Justice is a bad idea.
I don’t say justice is a bad idea in order to suggest that God does not want us to do what he has asked us to do, in this case, spread justice. But justice is a bad idea because we, Christians, fail to properly talk about justice and so fail to do justice. Christians want Jesus to be the center of everything, and he should be the center in our pursuit of justice. But we unfortunately have gone off track…[more]
It’s been over a week since I attended the Collyde Summit in Princeton, NJ. Now that I have had time to process everything (and forget some things), there is one particular lasting impression that I have after attending.
As you may or may not know, my mom passed away this past October, and, while I have had time to reflect, there are often reminders of her absence. I had been feeling that as of late, and the Collyde Summit allowed me to reflect more on her absence.
I was most impressed by one individual, and, while much of the Summit was valuable, this session was the most (for me). Makoto Fujimura is a renown artist particularly in the Christian community. Thus, he often sees things differently, creatively. I was most impressed by one statement he made about the Parable of the Sower. At one point in regards to suffering, Makoto asks: “What is soil?” and then answers: “It’s dead things piled on top of each other.” For Makoto, the parable is not about the sower but about the soil. The dead things or the suffering in our lives becomes the soil for the gospel to take further root.
The seed of the gospel is rooted in the soil of our hearts which becomes stronger with suffering/death @iamfujimura #collyde13
— Evan Curry (@evancurry) June 7, 2013
We often resent the suffering in our lives. We often resent the pain. We think it’s a hurdle to God’s power, but, as Makoto reminds us, our suffering is a chance for God to work. It provides the place for the gospel to become rooted in our lives. We can choose to allow it to take root or reject it. We can allow God to plant the seed and tend the soil; or we can use our pain as an excuse to keep him at a distance. As Makoto put it:
Where do you want God to tend to the soil of your heart? @iamfujimura #collyde13
— Evan Curry (@evancurry) June 7, 2013
I had the opportunity to be a part of the Collyde Summit 2013 this past weekend. The conference title was “Only Believe,” and I have gathered my thoughts and wanted to lay them out as the Good, the Bad, the Ugly, and my Stars of Collyde.
The Ugly: I’m gonna keep this positive so I will start at the bottom. The WiFi at the conference was pretty spotty. As long as there weren’t more than 50 people in the room, it worked fine. But #51 walks in. Boom–WiFi down.
The Bad: Time management. Friday’s workshop sessions stayed on course, but Saturday began to slowly get off track and eventually sessions would be running over the designated time frame, pushing the length of the summit further and further back. The session before lunch went over. I know the pressure of getting all of the sponsors in to share, and we want the worship music to be a good part of it. However, after awhile, it felt they were trying to squeeze in too much. Less sponsors, less talking by worship leaders.
The Good:
The Stars:
Here are my list of stars from Collyde Summit 2013 and the quotes/moments that really stuck with me.
Honorable mentions –
Margaret Feinberg
Jesus is a rabbi. Don’t ask: why did Peter sink in the water? Ask: why didn’t the other disciples get out too? @mafeinberg #colldye13
— Evan Curry (@evancurry) June 8, 2013
Joan Ball
Christians often skip the “who, what, where, when, why” and jump straight to “how” and build the church on our muscle. @joanpball #collyde13
— Evan Curry (@evancurry) June 7, 2013
3 – Pete Wilson
God is most powerfully present even when it seems he’s apparently absent. @pwilson #collyde13
— Evan Curry (@evancurry) June 8, 2013
2 – Aaron Keyes
Amazing start to #collyde13 this morning with worship music by @aaronkeyes – very impressed by his intertwining of Scripture into his music
— Evan Curry (@evancurry) June 8, 2013
1 – Makoto Fujimura
The seed of the gospel is rooted in the soil of our hearts which becomes stronger with suffering/death @iamfujimura #collyde13
— Evan Curry (@evancurry) June 7, 2013
I will be blogging the Collyde Summit this Friday and Saturday along with my friend, Tim. I am particularly excited about Phil Wickham leading music on Friday evening. Phil has been one of my favorites for a long time, and I have yet to see him lead music before. As much as I am interested in the main sessions, I am equally anticipating the labs by Makoto Fujimura and Joan Ball.
I encourage you to follow us on Twitter (@evancurry & @tg24) or our blogs as we offer a positive but fair perspective about what God is doing through this conference.
Collyde 2012 Highlights from Collyde on Vimeo.
I was really privileged to be a part of this event this weekend. My dad, Amanda, and I were all part of the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure while others from Bethel: Franklin Mills were out and about being the hands and feet of Jesus all over Philadelphia and surrounding.
There’s not many life lessons one learns from Batman: the Animated Series, but I do remember one episode in particular where Bruce Wayne is receiving ninja training. After his opponent Kyodai defeats Bruce, Kyodai says something cocky to Bruce when the sensei drops Kyodai to the floor and reminds him,
There’s always someone better, Kyodai.
That stuck with me. I don’t know why but it did. Years have gone by since I watched that episode in my parents’ living room, but I have seen countless attempts by many (including myself) to be the best. Sure, the best athlete, singer, dancer; but, I mean, the testimony best. It’s the reason why so many of us hated testimony time at youth group. Did you ever notice how the kid present at the mic always did more drugs, committed more crimes, was further away from God than the previous kid?
I’ve had people say to me: “You don’t know what it’s like you never [fill in the blank]…had parents as bad as mine, grew up in a neighborhood like mine, experienced pain like mine.” The answer usually is, “No, I haven’t.”
But, if there’s always someone better, there’s always someone worse. There’s always someone who has a worse life, worse parents, worse story to tell. As much pain as I’ve experienced in the past year with the death of my mom, there’s always someone who’s suffering worse than I. Let’s allow our stories to humble us, not give us reason for pride. Perhaps the height of pride isn’t believing we are the best but that we are the worst.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye,…but I say unto you, That ye not resist evil.” What does he mean? Does he mean that factors having to do with physical survival are trivial or of no consequence? Is this emphasis merely the counsel of suicide? It seems inescapable that either Jesus was infinitely more realistic than we dare imagine or, taking his words at their face value, he is talking as one who has no understanding of the basic facts of life…It is reasonable to assume, then, that he speaks out of understanding and that his words cannot be lightly disregarded, however devastating they may seem.
-Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited
Thurman calls us to a C.S. Lewis-type of decision (i.e., either Jesus is liar, lunatic, or Lord): either when Jesus in his “You have heard it said…But I say to you…” is crazy or he is in touch with reality–no matter how devastating that reality may seem to us. So, was Jesus crazy or was he on to something?
Who wants to start a fan club with me?
My favorite part is the bishop collar underneath
