Justifiably Crazy.

"Do you really think you can make a difference?  I mean, each time you rescue one girl from being sexually exploited, doesn't the exploiter just go take another young girl?"

"I'm not qualified to answer that question."

"What do you mean you're not qualified to answer that question?!  You spend your life rescuing young girls from sex trafficking?"

"You will have to ask one of the girls who was saved if it made a difference."

I apologize in advance that I cannot build a Table of Contents into this blog post as I am quite aware of the hardwork in scrolling that you are going to have to do.  I assure you that it's worth it, and well, if it's not, feel free to stop reading (but just pretend you did by graciously giving me a smile and a wink the next time you see me). ;)  I've also made sure to BOLD the names of the speakers in case you want to browse the blog post that way.

"We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself." ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Beyond privileged and yet feeling rather under qualified, I had the opportunity to attend The Justice Conference in Portland last weekend.  Now, I have been to many conferences and do believe that God has created (and revealed) within me a deep (and sometimes overwhelming and even paralyzing) desire to, yes, I'm going to say it, "change the world," or better said as , "contribute to changing the world."  But I was not prepared for the life flip that this weekend had in store for me.  (It really didn't/doesn't seem possible for my life to be flipped anymore then it currently is for those of you that know what's going on but God always seems to have a surprise party up His sleeve).  And as I've always said, "Life is weird," which by the way, even Francis Chan felt compelled to borrow my quote and share it from the stage during the closing session - I mean, it's just so profound and unique in it's sentence structure and depth, how could he have not? ;)

No amount of time spent reflecting, re - reading pages of notes, or re - listening to podcasts would be able to do the conference justice (no pun intended).  So I will refrain from even trying to paint an accurate picture of the conference itself and simply share some of the wisdom that is seemingly starting a new revolution in my heart.

The conference kicked off with Ken Wytsma - the founder of the Justice Conference.  Ken spoke to the wholeness of the term "Justice" and that it was universal by encompassing things like social justice, love, ethics, law, etc.  It wasn't pigeon holed as one particular, but as what he described as a "cluster complex."  He posed this challenge: Spend less time cautiously avoiding sin and more time courageously and actively doing God's will.  He re - stated the great Augustine, "Charity is no substitute for justice withheld."  Justice surfaces the need for and is made complete by grace.  Prior to walking off the stage, he left us to answer two questions as we journeyed through the weekend:

What breaks your heart?     ||     What makes you angry?

Miroslav Volf, the Director of Yale's Center for Faith and Cultuer took the stage and spoke to the Scripture in 1 Peter where it says "Honor everyone."  He explained that in light of all the injustice in the world, it was important for us to ask ourselves if we give honor (or tolerate, which is different than honor) to others by mimicking the honor (tolerating) that they give us, or if we honor them without conditions.  Do we seperate the doer from the deed?  What does this mean when the doer did the deed of murdering your cousin, raping your daughter, or exploiting your sister?

"Are you emotionally inept to see that the world around you is out of bread?"  I don't think I was able to ever answer that question, but surely Walter Brueggemann, one of the world's most important Old Testament scholars knew exactly what he was asking and the train of thought that he wanted to challenge all of us with.  He went on to explain that Jesus was a huge threat to the status quo because of His transformational power that led followers to act out justice.  (Insert pause: Is Jesus still a threat to the status quo and do we allow or even make room for His transformational power to move us to act out justice?)  Part of His transformational power resulted in an emotional upheavel.  This emotional upheavel is also defined through the word compassion.  As God held not even an ounce of anything back from us, He commissioned us with the call to also empty ourselves for the world.  "The righteous person puts their body where need is, where there's no energy or room for people to be respectable."  He proclaimed that we are far overdue and it has been "time to cast our lots with these people for the sake of changing the neighborhood" (a term used to describe the particular area God has currently called us to). 

"Everytime you give yourself away, you get yourself back, enhanced." ~ Walter Brueggemann

Speaking of neighborhoods, it was only fitting that the Pastor of Imago Dei, a church in the local Portland neighborhood, Rick McKinley, take the floor.  "How do we resurrect the dream of the neighborhood?  Especially when the vision of me, of self interest, blinds us from our neighbors?  And even more so when the self interest attitude in me is the same claim that a pimp makes over a woman or a trafficker makes over a child?  Are we letting the neighborhoods go to hell without even the most remote awareness of it?"  Pastor McKinley explained that when we can be released from hyper - individualism, we are then free to be a part of God's revolution. 

"We need a radical infusion of the grace of God to get our eyes off ourselves and on to somebody else.  Because in an environment of grace, nothing is earned.  All is given." ~ Rick McKinley

Am I a courageous neighbor, willing to re - stucture my life on others' behalf?  Am I infused with compassion and do I genuinely care about the outcome of the story?  Am I willing to overcome apathy and create a mico - revolution as an ordinary, under - qualified, and unlikely person?
 
Am I willing to follow the dust of the rabbi?

If you are still with me, I hope you are thinking what I was thinking.  It was only 1:00 P.M. on Saturday afternoon and I was full.  Over full.  Not only did I believe I received my money's worth, but I couldn't imagine how anything else was going to fit inside of me.  Questions and thoughts and reflections and prayers were being stored and not limited to my ankles, extending all the way up to and through my arm hairs and the pores on my faces. 

But when I learned that John Perkins was taking the stage next, I found some extra room in my neck and welcomed his wisdom.  "The Gospel itself is the definition of justice.  You leave out justice and you leave out the Gospel."  Dr. Perkins challenged us to identify the pain in our lives.  "The greatest initiatives and movements come out of the pain of the people, the ones with the problems.  And this is what begins to change the one neighborhood at a time and eventually the world."  Do I have a sense of urgency or does urgency come only when it affects me?  "Great leaders are moved by the concerns of others, the things that far outweigh their own."

Rachel Lloyd was the next speaker to approach the podium.  Founder of GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services), the nation's largest organization offering direct services to domestic victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, I was not prepared for Rachel's testimony.  A cheerful and confident woman, you would have never known that such a deep scope of pain, exploitation, danger, and abuse filled the first half of her life.  Making the decision to leave her hometown of England at age 15 in search of something different in Germany, it wasn't too long after arriving that she realized the magnitude of the decision she had made.  With a one way ticket, no money, no friends, and no family, she continued, "I didn't have a father that I could call and say, 'Daddy, fly me home.  I messed up.'"  Before she could even finish this sentence, I not only found myself with frogs in my stomach, but there was zero chance that any amount of tissue rolls was going to stop the flood emerging from my eye sockets.  And in that moment, I (believing I have for the most part - minus a few teen years - been aware of how blessed I am with such an incredible father), found myself soaking in that blessing times ten million.  Having a father that she could have called, could have made the difference.  Changed the outcome of what the next years were going to bring.  Saved her from rape(s).  From beatings.  From being chased around and strangled almost to death on more occasions then worth counting.  It was in this moment that though I've always known that my heart beats a little extra for young girls, the discipling and mentoring thereof, I knew God was taking me to a deeper place, a deeper breaking.  And here, we had a live visual of using one's pain to make it one's greatest ministry.  It clicked: I want to connect my deepest passions, my deepest pains, with the deepest pains of the world.

As Stephen Bauman, the President and CEO of World Relief continued, "The solution to suffering is right there.  The resources are next to the pain."  He challenged us to be a "community of faith wrapping ourselves around a community of pain."  He gave the example of the women in the Congo.  97% of the people in the Congo consider themselves a Christian, and yet 9 out of 10 women are brutally raped.  How does that even make sense?!  He shared that because women are among the most oppressed people group in the world, that also makes them (us) the most un - tapped resource in the world.  I believe he presented that not only as a fact, but as an urgent and desperate plea to every woman sitting in and outside of that room.

And if at this point, you don't feel challeneged enough, Francis Chan stood up to take the stage for the closing event.  "So let me ask you all, shouldn't we be doing crazier things with each passing year or is it only an emergency when it's your daughter being trafficked?  Why do we make safer decisions the older we get - or really at any point in life that isn't considered our 'twenties?'  Because you get married?  Because you start having kids?  Because you're saving for retirement?  This life as a Christian isn't about playing it safe."  Chan went on to tell the story of a 60 year old couple, a hair stylist and a mechanic, who recently adopted 11 children.  They even sought more but the state said, "We were only supposed to give you six and we already threw in a few extra!"  A perfect example of a crazier decision made.  Why?  Because if we are walking with the Lord, we will experience more and more of His faithfulness, making those 'crazy' decisions less and less crazy.  And even if they are crazy, it should essentially mean that the success of your day depends on the work, answer, and response of the Holy Spirit.  Being that the majority of us (myself included), can manuever our days successfully without relying on the Holy Spirit for the deliverables, it begs the question, am I living boldly and courageously, and making crazy decisions, at all?

Chan paused and within a few seconds, began reading.

"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow..." Duet. 10:18
"If there is any poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted and tightfisted toward your poor brother..." Duet. 15:7-8
"He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; He saves them from the clutches of the powerful.  So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth..." Job 5:15-16

And it continues, but this list doesn't even come close to the end of all the Scripture that points to the causes of justice.

Proverbs 21:13
Proverbs 14:21
Proverbs 31:8-9
1 John 3:17-18
James 1:27
Psalm 82:3-4
Psalm 140:12
Is. 58:10
Is. 41:17
Is. 1:17
Is. 58:6-7
Job 29:12
Job 30:25
Luke 12:33
Jeremiah 22:16

If you are anything like me, I almost wanted to shout, "Stop.  Okay.  I get it.  What do you want me to do?!"

"It's time for everyone to start living according to Scripture.  Read it simply and take it literally.  Don't back down or shy away from the boldest, most courageous, and crazy things that God is calling you to do.  Even when people tell you it's crazy."

There doesn't seem to be a fitting end to this blog post because there's isn't really an end to the conversation or realities of justice and injustice in general, but I do thank you for your grace in length and simply allowing me to use this post as an opportunity to flush out the many things that are still circulating my h & h (head and heart).  I want nothing more and nothing less than for this to be anything but a conference high.  I want this to change my life and cause me to live differently - whether by means of adopting 11 children at the age of 60, serving teen mom's in the city, working with young girls in the sex trafficking industry, or moving to the Congo.  Who knows (well God does so that's silly of me to ask), but I hope and pray that my heart is postured in such a way that I recognize the crazy, respond and obey the crazy, and that the crazy rules my life, and only gets crazier.

Oh the days when jumping on your bed and TPing your neighbor's house was craaaaazy. ;)