Newtown

All of you out there who've made the Newtown, CT massacre about YOU should be ashamed of yourselves. From political agendas to unscrupulously subjective rantings about how God has abandoned our secular school system, please shut the fuck up.

Now is a time for mourning. Now is a time for sorrow. Now is a time for contemplation and resolve. Now is a time for grasping one another’s hands and quietly acknowledging that there will be families with presents under their trees this year which were meant to go to children that are no longer with us. It is incomprehensible. And, yet, it is survivable. Somehow, the worst victims of tragedy get better. Somehow, we always seem to heal. Somehow, we eventually accept these tragedies as a part of our new and future reality.

I’m not trying to teach anyone anything by writing these words. I’m just trying to stir it around and mix it in with the rest of my daily food so that maybe it can be palatable enough for me to gulp down. I’m too pissed off not to try to get this down the hatch so I can move forward. I’m pissed at every one of us—every one of our leaders—every one of our schools—every one of our families—and I resent the implication that ANY OF US knows a fucking thing about why this happened.

I resent the implication that ANY OF US understand anything at all about the list of massacres in each of the US States since the early 1800’s. 40 of our 50 States have experienced multiple instances of reckless, unconscionable waste of human life that NONE OF US can wrap our brains or hearts around.

If you really want to explain something to me then try making me understand why all of the malicious, malevolent, cowardly acts of mass homicide within my lifetime have been perpetrated by white men ages 20-35. You know what? Forget I even mentioned it because someone out there will actually try to answer the question. They’ll try to apply a logical answer to a systemic morphing psychological virus of predation.

News flash: seeking a purpose for everything and insisting on defining, labeling, and cataloging unimaginable chaos, depravity, and cowardice leads to a net gain of squat—nada—zilch. We have to wrestle with the reality that another white male between the ages of 20-35 will do this kind of thing again. We have to prepare ourselves for the inevitability that somewhere within our midst is more than one white man contemplating a way to “up the wager” and hurt us even more.

I am allowing myself the next 24 hours to continue visualizing these children screaming out and huddling in fetal positions as a white male stands over them and puts the barrel of a semi-automatic weapon right up to their terror-stricken faces and pulls the trigger. I think it’s important to burn that image in my mind. I think it’s important, somehow, in the sharing of grief and mourning and lamentations. But enough is enough. After the next 24 hours I’ve got to move forward. I’ve got to find the next level of grief. I’ve got to make up my mind that I will not be weakened or rendered motionless by my sorrow.

I’m going to add this experience to the collection of other tragic experiences I’ve witnessed and lived through, and I’m gonna keep sifting through the pile looking for ways to use these negative experiences for something positive. I’m gonna think about ways I can be more involved in the lives of abused children. I’m gonna think about the ways I can watch for troubled white men and bring them closer to me instead of pushing them farther away. I’m gonna take more responsibility for the fatherless and the widowed and the poor and the sick and the imprisoned. I’m gonna use these experiences to fortify my resolve that THIS CAN ALL WORK SOMEHOW.

Tragedy is supposed to evoke a heroic struggle instead of a wave of talking heads and brooding Facebookers relishing the opportunity to scream out their opinions yet again. The heroic struggle isn’t against legislation or hate groups. The heroic struggle is NOT any sort of monolithic idea or policy or attitude. The heroic struggle is a mosaic of hearts and hands and efforts and backgrounds and ideas all coming together to form a unified front of protection from the imminent threat of tragedy next time. There’s always a next time. And if next time isn’t met with cooperation instead of sanctimonious ideological segregation, then more children and teachers die.

And if that happens, we’ve all failed once again. 

KONY 2012

System Dynamics (4)

Occupy Wall Street, the Church, and the Apocalypse

"It’s not so much that the 1st world church isn’t busy with the tasks before it, but rather, what is before it is its own personal care. The church has become chaplain to itself rather than chaplain to the world. And I mean, world, in the Christian sense. It’s nourishing itself rather than nourishing those who are outside its fold. It has ignored a missional call, exchanging it for self care. 

We are taking care of those in the 1st world church who are unhappy in spite of wealth, stuck at jobs where they feel like a cog, suffering from diseases that are the result of a fast-paced lifestyle filled with unhealthy foods, stress, and environmental toxins, with minds crippled by the parade of consumer goods and unrealistic lives we watch on television to calm ourselves after a day that leaves us strangely unsatisfied. 

And are we nourished? Are we yet strong enough to act in nonviolence as the hands and feet of Christ in this world? Or are our muscles atrophied from disuse?"

Full Article 

System Dynamics (3)

Is Spaceship Earth Close to Environmental Collapse?

"According to the United Nations, the world population will reach 7 billion people this week. No one really knows the exact date, but the announcement has sparked a round of commentary, most of it pessimistic. The doubling of the world’s population over the past 50 years is the most rapid in history. Demographers expect another 3 billion at least before global population finally peaks early in the next century and begins a gradual decline. Can we make it until then? Or will our overburdened spaceship earth suffer environmental collapse?"

Full Article 

System Dynamics (2)

Greek crisis, other global financial woes crash the G-20 party in Cannes

 "As the Group of 20 convenes its annual summit on Thursday, the rhetoric will — as usual — focus on the benefits of cooperation and the strides nations are making to further it. But in terms of concrete action, this might be the meeting where an organization meant to nudge the global economy in a more efficient direction recognizes its limits."

Complete Article 

System Dynamics (1)

World Population: 7 Billion

"On October 31, 2011, the United Nations is expected to announce a projected world population figure of 7 billion. This global milestone presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the planet. While more people are living longer and healthier lives, says the U.N., gaps between rich and poor are widening and more people than ever are vulnerable to food insecurity and water shortages. Because censuses are infrequent and incomplete, no one knows the precise date that we will hit the 7 billion mark - the Census Bureau puts it somewhere next March. In the last 50 years, humanity has more than doubled. What could the next decade mean for our numbers and the planet? In this post, we focus on births, but we'll be back with population-related content including it's affect on the environment and our food supply. -- Paula Nelson (47 photos total)"

Photos 

System Dynamics

Economically, Environmentally, and Spiritually everyone seems to be engaging the question of, “where are we headed and what will it look like when we get there?”

Economists continue to hope for 2.5% annual growth in the first world countries.

Environmentalists tell us that globally we are already operating at 140% capacity of the planet.

Christian church leaders continue to blame the mass exodus of younger generations on a secularization of Christian nations.

Is it possible that we’ve finally hit that mark in time when sustainability has been eclipsed? Is it possible that we reached the apex of the sustainability graph decades ago and are now witnessing what the downhill slide feels like?

I’m not necessarily talking “doomsday” scenarios here. I believe that we, as a people, have proven throughout the ages that collectively we possess a phenomenal amount of drive, ingenuity, and resolve to change and adapt. However, these changes are NEVER initiated during the warning phase. As a society, we never start applying pressure to the brake when we see the yellow light. If anything, we speed up when we see the yellow light. We do not apply the brakes until we see RED. This has the profound effect of creating violent and jarring change all in a very short period of time.

Heaven forbid we begin to slow down when the yellow light is lit by scientists projecting the death of entire fisheries in the next several years. Why would anyone think to remove the foot from the accelerator when economists are forecasting continued decline internationally on a rapidly increasing pace? And why in the world would the Christian churches ever consider the possibility that “business-as-usual” is dead.

Everything is changing in ways that defy analysis of past periods and events. Energy, Financials, Population Growth, and Environmental Changes are all part of a new and never before experienced Ecology. With this realization comes a graphically changing environment of spirituality which HAS TO transcend the current modes of educational Christianity. Gone are the days of discussing, studying, and teaching behavior modification in the comfy settings of a brick and mortar building referred to by many as “the church.” Say hello to the future of a Church designed to serve, support, and rescue on a global scale so far outside the thinking of most of us that it’s impossible to fathom this early in the game.

We’re not talking here about proposed changes best suited to address the changes coming in the next 20 years anymore. These changes are here right now and they DEMAND change. There is no choice in the matter. It’s already happening. We have to understand the visceral unrest inherent in the OCCUPY folks. We have to open our ears to the criticism of all those folks we, as Christians, have rejected and labeled as “unholy” and “unworthy.” We have to open our eyes to the humanitarian disasters happening all over the world. It’s not enough to discuss human trafficking, starvation, genocide, and hate. We have to engage these things full throttle.

My best guess is a Christian Church void of brick and mortar operating collectively regardless of theological divisiveness. Maybe more like a Greenpeace type of NGO. An NGO with real political clout focused on spotlighting the human tragedies and atrocities around the world even when those tragedies do not affect the economic bottom line.

The point being that if we think we are seeing human suffering on a global scale now, what do we think it will look like if the environmentalists, scientists, and economists are right about witnessing a global awakening of unsustainability RIGHT NOW?

The worldwide Christian community stands in the unique position to step up and partner with others to serve, heal, and rescue. It’s time to feed the lepers. It’s time to rescue the children. It’s time to give a shit about more than personal growth. The planet is dying. The global financial system is breaking apart. The global population is increasing exponentially. Resources are finite. Energy is the drug that we all crave.

The light is red RIGHT FUCKING NOW! Let’s engage with that resilience, ingenuity, and resolve we’re capable of weilding. Let’s define ourselves by what we agree upon instead of by what we disagree about. It’s all interconnected. It’s all interdependent. The climate, the fisheries, the GNP’s, the humanitarian efforts, the Church…they’re all tied together.

But what do I know? Several paragraphs ago I wrote something about varying Christian organizations partnering with each other as well as other religions behind the effort of a global humanitarian effort forcing action where only talk has prevailed. We are ACTUALLY closer to eliminating abject poverty on the planet than we are to achieving cohesiveness and cooperation among multi-denominational sects within the Christian community. So, obviously, I’m insane…

Populations thick and thin

World Population = 7 Billion

G20 Woes

Spaceship Earth in Trouble?

Occupy Church (Red Letter Christians)

Occupy the Planet is REAL!

Things like this global Occupy movement don't happen unless there's a real problem. This is happening! 

Occupy Wall Street global protests

http://goo.gl/t3hs4

via The Big Picture

An Imaginary Law: the SBC Approach to Undocumented Immigrants

by Tony Campolo
via Red Letter Christians

"The Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, and pretended to develop a guide for law and/or legislation concerning undocumented immigrants. As one political commentator pointed out, the resolution they developed was “vague, confusing, and perhaps inherently contradictory,” and that it wouldn’t help those in Congress to pick through the complexities associated with addressing the plight of the undocumented.

While making sure that they wanted the undocumented men and women in this country to hear the Gospel story and be “saved,” they deliberately avoided any attempt to suggest amnesty for such immigrants, nor did they offer any hopeful suggestions as to what should be done to help those whom they referred to as “illegal immigrants” a way to find a place among us here in the United States.

They wanted a solution to the problem that was both just and compassionate. While these are wonderful words, their resolution gave neither meaning nor idea as to what meaning they attached to those words so far as social policy is concerned." [...]

[Full Article and Comments]

Colbert: "you roll the bones and go...Muslim"

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

My Take: Christians should denounce Norway's Christian terrorist

By Stephen Prothero, Special to CNN

Editor's Note: Stephen Prothero, a Boston University religion scholar and author of "God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World," is a regular CNN Belief Blog contributor.

* * * * * * *

"[...]Osama bin Laden was a Muslim terrorist. Yes, he twisted the Quran and the Islamic tradition in directions most Muslims would not countenance. But he rooted his hate and his terrorism in that text and that tradition. So Muslims, as I have long argued, have a responsibility to speak out forcefully against Bin Laden and to look hard at the resources in their tradition that work to promote such evil.

If he did what he has alleged to have done, Anders Breivik is a Christian terrorist.

Yes, he twisted the Christian tradition in directions most Christians would not countenance. But he rooted his hate and his terrorism in Christian thought and Christian history, particularly the history of the medieval Crusades against Muslims, and current efforts to renew that clash.

So Christians have a responsibility to speak out forcefully against him, and to look hard at the resources in the Christian tradition that can be used to such murderous ends."

[Full Article and Comments]

Albert Pujols - This is as close as you get to being a superhero

Gmail Motion BETA

April Fools.........

Mass graves replace elaborate funerals in Japan

[Full Article]

No Looting in Japan

by Amy Chavez
Huffinton Post - World


People around the world have marveled at the lack of mass-looting in Japan among the survivors of the recent earthquake and tsunami. Many people are still asking: Why was there no mass-looting?

People are undoubtedly comparing the incident in Japan with other natural disasters in the world when people under similar circumstances did loot. And they didn't just loot food or necessities, but big screen TVs and other "must have" household appliances.

~ ~ ~

One common experience among foreigners coming to work in Japan for a year or more is that when they leave Japan, they leave a more polite person. As a foreigner, you learn that certain things that may be accepted back home are just not tolerated here. Petty crime (Who stole my plastic gnome lawn ornament?!), verbal assaults on store clerks, and anger in the form furrowed brows, pursed lips and the occasional disgruntled snort, are not accepted here. So while in my society, an angry, gnome-stealing person may be normal, in Japan such people are thought to be selfish and dishonest. And, by God, you don't just take things because they're not chained down! Once you know the rules of a society, however, it's surprisingly easy to adjust your own behavior to fit into that society.

Two adjectives that immediately come to mind when describing the Japanese: polite and harmonious. Which makes me wonder, if you are not polite or harmonious, what are you?

~ ~ ~

An honest society is not unique to the Japanese. Ask your own parents or grandparents and they will surely tell you how it used to be, when there was more respect, less crime and no road rage. But whereas we have slowly lost our integrity, the Japanese have not lost theirs.

[Full Article]

How To Help Japan: Earthquake Relief Options

Huffington Post : Impact

On March 11, 2011, a huge 8.9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan, causing widespread destruction.

President Obama has already released a statement sending "deepest condolences" and promising support to the stricken country.

"The United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial."

Additionally, many organizations and funds have mobilized to provide relief to those affected by the disaster.

In response to the quake, The Red Cross has already launched efforts in Japan. Visit Redcross.org or text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 from your phone.

[Full Article listing 13 additional Charities]

Rob Bell punches back against claims of heresy

By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

New York (CNN) – For two weeks while controversy swirled around him, Pastor Rob Bell stayed silent. His critics said he was playing fast and loose with heaven and hell, salvation and damnation. The eternity of souls was on the line, they said.

All this was over Bell’s new book, “Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.” Critics tore into it before the book even hit store shelves on Tuesday, some going so far as to label Bell a heretic. The controversy pushed the book into the third spot on Amazon’s sales ranking, virtually assuring the book a place on The New York Times Best Sellers list.

~ ~ ~

“What’s interesting to me is what’s true. And what’s interesting to me is what’s inspiring. And what’s interesting to me is where’s the life? Where’s the inspiration? That’s what I’m interested in. If that happens to stir things up, that was never my intent, but I’ll accept that.”

~ ~ ~

Bell insists there is room for mystery in salvation and that Christianity is open to discussion.

“The historical orthodox Christian faith is extremely wide and diverse,” Bell said. “No one has the last word other than God. I am taking part in a discussion that’s been going on for thousands of years. Everyone can play a part in that discussion.”

[Full Article]

Carey Fuller Chronicles Her Experiences As A Homeless Parent In 'Writings From The Driver's Side'

The Huffington Post   
Gabrielle Canon


In 2004, as her two children slept in the 1981 Minnie Winnebago they would now have to call home, Carey Fuller sat down to write her first poem.

This March, over seven years later, she self-published her work in a collection called "Writings from the Driver's Side," revealing the experiences she endured and continues to experience as a homeless mother.

~ ~ ~

In 2010, Fuller decided to speak out about her situation. Though she remained anonymous, she wrote a letter to Change.org author, Josie Raymond, called "What It is Like to be a Homeless Mother." For the first time she was able to voice the frustrations she felt toward a system that was not there for her when she needed it. She was able to break down stereotypes of the homeless and paint the picture of a reality that many homeless families face each day. "People don't know the truth about homelessness. Most homeless people lost their job, then their home. They have kids."

~ ~ ~

"It starts at home," she advises, "so take care of your relatives. Take care of your communities. Support your community first, donate to the food bank or to the homeless shelter ... If a collective gets together they can make change. That is what this is all about."

Follow Fuller's blog about her struggles with homelessness at Invisibull.wordpress.com. Carey Fuller's "Writings From the Driver's Side" is available for kindle on Amazon.com.

[Full Article]

Japan's emperor addresses nation in crisis

By the CNN Wire Staff

Tokyo (CNN) -- Japan's emperor addressed the nation Wednesday -- a rare event that only occurs in times of war or national crisis.

Emperor Akihito's speech underlined Prime Minister Naoto Kan's earlier assertion that the country was going through its worst crisis since World War II. And it came on the same day that white smoke and a new blaze at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi's nuclear plant added to radiation concerns in a country grappling with a nuclear crisis.

[Full Article with lots of video feeds]

Japan - Giving

Disaster Relief - What to Do?
by Brooke Carter

"Are you guys as overwhelmed as I am by everything that has happened/is happening in Japan? I have been especially challenged by trying to find a way to talk to the kids about it in a way that gives them a sense of what is going on without scaring them silly. We talked again this afternoon and we have decided that we will forgo our blanket-making and -giving plans and send our giving bank money to an agency that is providing relief in Japan. I read an article last night that lists several legitimate organizations that are accepting donations to provide aid to Japan. I think I will give the kids the choice between The American Red Cross and Save the Children. I'll let you know what they decide. After today's discussion, my 11-year-old put a $20 bill that she found at the park into the giving bank. When I told her that was a very generous thing to do, she replied, "I think they need it more than I do."

And, of course, they do need it more than she does. We all become much more aware of needs around the world during disasters, but the truth is that every single day there are people whose basic needs go unmet. This is where I start to have a very difficult time being reasonable. How can I justify my little daily expenditures that are really so petty and unnecessary when other people are starving? The Hubs tells me to get a hold of myself, that I can't save the whole world. And he's right, I know he is. I mean, I kind of know. But shouldn't we ALL be trying a little bit harder? Maybe I should take a lesson from my 11-year-old. I mean, which need is greater: a hungry child's need for a meal, or my need for a 1/2 cup batter scoop so my cupcakes can be more uniform in size and I can feel fancy when I'm baking? Well, if you looked in my utensil drawer right now, you would see that just about a week ago I decided that my need to feel fancy was a greater need. The Hubs tells me that it's okay to do things like that, that it's okay to do things for ourselves. Part of me knows that it's okay, as long as we also give. But another part of me knows that we could always do more.

How do you guys walk that line in your life and with your family? Do you struggle to find balance in giving?"

~ ~ ~

<My Take>

Matt 12:44 talks about watching a widow give such a small amount in comparison to others, but she gave out of her need instead of out of her excess. Cool story and you would assume that her gift was more important than the others. I'm not so sure. I think that the gift she gave proved to be more important to HER than the other gifts were important to their perspective givers. If that's true then it makes me wonder if our giving isn't more important to us *as the giver* then it is to the cause we're giving to. That's my take, anyways.

What it puts me in the mind of is that when we give out of grace, compassion, and a loving mindset it is more beneficial to us *as the giver* than if we give out of guilt or from a sense of responsibility. After all, any non-profit you might donate to in this situation uses approximately 50-60% of revenues to cover overhead costs and such.

At the Crump casa we've developed a set strategy for giving to local causes alone. I just can't see past the homeless guy that lives in a tent on Riverside that I run past all the time in order to throw money at Japan. I'm overwhelmed by the human suffering in Japan, but I'm holding fast to our local strategy because I have to take care of my neighbors closest first before I'm able to offer a leg up to those halfway around the world.

Read the article posting on my site today about the single homeless mom that recently wrote a book of poetry. Her plea at the end is to give to your local communities and local causes before sending your dollars to overseas causes. I'm thinking she's right.

Don't get me wrong. You know good and well I'm cheering for the Japanese people like they were the Cowboys winning a superbowl. But they're not getting my money or my time. The local needs of my community will be benefiting from the Crump household. I'm globally minded, but locally consistent. My heart continues to ache for the Haitians as well as the Japanese, but I've got meals to serve at John 3:16 Mission and they're gonna be pissed if I don't show up because I'm watching news footage of Japan.

...or maybe I'm making all this up and I don't give a rat...

Go save the world, Brooke. Just do it in tight little nested circles which gradually move outward from your home. You won't get very far, but you'll make the largest overall impact to the world as a whole. Teaching those kiddos the meaning of giving is far more important to the well-being of the world we share than any amount of money you collect in the jar. They'll continue to give for the rest of their lives because of you. They might even learn a thing or two from Jeff, but I doubt it.

Sidenote: Brooke and Jeff Carter are the mid-30's adopted parents of 5 children that all come from different backgrounds. The Carters are saving the world everyday in ways that most of us will never fully understand or appreciate.  People like this always want to give more, but they're trying too hard sometimes because they're having to make up for the rest of us. Let's get off our asses and help the Carters save the world. They could use the assist.