by andre | May 31, 2012 | Blogs |
Sometimes I sit back and wonder why there are so many denominations. I am not a member of the clergy, so maybe ignorance is bliss. But, I think if we were one giant community bonded together under Christ, we could get a lot more accomplished. As churches distinguish themselves more and more through what makes them unique from other churches, I wonder what the church would look like if we stripped away the hype, power dynamics, and politics? When I read the Bible and look at the greatest Christians throughout the last 2,000 years, I don’t see a book and group of people trying to build hype and excitement to make the gospel of Jesus relevant. The heroes of faith all have one thing in common: They put the needs of marginalized people first, and mold their faith in response to those needs. When I read the Bible, it seems pretty clear on asking Christians to help widows and orphans. In Deuteronomy 24:19-21, it says, 19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. James, the brother of Jesus, says in James 1:27, ...
by andre | May 29, 2012 | Blogs |
So I think it’s time get real…like REAL with myself. These past 3 weeks have been anything but easy. Anything but normal. I wish I could say it was a good thing entirely…there were definitely good things that have and will continue to come from this experience. But I’ve also come to realize so many things–that aren’t necessarily bad–but awakening. Most especially, my compassion for others. Yeah, I have compassion, but I feel like it only runs so deep right now. That I’m compassionate only when it’s convenient, or “the right thing to do”. Well, I think compassion lives in many avenues of life, and it is always in life. Whether I’m alone or in a room full of people, being compassionate towards those around me means trying to understand where they are coming from, what they’re going through, and dealing with. Compassion for me means to step it up–to kick it up a notch. So, what does a truly compassionate person look like, breathe like, feel like? After 25 is over, how will I be different? Well, the “different” will start now. In the book conveniently titled Compassion, it’s said that “Compassion requires us to be weak with the weak, vulnerable with the vulnerable, and powerless with the powerless. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.” So, what does that mean for me? I’m human. I realize I’m also selfish, sometimes selfless, compassionate, but also cold, sympathetic, but also self-centered. I’ve spent so many years of my life being excited to build relationships and to get to know other people. But, often I fail to...
by andre | May 25, 2012 | Blogs |
I have to admit also that it wasn’t until this past week, and technically the past couple of days, that this is all really starting to set in. Like Jenny’s blog the other day about seeing the homeless people… that one really hit me yesterday. I was out with friends at Gov’s Park Tavern for a bike ride. As I rode in to the bar, there were two homeless men tucked up under the over hang of the building across the street. That is when it hit me that it’s not just about me. It’s not just about the children, or one country or another. It’s about everyone, every where. I walked into the bar and order a water and a pitcher of water, then perused the menu for a healthy simple meal that I could take across the street to those men. I ordered them a side salad and some chili and walked it over. My friends that were with me, at first they didn’t believe I was going to even do it. But as I climbed over the railing with the food in hand saying “I’ll be back in a bit”, their faces went from disbelieving to kind of shock and amazement. I sat with those men for about 5-10 minutes asking them about their lives on the street, telling them about 25 In Change, and telling them about Pathways. The one gentleman, Davy Boy, was a real charmer. He asked me if I was a Christian woman and I never felt so proud to say yes! He then proceeded to ask me to marry him, but...
by andre | May 24, 2012 | Blogs |
Mother Teresa once said, “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.” Recently, these words began to make more sense to me. At a surface level, it seems easy to understand that she is speaking about the discouragement all of us face at the overwhelming problems of the world, and how if we only limit our vision to one person suffering, we can make a difference in the world. This is a fair interpretation, but what if she is talking about something a little bit more profound and personal? What if she is pointing to a truth which is only learned through solidarity with the oppressed, or more specifically, someone who is oppressed? We are now on day 18 of 25 in Change, and this week we focused on the need to empathize. In fact, all the curriculum of 25 in Change (Self-examination, education, empathy, equipping, and measuring effect) is meant to help us be more effective at empathizing with those who are marginalized. This is how it works: 25 in Change teaches people how to empathize, by building a community which values empathy, and for this reason it is a virtuous circle. By building an empathic community–which values empathy through self-denial–so that others are helped, we begin a conversation about the value of empathizing with others, and through this we learn how to empathize with others, which in turn reinforces our bonds of community built on the value of empathy. So the cycle continues. It’s like a gift which keeps on giving. And if someone has an easier...
by andre | May 23, 2012 | Blogs |
Change in most cases does not come easy however, occasionally it happens without consent. Sitting at the stop light at Speer and Blake I see the same group of homeless individuals regularly. Living and working downtown I feel as though I am almost numb and accustomed to their signs and pleas for help. While these have been thoughts within my head for some time now, I feel a wave of guilt writing this down and looking at these words on the page. I am ashamed. I think back to when I was younger and I know that I was not always this far removed from the idea of helping. If change is so hard, why is it that I don’t ever remember making a decision to stop caring for those who have less? I honestly do not have a good answer to this question. I suppose that over the years one stop light at a time, I just “wrote off” helping. At each of those stop lights (at least 3 times a day in Denver) I have always felt bad for those individuals, but my attitude has never been anything more than sympathetic. Sympathy. The English Dictionary defines sympathy as “the sharing of another’s emotions, especially of sorrow or anguish; pity; compassion”. I “shared” their sorrow from the comfort of my car; A/C on, windows up and doors locked – clearly sharing a lot through the windows. Somehow my sympathy for them had been diluted to this. I had dehumanized their pleas. I had convinced myself that I was better off not trying, that my help would not change...
by andre | May 18, 2012 | Blogs |
This morning, I watched my children eat a breakfast of cheerios, apples, and toast with strawberry jam, as they engaged in their early morning routines of being silly at the table. A leftover cup of rice and beans from the night before awaited me in the fridge, and it and I embarked on our twelve day routine: Into the microwave for 1 minute, let cool for another minute, add spoon, begin culinary boredom. At breakfast this morning, the taste of the last 33 meals I’ve consumed sat in my mind like the lumps of cold leftovers I put in the microwave every day. I turned to my five year old son, engaged him in the serious look only a Father and son can share, and spoke the words which will forever be etched on his soul: The thrill is gone The thrill is gone away The thrill is gone baby The thrill is gone away It’s now a few hours later, and because of ADD, he’s probably already forgotten the immortal words of B.B. King spoken to him by me, but one thing is for sure: I’m singing the blues today because I am bored by rice and beans. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, the 21st century mind hates monotony. But why? What programs me to not be grateful for warm, nutritious, fat free, high protein, and rich in fiber food? Am I such an addict to the entertainment of food that I can’t even focus on eating a simple meal on a regular basis? Is this a new form of ADD? Attention-Deficit Food Disorder? What is...
by andre | May 18, 2012 | Blogs |
The education system has played a significant role in my life. My passion for 25inchange started when I was a freshman in high school. I took an opportunity to travel to Honduras. This trip was life changing for me. From my experiences on the trip, I found my inner passion to create community and to help provide shelter, water, food, and health care. Upon returning to my “normal” life in public high school, it was hard for me to readjust and justify why I was born to a “rich” family in the US and not in the slums of a 3rd world country. My strong pull for justice changed the next 10 years of my life. After high school, I felt that maybe a higher education would help me understand and resolve the inequality I had witnessed. I attended college at DU to study International Politics, studied abroad and focused on the economic policies of the EU and then topped it off with a MA in Global Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration. My point in mentioning all this is that within all the classrooms and lectures; I found no answers. Education, while essential to learning the facts, did not provide me with an answer to the problems. While some theories, politicians, and policies worked better than others – there were no tangible solutions in the works I read. The truth of the matter was that no one person, country or politician knows how to even start to address chronic hunger, obesity, and shelter. It sounds cheesy, but I honestly believe that the answer is the community. God’s commandment to...
by andre | May 15, 2012 | Blogs |
My mind did the most unfortunate thing today: it made a connection. I’m officially sick of black beans and rice. So much so, that my brain has now connected the smell of black beans and rice to the smell of my daughter’s urine soaked diaper. With a blind fold on, and through smell alone, I think I would fail to identify which is which if they were laying before me. Appetizing, right? The fact that I lost my appetite over this idea, led to an even more profound connection for me: I’m a spoiled brat, and I don’t know squat about what it means to be hungry. Chronic hunger and obesity are forms of malnourishment a person can never just pick up and understand. They are the long term effects of the inability to eat, think, and live in the presence of healthy food. People who suffer from chronic hunger do not have access to a healthy lifestyle, while those who are overweight and obese have been forced to devalue it. 1 billion people on the planet are chronically hungry right now. Another 1 billion are not hungry or even overweight, but are malnourished from eating nutrient deficient foods like chips, candy, soda, poor carbohydrates, and food lacking vitamins and protein. And then we have another 1 billion who are overweight or obese because of the systemic lack of food value in their lives. Like the majority of Americans, I’ve got about 10 pounds I can lose to get to a healthier weight for my body type. In fact, 3 billion people would have been significantly healthier today had...
by andre | May 5, 2012 | The First 25 |
Beans, beans, the musical fruit The more you eat, the more you toot The more you toot, the better you feel So we have beans at every meal! You can follow my progress here on his Twitter...
by andre | May 5, 2012 | The First 25 |
[singlepic id=16 w=320 h=240 mode=web20 float=left] I decided to join 25 in Change to help educate the individuals and athletes that I work with on a daily basis, hoping to open their eyes to the world’s hunger problems! I want to thank my family for their support, Pathways church for giving me this opportunity, and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for allowing us to live the life we live! God Bless you, and thank you for your support! Find me on Twitter...
by andre | May 5, 2012 | The First 25 |
[singlepic id=9 w=320 h=240 mode=web20 float=left]25 in Change is the Robin Hood of the Global Food Crisis, and you my friends are the Merry Men; So grab your bow, grab your arrow, we’re going crusading! Bring your green tights! Keep up with me on my journey through my Twitter...
by andre | May 5, 2012 | The First 25 |
[singlepic id=31 w=320 h=240 mode=web20 float=left] I feel called to be a part of 25 in Change because in recent years I’ve learned that the world is not about me! Food and self image have also been a negative crutch for me, and I pray God will use this journey to teach me that I only need to depend on him! This opportunity is about doing something good for someone else! God calls us to help those who cannot help themselves, and He equips us with compassion in our hearts so that we desire to help others! I’m learning how to use Twitter, come join me here in my...
