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Mike Stavlund's poem "Rapture" immediately brought to mind images of a world flipped around. Where businessmen take on the role of their immigrant landscapers. I love the dislocation of the poem - I imagine day-traders riding to the office on a lawnmower, ties blowing in the wind. I love the sense of Jubilee made playfully real in Stavlund's imagery.

It also brought to mind a favorite song of mine, Chris Whitley's "Accordingly." In Whitely's lyrics I think we see a secular yearning for the same kind of promises we practitioners of Christ's economy live in. See below:

He gave us life,
We who are born in sin.
He gives us meaning,
We who are wander lost.
He gave us a mission,
We who forget that mission.

To protect his world.
To love his creation.
To honor him.
To respect ourselves.

We look to him for guidance when we become lost.
We look to him for answers when we become confused.
We look to him for love when we have known.

I look to him for guidance.
I look to him for answers.
I look to him for love.

So when I find them,

I share his love with those around me.
I'm not the only one who is wanting.

CH.1 - One of my closest friends is an outsider or what I consider to be an outsider. Our values are so very different its amazing that we even get along. But in truth we're like brothers. This particular individual I'm referring to is a devout atheist. But despite our many differences in how we view the world and people, there are also a lot of things that we agree on. Our friendship has not always been what you would call easy. I have tried to persuade him to at least be open to my belief system but he isn't ready to try it yet. Not everyone is ready to accept Christ early in life.

I know this is somewhat late. I've been up at the Urban Methodist Youth Camp at Judson Collins for the past two weeks and I was working with limited technological resources and time.

I just wanted to recount an event and the role the staff at the Ialac program had in making it successful.

Chapter 3
The part of this chapter that stuck out to me were the apologies. The apologies were for our self-righteousness and hypocrisy; our endorsement of slavery; our mistreatment of homosexuals; the medieval crusades; and for saying the Earth was flat. I would have liked to attended these sermons to hear how they dealt with the failings of the church both in the past and in the present.

Chapter 4

Chapter 1:
One of my closest friends at Central is an outsider. Though I have never called her an outsider, I use what she calls herself. A “dirt worshiping tree hugger.” Besides her, I know several people who are not of the Christian faith. What I tend to hear is that they believe most of the people that are Christians are hypocrites; this may be for one reason or another. Also they see that many people are trying to force them to change their views. With today’s teens and college kids, this will only push them away.

What items do you own that could be used for ministry?
I got some old textbooks that can be sold to help a charity. I gopurst an old futon that can be sent to Africa. I got nice name brand purses that you can donate to battered and sheltered women.

Does Jesus or the church have any claim to those things you own?
Yes, Jesus does, without him , I wouldn't have a job to provide to with the resources I need to have these items.

When have you seen people giving things to churches/ministries that really made a difference?

3.Chapters 3 – 8
- Make one observation about each chapter and post it.

Ch.3

Young Christians currently embrace the acceptability of many behaviors older
believers staunchly reject. A majority of born-again adults in their twenties
and thirties currently believe that gambling, cohabitation, and sexual fantasies
There are also huge gaps between young believers and
older Christians when it comes to the acceptability of sex outside of marriage,
profanity, drunkenness, pornography, homosexual sex, and illegal drug use.

Session 3: unChristian
1.Chapter One
- Do you know any “outsiders”? Would you consider them to be friends? What do you think their perceptions are of Christianity?
Yes,I do I don't treat them differently or anything. I wouldn't consider them friends. I would consider them associates. Some don't believe in God, or believe He isn't powerful or the bad things that happened in their life wouldn't have happened.

How is PURECAUSE being smarter about people-resources, than your usual volunteer org? They are getting people to help promote and help them get donations by using world wide web, to solicit funds by advertisement on Face book, You-tube, Twitter, and etc,.. Most volunteer groups just go around the neighborhood, and call . But, in this day and time the world wide web is a better tool to get people to help your cause. They are not limited and they are giving you useful industry work experience while they also help charitable projects.