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JUNE-AUG 2012 | Issue 7

TO STAND WHERE JESUS STOOD, TO SEE WHAT HE SAW, YOU’LL FEEL HIS MIRACLES COME ALIVE INSIDE YOU. When you come to the site where Jesus met Peter and started his Galilee ministry, your mind leaps back across the centuries and you feel the Bible come alive as never before.

Experience the wonder of the Holy Land in person. You’ll never be the same.

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In the International House of Prayer’s 24/7 prayer room, IHOPU students and teachers pour out their hearts to God in worship and intercession as part of the curriculum, enriching their study of the Word of God, and preparing themselves to live wholeheartedly for Jesus and minister to others in the power of the Spirit.

MINISTRY

MUSIC

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Visit IHOPU.org Kansas City, Missouri | 816.763.0243

contents

converge 07 | June-Aug 2012 Christian Info Society 2nd floor 107 E 3rd Ave Vancouver, BC. V5T 1C7 604.638.6007 1.888.899.3777

4 EDITOR'S LETTER 7 REFLECTIONS 10 CHURCH PROFILE Messiah's Misfits at More than 12 church 12 WHAT'S YOUR STORY? Tales of Christian Education part 2 14 CHRISTIAN ARTISTS

We asked various artists what Christian art means

20 SINGLE'S FIELD NOTES 22 ADMIN CHARITY COSTS 24 FINDING FAITH OUTDOORS 26 IS HOMOSEXUALITY REALLY WRONG? 28 BREAKING ROLES WITH THE FONGS?

How one couple challenges the roles of being Chinese and Christian

32 SHAD: SPEAK AND BE HEARD

editor

Shara Lee shara@convergemagazine.com copy editors

Chelsea Batten, Patricia Lim designer

Carmen Bright carmen@convergemagazine.com accounting

Cameron Heal accounting@convergemagazine.com sales & operations

Jeremy Mills jeremy@convergemagazine.com contributors

36 WHY TRAVEL

And why you should do it young

40 CHRISTIAN ART: CAN IT SHED ITS BURDEN? 50 LAST WORD

Chelsea Batten, Craig Ketchum, Michelle Sudduth, Jeremy Postal, Matthew Martin, Justin Tse, Adam Roper, Jeff Goins, Geoff Heith, Casey Phaisalikani, Winnie Lui, Sam McLoughlin, Ashley Chapman, Adam Fry, Christine Lim, Cam Smith cover art

Janice Wu

from you march-may

2012

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MARRIAGE Driscoll style

Christ culture and zombies

10 SCARES

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The conscientious rebel speaks his mind

CUSSING CHRISTIANS Is it okay for us to swear?

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Leadership Through Servanthood by Christ’s Indwelling, Resurrection Life.

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editor's letter

the journey “The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less."

— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I

wonder why it’s so difficult to create. I think up a theme, and come up blank. I grasp my pen, but no words flow out. I want my work completed instantly. If not, with as little effort as possible. Alas, for me, it doesn’t work out like that. Or perhaps it’s a blessing in fact by grand design?

Like any craft, writing involves process. You think up an idea, set pen to paper, fingers to keys, and words fill the page one letter at a time. Sometimes a sentence is worked fifteen ways before you are satisfied. Other times you’re assailed by writers block. You just can’t put anything worthwhile down.

It’s painful. You feel inadequate.

The process of creating for us mere mortals is never easy. But if it was, the things we create wouldn’t be as meaningful. Thankfully, the old adage still rings true: practice makes perfect. Our “writing muscles” are uncannily like other muscles of our body — the more we work them the better and stronger they get.

Although what we create can become better, rarely is it ever complete. This is why people always say art is never finished. There’s always a way to make something different — even better, even much, much better. This pursuit of perfection drives the indomitable human spirit to ever increasing excellence.

I want to blame the internet for making us addicts of instant gratification. How tall is the Eiffel Tower? Google it. Where to dine, what to eat? Hit the iPhone app. Where to meet up with friends? No panic, no fuzz, no time at all. Finger-tap your way to Foursquare, Twitter, or Facebook.

4 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

In a world of instant answers something critical is lost: the process/journey of discovery. It’s like moving from infancy to adulthood at the swirl of a magical wand. Where’s the fun in that, including the difficult, painful, meaningful challenges of life? You don’t learn if you never fail. Our Creator understood this well, which is why we His little creations are works in progress.

Stop looking for easy answers, because there aren’t any. Rarely are there perfect solutions to some of life’s most challenging moments. Hence even the Lord Jesus encourages endurance to the end in His disciples. Take the journey of life with the confidence of the suppliant in Psalm 138: “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me” (verse 8). God will not, the psalmist goes on to conclude, “forsake the works of His own hands.” Be willing to stumble and open yourself up to the possibility that you might never perfect your craft, but that’s okay.

IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA Hillsong College will equip you with the necessary principles and tools to lead and impact in every sphere of life. With a specific focus on raising and training local Church leaders, the college is strategically placed within the life of Hillsong Church, in order that every student will apply the skills they have learned in the class-room in a practical ministry setting within the Church. Specialising in Pastoral Leadership, Worship Music, TV and Media, Dance and Production, with Pathways that include Youth, Children’s, Event Management, Pastoral Care, Church Ministry or Social Justice.

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|5

6 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

Flickr photo by MissMae

reflections

prov e r b s

2 7: 8

"Like a bird that wanders from its nest is a person who wanders from his place"

I

remember the first time I witnessed a sparrow hit a window. I thought, “This never would have happened if the bird hadn't left the nest.”

Leaving the nest is a dangerous business, yet it’s also necessary. A bird that never leaves the nest will never learn to fly.

You all have nests — familiar places, tangible or intangible, which you have constructed for comfort and safety. Eventually, you wander from those nests. Times of distress will force you to pack up and search for something better. Jacob's sons going down to Egypt, David fleeing to the wilderness, Naomi and Ruth travelling back to Naomi’s old country.

Wisdom distinguishes these wanderers from those who simply seek greener grass. Today’s unprecedented mobility offers both opportunity and disaster. Unbridled experimentation becomes perpetual promiscuity. Unsure of what you seek, you will wander, looking with desire-blinded eyes for something that will satisfy. Promiscuity and prosperity have moments of easy exhilaration, but are ultimately unsatisfying.

The worst kind of wandering is departing from your true self

by imitating someone else. This kind of wandering undermines your uniqueness, your God-given signature strengths. It's true that while in the formative stage, your uniqueness may be a source of misunderstanding. But as God establishes you, you will flourish.

Our lives are filled with longing for better days. “In this life, you will have trouble”, Jesus says, “but fear not, I have overcome the world.” Do you really believe God is with you? If you do, your actions will reflect our belief that He is able to make good out of evil, see you through, and finish the work He began in you. You don’t want to look back over your life and see what could have been if you had only stayed the course. “We feel that under other skies, we would succeed,” C.H. Spurgeon once observed. “I may know something about my weakness in the present trial but I cannot know how I might stagger under another. Be wary of changing your trials. To exchange one trial for another is all the relief you will get.”

Not all who wander are lost, but be careful how, and why you wander. — Craig Ketchum

convergemagazine.com

|7

Flickr photo by brandonlearns

5

REASONS DESIGN MATTERS IN MINISTRY

By Adam Fry

1. Design Provides a New Perspective It doesn’t matter what type of church you find yourself in, we all have the potential to fall into weekly routines of presenting the message in the same way and using the same words built around the same structure. The danger is that we run the risk of unintentionally communicating that we have nothing new to say. Design helps us break out of these traps and provides a way of presenting the timeless message in new ways. Just like clothing stores will regularly change product placement to encourage returning shoppers to browse, continual design and redesign keeps things interesting. It helps communicate to your community that you have something worth sharing.

2. Design Breaks Down Barriers The constant challenge we face as Christian Creatives is to communicate an old message to a new and often disinterested audience — at least that’s what it feels like at times. Creativity is the vehicle that breaks down barriers. Whether it’s right or not, many people will judge the church without ever setting foot in it. Sociologists say we have less than 30 seconds to make a first impression. Before anyone can see your heart or learn what you’re all about, they judge you based on what they see. Whether we like it not, their perception is their reality. A well-executed design can bring in people who wouldn’t normally give you a chance.

3. Design Communicates Beyond Words

ministry design

Design has the power to enhance teaching by connecting it in ways words alone cannot, giving the message an even greater impact. A well crafted image, prop, song, or visual carries the unique ability to transcend logic and impact emotions in profound and life-changing ways. This is why Jesus himself told parables to get his teachings across. A message is one thing but a message woven into a story, song, or image takes things to a whole new level.

Regent college

hillsong

we are vntg conference

jesus culture conference

create conference

relevant magazine

8 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

4. Design is a Vehicle for Innovation

As Christian Creatives, we are all called to manage the resources we have been entrusted with and are challenged to allocate those resources in the best way possible. This pursuit often forces us to be innovative in achieving these desired results. Design then becomes the vehicle through which we see innovative results come to life. During our first stage renovation at church, our lack of resources forced us to be innovative. Instead of spending $3,000 to purchase projection screens, we designed some out of coroplast for a fraction of the cost. This design allowed us to achieve the desired results while staying within budget. The freedom to dream and design becomes the vehicle for innovation and new ideas.

5. Design Matters to God Art and design matters in ministry because it matters to God, who crafted us in his likeness. By suppressing the expression of design in our ministries, we are suppressing and ignoring the very attribute of God that makes us unique. The more we design and create, the more the Creator is revealed through us.

As Christian artists, designers and illustrators, design becomes our megaphone to make known the attributes of God within our individual communities.

Adam Fry currently serves as the Creative Communications Director at Central Community Church located in St. Catherines, Ontario.

He is also a passionate worship leader, speaker, and the founder and co-director of Create Conference, a creative communications conference for Canadian church leaders that runs each June in the Niagara Region. He can be found at adamfry.com.

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FRESH pineapple is good for digestion!

SNACK TIME Fresh Pineapple

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Skin and slice. Great for a sweet treat at the office, at home, or at the beach.

Pineapple Pops 8 ounces fresh pineapple ½ cup pineapple juice ¼ cup unsweetened coconut milk ¼ cup milk 2 tablespoons sugar ¼ cup sweetened shredded coconut Combine the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Pour into popsicle tray, and let freeze.

Makes 5-6 pops convergemagazine.com

|9

The Messiah’s

Salsbury Dr

E Georgia St

www.morethan12.org @MoreThan12 5pm - Sundays The Wise Hall 1882 Adanac St., Vancouver

Victoria Drive

Commercial Drive

Adanac St

Misfits

Venables St

Semlin Dr

church profile

more than 12

More Than 12: Church Outside the Box

By Winnie Lui

Artists at MT12

M

ore Than 12 was birthed from the idea that Jesus’ teachings are meant for more than just the 12 disciples whom he mentored in the first century. The gathering started in the Commercial Drive neighbourhood in the city of Vancouver, considered the most un-churched city in North America.

The congregation meets for worship at The Wise, a multifunction party hall that regularly hosts a variety of events, including nudist, burlesque, and bondage events. When first deciding on a venue, lead pastor Jeff Wong says they were “looking for a place with soul.” They definitely found it at The Wise. “God wants us in the devil’s territory. All events bring their darkness here and we continually battle against it.”

More Than 12 targets people who are not interested in church, those who cannot function in conventional churches, or those who do not trust Christians and perceive Christianity as irrelevant. “A lot of them are misfits; they don’t have a place to contribute. Some of them wouldn’t be trusted or given a chance,” Wong reflects about his congregation.

Yet the distinction of this church goes beyond ambience. More Than 12 focuses on going back to the Bible for the mission of a church, aiming to become not just an inward community but a church that reflects God’s heart for the marginalized and for the lost.

This is why a major focus is put on eating together every Sunday. “In the early church, they regularly ate together,” says Wong, “That way, the poor get to eat too. It’s not a soup kitchen where we’re separate from them. We eat together. And it’s not just eating; it’s being friends and learning to love each other.”

What’s also different is the music.

More Than 12 has a vision to expand contemporary worship.

“We listen to a variety of genres,” Wong notes, “yet currently, contemporary worship music is limited to mainly rock. More Than 12 uses a fusion of popular genres such as rock, pop, hip hop, R&B, reggae, jazz and electronica, expressing the diversity

in multicultural Vancouver and in the Kingdom of God.” In doing so musicians, rappers, and DJs also get to regularly contribute. As a result, More Than 12 is home to a large community of Christian rappers and DJs in Vancouver.

Wong says that taking different elements from a variety of musical genres has brought his group closer together. “Our hip-hop guys don’t naturally understand electronic, our electronic DJs don’t know how to play with a band, and our rappers are not musically trained,” says Wong. “But we all come together. There’s a learning curve, but this process teaches humility and love.”

More Than 12 also concentrates on raising missionaries. Wong encourages DJs to reach clubs, rappers to reach music fans, marketplace people to reach the marketplace, and former prostitutes to reach prostitutes. One member of the congregation, Tania Fiolleau, is a former prostitute and madam who leads trafficked women to Christ and finds them a spiritual home at More Than 12, while combating sex trafficking internationally through media appearances. Reflecting on his core team, Wong says, “We’re made up of a variety of people you wouldn’t normally pick to be on your all-star team of church leaders. Reminds me of the rag tag team of disciples that Jesus chose.”

Juice Mason Dezcry Creative B.O.Z Arise DJ Trios DJ Matthew 1626 DJ Chris Harrington DJ Lift DJ RaizemUP DJ David Beckstrom.

Ezra Kwizera

have a unique church?

10 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

Want your church featured in Converge?

Email us at: info@convergemagazine.com

Photos by Phil Yee

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| 11

Photo from Hillsong College

what's your story?

christian

education Today’s young yearn for something greater than just a basic degree. They want to eradicate poverty, aid the oppressed, and maybe even change the world. To do this a special kind of education is needed — One that strengthens convictions, affirms morals, and instills values. G.K. Chesterton once mused, “Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” If this is true, there is much more than academics on the line.

12 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

Mallory McKay Hillsong College

Mallory did a three-year advanced diploma at Hillsong College, then transferred into the degree program. She is currently one semester away from completing her Bachelor of Contemporary Ministry.

“My school is large, with multiple streams and campuses. Lectures had 200400 students, with workshops and tutorials in smaller learning environments of about 25 people. Hillsong is an international school representing over 60 nations, so it is very diverse in background and culture. My time at college caused me to grow in my relationship with Jesus, and brought wholeness to my life in so many ways. It has taught me about God's heart for me, His church, and my own humanity. Being involved in college and church life has been absolutely life changing. I am now on staff as a trainer in the worship stream at Hillsong College, and am constantly putting into effect things that I learned about and practiced while studying. One of the things I loved in school was the balance between learning in the classroom environment, having great teachers and trainers, and also being an active part of ministry and church life, serving in chapels and weekend services and learning from incredible leaders and pastors. Having the opportunity to pour back into the college and ministry that impacted me in such a significant way is amazing, and I feel very blessed.”

Benaiah Halliday Hillsong College

Benaiah spent three years at Hillsong International Leadership College. There were about 800 students when he attended.

“I think there were 37 different nationalities represented. Dif ferent cultures and social backgrounds were also represented. It was a very multicultural school! College helped me greatly with my relationship with Christ.

Today, I still refer back to my college experience when making major decisions and facing challenges. College didn't just teach me academic information, but also the importance of things like character, attitude and leadership. My education [has] helped me greatly in my current position. I’m currently the executive pastor of a local church and leader of the Love is Our Weapon movement, which includes 17,000 young people from 35 nations (www.loveisourweapon.com).

This requires me to continually think back to the opportunities I had to serve and lead in college life, and the lessons I learned. College helped set the foundation for what I’m building in my life today. I'm very thankful.”

Josiah Sinclair Calvin College

Josiah was homeschooled until tenth grade, when he enrolled in Christian private school. After graduating, he decided to pursue studies at Calvin College, where he has been for the past three years.

“I left high school with a strong faith and a feeling that I understood the world.

Coming to Calvin put me through the painful and yet ultimately important process of realizing that I might never have everything figured out. I've struggled in my faith through this time, and there isn't a lot that I am certain about. But what is there is real. My high school education prepared me fairly well academically. My Calvin experience has been much more comprehensive and a much tougher learning experience than any previous schooling. I can't comment too extensively on my preparation for work, as I've never had a job that wasn't in some way either summer labor or exclusively related to Calvin. However, in my travels I've felt that Calvin has prepared me for the world.”

Christian Vandergeest

Faith Juma

Christian has been at Redeemer for four years, but took a semester off to participate in a program at Trinity Western University. He also attended Christian elementary and grade school.

Faith did not attend any Christian schooling before post secondary. She has been at Redeemer for the past four years and will be graduating later this year.

Redeemer University

“Class sizes at Redeemer (not including first-year classes) were generally anywhere between 8 - 20 students. Becoming part of such a strong community of Christians in my first year challenged me to place more focus on my relationship with God, and I have been growing in that relationship ever since. Almost all of the friendships I have formed here share a common faith, and many of these friendships have helped me to grow and learn.

My classes have also helped me to see the world from a Christian worldview — allowing me to connect what I am learning with my faith. I feel my education here has served me very well, and certainly enabled me to reach my goals. I am graduating in several weeks with an Honours History and Political Science degree and I have been accepted to several graduate programs. On top of academics, I've also had the opportunity to participate in a large number of rewarding activities; I've played varsity sports, sat on Student Senate, worked as a Residence Advisor, and taken a semester to do an internship with the government in Ottawa.”

Redeemer University

“My relationship with God has been strengthened through my time here — mainly through my engagement with the community and participation in inner-city volunteer opportunities. The opportunity to grow spiritually is great.

If you would've asked me four months ago, I would've said that, ‘I wish I went to a bigger university that offered more opportunity in the specific programs of which I have interest.’ However, in these past four months, as increasing post-grad opportunities have become available to me, I have realized that I am getting more than just an adequate education from Redeemer University. I have been equipped through a community grounded in God. I have confidence in my academic abilities and their usefulness as I step into the real world. More importantly, I have security and peace that whatever life bears, and in whatever experiences where my academic knowledge proves insufficient to bring resolution, I will be able to rely on the spiritual foundation that has been built while here at Redeemer.” convergemagazine.com

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artist spotlight

Q: How does your faith affect your work?

A: I don't think that there's any literal connection to my work.

I think that everything is intertwined. However, I am certain that making art is a luxury and it’s such a privilege to be in this position. I'd be fooling myself if I thought that I could do what I do on my own and give myself all the credit, it is a blessing to be able to create.

Q: Do you find that there's a stigma against faith in the art world?

Chopstick Wrappers | 2012 18" x 24" | pencil & gouache on paper

janice WU illustrator

By Shara Lee

R

eceipts, chopstick wrappers, cherry pits — while most people would consider these objects trash, Janice Wu sees them as objets d'art. Her ability to find beauty in everyday things has gotten her noticed on Huffington Post, Booooooom.com, and Juxtapoz Magazine.

“I had an obsession with collecting when I was little which I think really comes through in the work I do now, in a funny way . . . Whatever I found interesting — it didn't matter what it was, it didn't matter if it was rocks, or garbage — I'd pick it up,” she recalls. “I knew that I've always wanted to pursue art, to make things, ever since I was a kid” Her love of art took her to Emily Carr University, where she studied Industrial Design. But although she was pursuing art, she felt like she was in the wrong field. In the middle of her studies, Wu decided to take a year off to attend Trinity Western University. “I just took all art courses there,” she says. It was at Trinity that Wu went back to basics — creating art from traditional instruments like paint, charcoal, and gouache.

Shortly after returning to Emily Carr, Wu decided to make the switch. Her field of study was now Visual Arts.

Drawing everyday objects for Wu was just a natural extension of collecting them.

Wu’s attention to detail has paid off. Not only is she getting recognized, she’s also getting work from some reputable publications. Most recently, Wu was commissioned to do illustrations for The Walrus and New York Magazine.

14 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

A: Definitely going to a secular art school there always is that but I've never felt too uncomfortable with it, never felt I needed to change who I was.

Q: What do you think about Christian art?

A: I feel that sometimes Christian art lacks a certain critical thinking and plays it safe. This may be because it doesn't want to offend, or for fear of leading people astray. Yet the nature of being an artist is to create a space that allows for contemplation, and this calls for seeing and approaching the world in different, bolder, and sometimes even subversive ways.

The support of her family has been instrumental in her success.

“My parents have been cheerleaders for me from the start,” she says. What’s also been helpful is her faith. “I really see God's hand in the people that He's placed in my life. It's not even so much creative nurturing, it’s just support — ongoing, unconditional support that He's shown me through the people in my life.”

Although she initially struggled with her creative identity, Wu is now sure of her path. “An integral part of my practice is recognizing and looking,” she says. Wu wouldn’t be able to do any of her drawings if she did not know how to recognize beauty in the otherwise unordinary — something she learned to do very early in life. Her journey proves that, with a little moxie and a willingness to take a left turn, sometimes childhood hobbies really can turn into viable careers.

Turn the page for more Christian artists

Find your way here SUMMER SESSION

JUNE 25–JULY 27

summer.regent-college.edu/converge 1.800.663.8664

Theology of Culture Hans Boersma

June 25–July 6 Learn to think theologically about our place in culture in order to contribute thoughtfully and actively to the debates shaping our contemporary world.

Contemplative Reading: Scripture and Beyond

The Interplay of Christianity, Arts, and Culture

Marilyn McEntyre June 25–July 6 Reflect on how the ancient practice of lectio divina—St. Benedict’s method for reading Scripture contemplatively—can deepen your spiritual life and be applied to other texts as well.

Rachel Hostetter Smith June 25–July 6 Using case studies, explore the critical interplay of Christianity, the arts, and culture, and examine how this interplay poses challenges for contextualization.

Drawing, Close to God: Regarding, the Vocation of the Artist

Flannery O’Connor, the Gospel, and the Imagination

Tim Lowly July 9–27 Take an intensive studio drawing class in order to develop an understanding of your vocation as an artist, and of your place within the Christian community. This is a non-credit course.

Clinical Ethics: The Five Hardest Decisions You’ll Ever Make Edwin Hui July 23–27 By examining and understanding the moral dilemmas facing today’s health care practitioners, respond to the challenge of making difficult ethical decisions from a position of Christian faith.

Ralph Wood July 9–20 Study the life and work of Flannery O’Connor to learn how you might be transformed by a radically new understanding of the Good News.

Faces of 20th Century North American Evangelicalism

Promoting the Gospel to Contemporary Culture

George Marsden & Bill Svelmoe July 23–27 Gain an overview of Protestant evangelicalism and fundamentalism in 20th century North America through biographical portraits of five leaders.

John Dickson July 23–27 Examine the New Testament’s teachings on mission to discern lessons from the evangelization of the pre-Christian world that can be applied to our post-Christian witness today.

Ezekiel: God’s Glory in Exile Rebecca Idestrom July 23–27 Through in-depth study, examine God’s message to the prophet Ezekiel in a time of national and personal crisis, and consider its continued significance and relevance for the church today. convergemagazine.com

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artist profiles

What defines Christian art?

Lately this genre has illustrated or portrayed the principles of Christianity all the while remaining PG-13. Precious Moments figurines, Veggie Tales DVD’s, and pastoral paintings by Thomas Kinkade may immediately spring to mind. But all that is changing. Although some boundaries help, playing it too safe can stifle creativity. So what can Christian art do better? And how can we define this genre differently? These are the questions we posed to a group of artists (who also happen to be Christian).

Interviews by Chelsea Batten

kerrin Russel art critic appreciates the work of Soren Kierkegaard In an epistemology where everything is certain, the expression of emotions are suppressed. In this culture, there are categorically “wrong” emotions: angst, anger, sadness, frustration, irritation, etc. These emotions used to be a catalyst for creativity; in the name of “righteousness, "they are instead suppressed. As a result, art in this culture is based on only the emotions deemed "positive" within that strict ethical system.

2012

As Christians, being challenged and questioning things is almost even more necessary, because it just matters more.

Angela Lynn Mitchell children's theatre instructor Admires: Vancouver's Pacific Theatre We playwrights need to allow paradox, confusion, and doubt to be part of the story (and maybe even part of the solution), because those elements are an integral part of life and faith.

Theatre can cut to the heart of a matter, awaken deep longings in a viewer, and cause one to probe for answers. Questions can be consolidated, mysteries can be expounded upon, and the depths of truth can be explored.

16 | CONVERGE. summer

Rachel Hayes Fraser Writer & musician Admires: Charles Dickens and Maria McKee

Matt Mead filmmaker Admires: Phos Productions I'm drawn to anything that seems like an honest expression; Anything that's genuine. I think that's what everyone's drawn to at the end of the day — they just want some genuine interaction.

Greetings from Pre-Gang Coney Island 36" x 48" Oil on canvas.

seth Remsnyder painter

Admires: Jean-Michel Basquiat) www.sethremsnyder.com

We Christian artists, if that's what we are, are definitely outcasts in the art culture. We should just accept that, and start sticking it to the man.

Christian art needs to look past the elite art culture that was forged by modern and postmodern artists and philosophers.

ben Vermilyea songwriter Admires: lecrae

What I'm painting definitely has creationistic thinking behind it. I think people respond to colour and pattern and beauty because they were designed by God to respond to it. Looking at it and talking about it can put people in touch with reality and objectivity. I hope it can bring people subjective joy. And I hope that it can be used by God to get people thinking about eternal things.

We hold the one absolute truth that has transformed our lives and our eternity. When art, or music more specifically, can boldly remind Christians and tell those who have yet to believe about who and what Jesus has done, there's nothing more powerful.

joseph barkley pastor Admires: Madeleine L'Engle http://churchinhollywood.com God has brought together a really weird body of people, and we're just beginning to discover what all of those stories told together are going to amount to.

convergemagazine.com

| 17

top 10

5 marmite United Kingdom

If you ever tried to turn your dad’s old leather shoes into a jam, it might taste something like this.

6 worm soup China

To quote Timon and Pumbaa, “slimey yet satisfying.” Hakuna Mattata!

7 quadruple bypass burger

Has your friend ever said, “I’m so hungry I could eat a cow!?”

Now you can make him prove it.

Las Vegas, United States

8 baluga whale Yukon, Canada

9 termites

WEIRD

Africa

FOOD TO TRY ABROAD 1

2

10 balut Philippines

By Sam McLoughlin

3

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durian

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Southeast Asia

Iceland

Japan

Korea

Known as Asia's stinkiest fruit, if you get past the smell, it's pretty tasty!

Hakarl: the sound your stomach makes as it sends the fermented fish right back onto the dish from whence it came. If there are party platters in hell, this is on the menu.

As if soybeans weren’t bad enough, try ‘em after letting them ferment for a few days! Mmm, the fresh smell of rotting moldy cheese stuffed in an old wet gym sock.

Peanuts? No, but how ‘bout some steamed silkworm pupae to go with that Red Bull!

18 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

Raffi would not be impressed. “Babybeluga, in the deep blue sea . . . GET IN MY BELLY!”

In rural Africa, this is a major source of protein!

Just make sure they’re dead before you eat them.

No, not the bear.

More like the ugly duckling, only you eat it before it gets the chance to prove everybody wrong.

honourable mentions: • Ground Cow Lung - Brazil • Horse Steak - Luxemburg

• Dehydrated Frog Filopian Tubes - Hong Kong • Kangaroo Burgers - Australia • Pickled Hot Dogs - Spain • Snakes Blood - Taiwan • Tripe Soup - Poland

• Pork Uterus Skewers - Hong Kong

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life!

| 19

CULTURE

FIELD NOTES: Introduction Dispatches from the single life

By Chelsea Batten

A studious girl with serious ambitions, who found it easier to gain approval than to make friends, I guess it's no great shock that my attitude toward relationships was both studious and serious.

I

t might even have been called creepily intense; if so, I never got to hear about it. My sole source of feedback was the array of authority figures who affirmed my serious attitude with enthusiastic relief. Thanks to them — and to books such as Passion and Purity, Doing Things Right In Matters of the Heart, and that chestnut of the mid 2000s I Kissed Dating Goodbye — I began considering myself above the casual North American mating ritual.

This condescending attitude didn't merely protect my butt from exploratory hallway gropes, and stand in for company at Valentine’s Day and prom. It also stirred up a gnawing, idealistic hunger for companionship, that no encounter with real human limitations ever had the chance to temper.

Consequently, when I met my equal — intense, seriously ambitious, self-consciously superior, and as unaccustomed as I was to dealing with feelings of attraction — I eagerly concluded that this must be it. After a well-rehearsed confession of feelings, he made his intentions known: "No kissing, not yet."

20 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

I was okay with that. The books and the authorities would approve of his scruples. Besides, the giddy rush of having my hand held for the first time was about all I could handle.

It took from January to early April for my preadolescent mind to catch up with my early-20s hormones. Two days after I asked him why we weren't kissing, he broke up with me.

Two months after that, I found out from a friend that everyone had assumed he was gay, until we got together, and that collective opinion resumed after our breakup.

Two years later, he found out for himself that he was gay. (He called to let me know.)

I've wondered since if closeted guys use some kind of trail-marking, because throughout the following year, I was continually approached by guys with great manners and impeccable nail beds. I seemed to have become the last stop on the heterosexual train.

I swore I wouldn't be suckered again by "nice guy" types, or by the books that advocated for them. I felt I'd been fooled by my attempt to do things right, and next time around, I wanted a guy who wanted me for more than just my brains and personality.

But I also wanted to save my virginity.

Armed with these opposing values, I have since navigated through a series of relationships that cycle, like an epic novel, around the number three.

Three dates until he intuits that I'm not going to have sex with him.

Three weeks until he stops calling altogether.

Three months between one guy bowing out and the next one stepping in.

Three minutes sniff ling (or ranting) on the phone before I remember that my mom (who, like a character from Jane Austen, refers to crushes as "attachments" and dates as "prospects") is not the one I want to talk these things over with.

All my Christian friends seem to all have a brother, a nephew, a friend, or (best of all) an ex-boyfriend on retainer, for such a person as me. It’s cost me several noteworthy failures, and a few estranged friendships, to learn that another lonely person is not the answer to my loneliness.

Neither is the advice of my unchurched friends, whose sympathy can be bought for a beer and lasts about as long.

Although, to give credit where it’s due, some of them have shown a remarkable grasp of the situation.

“You want to be with a cool guy who shares your values, right?” (Gulp, swallow, sigh.) “Wow. That’s going to be hard to find.”

I can't believe that it's really that hard. I know lots of guys who fit that description . . . the only drawback is that they are already married, or about to be. Unwilling to join the collective whine that all the good ones are taken, I often wonder if they are made good by the taking.

There are some girls who simply want a picket fence and a couple of kids. There are others who simply want attention.

And there are a multitude of others with more complex wants.

I only wish I knew what my wants are. At this point, I only know what I don't want.

Which could prove to be a good thing . . . I'm still waiting to see.

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| 21

CHARITY

the great admin rate debate Can donor-driven aid ruin development?

By Ashley Chapman I wasn’t going to show my ignorance by asking about this, but I was concerned. Everything within me shuddered at the thought of giving to an organization that didn’t have the lowest admin rate (the percentage of donations spent on administration and overhead). I was a good steward of my money, and I wasn’t going to get suckered into financing some CEO’s first-class ticket around the world. the vicious cycle

Fast-forward a few years and I’ve worked with three aid organizations, including the two represented at that party. I’ve learned that not all aid is created equal, and that judging an organization by its admin rate is about as effective as picking a spouse based only on their Facebook page. Because as carefully as I’ve tailored my timeline in the event that a suitor comes Facebook-trolling, it couldn’t possibly compare to the effort exerted by organizations to seduce potential donors with anorexic admin rates.

It’s a vicious cycle: donors demand low admin rates, non-profits use creative accounting practices to ensure and emphasize their low admin rates, donors take the emphasis as a confirmation that they should care about admin rates.

But despite the pretty little pie chart I’ll often add to my organization’s publications, these numbers say very little about the quality or effectiveness of our work.

W

orking in international development has been a steep learning curve. It might seem s i mple i f y ou’ v e w a t c he d a r e c e nt viral video or nestled your feet into some colourful canvas shoes. But I assure you, it’s anything but.

It was in the small-but-cozy living room of a fledgling development worker that I first realized just how clueless I was about the complexities of international aid, despite my political studies minor. I was at a reunion with old coworkers, and though most of us were still in school, two had graduated and were discussing their work in the development field.

“How do you calculate GIKs (gifts in kind) in your organization?” asked one of the future world-changers.

“It’s hard, because the big names in relief and development have such valueinflated GIKs skewing their admin rate that we can’t compete,” replied the other Mother Theresa-in-training.

22 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

band aids are bad aid

Saundra Schimmelpfennig (author of the excellent blog “Good Intentions Are Not Enough”) compares donors’ admin rate obsession with a family who builds a house without a kitchen – because kitchens are expensive and drive-thru meals are cheap.

My boss will often quote Shane Claiborne, who says, “Managing poverty is big business. Ending poverty is revolutionary.”

Servicing poverty (often through handouts) is great for photo ops and a low admin rate, which means the donations will keep rolling in. But actually overcoming poverty is slow and incredibly unsexy. Most people don’t even believe it’s possible. It involves walking with a community and investing into people and processes, often for many years. This approach leads to real sustainable change, but it’s not conducive to a barely-there admin rate. not-so-super gifts

Organizations that run these longer-term development partnerships must often find other ways to reduce their overhead ratios so they can keep their donors. Unfortunately, this financial pressure can end up hurting the very people that donors want to help.

Not sure how to judge an international development non-profit other than by its admin rate? Here are some better questions to ask:

Prior to last year’s Super Bowl, two sets of T-shirts were printed, each declaring a different champion. After the game, the shirts of the winning team were sold for $20 each, while the 100,000 misprints became instantly worthless.

But through the magic of gifts-in-kind (GIK) giving, the NFL donated the shirts to a well-known aid organization in exchange for a tax receipt and some positive PR. The aid organization then sent them to the developing world and counted the total value ($20 x 100,000) as donation income.

Despite the fact that dumping a boatload of shirts is about the worst development practice possible (it promotes dependency and destroys local market initiatives), the organization was able to bring in two million dollars in “donation” income on a project that cost very little to carry out, thereby shrinking their overall admin rate.

Do the pictures used in the organization’s publications undermine the subjects’ dignity by painting them as helpless and incapable? Or do they always uphold the subjects’ dignity and value?

Does the development philosophy empower participants to make their own changes and be actively involved in the community’s transformation? (A strategy of “walking with” instead of “doing for.”)

Does the organization enter a community with a clear exit strategy in place to guard against creating dependency?

Are handouts given in isolation or are they accompanied by the training needed to make them sustainable?

a name game

Is the organization accredited by an external council of charities that monitors its accounting and quality standards?

There are many ways a non-profit can “adjust” their admin rate. I remember being shocked to learn there’s no legal standard for how to separate “administrative” costs from the more direct “programming” ones. Different organizations simply slice the pie differently.

For example, is office space for child development field staff a program cost or an administrative one? What about efforts to coordinate emergency relief with other NGOs so emergency provisions aren’t duplicated in some areas and neglected in others. Does that fall under programming or administration?

What becomes clear is that it doesn’t matter. It is money that must be spent to be effective.

Do the programs take a holistic view of poverty (as physical, spiritual, mental, etc)? Or do they only address isolated aspects of poverty?

Are audited financial statements available on the website or by request?

Does the organization show evidence of long-term results?

Are gifts-in-kind (GIKs) only sent when they’re specifically requested by the field and when the items needed aren’t easily available locally?

the zero per cent

Do the programs reflect the local community’s priorities instead of the donors’ priorities?

Have you noticed that new trend of non-profits with zero per cent admin rates? They promise that “100% of your donation goes to people in need!” In most cases, they’re forgetting to mention that they also receive donations (from friends, foundations or business contacts) where zero percent goes to people in need and 100% goes to their admin rate. But the

*These questions do not apply to emergency relief (immediately after a disaster or in a conflict zone). It is important to never confuse relief work with development work.

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damage is done and some donors expect that running a non-profit should cost absolutely nothing.

If this wasn’t personal before, it is now.

Would they like me to work on the ground instead of at a desk? Should we unplug the office fridge every night and only turn on the heat in December?

Philanthropy Action editor-in-chief Tim Ogden summarizes this well. He says, “Picking a charity based on the lowest overhead ratio is like buying the cheapest car that money can buy. You might spend less in the short run but it’s inevitably going to let you down.”

Ogden knows that a poverty mentality won’t help overcome poverty. Stretching staff members and resources too thin will only lead to low-quality work and a high employee turnover rate. asking new questions

I’ve come a long way since first hearing about inflated GIKs and skewed admin rates over spinach dip in my friend’s living room. Considerations of donor perception — should we print our newsletter on glossy paper? (cheap, but looks expensive) or on marbled matte? (expensive, but looks cheap) — are now a part of my daily life.

The motivation behind donors’ adminrate questions is admirable; most want to be good stewards of their money and ensure it has the biggest impact possible.

But the emphasis on overhead ratios is jeopardizing the kind of long-term investments and interventions that can actually end poverty.

The good news is that donors have the power to change things. Instead of rewarding the organizations with the lowest admin rates, they can start supporting organizations that show sound development wisdom and lasting results. It won’t be as easy as comparing pie charts, but the increased impact will be more than worth the time and money invested.

Ashley Chapman is a writer and editor who works with Food for the Hungry (FH) Canada in Abbotsford, BC. She blogs about post-university, pre-family, below-ground, NGO-working life at www.abbyunderground.com.

-K-12 Christian at-home education -Serving students at home and abroad -Accredited Bible courses -Special Education Department -Advanced Placement Program -Complete Apprenticeship Program -Short term missions to Guatemala and Kenya convergemagazine.com

| 23

LIFE

faith outdoors Finding God in nature

By Jeremy Postal

I

recently found myself in two different church-type gatherings, where the event leaders told us we couldn’t leave the room until we had experienced the presence of God. As I looked around, it seemed to me that people really were experiencing God. So, gritting my teeth, I tried to conjure up His presence for myself. Now, I believe God is always present and I can experience Him anywhere. But as I sat conjuring in that room, all I could think of was escaping to the mountains that stood right outside the door.

In the town where I live, the mountains serve as playgrounds, or as a nice backdrop for postcards. But for many, these mountains are places of deep spirituality. Many of us escape to the mountains, or make our living on them; some of us even die on them.

If at first this sounds a little too hippiepantheist-New Agey to be Christian, I assure you it is totally orthodox.

One of the greatest theologians to comment on this very issue was Martin Luther, who said: “God writes the Gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in flowers and clouds and stars.”

His words make sense of my faith experience. Nearly all of my life's most important spiritual moments have been experienced outside — in the mountains, among the trees of the forest, in the open prairie, or on the ocean. In fact, I have begun to notice a pattern and rhythm in my life that directly connects my spiritual growth with the amount of time I spend in creation. The more I climb, hike, snowboard, or sit on a beach, the more I notice the handiwork of Creator God and grow in my trust of His care, concern, and providence. These mountains at my doorstep, His creation, point and orient me towards the Creator.

Of all the images and stories presented to us through Scripture, the ones I most identify with are those that paint the

24 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

clearest picture of a place. When I read the stories of Jesus, I can’t help but picture where He is: in a grove, on a mountain, by the sea, or in a lonely place.

Though it is easy for some to overlook “place” while reading the Bible or listening to sermons, the physical environment where the Gospel occurs is often what stands out the most to me.

I have some friends who read the Psalms through the lens of music; I read it through the lens of place. Many of the Psalms are the overflow of worship evoked from the majesty of God in creation.

In part, place is what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he penned the first chapter of Romans.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20) Paul writes that the character and nature of God is something we can’t really see or touch, yet through creation the character of God is made known to us. The nature of God is made evident to people, Christian or not, when they observe and interact with creation. Our attraction to nature and the outdoors is our desire to interact with God. Creation

is constantly calling us into worship.

Maybe this is why we love Ansel Adams' photographs, take vacations to beautiful destinations, and spend leisurely days hiking to near exhaustion. Whether we know it or not, we have a built-in desire to respond to God. And why shouldn’t we?

In the opening pages of the Bible, we find God speaking all of creation into existence. From the cosmos to the microscopic, from the fish to the human, God’s hand is intricately involved in the design. In whatever direction you look, His handiwork is plain to see. And because He created it, He rules over it and is responsible to sustain it. Colossians 1:15-17 says this: “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For

by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Further, the Bible's entire narrative is of God restoring people and places, nations and lands — they are always connected. When people are healed, the land is healed, and vice versa. Life begets life.

The restoration of people, environment, and culture are so interconnected that

Photo by Jeremy Postal when broken people find themselves in awe of creation, it often marks the starting place of healing and restoration.

This is probably why I’m constantly driven to be outside: in creation I experience the Creator and the restorative, transformative nature of the Gospel. This is why I love 100km alpine winds. This is why my wife, after breaking her knee and foot in a rock-climbing accident, still heads into the mountains. This is why after being carried out of the mountains on a friend’s back, I march right back in.

And I guess this is also why I love the smell of the ocean, the northern lights of Saskatchewan and barbecues beside the lake.

It all points towards our Creator. It evokes awe, and not just in me, but also in the people I’m surrounded with. This is why the pubs in my town are full, all the time. We are people who can’t help but recount the stories and experiences of life lived outside, amidst the handiwork of the Creator. Some of these days are the best of our lives, while others we barely survive. Either way, we still gather to talk about the grandeur of it all, how we felt, what we learned, and when we’re going back.

If you join us, expect to encounter the living God of creation.

Jeremy Postal blogs at jeremypostal.com.

He lives with his family in Whistler, BC. convergemagazine.com

| 25

LIFE

Is homosexuality REALLY WRONG? If you asked Jesus, what would He say?

Y

our younger brother came out to you. Or you recently encountered an old friend from university who, you’ve learned, is lesbian. Or you suspect your child is questioning his or her sexual identity. Or maybe you yourself have been carrying the secret for years.

Any of these situations will make you wonder: is homosexuality wrong?

In the winter of 2008, this question simultaneously plagued and excited me. For years, I carried around my own secret struggle of being same-sex attracted, and only the previous year had I begun to open up with trusted friends and mentors. Through some excellent professional counselling and the help of

26 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

a Christian healing ministry called Living Waters, I began to experience the loving presence of God in a new/unprecedented way. The shame and despair I carried began to lose its grip on me.

But this process brought an unexpected outcome. I began to ask if homosexuality might be okay. Rarely was the question an intellectual one, doubting the Scriptures or my church’s interpretation of them. The question surfaced out of the deep, visceral feelings within me — loneliness, impatience, longing for companionship, the desire to be normal and feel legitimate.

I began to long for same-sex relationships. I needed permission to stop denying my desires and to explore my impulses.

I wondered if my conservative stance was simply “internalized homophobia,” or a lack of acknowledging the facts (whatever those were). I even began envying other Christians who had lived homosexually promiscuous lives in the past. I found myself asking God, “Why is homosexuality wrong?”

(Just to clarify, when I ask the question, “Is homosexuality wrong?” I’m not talking about having a particular sexual orientation, which is involuntary, but about voluntarily adopting a homosexual pattern of living, i.e. same-sex relationship, sex, etc.,).

It is very natural that we ask whether or not homosexuality is wrong. Given the world we live in, we should ask this question with as much sincerity and humility as possible. We should ask it in dialogue with the whole church, the Body of Christ, past and present. And I believe we need to bring this question to the one who knows the answer: Jesus Christ.

This is the tricky part. Jesus is not known for giving straight answers. More often than not, his responses end up generating more questions.

Testing Jesus, the Pharisees ask, “Teacher, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?” Jesus’ response isn’t a theological treatise; he challenges them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21).

By those wanting to condemn a woman caught in adultery, Jesus is asked, “The law of Moses commands us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say?” He responds, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her”

(John 8:7).

Jesus was the master of taking a question, and using His response to reveal something about the questioner. Jesus wasn’t interested in playing power games through theological debate. He didn’t care to placate self-righteous attitudes or satisfy curiosity. His mission, in commitment to His Heavenly Father and out of love for us, was to point us toward what we most need, and were made for: the Kingdom of Heaven.

Roadmaps vs. Signposts I love maps. When visiting a new area, the first thing I like to do is study a big map, so that I know where I am and can navigate myself.

I am also a systematician; I’m always trying to understand how concepts and principles fit together.

It’s interesting that when we come to Jesus asking for a theological or ethi-

our big universal questions (“Is homosexuality OK?”) His word comes to me as a signpost, confronting the hidden stubbornness of my heart, pointing me in the direction of God’s Kingdom.

When I’ve asked Jesus about homosexuality, the answer I usually receive is not what I want. When I complain to Him about how He could expect the whole human race to follow such strict sexual mandates, He responds, “But I have given you what you need.” When I am consumed by envy of other people’s past sexual experience, I sense Him say, “The grace I’ve given to cleanse them is the same grace that I preserved for you.”

And often I sense Him asking, as He asked a few of His disciples when most of them had left Him due to some difficult teaching, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:67).

If you were to sit down with Jesus, over coffee or a long, quiet walk, how might He respond to you? What would

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When I complain to Him about how He could expect the whole human race to follow such strict sexual mandates, He responds, “But I have given you what you need.” cal map — “Jesus, should we pay taxes?”

“Jesus, should we stone adulterers?” “Jesus, how many times should I forgive?”

“Jesus, is homosexuality permissible?”

— He rarely gives straight answers. For some reason, He doesn’t like to hand out maps. Instead, He holds up signposts.

Big, broad, all-encompassing theological systems are handicapped by an implicit danger: us. We invariably use and abuse knowledge systems to justify and protect ourselves, while categorizing and dismissing others. Jesus saw this in His day, and He sees it in ours. More often than not, rather than answering

He perceive in your heart? How would He call you to surrender your theological presumption to the Kingdom of his Father? How would He call you to a deeper trust in the Father’s provision for you, or for your loved one?

If you are wondering whether homosexuality is okay or not, ask Jesus your question with a sincere, humble, and willing heart. His answer may not be what you want, but He is sure to give you what you most need. And if you trust Him enough to follow, “then,” He promises “you will be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31).

To donate today, call 1-800-779-7262 or go online at www.erdo.ca

Emergency Relief & Development Overseas ERDO is the humanitarian agency of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada convergemagazine.com

| 27

Out of ORDER

Chris and Annie Fong aren’t typical Chinese Canadian Christians, nor should they be.

By Justin Tse

M

eet Chris Fong and his wife, Annie.

Chris is my wedding manager. I’m getting married in August this year and thanks to Chris, the wedding plans are going well. I always tell people that he may not be Christ, but he sure is Chris, working his magic as we book venues, make deals, stress over forgotten/neglected/omitted details, and deliberate over how to deal with ridiculous relatives. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also Director of Business Operations at the Burnaby Counseling Group. After all, when my fiancée and I are frustrated by the planning, you can really tell that though Chris isn’t a professional counselor, his time spent with therapists has rubbed off.

By evangelical standards, this is a

28 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

great year to get married. There’s more information out on the market than ever before. Just over the last year, the list has grown to includes Tim and Kathy Keller’s The Meaning of Marriage, and Mark and Grace Driscoll’s Real Marriage, books that prescribe how men and women should relate to each other in marriage as part of the creation order.

Books that, apparently, my fiancée and I should read to understand God’s plan for our marriage.

Chris is about a decade older than me, which means that his accumulated experience qualifies him to manage my wedding. He’s also from a church-kid cohort that grew up on Josh Harris’ I Kissed Dating Good-bye and Boy Meets Girl. They were inspired by Harris’s vision that a young life should not spent playing the dating game. Instead, young

people should get serious about intending to marry the one they court and figuring out their gender roles. Harris' fans often continued with Elisabeth Eliot’s Passion and Purity meditating on crucifying their love with Christ and going to the mission field.

Chris appreciated these books, but there was something about them that didn’t resonate with him. Sure, these were the “go-to” books for single people, with ideals he compliantly adopted as his own “dating philosophy.” Faced with the decision to date Annie, whom he discovered was a Christian — thus, datable — he considered putting her off until she could read I Kissed Dating Good-bye, so they would be on the same page with how to proceed in a courtship and how their roles should be played out. While getting a copy for her, he also picked up a curi-

tian one described in the dating and marriage books. The books, after all, would say that order is supposed to be liberating. However, this order between parent and child seemed awfully constraining.

But Chris and Annie are quick to emphasize that their experience wasn’t typical of Chinese-Canadian Christians. In fact, as it turned out, “Chineseness” was more of a matter of what their families made it out to be. For Annie’s parents, Chineseness boiled down to keeping Western things like Christianity out of family affairs. The central issue wasn’t exactly parent-child relations; it was that perceived Westernness threatened the system her parents had constructed.

This was a stark contrast to the Chineseness that Chris grew up with. His father once told him not to obey him, but to obey God. In Chris’ family, the idea of ethnic Chineseness was secondary to their Christian spirituality, for it was more important to submit to the Heavenly Father than to the earthly one. In contrast to Annie’s family, this meant that Christianity didn’t threaten Chris’ parents’ Chineseness.

Wedding Chinese and Christian worldviews?

Photos by Casey Phaisalakani ously titled I Gave Dating a Chance (written by Jeramy Clark). He reports that he had never read a book so fast in his entire life. This was a book that actually resonated. He decided to give dating a chance with Annie.

The trouble, though, was that Annie’s parents didn’t approve of the relationship. And what came out of the whole ordeal that followed were some surprising reflections about Christianity, “Chineseness,” and how a Chinese Christian marriage should be hierarchically ordered.

“Chinese-ness” Is What You Make of It As they explain it, Annie’s parents perceived Christianity as a Western religion, a foreign threat to their Chinese family values. Chris and Annie wanted to honour their parents within the God-given order described in the evangelical books, but the very fact that they were dating elicited a frequent comment from the parents: “Is this what your religion teaches?

To disobey your parents?”

It would be all too easy to say that this was a clash of civilizations, that an Eastern worldview didn’t jive with the Chris-

It might be tempting, to say that all Chris and Annie needed was (as in Chris’ family) a fusion of the Christian and the Chinese worldviews. But if Chineseness is so fluid a term, this might not make much of a difference. Chris’ Christian friend, for example, had a different idea from Chris’ parents of how Christianity and Chineseness should be wedded: he told Chris that he should break up with Annie, because both cultures reinforce the fifth commandment to honour your father and mother.

In fact, as manager of over a dozen weddings, Chris admits that his story can be found even among couples where parents of both sides are Christian. One church leader, for example, fused an overwrought medical concern with his Chinese Christianity when he objected to his daughter’s marriage on the grounds that the future son-in-law’s family had a history of mental illness. I’ve seen this too: a friend told me of his girlfriend’s parents' concerns that his father's short temper, would prove to be hereditary. My fiancée has been told by "church" aunties that because marriage is such a big commitment, we might be too young to marry before age 30. Shop around, one church lady told her daughter, don’t settle down too early, or you might get tied down.

Fortunately for me, my fiancée rejected similar consumeristic piece of advice.

These experiences prompted a reflec-

tion: maybe the Christian books are a bit one-dimensional. After all, the bit about getting the parents’ approval invites reflection on what to do when you get disapproved on the basis of a fusion of abstract ideological concerns. The same could be said for the gender roles prescribed in the evangelical marriage books. After all, for every book that claims a creation order that has a man with a mission and a respectful wife at his side, there’s a reply from alternative interpretations of biblical gender relations, be they theological (such as Gordon Fee and N.T. Wright) or popular (like Rachel Held Evans’s forthcoming A Year of Biblical Womanhood).

Regarding gender, Chris and Annie talk about a sort of “stigma” associated with not having clearly defined roles between themselves. When Chris was unemployed or in seminary, it was agreed between the two of them for Annie to shoulder most of the financial load. This drew criticism from friends, family, and church alike, which suggests that roles between husband and wife (in the fusion of Chineseness and Christianity) can also fall victim to criticism.

My fiancée has been told by “church” aunties that because marriage is such a big commitment, we might be too young to marry before age 30.

As suggested by popular books like Following God Without Dishonouring Your Parents (a book penned by young Asian Christians) and academic studies like Russell Jeung’s Faithful Generations Chris and Annie noticed that they were stuck in the middle of three concrete communities, whose enshrined norms turned out to be more arbitrary than most would admit. On the one hand, there were the friends who had read books prescribing a creation order of male and female roles, as well as parent-to-child typologies. On the other hand, Chris and Annie were criticized by some friends for not being egalitarian enough because they didn’t share all the roles, and at times conceding to their parents' wishes. On top of all that, there’s the Chinese family and church, with various interpretations of a Chinese order of things. convergemagazine.com

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From left: Justin and fiancée discuss wedding plans with the Fongs

These various hierarchies spell the sort of madness that couples like Chris and Annie had to endure.

Telling Marriage Stories without Typecast Roles Chris and Annie have taught my fiancée and me that, as nice as it sounds to hang on to “Chinese” culture, typecasting our prescribed roles just doesn’t work for Christian marriages.

What’s never talked about, amidst all of the roles and hierarchies, is the personhoods of the people in the marriage. The question should not be, “Who is Annie as a Chinese daughter?” or “Who is Chris as a Christian man?” It’s rather for Chris to discover who Annie is, and for Annie to draw out Chris’ heart.

Through this experience, Chris has become the perfect wedding manager. While booking our reception venue, my father and I had a tense disagreement about the contract we were signing with the hotel. When I brought the issue to Chris, he didn’t talk about a creation order or a Confucian hierarchy, the subordination of son in relation to father, the role of the masculine fiancé being ultimately responsible for the planning of the wedding. Chris asked for my story, — how my father and I related over the years, how my fiancée and I would proceed in our lives together with this parental relationship. My hunch is that Chris learned through his life with Annie that you relate to people, not to roles and types.

Perhaps, then, the best things for Christians going into marriage to read are stories. I think of Stanley Hauerwas’ Hannah’s Child, where he tells in painstaking detail of the mental illness that befell his first wife, and the joys of friendship with his second wife. The work of Lauren Winner also evokes a visceral response.

We hear of her sexual escapades in relation to her Christian initiation in Girl Meets God, are given a popular theological defence of chastity in Real Sex, and then are met with the unnerving reality of her divorce from the guy she talked about in the book on chastity in Still. For Hauerwas and Winner, marriage is messy stuff, not reducible to ideal types and ordered roles.

The pain can’t be re-engineered by an organizational hierarchy when you’re relating to an actual person. It’s not about relating to each other as man and woman, Chinese or otherwise, church kid or not. It’s about getting past the typologies to know each other as persons. It’s about bearing the cross together, just like the Fongs in their dating period, Hauerwas with his first wife, and Winner through her divorce.

It would be tempting for me to say that because stories of lived marriages are so messy, we should discard the whole idea of order and hierarchy. This won’t do for most of us who profess Christian faith; after all, the Bible demands that we respect those in authority. I’m not discounting that. I am saying, though, that pegging down stereotypical roles to satisfy abstract gender ideologies, whether cultural or theological, has caused people like Chris and Annie to write their love story with a lot of unnecessary pain.

Then again, maybe Chris and Annie have been refined through the pain. After all, wrestling with the typecasting demanded by family, friends, church, and multiple communities has done something unexpectedly beautiful. They’re now able to reflectively sort through the concreteness of their own story, as well as the stories of those whose weddings Chris manages, in a way that highlights everyone’s personhood, not the abstract roles they ought to fulfill. Come to think of it, because Chris and Annie have shown us the cross with their lives, they really have led my fiancée and me to Christ.

The pain can’t be re-engineered by an organizational hierarchy when you’re relating to an actual person

30 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

Scan this code with your mobile device to find out more about Prairie’s one year programs.

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speak

HEARD AND BE

ft. Shad K.

By Sam McLoughlin Photos by Christine Lim

S

Shadrach Kabango, known to friends and fans simply as Shad, has been on a steady trend from obscurity towards Canadian hip-hop royalty. With tributes being paid from media outlets like the CBC, MuchMusic, and The National Post, to resounding critical acclaim culminating in a Juno for his third studio album TSOL, Shad’s unique voice is finally being heard by a larger audience –– even outside the arena of music, as suggested by his recent spot on CBC’s Canada Reads and the occasional op-ed piece for The Vancouver Sun. There are thousands of young creative types out there like myself, who dream of speaking from the lofty heights that Shad has achieved. So how to do it? How to speak, and actually be heard?

Step #1: Play the game

“Music has limitations,” Shad explains, as we watch the rain patter gently on the window of his East Van apartment. “It has to rhyme. There’s tempo involved. There are certain parameters in the general vocabulary of the music . . . I compare it to games.

Games are fun ’cause there are rules, limitations. Rules [force] you to be creative . . . Music and art are sort of like a game. And

32 | CONVERGE. summer

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that’s what makes honest self-expression possible: fun.”

He’s not talking about playing the game we often see on TV: the violence, vulgarity, and hype. In message and form, Shad is calling fans and artists back to the roots of hip-hop, to the traditions that made this sort of expression possible. Those roots go back to ’70s black culture, to political rebellion, even to the beginnings of poetry itself.

“One of my favourite books,” Shad explains, “is A Defense of Poetry by Percy Shelley. One thing he says is, ‘Poetry is ever accompanied with pleasure: all spirits on which it falls open themselves to receive the wisdom which is mingled with its delight.’”

It figures, because this is what Shad has become known and loved for amongst his fans: his ability to mix humor with wisdom, to help us think differently about our lives while having fun.

The end game in writing poetry isn’t about being heard. It’s about finding something worth sharing — communicating wisdom within the parameters of rhyme. This still applies, whether you’re Shad, Shelley, or Jay-Z. On a different sort of stage, Shad delivered a lecture last summer at an event sponsored by Geez Magazine. He spoke about how even the crowned king of hip-hop, Jay-Z, plays by these rules.

“With the same sword they knight you, they gon' good night you with, That's only half if they like you That ain't even the half what they might do Don't believe me, ask Michael (Jackson) See Martin, see Malcolm See Biggie, see Pac, see success and its outcome See Jesus, see Judas See Caesar, see Brutus” “So he’s referencing Shakespeare, the Bible… layering references with MLK and Malcolm X with hip-hop references,” Shad pointed out in his lecture.

The song, “Lost” offers a social critique and a prophetic warning that draw from historical stories and figures who achieved fame and distinction. And it rhymes. It’s a lot to say in one verse, but the game makes this possible.

Shad’s own similar verses aren’t anything new: they’re part of the game.

“There’s a tradition of speaking to real things in hip-hop.

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There’s also a long tradition of having fun with the music. The cool thing about it is that those two are not contradictory, so I can have a fun song like “The Old Prince Still Lives at Home,” and a serious one (“I’ll never understand” about the Rwandan genocide, for instance) back to back . . . music can be a space to reach people with it. It’s in a context where people feel comfortable.”

When you keep an aura of fun, and respect the game, people are more likely to listen to what you have to say.

Step #2: Listen

However, before you ask people to listen, you must show that you also have listened. “That’s something I aspire to — to be a better listener,” Shad notes. Perhaps this is step two. As a musician, you have to learn to listen to a host of voices before using your own: to fans, to mentors, to the competition, to those that have gone before, and those that will come after — especially when your canvass is language.

When you do feel like you have something to say, how do you get noticed?

What makes an artist stand out?

“Music is a lot more of a democracy now,” Shad says. “There are still artists that have multi-million dollar budgets and those that don’t. But they’re both gonna put them on YouTube. So it’s a big equalizer. I’ve always known that I don’t make music that has mass appeal. So if the songs that naturally came out of me were “Teenage Dream” or whatever, I would have been like ‘OK, I should talk to a major label, cause everyone might like this . . . but I make underground hiphop. I trusted that there are different

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2012

channels for reaching those people. You can do it now without a crazy marketing push. Lots of good things have happened because people sought me out.”

Not only, then, do you have to listen, but you also have to trust that people are ready and willing to listen to you. Which leads to step three.

Step #3: Make a good product

The third step, it would seem, is not getting signed to a huge record deal, or winning American Idol. It’s making good art — something worth noticing.

Something that shows respect for the game, along with creativity, talent, work ethic, and even humor.

For instance, a few years ago, Shad filmed a music video for a fun song about living at home, that mimicked the opening theme to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. “Humor is healthy. It makes people trust you, and helps you learn from yourself,” Shad says.

The video went viral, exposing Shad’s music (and more importantly, his unique personality) to millions of viewers. While most rappers pile on the pretense, Shad cracks wise about sleeping on his parents’ futon and riding his bike. By being true to himself (while also showcasing mega-talent and slick production value), he is able to stand out from the crowd with a product all his own.

Step #4: Be yourself

The fourth step is not something you should have to work too hard on. If you are, you’re not doing it right. You must be authentic. Without authenticity, you won’t develop a loyal tribe; people will see right through the hype. Even if you

Top 10 SHAD LYRICS 10: “Pick the drug or the rapper man I'm better than Meth" —‘Yaa I Get it’ 9: “if I had a Clair Huxtable I'd tell her shyly, I'm like the letter Q, nowhere without U beside me.”

—‘Out of Love’ 8: “Shad's back on that emo tip?

Oh good.

The scarf and the tight jeans complete the whole look.

Why don't you go cook some vegan food and rent The Notebook?”

—‘Out of Love, pt 2’ 7: “They don't buy it, I say "don't buy it, pirate me!"

If it's ill, it'll spread virally.”

—‘I Don’t Like To’ 6: “It’s all nuance, use your head, Why get a bed and a couch when you can slouch on a futon instead?”

—'The Old Prince Still Lives at Home’ 5: “Same things that float your boat can capsize it.”

—‘Rose Garden’

“When you’re a part of a culture, there’s something healthy about being critical of it. And when you have some power or privilege, it’s important to ask, ‘What are we doing, as a culture, industry, group of entertainers?" don’t know where or who you are, or how you fit in, be honest and humble. Invite others along on that path of self-discovery.

“Making music challenges me to have something to say. It makes discovering and sharing the truth of who I am a bit easier. It’s brought me to new places and put me in contact with all kinds of people.

In all those ways and probably more, it’s been tremendous for me as a catalyst for personal growth,” he explains.

His authenticity and self-deprecating humor allows Shad to craft songs around unusual topics like being hopeless with the ladies and struggling financially. He also manages to cite Bible stories (like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in "A Good Name") and explore his Christian faith in his verses without being relegated to the MuchMusic margins. No small task.

While he may now feel comfortable being himself, there was a time that Shad thought he had to act the part in order to make it.

“I remember working co-op jobs when I was in undergrad, putting on khakis and a golf shirt, and tucking it in, and saying I don’t look like myself. I don’t talk like myself. I don’t care about these things at all.

But if I have the chance to do something else, I will. Now I feel like I can be myself, and do something I’m actually good at,” he recalls. “I studied business in undergrad, and hated it. Even though it’s in the past, I don’t feel that detached from that time. I know what real jobs are like, and I remember feeling, ‘I really don’t want to do this.’”

“Now I feel like I can be myself, and do something I’m actually good at . . . Communicating with people, feeling like you impact peoples lives with what you say, it’s amazing. I’m grateful. I don’t wanna do it the wrong way.”

Step #5: Think critically

I ask Shad what he thought about Bon Iver's challenge to MTV last summer, where he reminded them that music is

about doing “work, on earth.”

“When you’re a part of a culture, there’s something healthy about being critical of it. And when you have some power or privilege, it’s important to ask, ‘What are we doing, as a culture, industry, group of entertainers? We make songs from our heart, but we’re entertainers. That’s not a dirty word. It’s what I do. Bon Iver is coming from a place of, ‘this is what we have so lets be mindful of that, and step back and say what are we doing with all these award shows? Can we think about things for a second? Are we abusing our power right now? Are we using it in a good way? … Is it good for the culture we are affecting, building, right now?’”

Step #6: Have fun

“Music has taught me that it’s ok to be a human being. That life and humanity are a whole lot of things, and you can have fun expressing it, sharing it with other people.

What’s inspired me about music [is] seeing other human beings be human beings, you know? And do amazing things, and make you feel amazing things. I’m inspired to continue in that tradition” To wrap up our conversation I ask him to tell me one message he’d like to communicate to our culture. While talkative before, Shad’s now at a loss for words.

“One thing? I don’t know…. No idea,” he says.

I tell him that listening to him I feel like in my own small way he’s encouraging me to speak, to show the world my own perspective, and try to have my own positive impact.

“I couldn’t be happier if people got that from my music,” Shad replies. “That they feel empowered? That to me is what hiphop is all about. People getting empowered, that’s what the whole ‘swag, braggadocia’ was about: it’s like we are confident, you be confident too. It’s ok to feel good about yourself. It’s cool to be proud of who you are, and where you’re from.”

That is an attitude the game of rap allows, even demands. Finding confidence starts with respecting the tradition of

your discipline, then working to hone your craft while remaining authentic. Once you have achieved a small platform and some measure of clarity, you should be confident to speak, and be heard.

My hope, for myself and other aspiring culture-shapers who may be tempted to give into frustration and cynicism, is that we’ll sing along with Shad, “I’m a cynic but I try to keep my heart warm” (from his track “Lucky 1’s”), and remember how much more can be accomplished when we start with having fun.

4: "When the king made a statue of gold he told the whole nation that they had to bow down to it That or get tossed in the furnace Shad and his boys said boss you can burn us We can't serve this statue it's worthless The king was mad but Shadrach wasn't nervous."

—‘A Good Name’ 3: “The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

The heart’s made of matter that you can't measure, that matters beyond measure like light when it travels in the dark.”

—from ‘Live Forever’ 2: “When I need help this female won't take my calls.

It's like pool, and that's her cue to break my balls.”

—‘Telephone’ 1: “Brother please, I'm the biggest thing out of Canada since Pamela's double-D's” —‘I Get Down’ convergemagazine.com

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by jeff goins photos by geoff heith

A

As I write this, I'm flying. It's an incredible concept: to be suspended in the air, moving at two hundred miles an hour — while I read a magazine. Amazing, isn't it?

I woke up at three a.m. this morning. Long before the sun rose, thirty people loaded up three conversion vans and drove two hours to the San Juan airport. Our trip was finished. It was time to go home. But we were changed.

As I sit, waiting for the flight attendant to bring my ginger ale, I'm left wondering why I travel at all. The other night, I was reminded why I do it — why I believe this discipline of travel is worth all the hassle.

I was leading a missions trip in Puerto Rico. After a day of work, as we were driving back to the church where we were staying, one of the young women brought up a question.

"Do you think I should go to graduate school or move to Africa?"

I don't think she was talking to me. In fact, I'm pretty sure she wasn't. But that didn't stop me from offering my opinion.

I told her to travel. Hands down. No excuses. Just go.

36 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

She sighed, nodding. “Yeah, but…”

I had heard this excuse before, and I didn't buy it. I knew the “yeah-but” intimately. I had uttered it many times before. The words seem innocuous enough, but are actually quite fatal.

Yeah, but . . . . . . what about debt? . . . what about my job? . . . what about my boyfriend?

This phrase is lethal. It makes it sound like we have the best of intentions, when really we are just too scared to do what we should. It allows us to be cowards while sounding noble.

Most people I know who waited to travel the world never did it. Conversely, plenty of people who waited for grad school or a steady job still did those things after they traveled.

It reminded me of Dr. Eisenhautz and the men's locker room.

Dr. Eisenhautz was a German professor at my college. I didn't study German, but I was a foreign language student so we knew each other. This explains why he felt the need to strike up a conversation with me at six o'clock one morning.

I was about to start working out, and he had just finished. We were both getting dressed in the locker room. It was, to say the least, a little awkward — two grown men shooting the breeze while taking off their clothes.

"You come here often?" he asked. I could have laughed.

"Um, yeah, I guess," I said, still wiping the crusted pieces of whatever out of my eyes.

"That's great," he said. "Just great."

I nodded, not really paying attention. He had already had his adrenaline shot; I was still waiting for mine. I somehow uttered that a friend and I had been coming to the gym for a few weeks now, about three times a week.

"Great," Dr. Eisenhautz repeated. He paused as if to reflect on what he would say next. Then, he just blurted it out. The most profound thing I had heard in my life.

"The habits you form here will be with you for the rest of your life."

My head jerked up, my eyes got big, and I stared at him, letting the words soak into my half-conscious mind. He nodded, said a gruff goodbye, and left. I was dumbfounded.

The words reverberated in my mind for the rest of the day. Years later, they still haunt me. It's true — the habits you form early in life will, most likely, be with you for the rest of your existence.

I have seen this fact proven repeatedly. My friends who drank a lot in college drink in larger quantities today. Back then, we called it "partying." Now, it has a less glamorous name: alcoholism.

There are other examples. The guys and girls who slept around back then now have babies and unfaithful marriages. Those with convergemagazine.com

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Life is a result of intentional habits.

So I decided to do the things that were most important to me first, not last. follow their footsteps online:

never ending footsteps Living what many of us travelbug bitten souls only dream of, Lauren left life in England behind to travel the world indefinitely!

Hilarious and inspiring stories follow her every step. www.neverendingfootsteps.com

tomasz wagner A Vancouver local, photographer Tomasz Wagner brings you the world through his lens. Literally.

Stunning photos that make you feel you're beside him taking in the scene. www.mananetwork.net/ travel-photography

natalie tran Some of you may recognize her as Australian funny girl Community Channel. She and Lonely Planet hooked up to make an equally dorky and charming video log of her travels around the world. www.youtube.com/user/ LonelyPlanet

cory dyck Working full-time for YWAM in France, his journey has taken him from one side of the world to the other in search of what it is that we are all here for. www.ruined-fortheordinary. blogspot.ca

no ambition then are still working the same dead end jobs.

"We are what we repeatedly do," Aristotle once said. While I don't want to sound all gloom-and-doom, and I believe your life can turn around at any moment, there is an important lesson here: life is a result of intentional habits. So I decided to do the things that were most important to me first, not last.

After graduating college, I joined a band and traveled across North America for nine months. With six of my peers, I performed at schools, churches, and prisons. We even spent a month in Taiwan on our overseas tour. (We were huge in Taiwan.)

As part of our low-cost travel budget, we usually stayed in people's homes. Over dinner or in conversation later in the evening, it would almost always come up — the statement I dreaded. As we were conversing about life on the road — the challenges of long days, being cooped up in a van, and always being on the move — some wellintentioned adult would say, "It's great that you're doing this . . . while you're still young."

Ouch. Those last words — while you're still young —stung like a squirt of lemon juice in the eye (a sensation with which I am well acquainted). They reeked of vicarious longing and mid-life regret. I hated hearing that phrase.

I wanted to shout back, "No, this is NOT great while I'm still young! It's great for the rest of my life! You don't understand. This is not just a thing I'm doing to kill time. This is my calling!

My life! I don't want what you have. I will always be an adventurer."

In a year, I will turn thirty. Now I realize how wrong I was. Regardless of the intent of those words, there was wisdom in them.

As we get older, life can just sort of happen to us. Whatever we end up doing, we often end up with more responsibilities, more burdens, more obligations. This is not always bad. In fact, in many cases it is really good. It means you're influencing people, leaving a legacy.

Youth is a time of total empowerment.

You get to do what you want. As you mature and gain new responsibilities, you have to be very intentional about making sure you don’t lose sight of what’s important. The best way to do that is to make investments in your life so that you can have an effect on who you are in your later years.

I did this by traveling. Not for the sake of being a tourist, but to discover the beauty of life — to remember that I am not complete.

There is nothing like riding a bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge or seeing

tips for planning a safe and worry-free trip: Travelling is all about the adventure, the unknown path and the excitement of not knowing where you'll end up. But that doesn't mean that you can hop onto that plane clueless. Here are a few tips to help you plan a safe, comfy, and worry-free trip:

Research. This may seem a little hypocritical to the unknown path concept, but you don't want to find yourself in the middle of a drug war or being sucked into a major scam.

Choose a destination that you are comfortable with, and go with a travel buddy. Just make sure you guys are compatible and know how to resolve arguments.

Know your foot wear in relation to where you are going. Comfy shoes are a given, but dont wear TOMS in a warm place.

Comfy? Yes. Sweaty feet that smell like old pickled cabbage? You don't want to go there.

Shots and travel insurance. Get them.

Keep your money and personal documents close to you, but without going the fanny pack route.

Blend in. Check out some of the trends. Nothing screams "HEY LOOK AT THAT TOURIST WE CAN TOTALLY SCAM 'EM!" more than the floppy sun hat, sock and sandal combo, and that cool destination T-shirt you picked up at the last souvenir store.

the Coliseum at sunset. I wish I could paint a picture for you of how incredible the Guatemalan mountains are or what a rush it is to appear on Italian TV. Even the amazing photographs I have of Niagara Falls and the American Midwest countryside do not do these experiences justice. I can't tell you how beautiful southern Spain is from the vantage point of a train; you have to experience it yourself. The only way you can relate is by seeing them.

While you’re young, you should travel.

You should take the time to see the world and taste the fullness of life. Spend an afternoon sitting in front of the Michelangelo. Walk the streets of Paris. Climb Kilimanjaro. Hike the Appalachian trail. See the Great Wall of China. Get your heart

While you’re still young, get cultured.

Get to know the world and the magnificent people that fill it. broken by the "killing fields" of Cambodia. Swim through the Great Barrier Reef. These are the moments that define the rest of your life; they're the experiences that stick with you forever.

Traveling will change you like little else can. It will put you in places that will force you to care for issues that are bigger than you. You will begin to understand that the world is both very large and very small. You will have a newfound respect for pain and suffering, having seen that two-thirds of humanity struggle to simply get a meal each day.

While you’re still young, get cultured.

Get to know the world and the magnificent people that fill it. The world is a stunning place, full of outstanding works of art. See it.

You won’t always be young. And life won’t always be just about you. So travel, young person. Experience the world for all it’s worth. Become a person of culture, adven-

ture, and compassion. While you still can.

Do not squander this time. You will never have it again. You have a crucial opportunity to invest in the next season of your life now. Whatever you sow, you will eventually reap. The habits you form in this season will stick with you for the rest of your life. So choose those habits wisely.

And if you're not as young as you'd like (few of us are), travel anyway. It may not be easy or practical, but it's worth it. Traveling allows you to feel more connected to your fellow human beings in a deep and lasting way, like little else can. In other words, it makes you more human.

That's what it did for me, anyway.

Jeff Goins is a writer who lives in Nashville with his wife and dog. His first book Wrecked: When a Broken World Slams into Your Comfortable Life, comes out in the fall of 2012. Visit him online at goinswriter.com convergemagazine.com

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st p making sense!

can christian art shrug its burden?

“Then, from His place of ambush, God leapt out.”

Rainer Maria Rilke, “Imaginary Career”

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2012

B

efore I get started, a warning: this article will make recurrent use of a controversial pair of words. Defensive readers are advised to keep their computer handy, to expedite the typing of indignant emails.

The phrase is “Christian art,” and the alt-genre/niche market it is meant to describe has been much on people's minds in recent months. It could be the recent wavefront of Blue Like Jazz: The Movie, or the social media firestorm of “Kony2012”, or the annually recycled discourse occasioned by the Dove Awards. Or maybe it's the growing trend of popular rock musicians using their church background as musical cachet.

The rules are changing for Christian art. Of course, the conversation continues about whether it does, in fact exist, or whether it should. (This argument seems to have become its own genre in the Christian art world; perhaps we might call this “Christian irony?”)

Though it's perpetuated by writers much cleverer than me, I find that conversation a bit tired. Nothing is accomplished by it. Like Seinfeld, it's a show about nothing, one that could go on forever, if someone doesn't pull the plug.

“Christian art” exists, if only in people's minds. Rather than wish it had never been born, maybe we could euthanize it, or at least render it irrelevant.

To that end, we need to ask a few things: 1.

2.

3.

What is Christian art, and what is it for?

Is this a worthy goal?

How can this goal be improved upon?

What is it?

P

roponents of Christian art often validate the concept with historical examples like the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Divine Comedy, and the St. Matthew Passion.

But none of these would meet today's standards for Christian art. The Sistine Chapel's ceiling features nudity. The Divine Comedy contains perturbing questions about salvation, and graphic depictions of hell. The St. Matthew Passion is dense, moody, not easily accessible. The only reason we can claim them as Christian art is because they are stylistically obsolete.

Furthermore, if we delved into the personal lives of these artists, their works would probably have to be pulled from Christian bookstore shelves, just like Jennifer Knapp's records were pulled after her admission of homosexuality. The industry standard for Christian art applies to not only to the work, but to the artist.

Molly Jenson, a singer/songwriter who works frequently with Jon Foreman and For the Sender, often runs into this dilemma.

“I'm going to make mistakes. I'm going to say things that not everybody agrees with. What I have to remember is 'Do I believe that Jesus died and rose again? Do I believe the Bible?'" She laughs apologetically. “I still struggle with the Bible sometimes.

But I'm working on it! And I think a lot of people aren't working on it — they're just judging.”

This isn't an argument that there shouldn't be boundaries in art. In fact, creativity clearly thrives within boundaries, often proportionately. This correlation shows up in everything from blues music to Soviet-era propaganda.

But the boundaries of today's Christian art aim to create something universally unobjectionable. Besides resulting in defanged art, this approach also results in a strange burden on the consumer.

Fact: Nothing kills my appreciation of art faster than being told that I should appreciate it.

When the wife of my new pastor handed me a copy of Blue Like Jazz and told me I was sure to enjoy it, I was immediately put on guard. We had never discussed my personal aesthetics. Of all the things she didn't know about me, what made her think I would enjoy this book?

If you're “arty,” you've probably suffered these uninformed recommendations all your life. Various authority figures have urged all manner of Christian art products on me — half the time, they haven't even read the book/heard the music/seen the film themselves. (Their recommenda-

tions seem to often result from something they heard about on Christian radio.)

Christian art appears to depend heavily on gifting, a possible reason why it's often sold alongside scented candles and keepsake coffee mugs. It's a product that people buy for someone else, even if that someone else is the person they are supposed to be. This is a remarkable coup — the Christian art industry has guaranteed its success by marketing Christian art as the answer to a need, rather than a desire. Cars will always need gas, homes will always need toilet paper, and Christians will always need aesthetic options that are: Safe and wholesome. Parents can let the kids listen to music alone in their rooms, or attend concerts and movies unsupervised. Struggling adults can subsume their guilt by taking in some spiritually-enhanced entertainment.

Immediately consumable. This is a trait Christian art shares with top 40 radio, Art.com, and celebrity book clubs.

It's a reliable source of aesthetic gratification that suits our convenience.

Effective identifiers. When searching for something to hang on the wall in the entryway, a calligraphy Scripture verse, or a picture of Jesus wearing a sash and holding a lamb, will immediately remind guests what you stand for.

Originality, energy, intrigue, resonance — the qualities of success in nonsectarian art — are negligible factors in Christian art, whose primary burden is to draw lines, and keep us inside them. Incidentally, Christians are willing to pay a lot of money for this service.

Is this a good goal?

O

f course, Christians also spend a lot of money on things that don't keep us in line. On things that may even take us out of line. Things that resonate with us for reasons we can't always explain.

Not that they haven't tried. Jon Eldredge's book The Sacred Romance suggested that our fervid enthusiasm for epic stories, like Lord of the Rings and Braveheart, is the result of an “inconsolable longing” for “a love story in the midst of war.”

However, I can't make this rationale fit my personal passion for the oeuvre of Guy Ritchie.

Our attraction to certain kinds of aesthetic experiences are fundamentally unexplainable. But for such experiences to be replicated in Christian art, they must be explained. It's the only way to assess whether they are “okay,” and how to make them “okay” if they are not. This diagnostic scrutiny has dissuaded many talented artists from attempting to express their faith at all; others it has dissuaded from the faith itself.

Perversely, the Christian art world is often the only place where an artist can express the Christian faith at all.

Joshua Zimmerman, a pastor's kid who fronts a band that (he hastened to assure me) is not religiously affiliated, told me that rock music tastemakers are notoriously prejudiced against musicians with Christian roots.

“They have this feeling that bands who cross over are trying to infiltrate

“Christian art” exists, if only in people's minds.

Rather than wish it had never been born, maybe we could euthanize it, or at least render it irrelevant.

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What do Christian Artists say about Christian art?

their brains with their message. And what's frustrating is the press doesn't seem to have a problem with people forcing their worldviews through music when they're, like, Amy Winehouse encouraging people not to deal with their addictions.”

Even artists whose goal is church ministry have to submit to a standard for style and content, in order to reach their target audience. Whoever you want to reach, maintaining your Christian identity seems to inevitably cost some of your artistic identity.

This isn't unique to the Christian art world; the mainstream world does this to artists all the time. Sincere artists are tarted up, their names changed, their public image repackaged to hit the market's current sweet spot. The difference is that a Christian is supposed to like it, to embrace it as a spiritual good as well as a savvy career move.

Acting as safeguard over the hearts and minds of consumers, setting complete sanctification as a prerequisite for artists . . . is Christian art assuming the job of the Holy Spirit?

Like the Pharisees, the harder the industry works at keeping its nose clean, the more it alienates those it hopes to reach.

Whether you're Janette Oke or Donald Miller, your agreement or censure of the Christian way will never have the same power as praise or censure directed at the gospel itself. What's more, it will never be relatable to anyone on the outside. No matter how warmly we invite unbelievers to consume and appreciate Christian art, are they likely to?

How can it do what it's supposed to do better?

I

'm often surprised by the affinity that unbelievers have for hymns. At my college, I was regularly awakened at 1am by the strains of “Amazing Grace” being sung, rather beautifully, on the quad by the ritual drunkards. (In vino veritas?, I sometimes wondered.)

What induces an unbeliever, who would rather drive through the Bible Belt in silence than risk tuning into Christian radio, to sing along with a hymn? Nostalgia probably plays a role, but I think unbelievers also admire the robust, uncompromising quality of hymns. Hymns don't attempt to make sense of the truth; they simply reiterate it. They don't attempt to flog an emotion out of the singer; instead, they provide a framework to which the singer brings an emotional response.

Unbelievers are even free to bring their unbelief.

Most well-respected Christian art takes this objective stance. One of the few instances of Christian art that succeeded with a subjective approach was Adventures in Odyssey, the children's radio drama from Focus on the Family. Remembering the hours I could happily spend listening to one episode after another, I now believe there must be some kind of genius at work behind those little radio plays. How did they turn out such engrossing stories under Christian guidelines without sounding preachy?

As a veteran listener, I'll say that they did it with engaging, full-bodied characters. Such characters are hard for any artist to achieve; by Christian art standards, they are nearly impossible. But the “Odyssey” writers were clever enough to earmark a single, secondary character as the moral and spiritual center. (If you listened to the show, you know who I'm talking about. You probably wished you had a kindly old soda-shop owner like him in your neighborhood.) With this character serving as the plumbline, everybody else in the show could

42 | CONVERGE. summer

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DENNIS BAKER ACTOR & Theatre teacher Admires: The Killers "Good art has multiple layers, it's not black and white.

Life's not black and white. It's okay that it can be various things at different times in our lives."

be as bad as they wanted to be. This same device explains the widespread appeal of the Chronicles of Narnia.

The crucial thing is that this plumbline character not be the main character, and that's where much of Christian storytelling trips up. Investing all necessary virtues in the protagonist makes him instantly unrelatable, not to mention unlikeable.

The contrarian subgenre of Christian art isn't any better at this than the industry giants. As pointed out by a review in the Atlantic Monthly, Donald Miller's avatar in Blue Like Jazz spends the movie apologizing for the faith he professes. His character is the default moral arbiter, not because he's so good, but because everybody else is either wicked or embarrassing. Main characters like this are sympathetic only to people who see themselves as moral arbiters.

Conclusion

molly JENSON songwriter influence: Jon Foreman "I offend people by writing songs that aren't about God. My argument is that God is in my life.

And I'm going to write about things where you won't see Him, necessarily, but He's there."

michaH Albao musician influence: geddy lee "I think they need to be true to the voice that God has given them — do art that stirs them personally and deeply, and not out of a desire to impress other people."

T

he truth doesn't resolve all questions. It leads to more questions, of a highly personal nature — we want to know how broad truths apply to our individual lives, like the man with the possessed son saying, “I believe, help my unbelief.”

Christian art is — or could be, anyway — a way to express this conflict of belief and experience. Joseph Barkley, pastor of Hollywood's Ecclesia church, suggested that the deeper a question is buried inside us, the more powerful the effect of art that asks it. These questions, he says, “allow God deeper access into who we are, a place we're afraid to explore. When we face that, that's actually God opening up that chamber of our life.”

Catharsis (this exorcism of buried feelings and questions we dare not confront) is a frightening prospect for Christians.

It makes us question our salvation. But I wonder what might happen to Christians, and to art, if we finally began to admit those questions to each other, not only in accountability groups, but also through art. Joseph says he encourages churches to give artists that freedom.

If the art asks great questions that you believe the gospel answers, then display it . . . even if the artist is still in the middle of that question.

I wonder what would happen if we also started responding to Christian art, the good and the bad, with more honesty.

What kinds of connections among us would it reveal? What kinds of sanctification would it induce? What of our conclusions would stop making sense? What things would begin to make sense, that hadn't before? Where would God unexpectedly show up?

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| 43

HAVE YOU HEARD?

By Adam Roper

Glen Hansard Rhythm and Repose June 19, 2012 Abandoned Pools Sublime Currency August 21, 2012

The music of Tommy Walter — former bassist for the Eels — embodies a noisy symphony.

Varying from simple ballads to driving rock anthems, his songs resist being written off as pop.

The lead single from Sublime Currency, recorded under Walter's Abandoned Pools moniker, wastes no time in capturing the soaring instrumentation of M83 and the stylized vocals of Bed Of Stars. Such immense sounding songs are a feat of creation, and Walter navigates Sublime Currency with the ease of a studio veteran, while developing his own distinct character.

Lyrically speaking, Walter’s songs insistently seek out themes, and in their process create a space feeling of anticipation for the listener.

Though he's no underdog, you can’t help but pay hopeful attention to Walter's music, and wait to see if he finds what he’s looking for.

44 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

As a songwriter, Glen Hansard has aged incredibly well. His work with the Frames expressed consistency and commitment to craft, though the true poetry of his songs came to public attention with his work as Markéta Irglová’s counterpart in Swell Season. The first few lines of “Love Don’t Keep Me Waiting” quickly dispel any doubts about Hansard’s ability to single-handedly capture a listener’s attention.

Some songwriters wrestle for years to create an identity for their music; others find it early and embody it well for an entire career (Ron Sexsmith and Josh Rouse also come to mind).

Hansard settles more comfortably into his own style on this album. He knows his craft and embraces this knowledge intentionally in the appropriately titled Rhythm And Repose.

The record expands on Hansard’s sense of mature introspection heard in 2009's Strict Joy, establishing a greater sense of hope this time around. It’s a rich collection of songs that touch on universal themes of finding comfort.

Check out convergemagazine.com for our daily music pick.

Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan July 10, 2012

Japandroids Celebration Rock June 7, 2012

Tallest Man On Earth There’s No Leaving Now June 11, 2012

Dirty Projectors follows up the wonderfully unclassifiable Bitte Orca with the equally curiously titled Swing Lo Magellan. Initial curiosity draws a listener into this album; what keeps him hooked is the sophistication Dirty Projectors bring to their craft. Also apparent are the skillful backing vocals that hold together a sense of simplicity and pair it with innovative harmonies. The voices unite the individual parts of the musical form in a similar fashion to the vocal work of School Of Seven Bells.

What is most notable about this record is the skill Dirty Projectors have in intellectually rendering their art form without coming across as pretentious and inaccessible. This is a fancy way of saying that the personality of their music is really easy to like, and you don’t necessarily have to be artsy to dig it.

Among a number of other concepts noted by the recent documentary No Fun City was the simple truth that Japandroids are committed to Vancouver’s small venue scene. Having played shows in the hundreds since their inception, Japandroids are at the forefront of a growing trend — community-initiated and supported music culture.

Rightly so. With a diverse number of new acts emerging every month, and new venue spaces starting to find broad support in the form of devoted attendance and political advocacy, there is much to celebrate in Vancouver’s current music climate. Celebration Rock boldly captures the forward-thinking spirit of F’d Up’s Chemistry Of The Common Life, and the celebratory verses of Said The Whale.

Their sound on this effort is more coherent and developed. They have effectively aligned their musical identity with their sincere commitment to artistic initiative.

There’s No Leaving Now is the third full-length record for Kristian Matsson’s solitudinous folk project. Matsson is from Sweden, but plays American folk, touching on traditional and contemporary musical themes. You can hear the classic folk influence in his reliance on structured lyricism and finger picking, while shades of contemporary folk are introduced on the new record with piano-based and drumsupported songs. With more of a band setting, Matsson distinguishes himself from the solitude of his first few releases.

Those who have seen Matsson play live know that he finds a certain comfort in being alone on stage. Similar to artists Jeff Tweedy and Dallas Green, Matsson can fill a stage with his subtle presence.

His robust personality is easy to spot on this record, as are his even tone and intricate approach to songwriting.

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Apply Now for Fall 2012! . | 45 convergemagazine com

HAVE YOU READ?

By Shara Lee

The Meaning of Marriage

By Tim & Kathy Keller

The difference between Tim and Kathy Keller’s The Meaning of Marriage and the countless other books on Christian marriage today is that this book is completely grounded in Biblical teaching. It is a book that you’ll likely want your spouse or future spouse to read because it addresses basic issues of commitment and marriage but also recognizes common misconceptions and realities that today’s couple will face. The Meaning of Marriage begins by laying out core biblical teachings on marriage and ends by instructing on the sexual relationship within marriage. By pulling from scripture, the authors are able to get to the crux of what is wrong with modern and popular ideas about marriage and what needs to be in place in order for a union to f lourish. This book is not just for couples it is also for singles. In fact reading it should be a prerequisite for marriage as it lays out so much practical advice on what you should look for in a partner, challenges you can expect, and how

46 | CONVERGE. summer

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to serve your future spouse while also serving God. The Meaning of Marriage is well written and has a depth that few books on this subject have, but it is also an enjoyable read. With all the cynicism today towards marriage, this book reclaims and elevates this sacred covenant as something holy, beautiful, but most importantly, God-given.

Letters to a Future Church Edited by Chris Lewis

If you could write a letter to the North American church today, what would it say? In Letters to a Future Church, our generation’s culture shapers answer this very question. Included are submissions from Rachel Held Evans, Andy Crouch, Makoto Fujimura, Walter Brueggemann, and many more. The compilation is divided into four sections: mission, truth, art, and hope. While several topics are explored there are a few common themes that repeat throughout the book.

The authors urge followers of Christ to stand united in true community, to lead culture by example, and to not lose sight of our true purpose in Christ.

Love Does Bob Goff

Love Does is the heartwarming memoir of Bob Goff, a lawyer and philanthropist. The book is engaging and full of interesting anecdotes that shine light into experiencing a purposeful and adventurous existence on earth. Goff challenges readers to stay alert in our everyday lives so that we don’t shut out the little messages that God can give us both through situations and from those around us.

Still: Notes on a MidFaith Crisis Lauren F. Winner

Many already know Lauren F. Winner through her previous books Girl Meets God and Real Sex. Unlike in her previous memoir Girl meets God where Winner searched for a religious identity, in Still the author reflects on a series of spiritual crises after the death of her mother and a divorce. Her musings are raw and emotionally charged; her honest writing style is sure to draw you in.

What Still excels in making clear is that there is no formula for faith but there is hope in perseverance.

HAVE YOU SEEN?

By Cam Smith

Why we need the Blockbuster

S

erious film scholars may loathe admitting it, but there’s something undeniably powerful about the way Hollywood’s best blockbusters unite an audience. Movies like these are inherently able to project extraordinary visions of grand adventure, sweeping romance, and unforgettable spectacle straight into our subconscious minds, imprinting us with cherished cinematic memories. We’ll always remember the thrill of Indiana Jones scrambling to stay one step ahead of a crushing boulder, or Doc Brown’s time-travelling DeLorean gliding directly into the camera at the delightful close of Back to the Future.

While the concept of event films is nearly as old as the medium itself, the age of the summer blockbuster didn’t actually dawn until the mid-1970s, with the onetwo punch of Jaws and Star Wars. Arriving at a dark time in American history, shortly after Nixon’s resignation and the close of the Vietnam War, Steven Spielberg’s 1975 shark tale proved to be exactly what the public needed. Boldly disregarding the long-held belief that the warmer months should be a dumping ground for studio cast-offs, the instantly iconic suspense yarn opened in wide release on its first weekend, a risky move that flew in the face of the trusted method of starting

small in order to build buzz. The gamble paid off hugely for Universal; soon, Hollywood had a new distribution model and its first $100-million grosser.

Two years later, George Lucas transported audiences to a galaxy far, far away.

Summertime at the multiplex would never again be quiet.

Triumphant alliances of technology, artistry, and storytelling, both pictures profoundly accomplished the blockbuster’s highest aim; to leave viewers awestruck. Unfortunately, only a few have discovered the formula for this kind of viewer delight. To hit its mark, it requires a perfect balance of manipulation, intense visual and aural stimulation, and a grasp of the human imagination.

Far more movies fail in this mission than succeed, resulting in joyless, effectsdriven too-muchness, à la Transformers or Green Lantern. Spielberg remains the undisputed master of the form — few stretches of celluloid are as astonishing as the operatic climax of Close Encounters of the Third Kind — but he has accumulated strong company over the years in James Cameron (Terminator 2), Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future), Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), as well as the visionary geniuses at Pixar, among others.

It’s regrettable, then, that one of the most critical ingredients in this enchanting spell has fallen bizarrely out of favour: the element of surprise. Once upon a time, the marketing for Jurassic Park took great pains to conceal its dino-stars, and we

were legitimately dumbfounded when they lumbered majestically into frame. Public demand now motivates studios to counterproductively leak trailers and advance footage that reveals key plot points and money shots months before tickets go on sale.

Fortunately, a handful of the genre's heavyweights have begun to shun this undesirable trend. Marvel deftly preserved the cloak of mystery around their box-office smash The Avengers, while 20th Century Fox has built an irresistibly enigmatic aura around Ridley Scott’s much-anticipated Alien prequel Prometheus.

Recently, Christopher Nolan (who returns this July with The Dark Knight Rises) has risen to become cinema’s most trusted helmer of smart big-budget entertainment.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, he’s a true showman. He keeps his cards close to his chest, treating the blockbuster as an opportunity to exercise his audacious ambitions.

We need more strong voices like Nolan in the tent-pole arena. Voices that are willing to push the event picture forward, and wow us with new tricks, rather than recycle old routines in the hope that lightning will strike twice. We need these voices because, as we so frequently see, summer blockbusters can truly matter. They can act as vehicles for revolution within the industry, and grow into treasured fragments of our shared cultural memory. More personally, they provide a blissful escape into movie magic nirvana where, for two hours, we’re encouraged to soar into our dreams' farthest reach.

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l ast word

W

hen I was a girl, I was not allowed to have Barbie dolls. My parents didn’t want to encourage me to live in a “Barbie dreamland.”

Even though this decision made me feel left out from time to time, I understand that they wanted to protect how I learned about selfimage. Let’s be honest: Barbie is not the most substantial heroine.

In an impressive feat of parental inconsistency, I was instead allowed to play with troll dolls. Apparently, these bridge-dwelling, spell-casting, neon-haired, always-nudes were better role models during my impressionable girlhood.

(My parents and I laugh about this now.)

These troll dolls were the characters in the make-believe stories of my after school playtime. I would dream up adventures for my family of trolls , make clothes for them, and mourn each one that was chewed up by the dog.

As I grew up (and as more of my troll dolls were eaten by my dog), they lost their title as MVPs of Make-Believe. I was introduced to many other characters and stories through television, pop music , and things I learned in school. My imagination began to write more complex storylines, usually when I was bored in my high school classes.

I’m still a daydreamer, imagining the possibilities in every area of my life. But to my disappointment, I can’t always decide how the storylines of my life will unfold, the way I once could as a girl playing make-believe. Whether you are a daydreamer or not, you understand how disappointing it is not to be able to write the chapters of life as you wish.

The reality of not being in control hits hardest in times of great loss. The disappointment of losing a job, a friendship, a dream, a spouse, or health are painful examples of how much control we lack in the telling of our life story.

This is not to say that we are powerless. Even though I can’t force other people to play along with my ideas, wishes, and dreams, I can decide how I will respond to life. This takes conviction about and acceptance of what I am responsible for (hint: myself), and whom I am responsible to (hint: God).

After a recent disappointment, I have found it challenging to grieve appropriately. I’m tempted to grieve that I couldn’t give this story the ending that I wanted, as though I would have avoided this loss if I hadn’t made silly mistakes, or had more foresight, or acted more [fill-in-the-blank.] It has been a challenge to accept that there were multiple reasons why this storyline took a turn I didn't want The majority of these reasons were out of my hands.

Grieving appropriately simply means letting myself be sad about what has happened, not blaming myself or anyone else, and it is accompanied by the invitation to trust God more deeply.

Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.” Pouring out my heart invites me to tell God my storylines, and all the reasons why I want to tell my stories a certain way. Trusting means that in the pouring out of my dreams and wants, God will take care of my heart's desires in His own good ways.

If you feel disappointed right now, know that your emotions are safe with God, who is a refuge. In His deep love for you, He invites you to pour out your heart to Him. Will you trust Him with your life stories today?

— Michelle Sudduth

48 | CONVERGE. summer

2012

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