Tim Keel's Blog

An Alternative to Black Friday

We begin the new year on Sunday. That may come as a surprise for many. The first Sunday in Advent marks the beginning of the church year. Most of us live under the dictates of our cultural calendar, not the church calendar. Observing time liturgically is something that I have been discovering and submitting to more and more over the last five to seven years.

Advent is a season of preparation that culminates with the celebration of Christ's nativity. Lent is likewise a season of preparation that leads to the celebration of Christ's resurrection on Easter. We are used to thinking of Lent as preparation. Advent? Not so much. Generally we treat Advent as a time of extended celebration no different than Christmas. However, as the church has worshiped throughout history that has not always been the pattern. Fasting and reflection is preparation for feasting and celebration. Perhaps one of the things that helps us to frame Lent as preparation is the solemn observance of Ash Wednesday. WIth Advent we have no analogous time of reflection.

At Jacob's Well this Friday evening we are going to create some space and practices that will function for us towards Advent in a way similar to how Ash Wednesday sets up Lent. In our culture, the Friday following Thanksgiving functions as the holiest of all cultural holidays: Black Friday. This consumer narrative of spending as the defining characteristic of what it means to be human has nearly overwhelmed any other conception of what it means to live and breath and have our being. Especially in our current financial circumstances. Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany tell a different story about who we are and what it means to bear the image of God. That message is very nearly eclipsed by the gospel of capitalism. This attempt to live more fully in the gospel of Jesus Christ is what is also animating our participation in the Advent Conspiracy.

For the last month a team of people from Jacob's Well have been dreaming and planning a night shaped around engaging God in preparation. The space will be totally interactive and is intended for all - kids, included. It has been fun to be around the building of Jacob's Well this week as our creative team has been disassembling the altar from the Philippians series (pictured above) and constructing something (significant) for Advent. I can't wait to see what they pull together.

Here is how Jannele Mastin, one of the creators of the time, has described Friday night:

Start off the Christmas season in a way that brings rest, clarity, creative expression and focus on the light that is to come....
come and listen, come and create, come and pray, come and experience, come and see, come and wait...

Join us Friday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Jacob's Well sanctuary.

(thanks to Tim Bridgham for the picture)

Coldplay, Redux

I am not sure why this makes me feel so good...

Maybe it is the energy and passion of the teacher. I wish I had had a teacher like that or been in such a class at some time when I was a kid. Maybe it is the enthusiasm of the class. It seems rare to see so much emotion - a heartfelt and earnest enjoyment of singing that is refreshingly free from the self-awareness that keeps most kids from expressing themselves creatively. Maybe it's how good they sound. Maybe it is the song. Or perhaps it is all those things and something else, too.

I am not sure why this makes me feel so good, but the simple truth is it does. I hope you enjoy it.

Sermon Reflections from November 23, 2008

You know what? You spend time studying God's Word, searching your heart, arranging ideas, then preaching what you have wrestled with and what is the overwhelming feedback related to?

And you know what? I totally get it. I love it. I can't stop thinking about green-bean casserole either. ; -)

For those of you who have know idea what I am talking about, you can listen here if you want...but apparently staring at the above picture may achieve the same end result: mouth-watering goodness.

Pokot Water Video

As we are preparing to crank up for the Advent Conspiracy at Jacob's Well, I would like to share with you a video that shares some of the results from last year's effort.

When a team of people from Jacob's Well went to Pokot in northwest Kenya last May (2008) to meet the people there and see where the wells are being drilled, we brought along JW staffer and photographer Beth Mercer. If you read this blog you will remember me talking about her and the video she created on behalf of Amahoro (the same trip, shot one week prior in Rwanda).

Last weekend Jacob's Well hosted a show of Beth's photography from Pokot called what makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well. You can see the individual pictures that are displayed in our gallery on her Flickr account linked just above. For what is worth, if you stop in the gallery at the church and see the shots as they have been printed and framed you will not be disappointed. Beth shoots on actual film. The .jpgs on Flickr are good, but seeing them printed is a different experience. Anyway, Beth also put together a video from our time in Pokot. At the Saturday night show it looped in the sanctuary - but it was hard to hear. So, here is the video that shares a little bit of the experience we had in Pokot. And as always, great work, Beth.

Here is her description for the show:

In Kenya, the Pokot live along the Ugandan border and are mostly pastoralists because there is not enough water or good land to raise any crops. Even so, over the years, drought made caring for their herds difficult and many Pokot wandered into Uganda searching for water. This led to raiding and fighting with the neighbouring tribe.

Last year, Jacob’s Well learned about the water-plight of the Pokot through Pastor Edward Simiyu of Nairobi, Kenya. Edward met Pokot warriors a year earlier while helping with peace talks in Uganda where the battles of the Karamoja vs. Pokot were raised.

During Advent 2007, Jacob’s Well participated in the Advent Conspiracy and raised enough to drill four boreholes. In May, I was able to visit the region with five others from JW just before the new wells were dug.

It is one thing to hear of drought, it is another to see it. And yet, even though the Pokot may eat once a day or not at all and walk long distances for water or go without, these hardships are not what I saw in their faces. Instead, I saw a people – strong, proud, hopeful, playful, joyous.

And here is her six minute video.

what makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well from beth mercer on Vimeo.

How Low Will It Go?

Driving home from church. Getting gas. $1.51. Closer to the price when I was 18 than the price two months ago.

Advent is Near...Time to Conspire

Calling All Film-makers

I received an email yesterday from Kenny Hiser at Sojourners. This sounds like a great opportunity, so I am going to post it and hope that someone takes up the challenge.

Hi Tim -

I just wanted to let you know about an opportunity some of your readers might be interested in. Sojourners and World Vision are partnering together on a new initiative called the Filmmaker Challenge where we are asking aspiring filmmakers to create a short video (less than 4-minutes) that demonstrates what everyday people can do to help end poverty.

The winner gets an all expense paid trip to Africa and a flight to Washington, D.C. to have their video premiered at The Mobilization to End Poverty, a historic gathering of thousands of activists on April 26-29, 2009 where we expect President-elect Obama to give the keynote. Filmmakers should register at www.sojo.net/filmmaker by Dec. 17.

Please feel free to use any of this information for your blog or email me with questions. We’d appreciate all the help in spreading the word about this exciting project!

Thanks,
Kenny

Hope Faith Homeless Ministries

Philip Lesniewski, a JW staff person who oversees outreach and justice ministries, shared a cool story at our staff meeting this morning.

A month or so ago at a Community Compass (a place where people new to JW can come and learn about the church), Philip was approached by a man from our congregation named Seth Iliff. Seth shared with Philip that he was blessed by his experience at JW and wanted to somehow contribute something to the community. Seth is a filmmaker and his company is called kansas city indie. Then sometime after that, Philip had another conversation, this time with Nick Johnson. Nick and his family are a part of the JW community. Nick also serves on the board of directors for Hope-Faith, a ministry serving the homeless community of Kansas City. JW has been connected to Hope-Faith for four to five years. Nick mentioned to Philip that they need to tell the story of Hope-Faith and share some of the needs they have. He wondered if Philip knew anyone who would be willing to donate their skills to make a video for Hope-Faith. Of course, Philip introduced Nick to Seth.

Seth has done an amazing job telling the Hope-Faith story in about six minutes. What is even more amazing is that he only had four days to do this owing to the fact that he is also in the military and was being deployed at the end of those four days.

Please take a few minutes to learn about the incredible people and ministry of Hope-Faith by watching Seth's video.

If you want to see an HD version of the video, check out Seth's Vimeo site here. And listen for Mike Crawford's "Words to Build a LIfe On."

Spiritual Disciplines for Couples

This is kind of a random post, but I recently had a pastoral interaction over email that I have probably a couple times a year. It is usually fairly emotional and filled with frustration and/or a sense of failure and shame. The question involves couples that are trying to develop some shared spiritual practices, usually framed as "devotions." A man and a woman from our congregation are in a relationship that has developed over the last year. They are trying to learn what it means to seek God together. No frustration or shame here, just eagerness - which is really good. Regardless of the emotional tone, what he asks is a question that I have heard in both marriage preparation counseling sessions, in marriage counseling sessions, and in emails like the one I share with you now.

"We've been talking for a while about wanting to be more intentional about our faith together, and I've been trying trying to figure out some ways we can do that. We've been making efforts to pray together more consistently, so that's something. We were also thinking about saving an hour or so on Sundays to read something/discuss/pray. Obviously my idea of how this should look is very open. I'm wondering if you could suggest any particular practices, books, etc. As I said, I'm open to any ideas. Let me know what you think. Thanks!"

And here is what I wrote back to him.

"That is a good question, and not one that I am sure that I have a good answer for. Most couples I know have struggled to find a good way to answer this question. I do know a few people that have navigated these waters successfully, but I know many more who have tried and wounded one another significantly. Mimi and I do not have common devotional practices, besides sharing public worship and service to our children. I once had a pastor share with me that doing such things is very difficult because we are often attracted to someone who is very different than we are and as a result the way in which we experience and practice the presence of God, and express it in our personalities, is likewise different (at best) and threatening (at worst). That can be good or bad, but it is always challenging emotionally because our spiritual lives are such a place of intimacy and thus, vulnerability. That is not to say it shouldn't be undertaken but rather to say it should be attempted with gentleness, low expectations, and humility. I do think the spiritual practice of conversation can be a really good one to develop, especially if you will listen to one another as you talk about your own journey, what you are learning, and how you experience God, etc. Also serving God by serving others together can be a really healthy way to engage one another, and it also sets the relational precedent that you are focused not just on your own inward life in God, but how that inward life gets express outwardly as well. Reading a book together can be good, but likewise challenging if one is a reader and the other is not. Anyway, I guess my counsel is to try a few things, have fun, laugh, and do it all with a recognition of God's presence among you. I hope that helps."

I share it now with the hope that it might invite some interaction on this topic. What is your experience? And for those who are not married, do you have friendships where you intentionally share spiritual practices?

Faith Walk

A little while ago, the Kansas City Star added a section to their FYI section called "Faith Walk." The short column has 13 contributors that are not professional clergy. The point of the column is to hear from people as they process their spiritual lives in the midst of everyday reality.

Two weeks ago I was surprised and thrilled to open the paper and see my friend and fellow JWer Art Gangel (and his smiling mug) staring out of the paper at me. I was also blessed to read his thoughtful and vulnerable meditation. Here is a little bit of what Art had to say:

"One morning as I was driving to work, dreading the situation ahead and saying my usual lifeless prayers, I was suddenly overwhelmed with anger. I realized I was angry at my situation, at myself, even angry at God. I’m one of those people who often pushes down his feelings, thinking it’s what a strong Christian believer should do. But as I tried to calm down that morning, I had to admit that this anger was only natural. For too long I had operated out of the belief that, as a child of God, I had a right not to have difficulty in my life."

Read the whole column here: Emotions Aren’t a Sign that my Faith is Weak