“I firmly believe that a public restroom is the best art gallery. Recently, I walked into a public bathroom and spent ten minutes admiring the work of many undiscovered and unappreciated artists. I browsed the bathroom and gazed at the art displayed on the mirrors, stall doors, toilet seats, and walls. Then I came across a familiar phrase that everyone has seen in hundreds of public restrooms, “Erika was here,” which I found interesting since this was a Men’s restroom. I like to think that Erika is not a man with a very unfortunate name, but a woman who has mastered the art of making her presence forever known within Men’s restrooms.

Erika is very similar to you and I in that we all long to be noticed and we each have an art. Every human being longs to be fully known, seen, and valued. This is what motivates so many of us to write, “I was here” on bathroom doors. What if we took a lesson from Erika and noticed people for their art and gave them opportunities to use it? Erika’s bathroom art brought me to a new understanding of “equipping” as a work of providing opportunities and empowerment. We equip when we provide people with opportunities to discover their art and empower them to give it to others.

In church leadership, it is easy to believe that to “equip” means to create systems, conferences, or workshops that provide people with the tools, that we think they need, to plug into the ministry structures within the church. When we do this we merely program robots with tasks and provide instructions on how to complete the job. Programming robotic volunteers is not equipping people to uniquely live Jesus’ mission of love and service.

When we transform people into robots we miss the full potential that a person’s art can contribute to the mission of Christ. For example, some people possess the art of motivation and their very presence can inspire others to live differently. We miss this person’s full potential when we ask them to attend a ministry workshop that will “equip” them with the curriculum they will need to teach at a Sunday school class. On the other hand, to truly equip this person is to provide them with opportunities in which they will further discover their art of motivation. Moreover, we equip this person when we empower them to motivate a group, area in the community, or ministry that is lacking in passion.

However, many church leaders continue to settle for programming volunteers simply because the treadmill of ministry demands it. In these situations, we must first change our mentality on ministry to one that values art over action. An infatuation with action can move a church into busyness, and busyness is a cheap imitation of healthiness. Sometimes, churches can become so busy with “action,” and mistake their busyness for growth. These churches usually appear healthy and may even boast booming numbers, but they are probably packed with robotic volunteers that move rapidly about their tasks. Meanwhile, only small groups of people in the church have truly discovered their art and consistently give it away to others. In fact, the leadership may even value programming volunteers because it keeps them from doing the hard work of equipping people with opportunities to discover their art and empowering them to give it away. This high value on action will eventually lead to burnt-out volunteers and abandoned ministries whereas a value on human artistry will enable people to give from their passions.

We must challenge our leaders to understand “equipping” as a twofold work that seeks to provide opportunities for people to discover their art and unleashes them to give it to others. Lastly, if church leaders can adopt a mentality that values art over action then our people will be equipped to give their art to humanity in service to the mission of Christ. Erika used her art to make her presence forever known in a Men’s bathroom. Perhaps, God wants to use our art to make his presence forever known in the lives of everyone we encounter.”

He  serves on the leadership team at The Orchard in Aurora, IL.

“I had an interesting conversation with a young lady in our church a few months ago.  She asked to meet with me to talk about a new ministry initiative that aimed to meet the needs of teenage moms, and to show them the love of Jesus.  She came to my office, did her spiel, and I’ll be honest: I kept waiting for the catch.  When would she ask me to recruit volunteers?  To give x amount of money?  To recruit a staff person to lead this ministry?  To promote and strategize and plan this and that?

I waited for the ball to drop.  But it never did.  The only thing she wanted from me?  To use one room in our building (that sits empty most of the week) one night of the week.  That’s it?  Surely not!

She saw a need, she came up with a plan to meet that need, and she is planning on moving forward.  BOOM!  That’s innovation!

I think a pretty dramatic shift is occurring regarding innovation and the church.  For so long, the conversation has centered around the church creating a new program, ministry, or innovative initiative to meet needs.  There’s been an unhealthy culture of dependence on the “professionals” to drive innovation.  We find a need, we design a plan, we allocate funding and resources, find a leader, and move on to the next innovative task.  But I think that’s changing.  More and more followers of Jesus are heeding the call to make a difference, to demonstrate the love of Christ themselves rather than depending on the church to do it all.  And this, honestly, sets pastors up to make a pretty dramatic shift as well.

So many pastors are simply exhausted from being the CEO of an organization that drives and creates innovation.  They signed up to shepherd a people, to reach a community, but lay in bed at night feeling like they are pimping a product, trapped in a cycle that is dependent on their ability to create, create, create.  What if pastors made a dramatic shift in the way they did things?

What if they shifted from being drivers of innovation to being cultivators of innovators.

Think about it.  Your church is filled with people with unique gifting and passions.  If they are followers of Jesus, they are being led by the Holy Spirit the same as you are.  They are spread all throughout the local community, with their eyes and ears open to every need imaginable.  What if you shifted from having to think of every creative initiative, from driving every ounce of innovation in your organization, to cultivating the hearts, ambitions, and talents of the innovators in your church community?  Whoa!  Sound refreshing?  Sure it does!  Could this happen?  Absolutely!

Sometimes the most beautiful innovation comes from the person who recognizes a need, thinks of a plan to meet that need, and merely lacks the resources to get it done.  Let me let you in on a little secret: The truth is, they will get it done.  It may take a while, but their passion and raw innovation will lead to transformation.  What if you learned to cultivate innovation in others?  What if you funneled resources to these people and their dreams, and helped them get more done quicker?  What would happen to your church community?  To your community at large?  To the people who have the greatest needs?  These are the types of questions I think we owe to our communities to wrestle with in the days, weeks, months, and  years to come.

I believe that a shift is happening, and I dream of a community of believers where people are seeing needs, coming up with innovative ways of meeting those needs, and our job as leaders is to resource them, equip them, pray for them, shepherd them, develop them, and help them go farther than they ever dreamed possible.  I’m dreaming of a day when I’m overwhelmed with people in our church community sharing ideas they have for reaching out, for making a difference.  It’s starting to happen.  And we want to develop fertile ground for it to continue to happen.

Trust me: you’re not the best at everything.  It’s important for you to drive innovation.  But that can’t be your primary gig.  It’s too exhausting, and I think it robs people from fulfilling what God is doing in their hearts.  And when you begin to cultivate what God is doing in other people, you’ll experience a feeling of accomplishment unlike any innovative initiative you’ve ever been a part of.  You’ll be equipping others to succeed.  It’s a great feeling.

And that’s a little bit biblical, too!”

I studied English at the University of Iowa. It was a great school, top notch program, and incredible experience. Looking back on my years studying under some of the nation’s most critically acclaimed voices in English literature, I saw equal parts of beauty and despair. I witnessed the potential impact of a well-told story, and I also saw the confusion and perversion when an artist places the value of their work squarely on their own shoulders. In reality, we were all created as a reflection and expression of the Creator who spoke the world into being. As image bearers of God, our creations are reflective of our relationship with Him.
My story is this: help the rising generation grasp that truth, and find their place in the Story. We are a living mosaic reflecting a great hope and a deep love. As I have recently grabbed hold of this, I have been burdened with helping others come to this realization as well. I believe there needs to be a desperate call to the producer generation, with an urge to examine their relationship with God and explore the theological implications in creativity. Together, we can heal, mend, create and throw mountains.

How do we forge this freeway to friendship? It’s not easy- because hey, in a way they’re right- we have been working at it for 2000 years and haven’t gotten it right yet.  So, I think the first step is to stop trying so hard to look good and to stop worrying what people think about us.  This may seem completely counterintuitive, but if our goal is to be beacons that point to Jesus, we’re gonna have to stop directing the attention toward ourselves. Sometimes we’re so busy trying to look perfect that we totally miss the fact that everyone else sees us as insecure people-pleasers- or worse- as phonies who want to appear superior. We end up looking like fools when we’re trying to appear wise.  Foolishness isn’t attractive- it’s a natural repellent. But confidence attracts magnetically, so let your hair down; admit it when you screw up. Be willing to poke fun at yourself- and for goodness sake, don’t take yourself too seriously. Loving your neighbor “as yourself” means loving the person enough to be transparent.  Let your guard down…be vulnerable. If we’re to be the “aroma of Christ” then perhaps the scent we should use to attract others should be that of freshly baked bread…not our own sweat.

How did Jesus make inroads into his community?  In Matthew 9:35, Jesus’ activities were described like this:  “He preached and He teached and He healed.” If we are supposed to be ‘imitators of Christ,’ then we need to be doing likewise.  Unfortunately, we read this list and we get completely overwhelmed.  We consider it too onerous…too complex…too beyond our capacities.  Preaching means using a bunch of flowery phraseology that turns everyone off, right? And teaching involves knowing way more that we do…And healing- well forget it- that’s certainly not in our repertoires! But what if we simplified it?  Jesus declared the good News, discipled others, and performed diakonal deeds (servant-like acts that were life-enhancing.)

The above three are the basic ingredients to the dough; add to the mix some of the other ingredients that Jesus used, and you have the perfect recipe for creating meaningful relationships and positively influencing peoples’ lives.  Jesus was intentional.  Jesus was relational. Jesus looked at people and saw them; people barely brushed up against him yet he felt them.  It begins with slowing yourself down and brushing off the “rush”.  Make every effort to be meaningful, intentional, and present in every encounter- no matter how seemingly meaningless. Keep your antenna tuned to the Holy Spirit’s movement in each situation.  The question is not:  “What would Jesus do?”  It is:  “What would Jesus have me do?”  So, every morning when you get up and deal with your family, the barista at the coffee shop, and your colleagues at work you’re capable of doing these things: declaring the Good News (with your life); discipling others (through your actions), and performing kind deeds.

You can be that delicious odor of fresh-baked bread, you can be appealing, you can live your life worthy of the Gospel and believe it or not people WILL take notice.  The meaning of the word companion means literally “one with whom you break bread”. Herein lies a sacred significance- when you make an intentional effort to be a companion to a stranger, you have made a decision to “break bread” with them…the Bread of Life.

When we talk of compassion and justice, I see compassion as the gateway to justice. Our hearts are moved to empathize with the poor and the oppressed and our wallets are often moved to give. If we are being drawn into compassion by the spirit, I see it often leading then to engaging the mind on issues of justice. Archbishop Helder Camara said “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a  Communist.” Systemic injustices that keep the poor in their place, that allow the rich to play by a different set of rules, that deny the poor the rights to be recognized as an image bearer of the creator God. Justice then demands a well thought-through approach.

For every dollar that is given to the church, at least ten dollars are spent in the shopping mall. Justice has everything to say to what we buy and how our products are made and yet we are not paying any attention to it as the church. Four years ago I founded the fair trade company Trade as One specifically to partner with the church in America to get us to think about how we subvert some of the 98% for the kingdom of God. The gospel calls us to live simply, to give generously and to buy ethically. If we read it as seriously speaking to us rich, James 5 is a horrifying indictment of our apathy for and complicity in the abuse of how workers who make things for us. When the church begins to see the other 98% of its people’s incomes as capable of being engaged in the gospel, things get really exciting.

What excites me is that despite being told five years ago that I was crazy to think that the church could be engaged in the area of fair trade (the most memorable and depressing opinion came from one of the country’s leading mega church missions pastors “This won’t work – Americans are consumers first and Christians second”), churches all over the country are getting it – from Willow Creek, to North Point, to Vintage Faith, Imago Dei, Menlo Park Pres. If you want to know more, check us out at www.tradeasone.com/churches.

Charles writes:

Words like “compassion” and “justice” are becoming commonplace in our cultural landscape. Whether you’re an individual, organization, school or business, embedding this kind of language has proven to be beneficial for one’s personal or corporate brand. Many people feel “good” whenever they commit to a cause on Facebook or retweet something on Twitter in regards to compassion or justice.

In light of this growing trend towards compassion and justice, I think we must ask ourselves, “Do we actually participate in social action beyond the initial “join” or retweet?” In hopes of answering this question, I informally surveyed friends of mine on Facebook that have committed to multiple causes. The vast majority of them have not financially given nor volunteered for anything related to “their cause”. Granted, many people join causes out of courtesy towards the friend who invited them. Nevertheless, there still appears to be a clear disconnect between good intention and actual practice.

This is not to say that the above-mentioned activities are not helpful. In fact, awareness is indeed a great place to start. Unfortunately, for many, awareness is no longer just the beginning, but also, the end of social action. Our friends around the world experiencing some of the greatest injustices of our time still wait for our willingness to move beyond awareness and into action. To this end, I would like to offer some of the following perspectives:

Forming Virtues with Intentional Practice

Virtue is a reference to the conformity of one’s life and conduct towards moral and ethical principles. Therefore, anyone desiring to embody the virtues of compassion and justice must take intentional steps towards adapting their day-to-day life rhythms. Virtues don’t just form because we have a heart for it. Much like other noble pursuits in life, it requires time, sacrificial commitment, and practice. Yes, it may even feel mechanistic at the beginning.

Just as a great musician tirelessly continues to practice his/her scales, those desiring to care for humanity must intentionally practice their passion. Compassionate justice must not be relegated to events, campaigns, or vicarious living. It must be lived out. Whether an act is small or large is beside the point. In fact, the fruit of compassion is not even the point. Mother Teresa rightly http://ericbryant.org/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=5317&message=7#said, “The success of loving is in the loving – it is not the result of loving.” In other words, the act itself takes primacy over our thoughts before or the fruit afterwards.

Two Bad Reasons for Inactivity: Need for Authenticity and Lack of Knowledge

There are two common reasons that I hear as it relates to a person’s inactivity in areas of compassion and justice. The first one has to do with authenticity. Some are hesitant to show compassion unless they feel that they are fully sincere in their act of care. I think this is a tragedy that has led to innumerable missed opportunities for care.

Although it may appear to be honorable to balance heart with action, I think it’s actually one of the greatest expressions of narcissism. In this scenario, the giver redirects the center of the act from God’s care for the person to oneself. This is both presumptuous and arrogant. The truth of the matter is that all acts of compassion are ultimately divine expressions of God’s love for humanity. It has very little to do with our authentic motive.

Is authentic motive important? Absolutely. It’s even desirable. Nevertheless, authenticity is not an essential criterion for an act of compassion to be good in God’s eye. History has shown us that God still uses tainted and hypocritical people to accomplish his will. In addition, can any human being really do anything with a 100% pure motive? Highly unlikely.

Another common reason for inactivity I hear has to do with one’s lack of knowledge on what to do in regards to an injustice. Many of the issues of injustice appear to be so grand and complex that many feel a deep sense of paralysis and lostness. I think all of us can relate to the feeling of being overwhelmed when confronted with the reality of an injustice. There are no easy ways around this feeling. Nevertheless, we must believe that paralysis due to a lack of knowledge is not the answer.

I’ve learned through participating in numerous organizations and humanitarian efforts that knowledge is often found once we’re in motion. In other words, we don’t need all of the answers to these complex issues prior to moving. Knowledge, and more importantly wisdom, is found along the way. Our new experiences while working in compassionate justice will give us a healthy frame for learning and finding solutions.

Just Start.

My encouragement and challenge to us is that we would all just start somewhere. There are so many great organizations doing wonderful work around the world. Pick one. There are so many people in our own cities that could use human contact and care. Touch one. God desires to incarnate his love for the world through people who are committed to compassionate justice. Be one.

Consider some of the following practical ideas for altering life rhythms for compassionate justice:

• Live with less to give more. During these difficult economic times, my wife and I felt that it was imperative for us to cut unnecessary expenditures and activities. One of our main reasons for this was so that we could stay generous in our giving of time and resources towards good works. When downsizing is coupled with a goal of compassionate justice, it provides a great context for mission.
• Acknowledge People. It’s amazing how our lack of eye-to-eye contact can begin to dehumanize one another. We no longer function as souls interacting but as machines and fixtures. Take effort to look into people’s eyes. The person serving you coffee is an actual human being and not a means to a service. The homeless person you walk by is deeply cared for by God and not a street fixture. Let’s not make people invisible.
• Integrate vocation with compassion. Take some time to consider how what you do professionally can bring relief and care for people experiencing injustices around the world. Challenge your company or school to care for the world through tangible acts of compassion.

May the world become a better place because we chose to participate in God’s story of love by adapting our life rhythms.

When I ran track in high school, my coach told me time and time again, “Goodie, listen for the starter’s voice (Ok, the word “gun” in my inner city school had other implications. A guy holding a gun in the air, prop or otherwise, never went over well in Compton. So we opted for a person’s voice). But I regress.

I remember one instance at a state-wide final, my senior year. As a hush came over the stadium, the starter’s voice was the focused attention of everyone on the track including people in the stands, coaches on the field, and athletes in the starter’s blocks. The anticipation of movement was thick, my heart pounded, and my hands melted with perspiration. Here it was: the long hours after school in practice, the weight and endurance training, and the rigorous diet came down to this moment. The start of the race, a moment that lasted all of .024 seconds at the most.

In the same way a runner anticipates the voice of the starter, I’m convinced the next step for “party theology,” and those wanting to move intentionally toward making room for others to connect to God and community, is to listen. Listening to God is critical because it allows you to consider how your life can be used as a conduit for His love and compassion. The Scriptures support the importance of listening. The wisest man in all the earth said, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance” (Proverbs 1:5). James, a servant of Jesus, called for us to be “quick to listen, slow to speak. . .” (James 1:19).

In very practical ways, you will find there’s a hush in the hearts of those who want more to life than what they are currently experiencing. And so, you must listen to those around you who are disconnected from God and community. I’m convinced you need to listen to hear their heart, not simply their words. Listening involves taking note of other’s fear, pain, past failures, and negative perceptions about God and communities of faith. These feelings are real, but so too is the compassion of God expressed through Jesus. Hearing from those you desire to connect to God and community will give you a sense of interests, circumstances and environments that may be conducive for growth, learning, and character development. Have the audacity to believe that a person’s encounter with Jesus, in the context of community, is the most significant life altering experience on planet earth. An experience not based on opinion or previously held beliefs, but a result of a personal divine connection to the Transcendent.

Here are some practical steps for Parties or experiences, on behalf of Jesus:

1. Book club conversation: identify an engaging book and create a series of discussion questions, and action steps around the theme of the book.
2. Music listening parties: team up with friends who are part of a local band, and have a listening party (album release). Discuss how this genre of art is one of many we experience in our community and that “creativity is a natural result of our spirituality.”
3. Service parties: team up with a group of folks and go serve those who are in need. Homeless shelters, soup kitchens, Boys and Girls Clubs, or At-Risk teen programs are nearby in most major cities. Go, and partner with them
4. Commit to follow up conversations after the experiences you’ve created: This includes conversations with your team or family who help plan, and with those who participated.
5. Speaking of planning, look for an opportunity to create “parties” with those who will be impacted the most: Yes, that’s right! Include others (and their friends) in creating an experience they would enjoy. Your mission then, is to find the coolest and most connected person, and launch them into the glare of “streamers” and “party savers.”
6. Conduct an audit of resources you have at your disposal. Some of the experiences need not be expensive, but they should have value and quality. Money makes a difference, but having relationships with people who can come alongside you to make experiences happen is even more important.

Awaken is a collaboration between a team of dreamers and innovators who specialize in the field of developing and unleashing personal and organizational creativity. Awaken is committed to creating environments that expand imagination and unleash creativity. Convinced that the world is changed by dreamers and visionaries, Awaken serves humanity through its commitment to maximize the creative potential in every individual and organization. Awaken emerges out of the unique ministry of Mosaic and reflects Mosaic’s commitment to creativity, uniqueness, innovation and diversity.

Xealot’s mission is to connect resources (people, knowledge, technology, and other resource streams) to young leaders around the world! We do this primarily through forums and one-on-one leadership development consults. Our vision is not to package community transformation in a box but commit to walking with leaders to tranform their village/community/city/nation.  The three domains of people we serve are artists, businesspersons, and community development specialists. Xealot came about as a response to actively serve the needs of developing communities in the world that are underserved.  Unlike many relief-based charitable organizations, Xealot seeks to empower marginalized ethnic leaders to encourage an independence that cannot come from simply providing handouts; the hope is to help communities get the jump start they need so that they can eventually provide for themselves.

Highlights as featured at Jesse Giglio’s website:

“I walked away from the Origins Event thinking, “It’s good to see my friends.”  But since that doesn’t help you much, here are a few sounds I heard that I’m pretty sure were projected : )

Erwin McManus [@erwinmcmanus] – Intrinsically people are in a search for meaning in the human narrative.  A search that welcomes conversation.

Dave Gibbons [@davegibbons] – The church needs nameless assassins for good, not bringing church numbers up but the number of the hurting down.  Zero is the new metric.  Zero orphans, zero unfamilied foster kids, zero uncared for single moms…

Dan Kimball [@dankimball] – If we don’t make disciples we won’t be able to sustain social good.  We can start by loving people to the point they invite us into their lives.

Rick McKinley [@mckinleyrick] – Our safe acts of charity are petty.  Jesus didn’t die on the cross to make us safe people, but dangerous people who bring change to the world.

Margaret Feinberg [@mafeinberg] – Going big for God may result in giving somebody else the best day of their life.  You have no idea what you’re capable of.

Debra Hirsch [@debrahirsch] – Discipleship must go beyond an individuals morality.  Recognize the image of God in others and bring it out.

It was a pleasue taking part and I look forward to the procession of this tribe.  Thanks to all who made it possible.  Cheers.”