jklam's Xanga

moving time

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 20:52:20 GMT

i started using this blog as a sophomore in college... for no reason really. i just felt like writing about the stuff flying through my head, and blogging seemed like a good way to do that. and then one day, i received xanga premium as a gift from a friend. well, finally, xanga premium has run out. so now, it's time for me to officially move. i've had this other blog for a lil while now, i just never used it, partially because i couldn't get it to do what i wanted it to do. but, after reading the faq page on wordpress, i know what i'm doing =).

come visit me at jklam.com.

stop by and say hello!

a dirty little secret

Mon, 14 May 2007 22:30:17 GMT

so, four years ago we went to iraq to ~~eliminate wmd's~~ install a democracy. now, iraq has a democractically elected parliament.

and guess what? last week, the majority of the democratically-elected parliament signed a petition to end us occupation in iraq. they want to set a withdrawal timetable (sound familiar?). so what will the white house do? will they respect the democratic will of a democractically elected parliament and "roll out?" spreading democracy has been what U.S. foreign policy has been all about, is it not? now that we've brought freedom to iraq and liberated them from their own tyranny, what will we do when they want to exercise their democracy and ask us to please leave in a timely manner?

heck, what will we do if/when they decide to exercise their democracy and flash some shades of an islamic theocracy? i'm thinking this trillion dollar war wasn't really about democracy anymore...

and lastly, i think it is absolutely absurd that this story is not all over the news right now. very, very few americans know this happened, and that should really piss people off.

committee to end homeless in king county

Fri, 04 May 2007 20:31:49 GMT

in 2015, if everything goes according to plan, homelessness in seattle will be a thing of the past. the plan is not just to manage homelessness, but end homelessness.

check it out.

veto machine

Fri, 04 May 2007 07:53:37 GMT

this week, president bush vetoed a plan to bring the troops home in 2008. it should be noted that four years ago, right about the time we were assured that this war in iraq would be a quick-and-fast deal, president bush gave a stirring speech under a giant sign that read, "mission accomplished." four years ago.

yes, that bothered me, but not too much because it was expected. then i read some more news...

and found that the white house is threatening to veto another bill that would expand hate crime laws to include violent attacks based on sexual orientation or gender. am i taking crazy pills? that just doesn't make any sense. whatever. well, guess who has spoken out against the bill... that's right, our good friend jimmy d, defender of good christian values. thanks.

i shouldn't read the news anymore when it's time for bed.

preach on brotha campolo

Wed, 02 May 2007 22:51:44 GMT

"I wrote a book awhile back, and it stays in print primarily because some of the chapter titles are provocative. I guess the one that is most provocative is the simple question, and it sums it all up: “Can a Christian Own a BMW?” I get letters of anger from people on this one. It’s tough to think about it. Here’s a car that costs like $60,000 and is designed to do 200 miles per hour on the German autobahn, when in Pennsylvania, the most you can do is 65 miles per hour. Why would you buy a car designed to go 200 miles per hour when you can only go 65 miles per hour? The answer is quite simple: A BMW is not a car; it’s a status symbol.

When you read the second chapter of Philippians and you realize that Jesus gave up status and took upon Himself the form of a slave and made Himself of “no reputation,” how can you claim to be a follower of that Christ and be buying into the status symbols of our culture? And let’s be honest, a good bit of what we buy has nothing to do with meeting our needs; it has to do with establishing an image. And we are trying to establish status through consumerism, and that is evil, and that is contrary to everything that Jesus is about."

[tony campolo]

Agh, that cuts. How many status symbols of our culture am I buying into, everyday?

Nevermind, I don't really wanna know.

___________________________________

I should say that this blurb from Campolo wasn't compelling to me because of its critique against luxury cars. Making checklists of what a follower of Christ can and can't own, I think, misses the point. Jesus didn't come to bring about a new form of legalism, though perhaps I should take a closer look at his critique since I just got a new Prius -- a new kind of status symbol (especially in North Seattle) that screams, "I'm a tree-hugging hippie!" Maybe as much as any other car, it works toward "establishing an image."

I know that I buy into a lot of status symbols. I not only pursue these status symbols for myself, but I reinforce the cultural value of these symbols by applauding those who are in possession of them. Practically everyone is complicit in this system of upward mobility and self-importance. Campolo reminds us that Jesus made himself a slave and of “no reputation,” and wonders if it's even possible to be a follower of Christ and buy into status symbols. Is it possible that the people of God have made a new golden calf to worship?

preach on, brotha walt

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 21:11:00 GMT

O Me! O life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew'd,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring -- What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.
That you are here -- that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

---------------------------

So just a few thoughts here on the above poem.

On one hand, I think Walt Whitman is a bit snooty here, a characteristic which is befitting to him, since he fancies himself a quasi-deity flying high above the cities of our world. This poem reminds me of an nba superstar saying the lack of talent around him is hurting his game, periodically inserting a token self-deprecating statement in a vain attempt to lead his audience to think him a humble man.

But then, I think it's really easy to empathize with his words, especially in our current cultural/ political climate. To state the obvious -- so much is wrong in our world. And what right do I have to complain, a guy that's complicit with so much of what's wrong in the world? It's hard to deal with this, and has driven many great individuals to hunker down until their left-behind esque rapture whisks them away to paradise.

I really like this poem because it doesn't give the reader any room to run away. The "answer" to his question -- what good amid these, o me, o life? -- is simply that he is present. It's not just wait it out a lil longer, this life is almost over. He's not waiting to be present when things get better, but present here and now. And as this larger meta-narrative of the world marches forward, our presence offers us the opportunity to contribute to the larger story... to change the story. The poem necessarily demands that we think about the question -- what will my contribution be? Am I willing to be present? ... Fun questions to kick around.

jeffrey, don't be an idiot

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 16:59:45 GMT

When we were young and stupid, Dennis and I made a bet – whoever’s more successful in life gets $100 from the loser. Never mind the fact that “success” was never defined, or that we never established when in life we’re supposed to achieve this great level of success. It was a bet, and we were gonna pursue whatever random conception of success was floating in our heads.

Ever since, we would often talk about my future plans, and I remember our last conversation about this. We were watching something on tv, in our house’s dining room-turned-hospice center. Dennis was sitting up on his futon, and I was sitting on his wheelchair, experimenting with its mobility, spinning around in circles. I went upstairs somewhat abruptly to go work on some more grad school applications, and after awhile, he asked what I was doing up there. Writing grad school essays, I told him. For what program?...

He summoned me back down. He was worried – Jeffrey, don't be an idiot. Why aren’t you going to law school anymore? Dennis never mistook me for a smart guy; he loved to make fun of me – as all good older brothers would – for being a reckless idiot. So I was pleasantly surprised whenever we chatted about my career plans, because he always spoke with the assumption that I’m never ambitious enough -- a welcomed compliment in my career-driven family. Seminary? English? Education? Those were the “obvious” choices for me, and that by going to law school, I would be reaching beyond the expected and into something "outstanding" for myself. The worst thing I could do is settle because with our privileged upbringing, settling was a slap in the face to everyone less fortunate.

Why are you applying for education? You want to be a teacher? Is it because so-and-so is doing education, too? Are you just scared? Are you afraid of rejection? Failure?

I told him no, this is what I wanna do. I think I’ll actually be really good at it, and it’s something I’ll enjoy, and something I can be passionate about. Our conversation carried on for awhile longer, and in retrospect, I know this is clear – all his questioning and prodding and pushing weren’t because he really wanted me to go to law school. I could've gone to any number of programs, but that was beside the point. He wanted me to be sure I knew what I was doing, that I genuinely wanted to do what I set out to do, and that I was challenging my mind. He put me through the wringer one last time, to make sure I wasn’t doing something stupid with my life that would force him to come back and kick my arse.

So there it is. After all this time of trying to figure out what my next step will be in life, it's settled. I'm going to the uw college of ed for grad school, and in a couple of years, I'll be set to teach high school special ed and english literature, doing my best to help kids read well. I'm really glad we got a chance to chat about it all one last time.

mourning & melancholy

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 19:45:24 GMT

for anyone fumbling around for answers or wisdom in understanding monday's shooting, i found a few great reflections. brian mclaren, diana butler bass, and shane claiborne (who recently shared at the film, faith, and justice event on the uw campus) all offer beautiful reflections that redirect us toward god, our shared humanity, and an unrelenting commitment to nonviolence.

very helpful stuff.

a hermeneutic of the gospel + orthoparadoxy

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 06:58:52 GMT

an LGBT advocacy group visited spu's campus today, as part of their nationwide tour to conservative christian campuses. most of the people on this tour were young, many of them coming from christian homes (one guy's mom was the vice president of young life), many of them went to christian colleges. the day was filled with q&a's, lectures, presentations, and conversations. during one q&a session, a person asked the panel how their experience of spu had been thus far. their response was very positive, but they noted that almost none of them would feel comfortable or welcomed at the spu campus. though most people in the room did not agree with the lgbt lifestyle, i could sense a lot of grief and self-reflection -- and in fact, repentance -- over the fact that a spirit of hospitality is not often extended to the lgbt community from christians.

their plead was clear -- please accept us as brothers and sisters in christ. love all of us -- even the gay parts.

i don't know how everyone responded, but nevertheless, i came away very impressed with spu. they consistantly provide space for a broad range of voices to speak on campus. yesterday, they had vali nasr, world-renowned expert in islam, speak before a packed house. anti-war quotes from mlk jr are posted on doors. brenda salter mcneil will be in the house soon to speak on racial reconciliation to an almost all-white school. a faculty member recently held a public lecture offering biblical support for women in leadership positions in the church -- including the pastorate. and now, they host a group of gay kids and allow them the space and time to make their voice heard. though i know some would question the validity of an LGBT's faith, we gave a long standing ovation in recognition of their courage and "provocative" message. and now, people on campus are at least rethinking and talking about their long-held convictions about sexuality in the bible.

the big question on my mind wasn't the rightness of the gay lifestyle. i was more interested in what it means for gay christians and conservative heterosexual christians to be one in christ.

lesslie newbigin described the church as "a hermeneutic of the gospel" -- it's an interpretation of the gospel; when someone reads the church, they should be reading the very heart of god. so if by our actions we say that being right (even about something like sexuality which is a marginal biblical issue at best) is more important than being together, what does that tell our world about the god who breathed life into our communities, or how god wishes to interract with the other? is there room in the church for the sexually deviant among us?

according to dwight friesen, some say orthodoxy (ortho - right, doxa - belief) is god's main thing; we need to have the right beliefs down. others say orthopraxy (ortho - right, praxis - living); we need to have the right practices. as important as both these things are, neither was jesus' primary mission. in the incarnation, god came to bring shalom, or reconciliation/ wholeness to the world, and that in turn is the central mission of the church. if we agree that the people of god are called to be agents of reconciliation, then friesen suggests we must move toward what he calls, orthoparadoxy. friesen explains:

"orthoparodoxy is an effort to make god's main thing the main thing for all the people of god: reconciliation. not sameness or agreement but differentiated oneness -- where the fullness of one can be in relationship with the fullness of another. orthoparadox is right paradox -- holding differences rightly. orthoparadox seeks to hold difference, tensions, otherness, and paradoxes with grace, humility, respect, and curiosity, while simultaneously bringing the fullness of self to the "other" in conversation, not to convert or to convince but with the hope of mutual transformation through interpersonal relationship."

the low church

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 07:07:23 GMT

there was this group discussion on the church in france hosted by a local ecumenical group. at the end, this lady stood up and said every evangelical in the house would know her because her mother is the most famous evangelical in france. what most wouldn't know is that eight years ago, she dropped out of the church. she and her husband were leaders in the church, but got fed up with church politics, burnt out on religiosity and all that mess, so they dropped out of the church.

well they had a problem: they still loved god. and suddenly, they had a lot of time on their hands. so they decided, since they had a big table in their dining room, they'd have a dinner party every thursday night. they invited some of their friends who were like them: christians who don't go to church. and they also invited people they described as "typical" french: atheists and agnostics. they'd get together, enjoy homemade soup, eat bread, drink wine, and talk about life, talk about god. they'd talk about film, politics, work, television, art, they talked about whatever they wanted; there was no agenda, but it was always an evening spent around the table in conversation.

now here's the interesting thing, every year, for the last eight years, at least three or four of their friends became followers of christ. she said that never happened when she was "part of the church."

so my questions: what's a pastor? a sermon? did she leave the church or become the church? or basically, what's church?

i'm feeling inspired.

i can't stand your religious meetings.
i'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.
i want nothing to do with your religious projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.
i'm sick of your fundraising schemes,
your public relations and image making.
i've had alli can take of your noisy ego-music.
when was the last time you sang to me?
do you know what i want?
i want justice -- oceans of it.
i want fairness -- rivers of it.
that's what i want, that's all i want.