intersections

SONscreen fun

Click picture to enlarge

Well, SONscreen Film Festival turned out to be a great time. I got to meet people I've never met, reconnect with friends from around the country, and basically be inspired by an emerging crowd of young, talented filmmakers. We saw some really inspiring stuff along the way.

Of course, the highlight of the weekend for me was watching our worship team lead worship for the gathered group of festival-goers. I really enjoyed the opportunity to speak to the group and I think my message went over pretty well. I hope some of you that heard it might interact with it here. If you weren't at SONscreen, you can download the audio file below. I'd love to hear what you think.

Telling Our Stories (right click to "Save As") | More photos after the jump

See Stephen Eyer's post on Adventist Filmmaker.com

UPDATE: Here's another report by Adrian James from La Sierra University on the Spectrum Collegiate Blog.

Keeping Sabbath

Sabbath ceasing [means] to cease not only from work itself, but also from the need to accomplish and be productive, from the worry and tension that accompany our modern criterion of efficiency, from our efforts to be in control of our lives as if we were God, from our possessiveness and our enculturation, and finally, from the humdrum and meaninglessness that result when life is pursued without the Lord at the center of it all.

- Marva J. Dawn, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly

Preaching at Crosswalk this Sabbath

This Sabbath I'll be preaching at Crosswalk Church in Redlands, California. My sermon will kick off Crosswalk's periodic "Crosswalk Goes to the Movies" series. I'm not sure that's what they call it, but you get the idea.

As you can tell from the image above, the film I'll be speaking about is The Corporation. This is a powerful film that I have seen three times now which talks about the way corporations act as individuals without accountability in our society and destroy not just people, but whole communities and the entire ecosystem. This is a film that has launched a movement.

I'll be using this film to open up a conversation about two things, basically:

1. How Christians must stand against this kind of corporate imperialism and be agents of justice for the poor that get trounced by this kind of "free-market fundamentalism" and
2. At a deeper level, how Christians have been scripted into a capitalist narrative that has become, in Tom Beaudoin's telling expression, a kind of "theocapitalism," and how the gospel is an invitation for all people (including Christians) to re-narrate our lives according to the good news of God's reign.

This is something I've been wanting to work on for a long time, so this has been good research and thinking for me. This is not the kind of preaching I do on a weekly basis, so I'm being stretched. If you're in town, come join us!

Brian Swarts interviewed in "800 Words of RELEVANT"

This week, our friend and fellow Adventist, Brian Swarts, was interviewed by RELEVANT Magazine for their email newsletter called "800 words of RELEVANT." Because I can't find the interview anywhere online, here it is in its entirety. Hopefully I won't get sued!

Jubilee USA is a network of local congregations and more than 80 religious denominations, faith-based networks and development and community organizations in the United States working to pass congressional bills to end third-world debt relief. They’re also partnering with numerous anti-poverty organizations, such as the ONE Campaign, Bread for the World, Action Aid International, Oxfam and Sojourners. We recently spoke with Brian Swarts, the National Field Organizer at Jubilee USA.

Can you tell me how Jubilee got started?
The Jubilee movement was initiated about 10 years after a group known as the Debt Crisis Network launched a tour in the U.K. of African leaders and activists highlighting the devastating and unjust effects of debt on the poor in their countries. Due to the overwhelming popularity of this tour, numerous new groups joined the debt network, [and] it was renamed the Jubilee 2000 Coalition. But it was on May 16, 1998, the first day of the annual G8 summit of the world’s richest nations, that the Jubilee 2000 coalition got the world’s attention. More than 70,000 debt demonstrators from across the world formed a human chain around the building where G8 leaders were supposed to meet. This was the flowering of one of the most remarkable social (and faith) movements in recent history. A movement that joined millions of activists working for the survival of their countries, together with the leaders of churches, unions and aid organizations in Europe and the United States. It also, famously, formed an unlikely partnership between Bono and Pope John Paul II, who joined together in echoing Jesus’ own proclamation of a year of jubilee for the poor.

Your organization is based on the biblical principal of the year of jubilee, where all debts were canceled, property lost to debt was returned and slaves to debt were freed. What does this look like in a current context?
One of the most powerful quotes we use to describe the issue of debt today comes from the former president of Tanzania, speaking to the world’s rich leaders: “Must we starve our children to pay our debts?” It is a statement that echoes Hebrew prophets, like Amos, who complains, “The people of Israel have sinned … They sell into slavery honest people who cannot pay their debts, the poor who cannot repay even the price of a pair of sandals” (2:6-7, GNB).

In ancient Israel debt often became a vicious trap: The poor might lose their land to wealthy creditors. In the end, their only option might be to sell themselves or their children into slavery.

The indefinite continuation of this process and the permanent enslavement of the poor is what jubilee was meant to address. Today, in the world’s most impoverished nations we see a similar vicious debt trap. These countries can no longer afford to repay debts without neglecting their people's basic needs. For instance, in 2005–2006, Kenya's budget for debt payments was as much as for water, health, agriculture, roads, transport and finance combined.

Just as in Amos’ time, we are living in a world that is seriously out of balance. Every day, 13 percent of the world’s population goes hungry and more than 30,000 children die of easily preventable diseases. By committing to the U.N. Millennium Development goals to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015, world leaders acknowledged that things need to change. The biblical practice of jubilee has a lot to say to us in our current context.

How does canceling third-world governments’ debt help to relieve global poverty and trickle down to poor individuals?
The reality is that debt cancellation allows countries to keep more of their own money. This also means that our own foreign aid to these countries is more effective, since it is no longer continually drained from the countries in the form of debt payments. In the countries that have had more access to their own resources through debt relief, poverty-reduction spending doubled between 1999 and 2004, according to a 2004 World Bank/IMF study. Initial debt relief has benefited millions of people.

A bill currently before Congress, the Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation of 2007, is an attempt to achieve the debt cancellation necessary in order to meet the Millennium Development Goals. It requires that lenders and borrowers alike meet basic standards of transparency and accountability so that they are accountable to those affected by their policies.

Your organization has declared a Sabbath year. Can you explain the significance of that?
Jubilee practice is governed by Sabbath cycles, which means that every seven years is a Sabbath year. Seven years after the historic Jubilee 2000 campaign we are using the Sabbath year to call for renewed focus on the unfinished agenda of debt cancellation. It is also important to note that 2007 is also the halfway point for the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), so we are also joining groups like the ONE Campaign to remind people that we are not yet doing enough to support the MDGs and that debt cancellation is essential to reaching these goals. This year we have introduced the Jubilee Act (HR 2634) into Congress, which calls for debt cancellation to all countries that require it to reach the MDGs.

To mark the Sabbath year, Jubilee is organizing the "Cancel Debt Fast," a 40-day fast to bring attention to third-world debt relief. Can you explain how the fast is going to work?
The highlight of the 2007 Sabbath year is the “Cancel Debt Fast” advocacy campaign. This is a 40-day rolling fast, from September 6 to October 15, during which it is expected that more than 20,000 supporters of debt cancellation will fast for a day or more and, on the same day, contact their member of Congress to urge their support for the Jubilee Act. Fasting is not limited to food, but can also include fasting from television, driving or particular kinds of food such as coffee. Children can fast from junk food or video games. Supporters will be joining the Reverend David Duncombe, who has committed to an open-ended fast beginning on September 6, while also walking the halls of Congress, building support for the Jubilee Act.

What kind of support are you looking for from ordinary citizens and government officials?
Join the fast and urge your members of Congress to support the Jubilee Act. Even if you don’t fast, contact your members of Congress. Also, talk to your schools and churches about Jubilee. Jubilee USA has a Jubilee Congregations program that provides resources and support to involve your faith community in this important issue. We even have resources, such as Bible studies, sermon notes and videos that you can use to hold educational or worship events.

One of the easiest ways to show support is to organize a “Collection of Plates” in your community. As a way to frame the message of the Cancel Debt Fast, we have begun encouraging Jubilee supporters to adopt the phrase “I’m hungry for justice!” During the fast, supporters will send this message to Congress written on empty paper plates to emphasize the message of the fast and build support for the Jubilee Act.

You can get more info by visiting www.jubileeusa.org.

Brian Swarts is the National Field Organizer at Jubilee USA. He has worked in both church ministry and community organizing in both the United States and internationally. He can be contacted at brian@jubileeusa.org or (202) 441-6763.

Author: Alecia Stephens 

Alecia Stephens is an editorial assistant at RELEVANT.

Stumbling into Soliton

Last night found me in Ventura at the Hush Lounge. I had been corresponding by email with Kendall Payne, who is a Christian recording artist and a friend of my friend, JR Woodward. I was unable to catch her CD release party at JR's church a week or so ago, because I was out of town, so Kendall mentioned the gig in Ventura.

Little did I know it was the opening of the Soliton Sessions. About a week prior to this I had made my final determination that I couldn't make the time to be at the Soliton Sessions. And there I was. So I got to hear Kendall play some of the songs from her new CD which you absolutely MUST get. You can order the hard copy CD here or download from iTunes here. It looks like we may set up a Kendall Payne concert at the Hollywood Church in the near future! Stay tuned!

On top of this, I finally got to meet Ched Myers (author of Binding the Strong Man and A Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics). Last Winter I registered to attend Bartimaeus Institute but was unable to attend. Ched remembered me from our phone conversations and emails around that time, but we have never actually met. We talked for the better part of 30 minutes with me explaining Adventist theology and sharing with him that a core group of younger Adventist pastor/theologians are interested in shaping the theological imagination toward a postmodern, social justice position. He was very excited and is more than willing to meet with us.

I've talked to a few people about my desire to re-vive re-church and make it useful for our current time and place. Perhaps we can convene a group of people to share our lives together and invite Ched to stir up our pure minds around issues of peace, restorative justice and Sabbath economics. What do you say?

Sabbath Grace

Here's a quote from Joan Chittister to start your Sabbath:

Why do people think the spiritual life demands withdrawal from the ordinary? Because they've been taught, at least by implication, that the physical is a block to the spiritual. When we assume that the spiritual, unlike the physical, is impervious to corrosion, then we assume that all things material are not to be honored. But the fact of the matter is, the material is the vehicle of the spiritual.
(Courtesy of Sojourners, Verse and Voice, May 25, 2007)

What about you? Where do you see the grace of God in the ordinary, material, and even mundane things of your life? Or are we still waiting for some disembodied transcendence to overtake us?

A Day Apart

I discovered this wonderful new book "by accident." One of my favorite things to do is browse the "New Arrivals" at Fuller Seminary Bookstore. They are a very comprehensive bookstore...the best theological bookstore in Southern California (Archives, also in Pasadena, is right up there, too). Anyway, there was this book, A Day Apart: How Jews, Christians and Muslims Find Faith, Freedom and Joy on the Sabbath, by Christopher D. Ringwald (Oxford).

As a Seventh-day Adventist Christian I am fascinated by a book like this. There are numerous references to Seventh-day Adventists in the book and while I'm only a quarter of the way through, this is by far my favorite statement related to Adventism. At least it gives me hope and encouragement for what an Adventism that blesses the world might look like:

A similar realization must have startled the first disciples, who were stumbling into a new religion as they broke away from the old. But then that business of separation and distinction immediately plunges us back into the profane world of doctrine and dogma. We are us by being not you. Yuck! Maybe the Seventh-day Adventists are right to say that all children of Abraham can be unifed in the seventh-day Sabbath, instead of Muslims meeting on Fridays, and the Christians on Sundays, which promotes their distinction from the Jews and division among God's many children (79-80).

I've actually never heard an Adventist say that Sabbath can unify Muslims, Jews and Christians, except myself and my friend, Samir. This gives me hope that others must be saying similar things, even if in hiding!

(For those of you who are not a part of the Adventist story, please forgive my excitement over finding a reference from an respected author, published by Oxford Press, giving props to Seventh-day Adventists for their Sabbath observance. We are so rarely complimented, even back-handedly, that some of us get a little overwrought at the slightest congratulation. I'm better now!)