Confessions of a Cynic...

US Capital from the "Mall".


I confess, I'm a cynic. I'm almost toxic when it comes to government. I know, many American saints are guffawed right now (silenced with their jaw dropped!) I'll get emails and comments regarding our duty, our citizenship, allusions to America's sacred role, Messianic calling, our governments virtues, then "it's the best fallen human form of government around".





US Library of Congress foyer




Okay, honesty time - I don't buy it - none of it. Washington drips with power, privilege and the elite who exercise it, but they cloak themselves in the "people's business". ...okay, baby. It's power! AND the government isn't a representation of us - it's a representation of lobbyist. The more money and power you have, the more and better lobbyists you can hire and they, and only they get access to politicians. AND the government is run by TENS OF THOUSANDS - the legions of the machine...

It frought with inequity and a Darwinistic ethic of the strong survive, Enlightenment eutopic self pursuit... Life without God. The American dream isn't the freedom to pursue a meaningful life where you are free from fear - it's materialistic consumeristic power... It is individuals, not a society together. It's a national religion where we weep when we hear patriotic music and fall asleep when we hear worship music. It's a nation where we justify our wars and ignore the machine that launched the wars. We're a people who consume 46% of the world's production, like groping drunkards and we don't care that people starve, wait for it - in the USA, because it's mine, all mine. The world can't live like us, but we have become Rome and we don't care... we don't even care that the rich get richer from the poor and the poor are trapped in a cycle that doesn't allow fair opportunity. We tout one story and celebrate our country, but ignore the millions who don't make it out. We can't live so affluent save the cheap labor our capitalistic selfish economic paradigm forces. If they were paid fairly and a sustainable wage, things would be too expensive to live soooo large.

Now - it's done. I've said it. With that said, I'm glad I live here and not in a country where I'd be beaten for even writing this. I'm glad I had a coffee tonight rather than dirty river water. I glad I will be able to take my prescription in the morning, call my wife before I sleep, say hi to my kids in the morning before I "fly" home. I'm so glad.

BUT, if we are indeed His people, a peculiar people who love and long for heaven, should not our passion be for the advancement of the Kingdom and not Pax Americana? Should not our aim be the blessing of the world, not the gluttony of our own bloated life styles? Should we not give a damn enough to do something, really do something, do something to the extent that it costs us - be it sacrifice in our own indulgences or the support of higher taxes that our government could do something to feed the hungry, house the homeless, love the orphan, give clean water the destitute, to free the prisoner, to shame the tyrant? Should not we care enough to actually give ourselves and our resources away that Christ's name might be made renown?



US Library of Congress




As I get older, a few things become more and more clear:
1. This ONE life is short and goes quickly.
2. This is ALL temporal. I've lived long enough to see "lasting" new things become old and deteriorate.
3. My investment in things temporal is vanity and such a waste.
4. The world's promises LIE!
5. The world's god's mock me when I buy into their lies.
6. People matter more than stuff - even people I don't know, even people who don't "deserve it" ....Hell, I don't deserve it!

Lord, make me like You that I might speak, think, hear, love, serve, sacrifice, feel like You as I engage this world.

Deep & Wide, Deep & Wide, There's a....

My mate, Steve Addison, CRM Australia, just published a book entitled Movements That Change the World.












Steve's book is a must read! Whether you are a leader or not, Christian wrestling following God in the 21st century or church planter, or movement leader - you should read what he has to say! So many approach this issue from the vantage point point of "strategies". Steve reminds us that it begins with God, and if He doesn't show up, we should be in another profession...and hope He shows up there. Why do some movements leave lasting impact and others spin their wheels, or past effective movements wane? Bravo, Steve, I have heard you forge these truths and concepts over the years. It's awesome.

Along with this, Steve is doing some blogging on it... Today, he blogged about the church planting and spiritual in-roads in Africa and used a letter from a guy on the ground there... Read Disciples or Crowds. This is a poignant statement not just applicable to Africa, but every continent!

See http://www.movements.net/

Here, here...

For those of you who roll your eyes when I share how this state gets forcibly raped by the federal government in regards to sixty years of taking the gas & oil (LA is the #2 oil producing state in the US) and paying nothing, and now, graciously bestowed 35% to be phased in over seventeen years, you should read this article about the honey of a deal Alaska worked out... I've said it before and I'll say it again, maybe secession isn't such a bad idea. From the gas & oil, to the tourism, and certainly the HUGE port of New Orleans, we could levee the decent taxes from the Union to pay for our subsitance, not to mention, we could levee say, uhmm, sixty years of extra excise tax on the union, with interest of course, for the money they owe for decades of NOT paying one cent for the oil and gas they never shared - though it is OUR natural resource they stole!
































Here is a nice tongue in cheek article to go along with it:

Louisiana; Secede From The Union?

Written by: Jim Brown

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We know that all good things have to come to an end. In Louisiana, we have tried the statehood thing for 205 years, but “maybe it’s just not working out.” Hey, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has flirted with the same idea up in Alaska. The federal government continues to shortchange Louisiana on virtually every federal program, from hurricane recovery funds to a fair shake on offshore oil royalties. So since Sarah Palin has raised the issue, maybe we in Louisiana should start considering the option of seceding from the Union and becoming our own nation. You have got to hand it to those folks in Alaska. They have done a pretty shrewd job of figuring out how to lead the nation in raising taxes per capita, yet making the rest of the country pay for it. Alaska is number one in spending for residents, and its tax burden is 2 1/2 times the national average per capita. Its spending is twice the national average per capita. Their trick up north is that Alaska’s government spends enormous sums on its own citizens, and taxes the rest of us to pay for it. For all practical purposes, Alaska is an adjunct member of OPEC. More than 89% of the state’s income is produced through four different taxes on oil and gas. And consider this. The state government takes three quarters of the value of a barrel of oil before the oil is permitted to leave the state. Alaskans pay no income tax, no statewide sales tax, and no property tax. And every a resident gets a yearly check for about $2000 from oil revenues, plus an additional $1200 confected by Sarah Palin last year to take advantage of rising oil prices. The disparities of the two states, one north and one south, are dramatic when it comes to receiving federal funds from Washington. A typical example is the comparison of federal reimbursement to nursing homes that take care of the poor under the Medicaid program. The same patient that only receives $79 a day in Louisiana receives $317 per day in Alaska. When it comes to federal highway funds, Alaska receives $1.30 for every dollar it sends to Washington as do other states like California and New York. What’s Louisiana’s take? A little over $.90 back for each dollar sent to the National Highway Fund. They play hardball in Alaska, while in Louisiana, the state’s leadership for years has often been pictured sticking out their hat and almost begging for a handout. As Governor, Palin has carried on a flirtation with the Alaska Independence Party (AKIP), and her husband was a card carrying member for a number of years. In an address to the party convention this past spring, Palin told the secessionists: “Keep up the good work.” Palin has received her share of criticism for her secessionist sympathies. The Washington Monthly recently said that the idea of succession is “un – American.” Oh come on now. Maybe those in the press that are taking pot shots at the Alaska Governor for considering secession need to brush up on their American history. A good starting point might be the Declaration of Independence that clearly states: “That these United colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states…… and that, as free and Independent states, they have the full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and do all of the things which Independent states may of right do.” And what better source than Thomas Jefferson in his first inaugural address who declared, “if there be among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.” It’s not just a phenomenon stirred up by the residents of the last frontier where there is a movement to break away from the Union. This past July, according to a Zogby poll, more than 20% of US adults—one in five, about the same number of American colonists who supported revolt against England in 1775—agreed that “any state or region has the right to peaceably secede from the United States and become an independent republic.” A number of polls in recent years have indicated that almost half of Louisiana citizens agree that “the United States system is broken and cannot be fixed by traditional two– party politics and elections.” The bottom line is that Alaska shares the same abundance of natural resources as those found in Louisiana. In fact, when you consider seafood, sulfur, agriculture and the largest port in America, the Bayou State has a lot more wealth beneath the ground, on the ground, and along its waterways than our compatriots up in the Yukon. Alaska has rattled its sabers, stood up to big oil in behalf of its citizens, and demanded more than its fair share of the pie from the federal government. In comparison, Louisiana has been groveling for years to get a bigger slice of the offshore oil payouts. Louisiana officials declared a big victory last year when the feds agreed to give a pittance of $20 million a year for the next 10 years. Alaska would have considered such a settlement chump change, and would probably have started a secession movement along with a wall around its borders. Seceding from the Union and becoming its own nation might prove to be an attractive option for Louisiana. If Mississippi wants to join us, we might even agree to create “a coastal nation of Louisissippi.” The French would be appalled, but who cares. As for leadership? I would probably stick with Bobby Jindal as president. But if LSU coach Les Miles pulls off another national championship, he would certainly be a contender. If Lindy Boggs were a bit younger, she would be my first choice as Ambassador to the United States. Harry Connick Jr. would fill the bill nicely. We would definitely need to bring back General Russel Honore’, who told me how much he loves Louisiana, as our Secretary of Defense. A piece of cake here, since the US would be our protector, just like it is for Mexico and Canada. And for free. Our national flag would be a combination of black and gold and purple and gold, and we would certainly want Randy Newman to write our national anthem. Over the past 200 years, Louisiana has been in a marriage of convenience. In 1913, the state entered this marriage with the rest of the US, and got a lot out of it. They received access to the American markets, and the flow of goods through New Orleans. It was a two way street and benefits flowed both ways. But by the middle of the 20th century, the bargain disappeared. Both the oil and the royalties flowed out of Louisiana with little to show in return. So don’t knock Sarah Palin when she flirts with secession. Alaska has cut a good deal for itself. Maybe Louisiana should rise up and do the same ******* “We used to root for the Indians against the cavalry, because we didn't think it was fair in the history books that when the cavalry won it was a great victory, and when the Indians won it was a massacre.” ~Dick Gregory Peace and Justice. Jim Brown Jim Brown’s column appears weekly, and is published on a number of newspapers and websites throughout Louisiana. You can read past columns by going to Jim’s website at www.jimbrownla.com. Jim’s regular radio show on WRNO, 995fm out of New Orleans can be heard each Sunday from 11:00 am till 1:00 pm. So, if at first we don't secede.... Hmmm. West Florida Republic - the short lived nation declared when the French of New Orleans discovered the US bought them and no one asked what they wanted for themselves: Victims of Manifest Destiny and the National Messianic Dream.

What we're learning...

One of our learning areas in our lives here is the wrestling of being a community, very intentionally, sacrificially here for mission, the Kingdom, but the necessity (economics & missional legitimacy) to be bi-vocational.

As the donor supply wells run dry, or dryer than in the past, due to either donor attrition over time, or the lack of new fish in the pond, or the abandonment when our mission and call is a threat or not understood by the conventional church (It's actually irrelevant to this conversation. It is.) we are forced to become more and more bi-vocational. The upside: as we live in community (11 adults in 3 houses, plus five kids), it is cheaper than living in conventional privatized western arrangements. This phenomena is due to one thing: affluence. BUT, as we've intentionally chosen to live this way because we feel it is more Biblical (resource management, kingdom availability - time, & the body vulnerable to each other, as well as a counter to the cultural norm statement to the neighborhood around us), we are not required to work as much, but most of us have employment now - outside of the mission. When we began, we were mostly supported. This has shifted. Most of work, at least some. This is hard when there are kids to manage and parent (How do single parents do it!?) as well as live to be present for mission.

We want to devote ourselves to our mission. This requires time and space in our lives to be available. As more and more of us work, how do we remain available. One of the first things to pay the price: advocacy for the poor. It is a matter of time.

Another challenge is how do we develop, multiply, reproduce, replicate, spiritually form, our newer members when we're so busy due to work.

These are the issues we wrestle, without answers.

What we can say to our accusers who say, "What you are doing is what every Christian should do. It doesn't warrant being supported, but should be natural as part of life." The simple reply, unexhaustive, is that:
1. Yes, that is true. If every saint lived this way, we may not be necessary or called to this. BUT we are called to this. We are called to this to;
a. Model a different way of life, interdependent, resource management for mission, Kingdom posture in the motivation for life, etc.
b. Concentrate our efforts and have a deeper impact than we could as ordinary individuals
c. Train, equip and encourage others wrestling life as Kingdom subjects.
2. But individual saints are not doing this. Therefore, the compelling passion for people, lost people is undeniable and burning within us.
3. If we chose to live as saints who do live for mission, we would still be working full time and therefore, have time for fewer people, and if we lived in separate housing arrangements like other westerners, even less time. We'd accumulatively be able to journey with about 20 people instead of the 120 we journey with now.

So, if we all work full time, the mission impact is reduced significantly. Even now, as more and more of us must work, we see the decreasing space in life to live and contribute to mission.

Sure, in our work is seen as mission, which it is, it is not in vain. Yet, the energy spent in defused rather than concentrated like light through a magnifying glass.

We continue to learn from our journey.