I’m not who I was at 25 and I certainly don’t think like I did when I was 22, for that matter. A lot of valuable lessons can be learned in 26 years, and this year in particular has made a significant contribution to who I am.
The people that have changed my life this year:
Eliot French Gomez- a godly man who I can always talk about where I am at; who actively listens and comes up with solutions to my problems on the spot. He’s also good for a laugh from time to time. A good, naked laugh.
Aja Mae Stewart- I can laugh with her and I am deeply connected to her. I feel like she is such a kindred spirit and we know each other so intimately and yet we’ve never had to use words to get to this level of intimacy.
Colleen Grace Jenkins- I’ve never known someone so interesting, so classy, so fiery. When I talk to her I feel like I am engaged in a passionate and violent tempest of a tango which diminishes into peaceful stargazing.
Kevin Wenger- My complete opposite and the one person that I have loved more relentlessly than anyone else. He has been more influential, challenging and life changing to me in the last 9 months than anyone ever. God is really using him powerfully.
Josh Miller- I’ll bet I love him more than anyone and its because he first loved me more compassionately and more honestly than I had experienced up until that point.
Dave Nearpass- There is no one more genuine that he. There is no one more honest about his faith nor more joyful. And he is generous with passing that joy onto others.
Zach Gibson- He taught me about being intentional and caring for others. There are few as intentional as he and he is really interested in what’s going on in your life.
Ryan Darr- He made me realize that those with the strongest faith ask the most questions and are satisfied without answers. He changed the way I think about everything and I have always been impressed by his authenticity.
Josh Cauhorn
Patrick Harding
Joel Wentz
- These three are “carefree” and their laughter is infectious. Their passion for action-oriented faith is even more so.
Allie Meriwether- Although she’d deny it she is the perfect woman of God. Sweet and compassionate, fun and a creative thinker. She is one of the most balanced people I know.
Susan Bensen- I imagine that from an outside perspective people would think that Susan and I just have this shallow, awkward-humoresque relationship. The reality is that I love this girl. She is raw and she is real. I respect her because she is passionate about her convictions.
Pete Roeth
Katie Miller
- These two are so loyal and so encouraging. I am encouraged by how intimately and strongly they interact with the Lord and they bless me with good conversations about how he is moving in their lives.
Lisa Downs- She is gentleness and vulnerability and she is a strong leader. Her sweetness has always made me feel cared for.
Jesse Stanford- Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had have been with this girl. Her critical thinking blows me away and she always has really solid ideas to the thoughts that I present.
The people I need to reconcile with:
Amy Cornoyer- She used to pray constantly for me to rise up as a man of God. And when I did, I think it drove us apart. Now there is the continual awkwardness and bitterness than I think are inappropriate in a Christian relationship
Ryan Darr- This should have never happened and it may be one of my greatest regrets to date.
Debbie Ludwig- She was a socially conscious Christian and I rejected her ways because I had some self-centered, holier than thou, stuck up faith.
Things that I care about:
Community- I have had the privilege of living with one of the six men that I refer to as my best friends. He is also the one that thinks and acts the complete opposite of what I would think or do. Thank God that He, in His wisdom, put a friend in my life that isn’t exactly like me. I have really solidified my beliefs about things that have troubled me for a long time. We also share food and meals and laundry detergent. We leave post its with scripture on it for each other every morning and we pray for bed every night. My roommate has forced me to be the most holy and consistent I’ve ever been in my walk because we are in an intimate community. I don’t believe that anything I possess is truly mine anymore and this includes my thoughts and feelings. The openness and vulnerability we share has begun the process of healing in my life and I have learned more about conflict resolution through verbal communication this year than ever before. To me, it is no longer acceptable in God’s sight for Christians to harbor bitterness or anger or conflict with one another. Reconciliation and living at peace with everyone is a must among Christ’s followers.
Theology of Enough- “Christians have no problem helping the poor, but question whether our ‘blessings’ are borne on the backs of the poor and things get messy. The call to ‘make poverty history’ needs a partner: ‘make affluence history.’” (Jesus for President)
I used to take pride that I would spend about 12 dollars on a pair of shoes from Walmart. To me spending less on a product made me feel like I was doing my duty as a Christian not to spend an egregious amount of money on something as material as a shoe. But then a few weeks ago it struck me: I was able to pay less for my shoe because I was robbing the person who made it of a fair wage. I am wealthy only because I have taken what rightfully belongs to the person who made the product. I thought about this as I drank a cup of coffee. I should spend more on coffee because it gives the farmer who harvested the beans what they deserve. I don’t deserve to have as much money as I have but the person who worked to put the coffee in my hand does.
What we Americans do not seem to understand is that we can only obtain the “American Dream” by exploiting the rest of the world’s population, realized only by driving them further below the poverty line. As Christians living in this material country we need to acknowledge that because of our greed, we are taking advantage of real, living, common people. This acknowledgment of our lifestyle should cause us to repent of how we have treated our global neighbors.
“God bless the whole world”- People who know me know that I am first a citizen of a Kingdom and I am uninterested in pledging my allegiance to anything that isn’t eternal. It goes without saying, then, that I feel uncomfortable with the flag that has represented a nation of war, economic injustice and globally exclusive practices sitting at the altar of Christ’s house of worship. I am on the other hand fine with the government determining and enforcing social policy, but not moral policy. I just think that Christians should drop the God bless America, this nation that doesn’t follow (or at least contorts to its own end) the red letter words of Christ and shout from the mountaintops “GOD BLESS THE WHOLE WORLD!” Because God loves everyone and again, we should want him to bless our global neighbors.
Racial Reconciliation in the church- I live in an area where there are 60% black people and 40% white. They work together in this beautiful harmony with little to no tension. There are little misunderstandings from time to time, but no apparent prejudice. However, I have struggled to find a church that is authentic to the way Heaven will look. On Sunday, white people go to their white middle class churches; black people go to their black churches and Hispanics to their Hispanic churches. I know that people disagree with me on this point, but I think that this is inherently racist on all sides. It is completely disingenuous to God’s vision that all nations, tribes and tongues should worship together. I don’t think we should wait for Heaven for this to happen but instead I think that we should be living Heaven out now, learning from each other’s styles and preferences and letting outsiders see true unity among believers. Not division according to race and economic status. Its no wonder that we have misunderstandings and tensions with other races when we take little time to understand what we have in common: white men have black sisters in Christ and black women have Hispanic brothers in Christ who have Asian sisters in Christ and so on.
Peace- I know this is controversial but I am so interested in discussing peace. Nations go to war and I understand why. I cannot fathom, however, following Christ and taking lives. In my naiveté I can’t understand misunderstanding or misinterpreting verses about hammering our swords into plowshares or loving our enemies or Peter protecting Jesus from being murdered and ultimately being rebuked for his violent actions. “It is tempting to think that there is a greater love than laying down our life for others, and that perhaps taking the life of someone to protect another person is the embodiment of that heroic love.” But Jesus put the ear back on the soldier and was led like a lamb to his own execution.
