intersections

How long, O Lord?

God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
'How long will you jude unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?
Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.'

They had neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk around in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Rise up, O God, judge the earth;
for all the nations belong to you!

~ Psalm 82:1-6, 8

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now...

~ Romans 8:22

8,500+ dead in 7.8 earthquake in China hundreds are believed to be school children (video, photos)

22 dead as tornado rips through Missouri, Oklahoma & Georgia

Death toll rises to 32,000 in Myanmar after last week's cyclone and now face more.

You can help!

Can art change the world?

This is a question I've been wrestling with for the past three weeks. As I mentioned before, I'm speaking this Saturday at the SONscreen Film Festival. So, I've been reading and researching as much as I can about this question. I've been asking, WDJT? (What does Jesus think? - sorry, I couldn't resist).

If you come to SONscreen on Sabbath you'll hear the full scoop - and I'll probably post my message online when it's done - but here's the short version.

I think some art can change the world. In the specific case of storytelling - some stories can change the world. The mere act of hearing someone's story can affect change, plant new possibilities, create a new imagination. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. In my research this week, while cruising around the TED website (looking at Al Gore's new presentation) I ran across Pangea Day - a worldwide film festival on May 10, 2008. This is the creation of Jehane Noujaim, the writer and director of the documentary, Control Room, and the winner of the 2006 TED Prize. You can hear her talk about her vision for Pangea Day here.

Anyway, this is an incredible convergence of things for me, and I'll definitely be using this as an example of the way that film - the craft of visual storytelling - can affect change in our world. But people must engage, and I guess that's the point. Film can connect people and those relationships can change the world.

Keep reading to view the Pangea Day trailer.

Crossroads @ HOLLYWOOD mural update...and more

Yesterday we had our second community input workshop. It wasn't as well attended as the first one - maybe 15 people. Man One was on hand with the first draft of the design. We don't have images to show online just yet of the design, but I can tell you that it is impressive. This guy is one amazing artist.

We've added a new page to the Crossroads @ HOLLYWOOD blog. It's an FAQ written by the team that is leading this project. It's well worded and I think really points out the missional quality of what we're doing here. Be sure to check it out. And subscribe to the RSS feed for the Crossroads @ HOLLYWOOD blog for all the updates we post there.

In other related news...

LA vs. WAR
There is an art exhibit happening this week called LA vs. War. You can read more about it here. Man One and the Crewest Gallery will be taking part in this.

It's this Thursday, April 10 through Sunday, April 13 downtown at...

The Firehouse
710 S. Santa Fe Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90021

    All ages are welcome and admission is free. See also myspace.com/lavswar

The Arts in Los Angeles
On Thursday, April 17, Man One will be part of a conversation at the Getty Center entitled "The Arts in Los Angeles, 1997-2007", moderated by Patt Morrison of the LA Times and KPCC. This event is also free but reservations are required (click here). Parking is something like $7.

Announcing and Enacting Peace

I have an article in the recent Special Issue of the Adventist Review called Beatitudes Project 2. This is the second time the Review has done this special project. I've been privileged to be involved both times. This issue is composed of theological reflection, poetry and narrative. Two of my good friends, Tompaul Wheeler and Nathan Brown both have articles in the same issue.

My piece is on the beatitude "blessed are the peacemakers" and is entitled "Announcing and Enacting Peace." If you are a subscriber to the Review you probably already have this issue. If you have an online subscription to the Review you can access my article here and the whole issue here.

If you have none of the above, you can download a PDF of my article by clicking here.

President Paulsen: "Silence in the face of evil is complicity in what is wrong"

Yeah, he said that! But that's not all he said. Go and read it for yourself at Adventist News Network. Thanks to Bonnie Dwyer who pointed this out to me.

For the first time in my ministry I wish I was at the General Conference to be a part of the conversation that happened there yesterday. It was a meeting of the Council on Evangelism and Witness. Here are a few choice quotes from the article...

The conduct of church members within the community is either a "confirmation or a denial of our faith," Paulsen said, adding that "silence can be as much a failure as speaking the wrong words."

"The faith we have is not best explained by academics or theologians. Our faith finds its most compelling expression in the everyday words and actions of Christians in their communities."

People should see Adventists as peacemakers, but not people who dodge defending the rights of others, Paulsen said, noting the church's failure to respond to the Rwandan genocide. "Silence in the face of evil is complicity in what is wrong," he said. "Let us speak from the pulpit and show from our actions that we oppose anything that instills hatred or inflames violence."

This is the kind of leadership many of us are waiting for. When you are the the primary leader of the church, to a certain degree you get to set the agenda. If Elder Paulsen hadn't brought these issues to the Council in his remarks, my guess is that they would not have been discussed. It so refreshing to have our world president say, "Here is what we're going to talk about..." and have it be something that connects with the real world outside the stained glass windows.

This is not the only "prophetic speech" we've heard from Elder Paulsen in recent days. In a recent article in Adventist World entitled, "Clear Thinking About Military Service," Paulsen reaffirmed the church's stand on non-noncombatantcy. Those of us that have been trying to rekindle a conversation about nonviolence have observed that it has been a long time since we've had a statement like this.

You can read the whole article here. It's not too earth shattering, but I'm sure a few people found it offensive. This piece was much blogged about a week or so ago. In connection with today's story at ANN, there is new reason for hope!

Things I'm thinking on Good Friday

There's a lot on my mind this Good Friday. There are so many things I've been wanting to write about but alas, so little time. So, the following are some things that are converging in my mind and Good Friday seems to provide the fertile soil for just such a convergence.

The cruciformity of our faith. The foundation of our faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus. There is no cross-less Christianity. Try as we might, we simply cannot get around the scandal of the cross. It wasn't that long ago that it occurred to me that the cross of Jesus was not just a means of forgiving my sins - a forensic act that justified me as in a court of law - but a way of life to which Jesus constantly invited his followers and would-be followers. I am frequently reminded of this cruciformity in Hollywood. There are signs of resurrection as well - lots of them, in fact - but that's a different post for a different day. For now I am reflecting on the fact that I am realizing more and more that my role is to follow Jesus - to take up the cross and follow him. That means I go where he wants me to go.

America embraces torture. Even though no one will admit it, the US government, a few weeks ago, official embraced the use of torture as a possible strategy against our enemies. When I read this story in the LA Times I felt like I was going to lose it. I thought to myself, what kind of country do I live in these days? Out of one side of our mouths we say, "We don't torture people!" and then the president vetos the legislation that would rule it out. What's worse is that the House of Representatives can't muster a 2/3 majority to override this veto. You mean to tell me that we don't have 2/3 of our elected representatives in the House who will stand against torture?

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture has been trying to shine a light into this mess. Click here to learn how you can get involved in this faith-based campaign against torture. Especially during this season when we remember how Jesus was tortured and executed by the empire of his day, it is haunting to reflect upon the direction our country is headed on this Good Friday.

5th Anniversary of the Iraq war. - Earlier this week America remembered the 5th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. That this war can continue after it has been discredited at every level is an astounding fact. That it could be a political wedge issue in the current political campaign is equally unfathomable. We have now lost 4,000 American lives in this pointless war, to say nothing of the Iraqi lives. Iraqbodycount.org estimates between 82,000 and nearly 90,000 Iraqi civilian deaths due to war violence. The long term cost of the war is approaching $3 trillion.

Race in America. Who could have missed the burgeoning controversy over Rev. Jeremiah Wright's sound bytes and the speech given by Barack Obama. I personally felt that Sen. Obama's speech was an incredible example of handing a difficult issue with grace and directness - moving our country forward together on a issue that has long kept us apart. This was not more political fluff, hand waving, and disingenuous distancing of himself from his lifelong friend.

Very helpful in my own processing of these events, given that I am a white man, were the two blog posts written by my friend Melvin Bray over at God's Politics blog. You can need to read them here: Part 1 and Part 2. On this Good Friday, as we reflect on the suffering of our Lord that was our suffering, it is discouraging for me to reflect on how must suffering still remains in this country and how much blame and name-calling still goes on.

I'd better stop here and hope Sunday comes soon! We need resurrection, people!

Actions you can take

We are fast approaching the 5th anniversary of the war on Iraq. As a Christian it is significant to me that this anniversary always comes during the season of Lent, when the church is called to a time of repentance and soul searching. It is remarkable to me that we are still debating whether we should continue fighting this losing war in Iraq. Haven't we had enough. I certainly have.

Which is why I have added my name to a public statement repenting for the Iraq war, which Jim Wallis and other Christian leaders will be releasing next week - with the signatures of thousands
of Christians of all theological and political stripes.

Support for U.S. wars and foreign policy is still the area where Christians are most "conformed to this world" (Romans 12:2). We must commit to put our love for Christ ahead of obedience to a misguided government, and to ask our brothers and sisters to join us in working for peace.

I'm hoping you will join me in signing the statement. Please click here to read the statement and add your name to the more than 10,000 who have already signed.

The Cost of War

President Bush just released his budget yesterday, which calls for a 8.1% increase in Pentagon spending while cutting domestic programs like Medicare for the poor and elderly and more than doubling the federal deficit, according to the LA Times. All of this, AND...experts say the real cost of continuing the war is not reflected in his budget. Not even close.

Please look at this video by the American Friends Service Committee, a ministry of the Quakers.

Resolving Our Conflicts Before a Watching World

Our media ministry team put this video together to promote an upcoming seminar we're doing at Hollywood, in partnership with the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution. To learn more about the seminar and the details of schedule and registration, please visit the Hollywood Church website.

The thing that really excites me about this seminar is that it is a very practical outgrowth of our peace & justice commitments. Our prayers and work for peace must begin in our own relationships. How ironic it would be if while advocating for peace and justice in our neighborhoods and the war zones around the world, we would neglect the relational peace in our own homes and churches.

The operative phrase in the title above is, "before a watching world." The greatest evangelistic witness that congregations can give to the world is the quality of our lives together. How vital, then, that we learn to live generously, hospitably, and in peace with each other. If you're in the neighborhood, please consider joining us. It's a bit of a time commitment but I think you would be richly equipped for God's work in your life and in your world.

Peace Conference at La Sierra next Sabbath

Next Sabbath, January 26th, at La Sierra University, the Adventist Women for Peace will be holding their 2nd Annual Peace Conference. The title of the Conference is "Making Peace in Times of War: Adventist Responses to Violence."

I will be speaking at 1:30 pm if anyone wants to come out and support! My title is "Peace and Justice as Evangelism in Hollywood." I'll be talking a little bit about what we're doing in Hollywood in terms of Peace & Justice ministry, but the focus will be on why we're doing this. Hint: it's not a strategy to bring more people into the church. So what could it be? You'll have to come out and find out.

Also, my good friend, Ron Osborn, will be speaking at 4:25 and his topic is "In Praise of a Modest Patriotism." Should be exciting!

Click here to download the brochure with all the details. The one-day conference schedule is after the jump.