Confession

I feel ripped off. By this Saturday at noon I will be a college graduate. It has taken four years for me to realize what that means. It means that I am more educated than 98% of the world. It means that I have enough debt to keep me and my future family in the the same system. It means that I am bound by privilege.

Here at Taylor I have been given a very good, Christ-centered education. My practicum for a degree in Christian Educational Ministries took me to Juarez, Mexico where I facilitated high school mission trips in basically a squatter colony. There I learned what it looked like to not have enough resources to feed your baby properly, and to watch across a fence as another bank building goes up, waving Old Glory. As those people shared Christ and many gifts with me, I felt like I learned much more about the reality of God during my first few weeks there then I did as I was writing research papers at length for my Bible or Christian Ed classes.

My frustration is not against Taylor, but that I feel trapped. It takes a lot of effort to break myself of consuming, wasting, entitlement, and just plain ignorance. Oversimplified but not nearly as expressive as it is within me it is this that I am frustrated at: It cost me over $100,000 to realize that I don't want this kind of life-- and I have to retain my privileged place in society just to pay (a good portion) of it back.

I hope that I can find someone who can show me what it truly means to become like Christ.

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Parade Rest, Rush. Parade Rest

A gathering of very influential Evangelical leaders occurred on Wednesday to discuss the relationship of Evangelicals to politics.  There is quite a movement on the way, BE A PART.  Good stuff - - listen to it here

I was alarmed to here this from a leader in the Latino Evangelical community:

Sam Rodriguez: "The major difference between Latino evangelicals and white evangelicals is that many white evangelicals take their marching orders from Bishop Rush Limbaugh, Prophet Sean Hannity, and Apostle Lou Dobbs; and Latino evangelicals still listen to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John."

I know that the statement was intended to be emphatic and the point should be considered with grace.  Although I hope fervently that he is wrong, my fear is that Mr. Rodriguez' statement is correct.  

I don't think that it is so much the case or problem that White evangelicals listen to the men listed, it is that WE have forgotten how to listen at all.  A good number of us have forgotten to take a "Berea" approach to anything said about our Faith and our Lord.

I can speak loudly on behalf of one White Evangelical to say that this statement does not describe me.  Maybe I really was supposed to be Latino.

The thing is, these men are beating on drums with old skins.  The new wine will break them.  Sure, we will be wrong about much too, but the cadence is changed.  Less march, more walk together.  Two miles.