getting dirty

It is hard to imagine how yesterday, I was building a house with a group of people from our community of faith and Amor ministries for a family in need of a safe, dry place to lay their heads at night. It was an amazing experience as within two and a half days, we built relationships with each other and the family we were building for and put up a house that is significantly better than the structure that was on the property already.

One of the images that I can't get out of my head is of 2 boys playing outside in the sand with my tool belt. As I sat in the house we just put up for Josephina and her family and ate my delicious lunch, I watched Jesus (age 2) and Jorge (age 1) play in the sand, pull out my tape measure from my tool belt and pull it out a few feet, take my hammer out and swing it a few times, pull out my dirty, sweaty gloves and start boxing with each other. After they put a couple handfuls of sand back in my belt, they reluctantly returned the gloves to their pocket after their grandmother told them to stop messing around in spanish (I think that is what she said). This image left me thinking about 2 realities of my life.

First, this experience made me reflect that I did not travel outside of the western United States until I was 18 years old and a senior in high school. When I started to travel and see the world, nothing could hold me back. Travel around the world and mission gave me a new experience of what God was doing in the world and how I might join him in his mission. I long for a day when my 2 boys will experience the wideness and vastness of the world and God's creation. I hope they get to fully engage with our world before they are 18 years old.

Second, this experience made me reflect on my own two boys and how I thought they would love to cross the border and share in this type of play with 2 boys that speak a different language and live in a different culture...they just might discover that they have more in common than first assumed. Playing in a pile of sand with a tool belt is a beautiful image of how I would like to introduce them to a culture that is so different than the world they live in . I can see myself telling my boys to stop playing with the tool belt and to put the gloves back where they belong like Jesus' and Jorge's grandmother.

a new road of accountability

Over the last 2 weeks, our small group hosted two dessert and awareness nights in order in two different locations with friends outside our small group invited.

We focused our efforts to support Opportunity International who works with people in developing countries to give microfinance loans. They give loans to people who are not typically good investments by banking institutions. The microloans are given to trust groups or villages where there is already a sense of community and accountability to one another. One person or family in the community uses the loan, repays it with interest to their trust group and then another uses it, repays it with a interest until the entire trust group benefits from the mircroloan. Because of an internal sense of accountability and commitment, there is over a 98% repayment rate of these microloans. This is in incredible repayment rate for people without identification and without equity. There is no institution or single person keeping the people accountable, they are accountable to one another.

Chris Crane, president and CEO of Opportunity International, says this about the trust group of their 1 millionth client, "Once a week they come together and they make their weekly loan payment, they pray together, they sing together, they have training together which could be on business, it could be on personal issues. And they hold each other accountable that each of their lives are being productive and fruitful every week."

Something clicked for me last weekend as I was reflecting on this quote. For the last year, I have been wrestling with the topic of accountability and commitment in the context of our community of faith.

How do we recreate this sense of accountability and commitment to one another in the North American church? I think as we grapple with the reality that we have a sent God and as a result, we are sent people into our world, we need accountability to live with and pray for people outside the church. This sense of accountability found in developing countries and in communal cultures needs to be recreated in our urban/suburban middle to high income setting(s). What will we do to create this sense of accountability?

movement

Last night, I had the opportunity to anoint with oil half of our 545 Gathering and I found myself honored as people from our community moved forward toward me, allowed and even welcomed me to put my finger on their foreheads and make the sign of the cross as I said this simple phrase, "I anoint you with oil but be filled with the Holy Spirit."

There are certain tangible acts (the Lord's table, baptism, laying on with hands and anointing with oil) that our community participates in that transcend basic acts of worship. When I engage in these acts, I am consistently left contemplating how amazing God is to work through people like me (frail, despicable, sinful and at the same time holy). As I connected with people through this simple act, I looked people in the eye, put a small amount of oil on my finger and then when I could, I would address them by name and say the phrase above. It was a unique and special night for me.

There were many people there last night that are special in my transition to Solana Beach PC. At one point in the process of anointing, I realized that there was a young couple that was moving forward for me to anoint them who would be moving this week to work in another church in Champaign, Illinois. As they made their way closer and closer to me, I felt emotion that I did not expect.

I had mixed emotions as they moved closer to me. There was a longing inside of me that said, "Stay! Please, stay and join with us in our movement to become a missional church. We need your help. I need your help." And at the same time, I wanted to celebrate with them as God will use them in incredible ways as they move to Illinois and use their gifts for his movement in our world.

As I anointed them with oil, I had tears in my eyes at what God was doing in our community of faith as they move on and what God is doing in their lives as they move. I will miss you Kamin's. I hope we keep in touch and if it doesn't work out in Illinois, I hope and pray that God would lead you back to our community.

This story is just one of many stories of movement in and out of our community of faith in the past year and a half. These stories of movement make me think about the transitory state of young adults and what a moving target we are. This movement of people to and from our community, makes me realize how out of control much of life is.

My primary role in our community of faith is to cultivate an environment where young adults (18-35 year olds) find life in Jesus Christ and his community of faith. In the last year, I have experienced highs and lows of this role and call to cultivate this kind of space for young adults. In our transitory cultural setting of North County San Diego, how do we create this space where young adults intentionally put down roots, use their gifts and invest in our community? Yes, I want the gifts of young adults recognized, used and sent out across the world (even Illinois) but I also long for people to settle in and make a home in our larger community. At this point in my life, I have more questions than answers.