The Hospitality That Saved My Neighbor

The Hospitality that Saved My Neighbor

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In 2015, over one million refugees arrived to Greece, a country roughly the size of Alabama. Just 16,000 kilometers from Turkey, Greece is a gateway for refugees escaping oppressive governments, life-threatening crises, and violent conflicts in their home countries. Upon arrival, however, they are confronted by the reality of a crippled economy and a limited infrastructure that cannot meet basic needs like food, housing, and medical attention. And things only became more strained as the refugee crisis reached new heights. According to recent UN estimates, there are 22.5 million refugees globally. In a country like Greece, the solutions had to come from somewhere beyond government aid programs.

In light of these realities, the evangelical community responded with remarkable speed. On today’s episode of The Feature we have a conversation with Matt Gulley, the director of Mercy Ministries, and discuss how his team responded by establishing hospitality centers, in some cases even having refugees in their homes. In 2018 alone, Mercy Ministries served more than 40,000 meals and provided medical services to 2,500 people.

One Mercy Ministries staffer wrote, “The trauma of escaping from war and conflict-torn countries brings people to Greece with a great desire for a new way of life.” In this episode, you’ll also here from Masoud Gormani. Masoud is from Afghanistan and his story is an inspiration. You’ll only hear parts of it referenced in our conversation since this was recorded during the Anastasi conference. Masoud escaped Afghanistan after seeing the threat radical groups presented to his family; he fled to Turkey. Not long after, he realized his family was still not safe, so they got on a boat for Greece. During the voyage, his son nearly drowned, so when he arrived in Greece, he was desperate. Christians attached to Mercy Ministries took him and his family in. When he realized they were believers, Masoud said he was alarmed. Being a Muslim, he’d heard stories of how Christians demanded conversion in exchange for their aid, but these believers demanded nothing. They cared for his family. Offered meals; taught him Greek. After months, he knew they had Bible studies and prayed before meals, but they never required this of him. Eventually, his curiosity about this led him to ask why nothing was demanded in exchange for their help. They shared the story of Jesus and now Masoud is a believer and pastor of a refugee church showing the same hospitality that was once shown to him.

Crises like these force the Christian community to wrestle with the connection between the gospel and human needs. One Greek pastor, writing about the movements in Athens, saw two types of responses from the church. He wrote, “At one end of the spectrum is the fundamentalist trend, which views the refugees chiefly as objects of evangelism, only to be clothed or fed if it leads to an opportunity to share the gospel. At the other end is the social gospel trend, which views sharing bread already as sharing Christ and considers verbal gospel proclamation unnecessary and even undesirable.”

What you are about to hear is a conversation with Masoud and Matt on this question. This was recorded during our time in Greece at the Anastasi conference, so you’ll hear some ambient sounds and some fluctuations in our voices. We apologize about that in advance, and we’re confident the conversation will still be enriching. In a world needing a story that makes the city whole, Matt and Masoud share compelling testimonies of integration, hospitality, and grace.

If you would like to financially partner with Mercy Ministries, please follow this link:

https://hellenicministries.org/give

For more information or ways to get involved please send us an email at info@hellenicministries.org.

MLB Exec on using his platform to transform Communities

MLB Exec on using his platform to transform Communities

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There is a short film about a young, Dominican man named Miguel “Sugar” Santos who moves to Iowa to play in the minor leagues. He dreamed the dream of many young Caribbean-Latino young men; all he wanted was to be a professional baseball player. However, the movie highlights the challenges of being an international player, and the ending is a bleak reality-check of the more likely outcome. Sugar never makes it big, and the audience last sees him playing pickup baseball in an amateur league. Few “Sugars” make it to the minor leagues, and even fewer make it into the MLB. Because of this, some people question Major League Baseball’s relationship with Latin-American countries like the Dominican Republic. Is the MLB good for Latin America?

We had the opportunity to sit down with Joel Araujo, an MLB executive responsible for international player development, to discuss his work overseas. Joel is himself Dominican-American, and his work reflects his commitment to the growth of baseball AND the health of the countries he serves. In the video below (in Spanish), Joel shares his vision for players who become healthy, whole, and active citizens whether they make it to “the Show” or not. Joel is a bridge-builder, a link between two worlds that brings flourishing to both. Listen to this week’s podcast and watch the video below to learn more about Joel’s work supporting the countries he serves.

About Joel Araujo

Joel Araujo is the senior manager of Major League Baseball’s International Talent Development Department where he leads the group’s talent development efforts abroad. Since joining MLB in 2008, he has been involved with nearly every aspect of international baseball operations, from contracts and visas to winter leagues and international talent procurement. He founded the Major League Baseball Amateur Prospect League, which gives Dominican prospects a weekly opportunity to showcase their talents before officials from all 30 MLB Clubs, and the first-ever MLB Elite Development Program for Puerto Rican high school players. He now oversees MLB's Elite Baseball Development Programs in Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Curacao and South Africa. Araujo also established the MLB International Showcase, an annual event which allows Clubs to view and evaluate the best international amateur talent on the market, as well as the Coach Development Program, a two-week course that trains coaches from around the globe so that they can better develop players in their home countries. MLB now holds multiple showcases in various countries each year (some of which are attended by upwards of 300 Club scouts), and over the last four years, more than 500 coaches from 30 different countries across four continents have completed the coaching curriculum. He continues to work to expand MLB’s baseball development efforts into new markets.

The Urban Village

The Urban Village

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A recent Metropolis article opened by asking, “If Jesus were alive today, would he be a property developer?” The question is being asked by a writer who is recognizing the Church’s behavior as a reflection of Jesus’ character. Because churches are partnering with developers to create new places of worship and community service, the writer identified this as a potential testimony of who Jesus would be today. It isn’t clear if this writer fully grasps the implications of what she asked, but her question says something about the work of gospel-preaching and ministry. To quote another journalist, “Shouldn’t it be our moral responsibility to finally make it our city's top priority to aggressively rebuild parts of [the city] that in some ways our city leaders have had a hand in helping destroy?”[1]

Dr. A.R. Bernard and his congregation have answered yes to this second question, choosing to address the gentrification of Brooklyn, New York with an astonishing development plan. In partnership with a developer and working with the city’s existing policies, the Christian Cultural Center is working an aggressive plan to build an 11-acre Urban Village equipped with a performing arts center, local retailers, affordable housing, and everything necessary for a walkable community. The project, an estimated $1.2 billion endeavor, will begin as early as next year. Speaking at the 100 Cities Summit, Dr. Bernard said this about the project:

“In cities like New York, there is gentrification taking place. Gentrification could be racial, it could be economic. For us it is economic. Individuals who are working class or in a certain income range are being squeezed out. We wanted to respond by creating affordable housing. We didn’t want to do what has typically been done over the last 70, 80 years in America and that is warehousing people with one income, which perpetuates poverty and perpetuates inner city condition.”[2]

We sat down with Dr. Bernard to discuss the Urban Village, asking him about the way the project developed for the church, how they chose their partnerships, and how this project could be replicated. At a fundamental level, this church is making something new of the city, choosing to shape a large section in response to the broken structures of New York and as a testimony of the kind of community that is promised in Scripture. In this way, the Urban Village is a new World Outspoken, a story told in concrete buildings that point to what Jesus is doing in the city. Listen to the podcast to learn more.

About Dr. A. R. Bernard

A.R. Bernard enjoyed a successful career in finance before opening a small storefront church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. From a handful of members the church has blossomed into the Christian Cultural Center (CCC), one of America’s fastest-growing churches with 40,000 members.

Considered by many to be the most influential and respected Christian in America, A.R. Bernard has been featured on Fox News, CNN, NBC’s Today, MSNBC, CBS News, and BET — and has his own weekly show on Daystar TV. Revered as the “Power Pastor” by The New York Times, Pastor Bernard was recently a guest on Oprah Winfrey’s SuperSoul Sunday, where he discussed his bestselling book, Four Things Women Want from a Man.

Footnotes

[1] Mark Konkol, “Rahm Is Right: We Have a Moral Obligation To Save City From Itself,” DNAinfo.com, November 05, 2015, Accessed December 16, 2015, http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151105/auburn-gresham/mayor-emanuel-is-right-we-have-moral-obligation-save-city-from-itself.

[2] “AR Bernard’s Brooklyn Megachurch to Build $1.2 Billion Housing Community to Address Gentrification,” accessed December 28, 2018, https://www.christianpost.com/news/ar-bernards-brooklyn-megachurch-to-build-12-billion-housing-community-to-address-gentrification.html.

Making Ballet Accessible

Making Ballet Accessible

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Ballet, as with many of the “fine arts,” is perceived as art for the aristocracy. The art form is commonly expensive, exclusive, and occasionally elitist, but Ballet 5:8 subverts these common values to provide accessible, high-quality dance training to students of all ages, levels of ability, and ethnic backgrounds. Their school commits to fostering a nurturing environment where instructors care for the students’ spirits and bodies. This is Ballet reimagined. This is a studio telling a different story.

Ballet 5:8 is a non-profit dance company and school changing the way this art form is perceived and used in the Chicago-land area. Their faith-based commitments drive their pursuit of excellence in their craft and informs the outward focus of all their programming and performances. According to their handbook, “We see dance not as a means of self-glorification, but as a way to share the joy of our faith with the communities around us and to invite others into meaningful discussion of faith topics.”

We sat down with Ballet 5:8’s Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer Julianna Rubio Slager to discuss their commitment to share their faith and make quality ballet accessible to all. Watch the video below, then listen to the podcast to learn more about Ballet 5:8 and the city they make. If you are in the Chicago-land area, you should make it out to their upcoming show!

About Julianna Rubio Slager

Ballet 5:8 Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer Julianna Rubio Slager is originally from Spring Arbor, Michigan. Slager began her dance training with Mrs. Lori Ladwig and went on to study under notable teachers from Ann Arbor Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, the Vaganova Academy and Puerto Rican National Ballet. Slager enjoyed dancing under Barbara Smith at Greater Lansing Ballet during her training, and also under Kathy Thibodeaux and Sol Maisonet at Ballet Magnificat. Upon moving to Chicago, Slager had the opportunity to work as freelance artist, teacher and choreographer in the Greater Chicago area. Slager was instrumental in the co-founding of Ballet 5:8 in 2012. Beginning in 2014, Ballet 5:8 began touring nationally, bringing Slager's critically acclaimed ballets such as Scarlet and The Stor(ies) of You and Me to audiences across the nation. In 2015, Slager was awarded the Individual Artist Program Grant from the City of Chicago for recognition and continued development of her choreographic work.

In the short span of six years, Slager has enjoyed training and mentoring her first generation of aspiring artists in Ballet 5:8 School of the Arts' Pre-Professional and Conservatory programs, and in the Ballet 5:8 Trainee Program. She has had the joy of watching her students be accepted into many prestigious summer intensive, trainee and year-round programs, including the Kirov Academy, Pittsburg Ballet Theater, Houston Ballet, Washington Ballet, Joffrey Ballet Trainee Program, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Ellison Ballet, School of American Ballet, and others.

Radical Root Organic Farm

Radical Root Organic Farm

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What has the farm to do with the city? How do they relate to one another? More often than not, the city is a parasite of the rural region beyond its limits. It attracts and often keeps the young talent born in the small town. It demands increased development to house commuting workers and their families, absorbing acres of farmland to that end. The city continues to leach from the land around it. When the local region reaches its limits, the city makes use of the global economy to continue to sustain its life. According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), Illinois residents spend $48 billion on food annually, but roughly $46 billion is spent on imported food.[1] At the time of CMAP’s original report, food consumed in Chicago traveled an average of 1,500 miles to get from farm to plate. The habits of Chicago and cities like it have become “increasingly violent toward the landscape.”[2]

This global food economy depends on industrial farms that produce efficient crops like maize, soybean, and grains. These industrial farms are highly subsidized by government agencies.[3] They make use of genetic modification, seed homogenization, mechanized planting, fertilizers, and pesticides which enable more efficient farming, but they also have devastating environmental repercussions. “For instance, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations records food wastage in the world at 33 percent, with little over half of that occurring at the level of agricultural production and storage, a number that if more responsibly managed would halt deforestation for agricultural production in the Amazon rainforest altogether.”[4] Whether we realize it or not, our choices about the food we buy and consume supports a system that affects everything from water shortages to insect populations and climate change.

“How we imagine and use the land and its resources is a moral and religious concern as much as it is a practical one.” [5]

We need a new way of thinking about food, farming, and the city. Radical Root Organic Farm is one of a few Community-Supported Agricultural farms (CSA) surrounding the city of Chicago. Alison, a mother of two and co-owner of the farm along with her husband Alex, writes, “Instead of simply being careful not to harm the environment, we want to farm in way that benefits and contributes to the earth and to our communities.”[6] This feature is a conversation with Alison about the food industry, CSAs, and their call to make a system that connects the farm to the city in new ways. They graciously received the WOS team to their home and gave us a tour of the farm. Watch the video below, then listen to the podcast to learn more about ways you can support local organic food production and a new relationship between the city and farm.

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Footnote

[1] “Local Food - CMAP,” accessed November 14, 2018, https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/about/2040/livable-communities/local-food-systems.

[2] Jennifer Allen Craft, Placemaking and the Arts: Cultivating the Christian Life (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2018), 24.

[3] According to one report, $500bn is spent every year on agricultural subsidies (Damian Carrington Environment editor, “Avoiding Meat and Dairy Is ‘Single Biggest Way’ to Reduce Your Impact on Earth,” The Guardian, May 31, 2018, sec. Environment, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth).

[4] Craft, 24.

[5] Ibid.

[6] “Radical Root Organic Farm,” Radical Root Organic Farm, accessed July 17, 2018, http://www.radicalrootfarm.com/about-us.

The Storyteller's Responsibility

The Storyteller's Responsibility

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In his Nobel-prize-winning book, El Hablador (The Storyteller), Mario Vargas Llosa tells of a young man named Saul, who abandons Peruvian society to become an Hablador (or Storyteller) of the Machiguenga. The Machiguenga is a tribe that lives as scattered family camps across the Peruvian-Amazon rather than live together as one complete community. In this unusual, dispersed way, the Machiguengas claim the entire forest as theirs, each family taking up their own corner of it and moving as food would require. Only one person traveled from family to family connecting them together. El Hablador.

For the Machiguenga, the storyteller is of sacred, indeed religious importance. The storyteller’s job was simple enough: to speak. “Their mouths were the connecting links of this society that the fight for survival had forced to split up and scatter… Thanks to the storytellers, fathers had news of their sons and brothers of their sisters … thanks to them they were all kept informed of the deaths, births, and other happenings in the tribe.” The storyteller did not only bring current news; he spoke of the past. He is the memory of the community, fulfilling a function like that of the troubadours of the Middle Ages. The storyteller traveled great distances to remind each member of the tribe that despite their miles of separation, they still formed one community, shared a tradition, beliefs, ancestors, misfortunes, and joys. The storytellers, writes Vargas Llosa, were the lifeblood that circulated through Machiguenga society giving it one interconnected and interdependent life.

“The Machiguenga storyteller is “tangible proof that storytelling can be something more than mere entertainment … something primordial, something that the very existence of a people may depend on.”

Stories are at the core of every culture. They have the power to shape whole systems. Thomas King writes in The Truth about Stories: A Native Narrative (2003), "The truth about stories is that that's all we are" (p. 32). King continues, "So you have to be careful with the stories you tell, and you have to watch out for the stories you are told" (p. 10). King’s words and Llosa’s novel reveal that being a storyteller is a grave responsibility, a calling above all others. For that reason, we sat down for a conversation with Hugo Perez, a former journalist for the NBC News Network and current owner of Local Boy Creative.

Hugo describes himself as a “storyteller for hire.” Our conversation with him took us through the history of his career and the ethics of storytelling today. We talked about recent “fake news” trends and spent time discussing some of the values that guide his storytelling. Reporters and Marketers are two kinds of Habladores (Storytellers) who shape society, and Hugo has been both. At World Outspoken, we are committing to actively making the city, creating culture, and pursuing a vision of justice and beauty. To do that, we need the help of storytellers like Hugo. As King reminds us, "Perhaps we shouldn't be displeased with the 'environmental ethics' we have or the 'business ethics' or the 'political ethics' or any of the myriad of other codes of conduct suggested by our actions … After all, we've created them. We've created the stories that allow them to exist and flourish. They didn't come out of nowhere. They didn't arrive from another planet … Want a different ethic? Tell a different story" (p. 164).[1]

Hugo’s experiences equip us with ideas to consider and roles to reevaluate. Listen to this podcast to hear about the power of storytellers in the form of marketers and reporters.

About Hugo

Hugo Perez is a professional storyteller. He develops strategies and content for a variety of clients around the country as owner of a boutique creative agency in Chicago called Local Boy Creative. He is an experienced brand builder, creative catalyst, innovative strategist, and integrated marketer, having worked in senior roles at a variety of global companies and marketing agencies over the years. He began his career as a journalist at NBC Network News where he earned an Emmy-award for his work. Hugo has traveled and worked extensively all around the world and considers himself a “dreamer, a wild one, and a roaring lamb."

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Footnote

[1] Credit must be given to Dr. Gene L. Green for first identifying the significant quotes from Tomas King’s book. You can access his original review of this book by following the subsequent link: “The Truth About Stories,” Green Trees, accessed September 14, 2018, https://www.genegreen.org/blog789123456789/2018/4/13/the-truth-about-stories.

A New “American Dream”

A New “American Dream”

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Early 20th century Chicago was a grimy place. From a town of a hundred people, the city reached a population of over two million, and this resulted in filth, smoke pollution, faulty sanitation, and street congestion that was dangerous for pedestrians. Living conditions were dreadful. Despite all this, the city’s leading architect and planner still wrote, “City life has attractions that make a strong appeal to human nature. Opportunities for wealth and power and social consideration, for amusement and instruction, for the increase of knowledge and the cultivation of taste, are greater for the average person in the city than in the country.” This architect, named Daniel Burnham, believed it should come as no surprise that the city constantly drew “young men and women of ambition and self-reliance, who are lured [to the city] by the great prizes … open to the competition of all.” But, what happens when an ambitious young woman, a perfect match to Burnham’s profile, decides to renounce the “great prizes” of the city to move back home to an Island in the Pacific?[1]

Christiana Galea’i is an American Samoan singer and song-writer who was set to “make it” in Chicago, but she didn’t stay in the city, choosing to turn down a record deal to move back home to be with her people. Her dream was to inspire young musicians to produce excellent music right from the island, proving that Samoa has something precious to contribute to the global community. Christiana's costly decision reaped unimaginable reward. She’s inspired, enabled, and supported several budding artists who are now producing music of their own, making something new and good of the global city. Listen to this World Outspoken Feature to learn more about enabling culture-making musicians who are already telling a new story about the world.

About Christiana

Christiana Galeaʻi is an independent artist and creative writer who focuses perspectives of small island nations. Originally from Taʻū, American Samoa, she grew up traveling to places with different cultures from urban Japan, sunny California, and rural Alaska. These experiences inform her production of songs and writings that share native narratives from an authentic point of view. After studying music and biblical studies at the Moody Bible Institute, Christiana returned to her Polynesian home to teach. She continues her travels as an events coordinator that encourages local communities to share their unique stories. Christiana is an active member of the Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa and has a desire to see loving reform among its members. Aside from public speaking and artist collaboration, she enjoys ice cream. Her favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip, but it depends on the mood! You may find her latest creations at christianagaleai.com.

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Footnote

1. Sections of this article are from Seeking Zion: The Gospel and The City We Make, written by Emanuel (Ricky) Padilla. 2017. Quotes of Daniel Burnham are from his 1909 Plan of Chicago. Citation: Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett, Plan of Chicago, First Edition (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1993), 2pg. 33.

Artz N The Hood

Artz N The Hood

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Young Culture-Makers make their own World

It’s nearly 1 a.m. when it’s decided. Eight high school students from East Denver convince their bible study leader to help them start an art camp. Nearly 20 years later, the week-long camp has an avg. of 350-400 campers and provides classes on everything from hip-hop dance to videography. For the original eight, camp was resistance. Camp was protest. Camp was proof their world was theirs to own. When Artz N the Hood was founded, it was a response to budget cuts in the Denver public-school system. The arts were among the cuts, leaving students with limited and costly access to creative outlets. So, on that night, eight students decided to run an art camp right from their church parking lot.

Artz N the Hood is an inspiring story of young culture-makers. The city they envision includes access to art education and a significant role for young people to contribute in real ways to making their city. Their story is a reminder that culture is always what we make. Culture is always communal. Q Nellum, the Bible study leader enabling these young culture-makers, shares our conviction that the city we make is fashioned from a diverse community of makers, including black and brown high school students. In our interview with Q and Sandra Jennings Curry, we hear the story of these culture-makers and what they produced: an intentionally wild environment of creativity and fun, where high school students lead and the whole community is involved. Artz N the Hood is a work of place-making best practices. Students learn about cooperation, leadership, social justice, and inclusion. They work together to make their city and reflect God’s Kingdom. Listen to this World Outspoken Feature to learn more about enabling young culture-makers making their city together.

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Footnote

1. Cover photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash

Podcast Credits:

• Recording: @lucasjmanning

• Music: @abelepadilla & @hellomrperez

• Production: @brandedhumans

• Interviewer: @rickyelpoeta