JulyAugust2011PRISMPreview

PRISM July/August 2011

PRISMmagazine.org

Plant a Tree, Save a Life Caring for the poor by caring for the earth Farming for justice in the inner city

Evangelicals rediscover their legacy of animal protection

Electric!

Solar grandmothers illuminate the developing world

PRISM Vol. 18, No. 4  July-August 2011

Plant With Purpose, a Christian non-profit organization, breaks the vicious cycle of poverty and deforestation by transforming it into a victorious cycle of environmental restoration, economic empowerment, and spiritual renewal.

WE TEACH poor farmers to solve their own problems through community development, emphasizing empowerment rather than handouts.

WE PLANT innovative, mutually beneficial agroforestry systems that restore the land while providing farmers with abundant harvests

WE CREATE healthier, sustainable economies

through savings based microfinance loans to help develop alternative sources income.

WE SHARE the Gospel through long-term rela-

tionships focused on discipleship and servant leadership.

Editor Art Director Copy Editor Financial Operations Publisher Assistant to Publisher

Kristyn Komarnicki Rhian Tomassetti Leslie Hammond Sandra Prochaska Ronald J. Sider Josh Cradic

Contributing Editors Christine Aroney-Sine Myron Augsburger

Clive Calver Rudy Carrasco Andy Crouch J. James DeConto Gloria Gaither David P. Gushee Jan Johnson Craig S. Keener Peter Larson Richard Mouw Philip Olson Jenell Williams Paris Christine Pohl James Skillen Al Tizon Jim Wallis

Issac Canales M. Daniel Carroll R. Paul Alexander James Edwards Perry Glanzer Ben Hartley Stanley Hauerwas Jo Kadlecek Marcie Macolino Mary Naber Earl Palmer Derek Perkins Elizabeth D. Rios Lisa Thompson Heidi Rolland Unruh Bruce Wydick

Subscription Information

Renewing your subscription? Visit EvangelicalsforSocialAction.org/Renew Regular PRISM Subscription Only $30 a year. Type: US/Canada via air mail Good Stewards Subscription (PDF) Receive the same PRISM as everyone else but in your email box and save big! Only $15 a year. International Subscription Receive PRISM internationally for 1 yr. electronically. Only $15 a year. Library Subscription Order PRISM for your library! Only $45 a year. www.PRISMmagazine.org 6 E. Lancaster Ave, Wynnewood PA 19096 484-384-2990/PRISM@eastern.edu Note: Standard A mail is not forwarded; please contact us if your address changes.

A Publication of Evangelicals for Social Action The Sider Center on Ministry and Public Policy www.EvangelicalsforSocialAction.org Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University

Learn more at: www.plantwithpurpose.org

July / August 2011

“What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? ... How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” Numbers 13: 19, 20

Contents

2 Reflections from the Editor Kneeling in the Garden with God

10 Planting the Future

3 Talk Back

When both rural land and its inhabitants are being degraded, the best answer is a program that brings new life to both.

4 Celebrate!

18 A Call to Compassion from Our Brothers the Animals

Letters to the Editor Rejoicing in the power of advocacy

6 May I Have a Word? A Weak Body

7 Faithful Citizenship I Am Not Forgotten

8 Leading Ladies Catalog Life

9 Art & Soul

Anthems for the Kingdom of God

40 Washington Watch

Christian Faithfulness and Government Policy

41 Making a Difference

Singles Ministry without Holes

Animal suffering may be off the average Christian’s radar today, but concern for our fellow creatures carries a long history in the church and a strong biblical mandate.

23 Sowing Justice

Thanks to Earthworks, inner-city Detroit is reaping a ripe harvest of shalom.

26 Solar Grannies

Wanted: illiterate middle-aged women from poor rural villages to become solar engineers. Educated male urbanites need not apply.

34 We Were the Least of These

A survivor of childhood sexual abuse shares how in Christ she found healing from her hidden wounds.

42 Off the Shelf Book reviews

46 Kingdom Ethics

Letter from a Grateful Son

47 Music Notes Sacred Steel

48 Ron Sider

America’s Historic Choice Cover image by Shooarts

R eflections from the Editor Kneeling in the Garden with God Out there, they’re talking multilaterals, capacity building, and capital flows. In here, we’re talking soil, seeds, and sun. They’re talking global governance, poverty gap ratios, and welfare initiatives. We’re talking rural farmers putting trees back into their dusty land, city kids harvesting and marketing their own food, unschooled women electrifying their villages. I’m not putting down the former— those big ideas have their place among the suit-and-tie experts of the development world. But I am grateful that, in this issue, we get to hang out with the latter—the real experts, those cashpoor but experience-rich folks who are making a tangible and joyful difference in their own lives, with a little help from friends who are wise enough to know how to keep out of the way. So join me as we plunge our hands into the rich earth to plant saplings with farmers in Haiti, Kenya, and Mexico. See how they are reclaiming their barren hillsides, bettering their own lives, and providing a future for the next generations all at the same time. Learn how, for these men and women, trees do much more than provide shade, oxygen, and beauty—they are symbols of hope and inspire humans to reach higher and dig deeper. Planting trees in impoverished nations has wide-reaching spiritual and even political effects: As Kenyan Wangari Maathai, the first African woman ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize, says, “sustainable development [such as treeplanting], democracy, and peace are indivisible.” Then follow me to urban Detroit, where residents of all ages are raising asparagus and currants in the garden, whipping up artichoke dip and tomato soup in the kitchen, and making honey and organic compost in the heart of the inner city. Try a sip of elderberry juice, take a whiff of basil, sample a spoonful of homemade jam. The joy of connecting with the earth’s bounty is contagious, isn’t it? The smiles on the faces

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of the Earthworks community say it all. Now let’s soar to Rajasthan, India, where the charismatic but humble Bunker Roy has the honor of introducing the poorest of the poor to their heretofore unimagined potential. Become a solar engineer in just six months, he promises them; the less formal education you have the better. Sounds like a snake oil salesman, right? But this guy’s for real. His vision—and his track record—for training up “barefoot” engineers (and architects, healthcare providers, entrepreneurs) from among the world’s impoverished and least educated is nothing less than astonishing. Although not himself a Christian, Roy seems to understand Christ’s attraction to the poor (not to mention the latent power of a mustard seed) better than most believers I know, myself included. I thank God for him and the work he is doing to electrify—both literally and figuratively—the Creator’s most vulnerable populations. Then we’ll take a tour through church history to remind ourselves of the long legacy of Christian animal care and advocacy. From the forest to the farm, how we treat the animals who nourish and serve us has consequences for how we love the God who created them. Regardless of what one thinks about “animal rights,” when we mistreat creatures (or turn a blind eye when others do) we harm ourselves and disrespect both the Giver and his gifts. Jesus’ life was connected to the earth in ways that very few of us in the developed world can comprehend today. He talked to a fig tree, drank from fresh springs, prayed in a garden, and slept on a lake. He saw spiritual truths in every seed, flower, weed, thistle, vine, branch, tree, mountain, and gust of wind he encountered. He called his beloved children sheep and himself their shepherd; he said God knows and remembers each sparrow. He was announced by a dove, praised the ant, identified with the hen, and rendezvoused with a donkey. Sand,

Kristyn Komarnicki

soil, and stone were the very stuff of his stories. Jesus honored the natural world with his attention, and he was ministered to by the natural world in his enjoyment of it. It strikes me as genuinely tragic that we are today so unprecedentedly removed from the beauty, joy, and nourishment of creation. While many of us strive for political solutions and wrestle with methodological approaches to big problems like hunger, environmental degradation, generational poverty, and

gender injustice, God is content to kneel in the garden, focusing on the details and delighting in his creation one daisy, robin, and child at a time. While we fuss and fritter about results, God is patient, tending each part of his garden with great care and intention, fully present and unhurried. All praise to the Master Gardener who has hidden in the care of creation all the secrets we need—not only to save the planet but also to live victoriously in peace and plenty. Kristyn Komarnicki enjoys picking arugula and mint for her dinner salad and finds weeding to be the perfect companion to prayer (“Lord, dig those sins out of my heart— just look how tenacious the roots are!”). She confesses to entertaining murderous thoughts toward a certain ground hog, who has made a habit of breakfasting on her zucchini blossoms.

A rt & Soul

Justin and Maggie Best

Anthems for the Kingdom of God “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” Creation reminds us, O God, of your love. By grace we are learning, as year leads to year, We’re called to be stewards, your caretakers here. - Carolyn Winfrey Gillette The fullness of the gospel can be compared to a Russian nesting doll. Aspects like personal salvation, redemption of creation, continuing discipleship, and spiritual disciplines fit closely together within the kingdom of God. When viewed as an ensemble, they represent the great renewal that the Old Testament prophets spoke of, the redemption of all things that the New Testament writers hoped for, and the restoration of the shalom that Jesus himself inaugurated. God’s kingdom comes, on earth as it is in heaven. This is the gospel that has wooed the heart of Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, a pastor from Delaware who masterfully weaves Jesus’ good news into hymns for this generation. Gillette champions the message of hope and redemption by writing about facets of the kingdom not foreseen by great hymn writers of centuries past. Though Martin Luther and John Newton did not, Gillette touches on such issues as women’s rights, school violence, and immigration. Her hymns speak to what the church is struggling with in this day and age. For Gillette, hymn writing is a ministry of discernment and proclamation of God’s kingdom come to us. She was raised by a mother who was an excellent writer and a father who was an English teacher. “They both taught me to choose words carefully—and that the longest writings aren’t necessarily the best,” she says. Her parents also taught her about faith through daily devotions, worship, and discipleship. In 1998, she wrote her first hymn at a church conference in response to a discussion on the psalms. The attendees

were talking about passages of Scripture used as the basis for writing hymns but couldn’t remember a particular piece about the Ten Commandments. So Gillette wrote one, setting the lyrics to a familiar hymn tune; she shared it with a friend, and it was sung in church that Sunday. This experience taught Gillette the value of helping others “find new words to pray—words that help them make connections between their faith and their everyday lives.” Many churchgoers today miss out on the beauty of hymns because their language can seem remote from 21st-century life. Gillette’s hymns give accessible expression to the issues that contemporary saints wrestle with on a daily basis—questions such as “What does it look like to love my neighbor?” and “How do I respond to issues of injustice in this world?” She wrote “God of Creation” about the relief response to Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf region. “God of Mercy, You Have Shown Us” concerns gun violence. “Another Son Is Killed” responds to issues in the Middle East and includes references to Psalm 137. Other hymns carefully blend current issues and biblical themes, such as “God, May Your Justice Roll Down,” which integrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the message of justice from the book of Amos: Christ, we give thanks for past saints who renewed education, freed the oppressed, brought your healing and fought segregation. Savior and Lord, great were the risks they endured, bearing your hope and salvation. Gillette emphasizes with her work and ongoing ministry that “our faith and life need to be very much connected, and

I seek to help people see these connections through my hymn writing.” With her husband, Bruce, she is co-pastor of Limestone Presbyterian Church in Limestone, Del. Hymn writing is a vital part of her ministry, both to her congregation and to the church at large. She has published two books of hymns and has been featured in other collections as well, including Voices Found: Women in the Church’s Song (Episcopal Church Publishing, 2003), Sing the Faith: New Hymns for Presbyterians (Westminster/ John Knox Press, 2003), and Worship and Song (Abingdon Press, 2011). Woven together out of a rich scriptural context and a deep empathy for the church today, Gillette’s hymns are not the lofty arias of an ancient cathedral— they are meat and potatoes for a hungry church. The Rev. Dr. Arlo D. Duba of the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary says that Gillette’s poetry and imagery remind him of “both Tom Troeger and Wendell Berry, homey, yet profound, packed with inspirational material.” Gillette beckons us to take a step back and take in the fullness of the kingdom of God. For Christians who feel as if older hymns have no relevance to them and their journey of discipleship, Gillette’s hymns teach them to sing a different tune. Through her hymns she invites us to marinate in the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that it is not just what we’ve been saved from but also what we’ve been saved for. Her hymns lament the violence and evil of our world, cry out for justice, and rejoice in the coming yet already present King. Learn more about Gillette’s work at CarolynsHymns.com. Justin and Maggie Best studied missions and anthropology at Eastern University, where Justin just got his master’s in international development. They are on their way to Miami, Fla., to be part of a church plant called Rhythm Community Church.

Planting th

Reforestation addresses one tree at a time

he Future

s poverty at the roots, By Tim HĂ¸iland 11

Previous page: A community in the Dominican Republic plants tree seedlings in a nursery, where they learn to care for them as well. Top: This hillside is completely deforested on one side, allowing for serious soil erosion on the other.

Middle: Contoured living barriers such as this one help mitigate soil erosion. Bottom: This landscape in Oaxaca, Mexico, shows varying degrees of degradation and vegetation. Plant With Purpose partnered with local farmers to plant the saplings seen in the foreground.

12 PRISM Magazine

On the surface, it may appear that planting trees and caring for the poor are two separate undertakings. But when you dig a little deeper, says Scott Sabin, the connection becomes undeniable. For Sabin, who serves as executive director of Plant With Purpose, a Christian, environmental nonprofit organization based in San Diego, choosing to focus on either the needs of the poor or the environment is a false choice—and one with tragic repercussions. Take Haiti, a country mired in desperate poverty long before the devastating earthquake of early 2010. Once a tropical jungle, hillside slums now reveal a barren landscape. In Haiti, Sabin says, “we see how extreme poverty results in environmental disaster, which in turn feeds extreme poverty. If you address one in a vacuum, the other will defeat you.” “There are a lot of environmental programs out there that ignore the needs of the poor,” he continues, “and they fail for obvious reasons. At the same time, many of those working to address poverty issues fail because they have ignored environmental factors.” Plant With Purpose, originally known as Floresta USA, got its start in 1984 in the Dominican Republic. Tom Woodard, its founder, noticed that while countless humanitarian organizations were doing noble work there, none seemed to be addressing the inescapable connection between the degradation of rural land and the plight of the rural poor. It was a startling conclusion to the puzzling question of why so many people were leaving their rural farms and moving into urban slums where overcrowding, violence, and substandard sanitation were the norm. But in many cases, according to Sabin, “these people were coming from situations they considered worse.” Worse than a slum? The realities of environmental impacts in developing countries may be difficult for many of us to comprehend, Sabin says, “because here in the US we’re very divorced from our environment. The impact of environmental degradation is real to us, but we can insulate ourselves pretty easily because of our affluence.” The rural poor do not have that luxury. For them, many of whom are farmers who daily depend on their land for their very survival, the effects can be devastating. And at the crux of that grim scenario is the problem of deforestation. Trees are essential in replenishing the nutrients in the soil and in preventing topsoil-depleting erosion and landslides capable of destroying entire communities in one fell swoop. Trees help the soil retain its water, which allows aquifers to be recharged. They

Dig Deeper In Unbowed: A Memoir (Anchor, 2007), Wangari Maathai (pictured left) tells her story of growing up in Kenya; becoming an influential professor, parliamentarian, and activist; founding the Green Belt Movement; and winning the Nobel Peace Prize. It is an intimate look at a remarkable woman who endured imprisonment and harassment for planting trees, not only to improve the lives of the poor and to protect the environment, but also as a symbol of freedom and peace in Kenya and beyond. For more on Maathai and the Green Belt Movement, please visit GreenBeltMovement.org. The movement has spread into several African countries, and this site contains all the latest news, photos and videos of the work that Maathai and others are doing. Scott Sabin (pictured, far right, with Carlos Disla, executive director of Plant With Purpose’s Dominican Republic operation) has written a book called Tending to Eden: Environmental Stewardship for God’s People (Judson, 2010). In it he shares insights from his own experiences, theological reflections on creation care, and practical ways to “tend to Eden.” The book also features guest contributions by key Christian thought leaders with unique perspectives on environmental stewardship. For more on Plant With Purpose and how you and your church can be involved, visit PlantWithPurpose.org.

also act as filters, naturally purifying the water found in rivers and streams. Additionally, deforestation has been linked to lack of rainfall, as God-ordained cycles of nature are disrupted. The cumulative effect of deforestation is that poor farmers find it increasingly difficult to produce the crops they depend on. The widespread nature of the problem has a lot to do with why 80 percent of the chronically hungry in our world are the rural poor and, subsequently, why urban slums continue to absorb a growing stream of “environmental refugees” desperate for an alternative to the precarious lives they have come to know.

An idea whose time has come

Though hardly new, deforestation began to accelerate in the 1800s at the height of the Industrial Revolution, a time when agrarian societies were being replaced by industrial ones that demanded large quantities of natural resources. While rates of deforestation in developed countries have leveled off and the overall pace in developing nations has slowed, it still remains a significant problem worldwide, experienced most acutely by the rural poor but impacting all of us in one way or another. Deforestation has gained more attention of late, coinciding with a renewed recognition of the finiteness of our planet and

the ubiquitous, multifaceted dangers of environmental degradation. In a resolution passed by the General Assembly, the United Nations named 2011 the International Year of Forests, recognizing the connection between deforestation and poverty, stating that “forests and sustainable forest management can contribute significantly to sustainable development, poverty eradication, and the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals.” But perhaps no one has done more to highlight the connection between deforestation and the poor than Wangari Maathai. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work with the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots organization that engages women’s groups and others in planting trees “as an entry point for self-determination, equity, improved livelihoods and security, and environmental conservation.” Born in Kenya in 1940, Maathai saw the impact of deforestation firsthand as a child. “As I was growing up,” she recalls, “I witnessed forests being cleared and replaced by commercial plantations, which destroyed local biodiversity and the capacity of forests to conserve water.” Maathai became the first woman in Kenya to earn a doctoral degree, and she eventually held respected posts in both government and academia. The Green Belt Movement (GBM)

Sowing Justice

Farming builds food security, community in inner-city Detroit by Mike and Denise Thompson

the nation that convert vacant property in poor neighborhoods into thriving oases of agriculture—and hope. A good number of the groups involved, such as Detroit’s Capuchins, openly describe themselves as faith-based. Other groups are more secular in how they present themselves, but many of the individuals involved see their work as an expression of their faith. Rick Samyn, a brother with the Capuchins, explains that Earthworks seeks “to restore our connection to the environment and community in keeping with our spiritual patron, St. Francis.” The Capuchins were ahead of their time when they established Earthworks in 1997. But in the past few years, the “Motown” to “Growtown” phenomenon has experienced a tremendous flourishing. According to spokespeople for Mayor Dave Bing, the number of Detroit’s urban farms will soon approach 800, although few are the size of Earthworks. Many consist of a single vacant lot, or several combined, used to grow food. People involved in urban farm work— whether as modestly paid staffers, volunteers, or work-study agricultural students—are usually motivated by social justice issues. They note that Detroit no longer contains a major supermarket chain within its boundaries, which means that residents pay more for food, either at small local shops or through transportation to the suburban megastores. If they lack the transportation to get to the suburban outlets, their meats and produce are far less likely to be fresh and appealing. Lack of healthy food contributes to today’s rise in obesity, especially among children. Urban farm gardens provide a means to break this harmful cycle.

Praying with dirty hands

rom Old Testament gleaning laws to the gospel story of Jesus multiplying loaves and fishes to feed a hungry crowd, a key biblical theme involves providing food for those in need. Responding to that theme is Detroit’s Earthworks Urban Farm, a program of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. The farm is one of a growing number of back-to-basics ministries across

Patrick Crouch, Earthworks program manager, feels that working the soil is a form of prayer. “It’s definitely a deeply spiritual event for me,” he explains. “I think of it as being more of a meditation. One of the beauties of working in the garden is to do the task at hand.” This doesn’t prevent Crouch from seeing the political and social justice issues involved in the urban farm movement. Like the vast majority of urban farmers, he avoids chemicals and pesticides; Earthworks is a certified organic farm. He says that people are beginning to understand the ills of massive erosion of soil on corporate farms, as well as the horrors of packing animals into cramped and unsanitary stalls and cages. Crouch believes that farming malpractice is so severe that the entire food chain is at risk. He notes with irony

23 PRISM Magazine

Preceding page, top to bottom: The EAT program’s farm stand; lettuce aplenty in the green house; students plunge in to pick potatoes.

that if a “food crisis” eventually occurs, poor people involved in urban farm gardens may be in the best position to cope. Crouch grew up in Salisbury, Md., along the Atlantic shore, in a family that grew vegetables and showed concern for ecology. When he arrived in Detroit to serve with Earthworks, he took time to study the city’s history. “Throughout American history, growing in urban areas has waxed and waned,” he explains. “Detroit has a history of farming in the city, going back to the 1880s, before the auto industry emerged. I don’t necessarily think of this as something new. It’s getting publicity nowadays because of the internet.” Lisa Richter, Earthworks outreach coordinator, is a Michigan native who recruits neighbors and organizes activities, including a community prayer to bless the garden each spring. But they do more than bless the attractive green sprouts. “We also bless the compost,” Richter says. “We spread the leaves down, and in the dying of the leaves we are blessing new lives within ourselves. We demonstrate how some-

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This page: Honey from the Earthworks hives will be enjoyed at the Capuchin Soup kitchen and sold at market; volunteers de-cap the beeswax so the honey will spill out.

body may express their values and faith through how to live and how to treat the earth.” The majority of the produce grown by Earthworks is served up fresh to patrons of Capuchin Soup Kitchen, which serves about 2,000 hot meals each day at their two locations.

Growing new agriculturalists

The Earthworks Agricultural Training (EAT) program is designed to develop the skills that adults 18 and older need to create their own community-based food enterprises or to enter the quickly developing urban food system. For nine months participants work hands-on in all areas of the food system, learning about everything from production to processing, from marketing to distribution. “We started this program because economic insecurity is often suffered by those suffering from food insecurity,” explains Shane Bernardo, who helps coordinate outreach. “In this way, we move from simply offering social services (in the

W ashington Watch Christian Faithfulness and Government Policy God’s preferred way of relating with the world is the church—people following Jesus in community and seeking to live the way God desires. The church is meant to be the inbreaking of the desires of God where God’s will and way are most visible. The community of the faithful should—right now—be experiencing and revealing the ultimate future of all humanity, as if we are stories from heaven being told here on earth. Although we often fail at this, the church must seek to be the present embodiment of God’s heaven, an embodied politics that is more powerful than the politics of any nation. The church, as embodied in local churches, can seek to do this since we claim to understand some things more clearly because we learn from Jesus. For instance, we learn that peacemaking is blessed while war-making is not. We learn that forgiveness is God’s desire while vengeful or violent retaliation is not. We learn that when someone has an economic need, we provide for that person, not turning away from anybody who is in need. We learn to love our enemies rather than kill them. We learn not to be prejudiced against other ethnicities but to dismantle racist structures in our churches. We learn not to discriminate against women but to empower women in leadership. We learn that God is love and that God’s empowering grace enables followers of Jesus to be more patient, more forgiving, more generous, and more truthful than any earthly government could ever be. Governments are not the church, and the church can get things “right” in ways that governments generally cannot. Not only are governments not the church, but governments are also less than the church. Jesus’ kingdom is international, and since Jesus is the King of all kings, President of all presidents,

40 PRISM Magazine

and Prime Minister of all prime ministers, our citizenship in his kingdom should certainly trump our citizenship in any other nation. This means that when Christians speak to nations about their better and worse practices—their policies—Christians are not addressing institutions that are preferred by God over the church. In other words, there is more potential in faithful churches than in all the governments of the world put together. My threefold approach to church engagement with public policy starts with the church, rather than with the government. Regarding any particular “policy,” we must first discern the most faithful ways followers of Jesus should live related to that “issue.” We must discern the most faithful perspectives and actions for (1) churches—who we are and what we do regardless of whether others join with us; (2) individual followers of Jesus—who I am and what I do, regardless of whether others join with me; and (3) policy recommendations to the nations (emerging from our Christian attempts to be faithful to God)—who they are invited to become and what they are invited to do. Often step three will not be anywhere near Christian and church faithfulness, and Christian faithfulness should not be expected of the nations; step three is usually suggesting practices that are simply a bit more just than what is currently practiced. This method could be applied to every policy issue, but let’s explore immigration. First, we learn from the Scriptures, and especially from Jesus, that we should welcome any strangers or foreigners into our lives and make sure they are treated well, for we too are immigrants whose primary citizenship is in Jesus’ kingdom. And since churches should be communities of character that create people of integrity who live generously, churches can work with any and all immigrants in their area in structured ways to help with the difficult issues of residence change, such as language learning, legal assistance, citizenship processes,

Paul Alexander childcare, living wage jobs, medical attention, educational assistance, and exploitative employers. Second, I can work with my church in the above ways and also provide food, shelter, and friendship in my own home. If this is against the law, Christian love and faithfulness sometimes necessitates civil disobedience. If Christians treated immigrants as Jesus would (or as if they are Jesus, in a “whatever-you-do-to-the-least-ofthese” fashion), then our public policy recommendations would be informed by God’s life-changing politics that we already embody. Therefore, third, the US should make the pathway to citizenship easy for anybody who arrives, whether documented or not. This country is wealthy enough to accommodate those who want to immigrate, and much of that wealth was (and still is) extracted from their countries of origin to begin with. So if immigrants arrive in the US to share in the wealth that their countries produce for accumulation here, then the least the US can do is help them become citizens easily, without fear of deportation. As Esperanza for America (Esperanza. us) suggests, “All undocumented immigrants must register, pass a criminal background check, pay unpaid back taxes, learn English, and remit fines for illegal entry and overstay.” Esperanza’s recommendations are not as Christian as Christians can be, but they’re better than the immigration policies currently in place. Both churches and governments are broken, but Christians have Jesus’ example and the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to help us live faithfully and to help governments do un poquito mas de justicia—a little bit more justice.

Paul Alexander is ESA’s director of public policy and a professor of Christian ethics and public policy at Palmer Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa.

M usic Notes

Al Tizon

Sacred Steel

bum Colorblind, Dylan’s “Shot of Love” Pentecostal tradition that introduced stands out in Walk. Some may find it the pedal steel guitar for worship. I love It is already unfair that God endowed strange that a Dylan song is even in this the sound of that already, but when I Robert Randolph with extraordinary collection, but let Walk’s history teach discovered that the House of God introtalent, but talent and wisdom and spiri- us: The best of Dylan’s music has roots duced it in the 1930s as an alternative tual sensitivity? That is exactly what was running through my mind as I This album is a history of spiritual subversion in spent time with We Walk This Road, the fourth release of Robert Randolph the black gospel tradition, as told by the best and the Family Band since 2002. Walk is a smart, energetic album, pedal steel guitarist on the planet. engaging both head and heart. It’s a history lesson on black gospel, blues, in traditional black and spirituals. Organized into six sec- gospel, blues, and folk, tions, each of which begins with a mu- so of course there’s a sical segue (a snippet of a song from Dylan song included. the archives that provides background Randolph takes the for Randolph’s 21st-century interpreta- title cut from one of tions), the record makes a case for the Dylan’s lesser-known comeback of the concept album. Rather “born-again albums” of than simply slapping together the latest the 1980s and resur12 to 15 catchy pop songs for iTunes rects it powerfully. It’s sales, Randolph and the band prove my favorite on Walk, that artists still exist who desire to say not only because I like something thematically important. The Bob but also because careful selection, arrangement, and per- Randolph is at his best formance of the songs inspire listeners here. In his hands, the to tap their feet all the way to the li- notes emanating from brary to find out more about Mitchell’s the guitar are crisp and Christian Singers, Blind Willie Johnson, clear, making them and other pioneers of the music we all almost visible as they have come to know and love. swirl and dance around It’s a history lesson, but thanks the room. He puts his to what Randolph can do with a pedal signature on the song while remaining to the pipe organ, which expensively and steel guitar, as well as what producer true to the spirit of the original. I imag- gaudily adorned the churches of white T-Bone Burnett can do with old songs, ine Dylan here being proud and jealous America, I understood more profoundly why it came to be called “sacred steel.” it is the most exhilarating history class at the same time. That’s what this album is about— you’ll ever take. It’s a smart album— Producer T-Bone Burnett, known but not at the expense of high-energy to steer raw talent into intriguingly new a history of spiritual subversion in the rock and roll, which, if you are so prone, directions, does this very thing with Ran- black gospel tradition, as told by the will have you playing air guitar in front dolph. He is able to draw out of Ran- best pedal steel guitarist on the planet. of thousands of imaginary fans in no dolph something authentic from the time. Randolph plays the pedal steel depths of who he is, even while challengwith abandon but not without purpose, ing him to venture out to yet-unexplored Al Tizon is associas if he knows by each riff which of the musical territory. I don’t think anyone ate professor of holislisteners’ emotions he’s toying with. So could have predicted that Walk would tic ministry at Palmer the album is intensely fun, too. have followed Colorblind, a raw if not Theological Seminary I do appreciate the covers of the wild offering that, yes, shows Randolph’s in Wynnewood, Pa., diold songs, such as “Traveling Shoes” wares but not necessarily his person. Unrector of ESA’s Word and “If I Had My Way,” but my favor- der Burnett’s direction, Walk introduces & Deed Network, and ite cut on the album is Randolph’s in- listeners to the inspiration of Randolph’s regular columnist for terpretation of Bob Dylan’s “Shot of passion as it explores the spiritual muLove.” Just as the Doobie Brothers’ sic that he grew up on. Randolph was PRISM Magazine, but he believes that “Jesus Is Just Alright with Me” was the raised in the House of God Church, a without music none of these things high point of Randolph’s previous al- denomination in the African American matter very much.

PRISM Vol. 18, No. 4  July-August 2011

Editorial Board

Miriam Adeney Tony Campolo Luis Cortés Richard Foster G. Gaebelein Hull Karen Mains Vinay Samuel Tom Sine Harold DeanTrulear

George Barna Rodney Clapp Samuel Escobar William Frey Roberta Hestenes John Perkins Amy Sherman Vinson Synan Eldin Villafane

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