.  

I have to thank God each day for the students I work with.  They are amazing. Each of them on very different journeys but coming together to be a community.   As they walk their faith journey each day, they enrich the faith journey of those around them. I know this because they have enriched my journey so much. 

The truth is that the students I work will have a positive effect on all the groups and communities they are apart of.  They live their faith don't just believe in it.  They are always ready to explore their faith and try to deepen their relationship with God. What they don't often realize is that while they do this they act as example for others in the church to do the same. 

These students are the very reason that I'm so concerned about the national trend to defund campus ministries. I'm lucky to work in a church and in a conference that is very supportive of it's campus ministries but that is not where a lot of churches and conferences around the country are.  I think it is a grave mistake for the conferences and churches to get rid of campus ministries.  The fact is that as the students I work with bring life to the church; so will other students bring life to other churches.  I often hear that students are the future of the church, but the fact is that students and the campus ministries that are apart of are the here and now of the church.

These young adults have much to offer and they simply want to be asked. Let young adults into the conversation. The life and passion that they bring with them is simply transformative.  They are ready to be a part of your communities you simply need to ask them and treat them like they have something to offer because they do. 

So tonight on the cusp of another school year I'm thanking God for college students, for those students I work with, and for how they enrich the church.

Lessons I've Learned from Riding My Motorcycle. aka Enjoying the Ride.

I bought my first motorcycle this summer and I have to say that it is one of the best purchases I have ever made.  I can not begin to tell you how much enjoyment I've gotten from riding everywhere this summer. I also have learned a great deal from my experiences on the back of the motorcycle, here are just a couple. 

It may be safer and more comfortable to travel in a climate controlled metal box but you also miss out on a lot.  By taking the risk of exposing yourself and being outside of your comfort zone you see things that you have missed otherwise.  I can not count the number of great experiences I have had seeing birds fly by my bike, seeing beautiful scenery, experiencing the smell of the fresh air around me all of which I missed out on if I had gone in a car instead of on the motorcycle. 

The trip can be just as much fun if not more fun than the destination.  The beauty and freedom that the motorcycle provides has helped me to rediscover how wonderful the process of traveling can be. It makes me think of all the time I has wasted in my life wishing I was there when I just could have been enjoying the journey. 

You take the good with the bad.  I've been lucky to have a lot of really great days to ride but I've also been stuck in rain.  I've enjoyed the fresh air and smells of fresh baked food, I've also been stuck behind cattle trucks, smelled dead skunk and driven by stock yards.  The really amazing thing is the "bad" things can be very memorable and in the end be good stories and good memories. 

Share your enjoyment with someone else. It was a while before my wife Tammy got on the motorcycle with me because we both wanted to make sure that I had to skills to keep us both safe.  I loved those earlier rides but they don't even compare to how wonderful it has been when Tammy and I have gotten share the enjoyment of the motorcycle. We both now lament when we have to take to car on a trip because we both love the experience the motorcycle offers.

Mostly find something that brings you enjoyment and do it all you can.  Life is too short not to enjoy ourselves. 

We have to Make Ourselves Aware.

I read an article this week that I consider a must read  "Is it a Crime to be Poor?" By Barbara Enrenreich.  Enrenreich writes about how many cities and state in this country are writing laws that are intentionally or unintentionally criminalizing poverty. 

We must pay attention to the way that most vulnerable are treated.  Just because a law applies to all people it does not make it "fair" or more importantly right.  We can not continue to make laws that adversely effect the last and the least and expect the problems in this world to get any better. All people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, no exceptions. The fact is that that is not happening. 

I think that has been made more clear to me as I have watched the "debate," if one can call it that, on health care reform.  Let me put this simply I believe that health care should be a right, a basic human right.  We truly must think about those who currently have no way of getting health care and ask ourself how it serves the public good for people to go uninsured. I understand that the plan out there may not be perfect but something has to change to protect those who currently not being served by the status quo. 

It is time for people of good will to educate ourselves about the laws in our area and speak against those that leave others behind. We can not continue to let our differences continue to divide us. We must find common ground to fight the real evils in this world like poverty, hunger and disease.  The real fight in this world is not between people who may disagree socially, politically or religiously but rather between people of good will and the problems of the world.  We must move beyond the rhetoric.

So I hope you read the Enrenreich article and I hope it makes you think, wether you agree with it or not.  

When We Struggle

I have started writing this post 3 times over the past week and concluded that I didn't have the words to express what I wanted to, but I think this is important enough that I'm going to comment even if I'm not the most eloquent person to do so.  I read recently about the number of people being diagnosed with depression going up exponentially. The issues of struggles with depression and anxiety are often taboo in faith communities, the very place that one should feel comfortable enough to open up about these struggles. It is this reason that I feel I need to speak out on this issue.

A little background first. I have struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my life. For many years I was to proud or embarrassed or hard headed to seek out help with these issues. I did finally have a panic attack that was so intense it sent me to the emergency room thinking I was having a heart attack. It was after this experience that I finally decided I needed to see a doctor to help with the physical issues that were causing the anxiety and depression, and also to see a counselor to explore the emotional baggage and to get some strategies for coping. This has helped me significantly over the last couple of years and I would tell anyone who is on the fence about getting help that it is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Now I want to make one thing clear mine is not a story of "overcoming" these issues but rather learning about how these issues are a part of how I am and dealing with them. 

To those reading this who are dealing with issues of depression or anxiety my heart goes with you. It is not an easy thing to deal with and I know it can feel lonely. I want to tell you that you are first off not alone there are may people of faith who deal with this issues.  You also need to know that dealing with these issues do not indicate any lack of faith, they do not mean that God has left you (no matter how much it may feel that way) and it does not mean that you are any less of a Christian or any less of a person. Some reading this might think those feeling are pretty out there. To those who feel that way I say they are not nearly as out there as you might think and I myself have felt each of them at sometime in my life. 

Dealing with depression and anxiety does not make you "defective." You are still a whole person even when you deal with these issues.  I know that sometimes these issues can make you feel that way and sometime the way others around you probably make you feel that way as well, if they mean to or not. 

It always amazes me the number of people who try to "cheer me up" when I'm dealing with the depression.  This may not be try for everyone but I know for me that always made me feel worse. What I need when I'm depressed is not another person to "fix" me but rather someone to walk the road with me, not judging me for what I'm going through.  I don't need to be fixed like I'm a broken lamp but rather I need a person to understand what I'm going through and to be there to hear me in those tough moments. 

Know that the next time you go through issues of depression or anxiety that you are in my prayers.

To my sisters and brothers who do not have these issues I implore you to be sensitive to these issues because chances are that you know someone who does deal with these issues. Be open to those around you without judgement and without trying to fix them.  Mostly walk the journey with all your brothers and sisters letting them be who they are.  Be a vehicle of God's love to those around you always.

Science and Faith

I have heard discussions lately about faith and science.  So it wasn't a surprise to me when I opened my most resent issue of sojourners and the first bit of commentary was on this issue. The article "With All Your Mind" By Francis Collins is a great argument as to how you can be both a person of faith and a person of science.

It shocks me that this is still an issue that persists.  As a person of faith I see no reason that one can not both believe in God and also believe in science. I accept Darwin's Theory of Evolution the evidence is overwhelming. I was shocked when I read in Collins article that only 24% of regular church goers believe in evolution. This saddens me a little because as humans I think we are called to use the great gift of reason that we have been given.   My faith tells me that the processes of nature are much more beautiful when we learn about them through science. If we simply say God commanded and boom it happened, God is turned into nothing but a simple magician. I don't wish to reduce God to nothing more than another David Blaine or Chris Angel. I find the idea that God may have used natural processes to be more reasonable.  

People who have faith need not to be afraid of the teachings of science, it gives us greater understanding of the world we live in.  I would ask someone who says that science is a danger to faith the question, "how strong is a faith that can be swayed so easily?" I would advocate for people of faith who are also thinking people. As Christians we have moved beyond the idea that the earth is the center of the universe, can we not also take a second look at the rest of the ancient cosmetology.  We must recognize that the Bible is NOT a science book and should not be used as one.

Faith and science can become a social issue as well. I think what we know about the human genome is not only fascinating but has the possibility of saving many, many lives.  Stem cell research can give hope to people with many conditions that otherwise have no hope. 

Now that I have spoken a great deal about why faith should not fear science I want to talk a little about a speech I heard the other day from a scientist who was arguing against faith because it caused people to simply accept the things that they can not understand. I would like to refute this point by saying that it is because of my faith that I want to learn as much I can about the world around me. I think that God has given me a brain to explore the world around me. So I believe that faith can spur interest in science and not just detract from it.  I think it is ok to recognize the mystery that exists in the universe while still trying to learn more about it. 

Faith and Science are not mutually exclusive because they ask different questions. Science answers how and faith attempts to answer why.  I believe one can be and I  try to be a person of both faith and science.