And so goes another typical rally...
Micah 6:8 (MSG) #verseOfReflection
But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don’t take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.
On yesterday I attended an event in Tallahassee at the State Capitol called "Moral Mondays". This was started some time ago in North Carolina, and now the Florida Chapter of the NAACP (National Assoc. for the Advancement of Colored People) as well as many others are ready to put pressure of Florida's legislature to make some much needed changes. These include: 1)Minimum wage increase, 2)Repeal/Reform of the "Stand Your Ground" Laws, 3)Acceptance of Federal Dollars in Medicaid Expansion, 4) Restoration of Voting Rights of Felons, and the list goes on.
It was a typical rally. There's the whoopin' and hollerin'. Call & Response. That one preacher that gets everybody excited; "Fired UP! Ready to go!" and then whoever follows them has to deal with what always seems to be an increase in crowd side-conversations as their particular issue is one of the many being focused on, but not the central issue. [I witnessed this at the March on Washington 50th Anniversary. Same thing probably happened to the guy who spoke behind MLK in '63.] As time goes on, the crowd dwindles and by chance there are people still left an hour before the rally ends, it's practically become a ghost town.
I enjoyed myself. I listened to what most of the speakers had to say, aside from when I was inside the Capitol Building for my first time ever. A lot of the young people (i.e. College-age and below) who participated impressed me a great deal. What disappointed me was that there wasn't enough young people represented there as a part of the program. [There were however many who worked in the building that did come out to "show support".] Same old people you'd expect, the "old heads". Senator so and so, Congressperson such and such. Don't get me wrong, they should be there...but compared to what the Dream Defenders started back in the Summer of 2013, this seemed very weak in my view. BUT, it's just the beginning and beginnings are not to be compared to the endings or the journey. We'll see what happens.
SN: I've always been a practical/actionable person. My question never ceases to be: What next?!
One of the purposes of this blog other than to get you to think about issues from multiple sides and encourage you to live a better life and possibly find a better way of doing so, is to cause you to, "Do more. Be more." It's probably been termed differently in the past, as the entries typed away here continue to increase in number. We all are able to affect the culture around us for the better, especially in what may seem to be trivial and insignificant ways. Often, it is the smallest of gestures that causes the greatest impact, even if they may never be seen or recorded in history.
President Obama announced his latest initiative "My Brother's Keeper" on last Thursday. Strangely enough, I suppose it served as a buffer to ESPN Commentator Michael Wilbon's use of the N-Word on television last Monday. Way to go Mr. President for cleaning that one up #sarcasm I think this initiative is a good one, and there are many such like this around the country that have proven to be beneficial to young men of color. Of course plenty of people will disagree, saying that the President should not have done THIS, because he is the President of all people. If I was in his position I'd do the same thing. And if necessary I will.
In his book, Culture making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, author Andy Crouch does a very good job of discussing culture. What it is, potentially what it isn't, and how we can not only be co-creators with God, but also how we are instinctively creative people. This is done with a focus on how to make culture in the light of a Christian context. For example, within Christianity (there are many divisions, but more so these two groups) liberal Christians tend to approach the Bible with a historical critical methodology, whereas evangelical Christians tend to ignore how culture plays an important role in understanding the context properly (pg 11). I'd argue as Andy touches on, that both are necessary, and neither more important than the other. This goes back to the Moral Monday March. I see myself more as one who would influence policy decisions, yet I understand the necessity of demonstration. They work together hand-in-hand.
"Creativity is the only viable source of change" (pg 73). I believe creativity is what causes a lot of things to take place, most notably our increase in technological advancement. Without creativity life itself would come to a halt. And from a biblical perspective if you think about the worship of idols (especially those made of wood and other materials), it is obvious that some void was trying to be filled. I mean, how else do you explain worshiping a god made out of wood, when the same wood is used to prepare your meal or anything else for that matter? We have an inherent hunger to create and sometimes in today's society we are more consumers than we are producers. Everyone is waiting for the next dance video to go viral...or perhaps that trend is over.
Some of the cultural topics discussed here at #imdatruthblog include: Same-Sex Marriage, My Beef with Academia, and how the Church has failed us. There's also an explicit attempt to do this from a Christian perspective with an understanding that even those who are not Christians or of other faiths (and possibly younger believers) have as much of a desire to change the world and culture around us. I continue to create what I consider to be my cultural artifact in sharing what I see around me in ways that others may not be able to grasp. Perhaps I'm just talking to myself, but every so often someone tells me (often in the real world) that they see what I've been doing. Of course I'd like 1,000 readers a month, and to start discussions as this is designed. For now, I find my significance in remaining faithful to what's been started here. Not being concerned with what others are doing and celebrating with them when they do create their own artifacts (i.e. Contributions to culture) in attempts to not only shape but create culture in meaningful ways. Even if you're doing ____ and it's on a small scale, or you aren't reaching as many people as you want, continue to press on and don't give up. It's not about the quantity but the quality. History has shown that quality stretches far beyond having huge numbers. We'll continue to look into various topics as we try to "make culture" for the better.
Here's a run down of what each "season" has been about here at #imdatruthblog. It's a rough sketch; sometimes a variety of things are touched on during a season. To give you an idea, each season generally runs from August-May (or June/July).
Season 1: The Introduction...finding truth in life through the gospel.
It was a typical rally. There's the whoopin' and hollerin'. Call & Response. That one preacher that gets everybody excited; "Fired UP! Ready to go!" and then whoever follows them has to deal with what always seems to be an increase in crowd side-conversations as their particular issue is one of the many being focused on, but not the central issue. [I witnessed this at the March on Washington 50th Anniversary. Same thing probably happened to the guy who spoke behind MLK in '63.] As time goes on, the crowd dwindles and by chance there are people still left an hour before the rally ends, it's practically become a ghost town.
I enjoyed myself. I listened to what most of the speakers had to say, aside from when I was inside the Capitol Building for my first time ever. A lot of the young people (i.e. College-age and below) who participated impressed me a great deal. What disappointed me was that there wasn't enough young people represented there as a part of the program. [There were however many who worked in the building that did come out to "show support".] Same old people you'd expect, the "old heads". Senator so and so, Congressperson such and such. Don't get me wrong, they should be there...but compared to what the Dream Defenders started back in the Summer of 2013, this seemed very weak in my view. BUT, it's just the beginning and beginnings are not to be compared to the endings or the journey. We'll see what happens.
SN: I've always been a practical/actionable person. My question never ceases to be: What next?!
President Obama announced his latest initiative "My Brother's Keeper" on last Thursday. Strangely enough, I suppose it served as a buffer to ESPN Commentator Michael Wilbon's use of the N-Word on television last Monday. Way to go Mr. President for cleaning that one up #sarcasm I think this initiative is a good one, and there are many such like this around the country that have proven to be beneficial to young men of color. Of course plenty of people will disagree, saying that the President should not have done THIS, because he is the President of all people. If I was in his position I'd do the same thing. And if necessary I will.
In his book, Culture making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, author Andy Crouch does a very good job of discussing culture. What it is, potentially what it isn't, and how we can not only be co-creators with God, but also how we are instinctively creative people. This is done with a focus on how to make culture in the light of a Christian context. For example, within Christianity (there are many divisions, but more so these two groups) liberal Christians tend to approach the Bible with a historical critical methodology, whereas evangelical Christians tend to ignore how culture plays an important role in understanding the context properly (pg 11). I'd argue as Andy touches on, that both are necessary, and neither more important than the other. This goes back to the Moral Monday March. I see myself more as one who would influence policy decisions, yet I understand the necessity of demonstration. They work together hand-in-hand.
"Creativity is the only viable source of change" (pg 73). I believe creativity is what causes a lot of things to take place, most notably our increase in technological advancement. Without creativity life itself would come to a halt. And from a biblical perspective if you think about the worship of idols (especially those made of wood and other materials), it is obvious that some void was trying to be filled. I mean, how else do you explain worshiping a god made out of wood, when the same wood is used to prepare your meal or anything else for that matter? We have an inherent hunger to create and sometimes in today's society we are more consumers than we are producers. Everyone is waiting for the next dance video to go viral...or perhaps that trend is over.
Some of the cultural topics discussed here at #imdatruthblog include: Same-Sex Marriage, My Beef with Academia, and how the Church has failed us. There's also an explicit attempt to do this from a Christian perspective with an understanding that even those who are not Christians or of other faiths (and possibly younger believers) have as much of a desire to change the world and culture around us. I continue to create what I consider to be my cultural artifact in sharing what I see around me in ways that others may not be able to grasp. Perhaps I'm just talking to myself, but every so often someone tells me (often in the real world) that they see what I've been doing. Of course I'd like 1,000 readers a month, and to start discussions as this is designed. For now, I find my significance in remaining faithful to what's been started here. Not being concerned with what others are doing and celebrating with them when they do create their own artifacts (i.e. Contributions to culture) in attempts to not only shape but create culture in meaningful ways. Even if you're doing ____ and it's on a small scale, or you aren't reaching as many people as you want, continue to press on and don't give up. It's not about the quantity but the quality. History has shown that quality stretches far beyond having huge numbers. We'll continue to look into various topics as we try to "make culture" for the better.
"We begin to measure our significance
by our access to powerful people and institutions,
not by how faithful we remain to the cultural goods
we were seeking to cultivate and create." (Pg. 225)
Here's a run down of what each "season" has been about here at #imdatruthblog. It's a rough sketch; sometimes a variety of things are touched on during a season. To give you an idea, each season generally runs from August-May (or June/July).
Season 1: The Introduction...finding truth in life through the gospel.
Season 2: Balance…scripture for the soul, cultivation of the culture.
Season 2.5-3: Culture Making
Season 2.5-3: Culture Making
Coming up we'll dive back into some cultural goodness including part 2 of the following entries: The Power of Positive Parenting, Valunteering, SMS and that's all I can say for now. #stayTuned
Sumthn2Ponder (s2p):
Sumthn2Ponder (s2p):
- How have you contributed to culture (for better or worse)?
- When's the last time you mentored/taught someone just because?
- Are you creative or do you support those who are?
