Lets Dream A little bit...

Micah 6:8 says, "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

We, as a group seek to do this, to walk humbly with God, growing as learners, lovers and givers, considering what it means to act justly and love mercy in the world around us. As we are preparing to launch out new groups I would love for us to take some time to dream about how God is calling us.

Consider this a brain storm session:

How would you like to see God's Kingdom move forward over the next 6 months?

• Think about where you see needs in the world around you, in Raleigh, spiritual needs, physical needs, emotional needs.
• Think about where you see needs in relationships within and outside of the church
• Think about where you see God already working

There are no limits to the options that we can consider... it would be great to hear a couple of ideas from everyone...

Another Discussion Chain...

If you took the time to look through the power point attached to the email, it was made by the Hope House, the first faith based home for domestic minor victims of sex trafficking in NC. One of our Jubilee members is head out there for a few months, please say some prayers for Rachel.

I have a ton of presentations available, additional links and websites that I could share with videos, facts, figures, scriptures, music, Let me know if you want more info. But I know you could spend hours searching this on the internet yourself as well.

Also, on Sunday night I got to go to the kick off Rally for the Stop Child Trafficking Now Walk that I was telling you guys about. I am more excited about the possibilities for the money and awareness raised through these efforts now as ever. I am hoping that you guys can help me come up or follow through with some creative fundraising strategies.

The funding raised through SCTNOW will go to fund special operations teams on the ground who are former Navy Seals, Army high ups, FBI, etc. They will be looking to bust rings of trafficking and be gathering the needed information for these cases to get prosecuted. From talking with a lot of the guys, this method seems to be something that you all could get behind and really see as a need for helping combat this problem.

At the same time, I don't want to gloss over the fact that we opened up a great conversation about our views of sex, what contributes to our sinful natures, and the honesty of dealing with these in our relationships with our spouses, friends, and internal workings of the soul. I have been pretty much on the verge of tears, if not full out crying for days because I have once again been reminded about how far away we all are from what I believe God intended for us. I have a ton of hope and am thankful for healing, but it just pisses me off when I can't seem to escape it, just turn on the tv or radio. I am affected more than I would like to admit and I would say that most of you would admit that as well. Thank you for being people that can share in helping to create a ripple affect for our healing.

Remember why I care about this stuff??

When I have questions about the bible, about if something is cultural or if something is a universal application, one of the things I do is look for themes in scripture. I look at the way Jesus lived his life and if there are consistencies over the entire story... God's heart for justice and respect for women and love for people is one of those enduring themes. It would be beneficial for us to recognize these things... here are 5 themes...

1) God is a God of Justice who hates injustice
Ps 11:7—for the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face
Is 61:8—For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and inequity.
Deut 32:4—He is the rock, His works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Ps 106:3—Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.

2) God gives Dignity to all human life
Gen 1:27— So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them
Gal 3:26-28—You are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

3) Jesus Christ came to redeem and restore the whole person, body, mind, and spirit
Matt 20:29-34-- As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. "Lord," they answered, "we want our sight." Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
John 8:1-11—But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
Luke 15: 1-7-- Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

4) Concern and care for the poor and marginalized is commanded by Jesus and modeled by His life
Luke 4:18—The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,

Isaiah 61:1-4-The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

5) At the heart of Christ’s earthly message was hope for new life for every man, woman, boy and girl
2 Cor 5:17—Therefore, if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation. Behold the old is gone, the new has come.

Last night we learned about some grave atrocities in our world. Some of this was be news to you, some was not. You were most likely be stirred to anger and shock at how terrible the plight is of victims of exploitation and how much our world promotes the demand for corruption and continued violence and oppression.

At the same time, we just looked God’s heart and considered a how Jesus brought hope, compassion and restoration for the oppressed, the marginalized, the poor. So, what does this mean for us? How do we make sense of this? Here is my attempt to try:

We are God’s plan to bring restoration to this world. God created us in his image, to pursue justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with him.

Our Lord designed us to participate with him in redemption and restoration.

If we are following Jesus then we have a model of how he lived his life. A life of justice, A life of restoration, A radical life of love. Jesus said, You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden. Shine your light before men, they will see your good deeds and praise my father in heaven. Matt 5

Maybe we are asking the wrong question... maybe the question is, what does participation in restoration and redemption look like in your life?

Sex Trafficking Follow Up

Thank you to everyone for talking opening about something that is often uncomfortable, overwhelming and gives us a glimpse into the darkness of our own hearts and the world around us. I come away from last night still hopeful that we can live differently in ways that bring healing and hope for those who are hurting, ourselves included.

Although, there were many perspectives about what can and should be done and how we should look at the sex industry there are some common themes that I would like to pull out.

• God created sex and meant it for good! We need avenues to express our sexuality in healthy ways, not shy away from discussing it, especially as a church.
• We need to recognize how much porn, stripping, prostitution, and just normal media messages contribute to all of our warped perspectives on sex (male and female). Its important for us to talk about this in community with others.
• There are children being exploited for sex locally and globally and this is a problem that needs to be addressed.

For more information on Human Trafficking check out these links:

NC Stop Human Trafficking

Polaris Project

Stop Child Trafficking Now

Shared Hope International

Some of you were interested in stats:

• 300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk every year for commercial sexual exploitation. -U.S. Department of Justice
• 600,000 – 800,000 people are bought and sold across international borders each year; 50% are children, most are female. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade. – U.S. Department of State, 2004, Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington, D.C.
• An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. – U.S Department of Justice Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons
• There are open sex slavery cases in all 50 States. An estimated 10,000 sex slaves exist in New York City. – Red Light Children Campaign
• An estimated 2.5 million children, the majority of them girls, are sexually exploited in the multibillion dollar commercial sex industry – UNICEF
• Investigators and researchers estimate the average predator in the U.S. can make more than $200,000 a year off one young girl. – NBC Report by Teri Williams

I realize that this is overwhelming and you can spend many hours on the internet researching and learning about all of the various aspects of human trafficking and child sex trafficking. I would encourage you to do your own research and become informed on your own time. This way you will be able to talk with others about what is going on all around us.

One of the biggest problems we have is that we don't know enough to talk about or aren't aware that it is happening. The more you learn, the more you will become aware of stories that you see in the news and possibly even places where trafficking is taking place in your own community. Hopefully we can be a part of combatting demand and rescuing and restoring the lives of those who are being exploited.

Action Items

Stop Child Trafficking Now Walk— 9AM Sunday, Sept. 27th & Information and Encouragement Rally Sunday, June 14th 7PM

Guest Host Night at NoFo Café—Tuesday, Aug. 18th 5:30-9PM

Transform Asia—Cambodia Vision and Service Trip, December 2009

Talk! Change your attitudes! Pray! Pay Attention!

Jubilee meets at Visio Dei Church on the 1st & 3rd Monday’s of each month at 7PM.


Please post comments! This is a discussion we need to continue.

Conflict Negotiation

Thank you guys for participating in our discussion last night. There was some discussion about a follow up or some tips on getting to the collaborative/healthy conflict... 

Here is a 10 step process of interpersonal negotiation that might be helpful. 

1) The parties involved in the conflict should come together

2) Each party should take a turn describing his/her perception of the situation, how he or she feels about it, and what he/she wants. The other party should listen and then reflect the other's perspective. 

*By reflect I mean restate what they heard the other say

3) Together, parties should come to an agreement on what the conflict is really about. (This may take several iterations of step 2) 

4) Each person should agree to be willing to come up with a solution that encompasses both parties' interests.

5) Together, parties should describe their ideal situation. 

6) Parties should come to an agreement on a new ideal and realistic situation

7) Talk about what changes will be needed to bring about a new situation

8) Together, make a plan of action which will help achieve the desired new situation and set a time frame for these changes. 

9) Make a commitment to make the necessary changes. 

10) Set a future date to evaluate the situation and to re-negotiate any differences if necessary. 

*Obviously this process is not going to happen with bells and music playing the background like a dream, it takes hard work, and often requires humility and trust to be established and given. Sometimes it even requires a 3rd party to help us walk through these steps. 

We all have stories

Last night we had a great conversation. One of the many things that I took away was that we all have stories. Each and everyone of us, those sitting at 807 Edenton St. every Thursday night and those who would never venture to step a foot inside with a group of Christians.

We talked about not wanting to be seen and at the same time so desperately wanting to be seen. I wonder if this is a paradox that most face on some level? My guess is 'yes'.

Two clues give this away to me... Post Secret and the 25 random things about me that has been going around face book recently... we want to share and we want to know, but we aren't sure how others are going to respond because somewhere deep down we feel alone or that our story will shock others or turn away friends and family.

This can still go on, or we can do something about it. My suggestion is that we start sharing our stories... What is yours? Mine will be on the first comment (in abridged form). Maybe sharing our stories will free us up to engage with others, go as Jesus did and heal as he healed...