by Vince on August 7, 2009
It happened again. I was in a church and listening to a powerful testimony that was full of pain. It made me angry…in a good way.
I was pissed about injustice and I was now haunted by the reality of injustice around the corner and around the world.
It was true. It was beautiful.
Then it got churchie.
We took a minute to ‘reflect’.
We sang a pretty song.
We felt good about God and ourselves.
We left the room and got some coffee.
I would rather leave the room haunted. Confused. In crisis.
I want to lose sleep thinking about heavy truths.
Instead we sing a pretty song. We like this because it brings resolve to the moment.
…but it neuters future action_
by Vince on August 5, 2008
I like sports. I like the Olympics too.
I like to think that I care about the big things especially on issues of justice. It’s easy for us to care about starving kids and all out genocide, but where is the standard for caring? At what point should we show up and and do something?
Should we care about the Chinese occupation of Tibet? It’s not like they are killing people left and right.
Maybe we don’t need to go on a hunger strike or riot in the streets, but we should at least educate ourselves. Which when I think about it, sounds like a weak effort.
Maybe we don’t care about the little things because it doesn’t seem like it matters; it’s not like I can point to a picture of a kid on my fridge that I am supporting if I boycott the Olympics.
But maybe I should learn to care when it doesn’t get ME anything
by Vince on July 16, 2008
It’s true that I am a man of vision and action. Or at least I try to be. Here’s the trouble this causes. I tend to miss the small things. It’s not on purpose. It’s not that I think the small things are insignificant or otherwise unimportant. I know the small things add up to the big thing.
The problem is that I straight up don’t even think of them. Or at least the ones that broke someone’s heart because I didn’t indicate enough that I care. I do care, a lot. All the small things are very important to me.
Let me let you into my brain for a second. The following are some things that literally haunt my thoughts and dreams every day, even every moment. I lose sleep over these things. It’s a blessing/curse to have the weight of these things on a man. But that’s the calling that I must live out.
- I hurt and cry for people all around me that do not have a belief in Christ that I do. And I lose sleep and toil over how to impact their lives.
- I struggle with how to lead the people of the Kingdom of God into actions that show the world that they are for real.
- My heart is broken for the injustice all around the world. Children dieing. People starving. Cities being bombed. I don’t feel a detachment from these things. They haunt me every day.
This burden is real. It’s probably taking a few years off my life. It’s certainly not leaving a whole lot of room in my life and mind for all the small things. But I’m trying. Give me a little time. I have a lot on my mind
by Vince on October 11, 2007
A really good friend of mine connected with and served with the Free Burma Rangers in Thailand for almost a year. Currently he is preparing to go back and set up an air support team to drop supplies to the IDPs in Burma.
That’s right it is called Burma. Don’t believe what they tell you on the news. Only the wacked militia that is running it calls it Myanmar.
Burma needs prayer and support, and the Free Burma Rangers are the only group that is actually doing something. U understand that they often have trouble getting support from big organizations because they have to ‘bend’ the rules to bring aid into Burma…but you didn’t hear that from me.
[tags]burma, myanmar, free burma rangers[/tags]
by Vince on October 7, 2007
I joined the Junky Car Club today with my 1997 Ford Escort. I’m pretty sure my bike I put on the roof is worth more. But I don’t have to make any payments.
Go join the Junk Car Club today
