Nothing will ever compare to the memories working on The Chimes. No group will get me quite the way The Chimes did. Work will never be as fun as it is on The Chimes; our product may never bring as much satisfaction as does The Chimes right now.
To all others, I guess it must just be a student paper. To us, it's people and laughter and belonging. It's mission and motivation and purpose. It's going to send a lot more people into the journalism industry than it can contain, but they'll be great journalists; I know it.
How did I get so lucky as to be part of this inspiring and embracing group? God put me here, that's for sure. I hate to say goodbye and move on, as the memories stay frozen in time and newsprint. But what a sweet ending tonight was. It was a warm and high note I know I'll treasure forever.
[The insider blog: here]
Goodbye to my Chimes
Nate the Christian Windshield Repairman
If you read my post on Chris the Christian plumber, you're well aware of my dad's insistence on hiring Christians for just about any household repair project.
Fortunately, when we realized that the glaring gash in my windshield was not just a visual impediment (sometimes, the sun glints off the crack, producing a blinding prism-like effect), but an invitation for a fix-it ticket, my dad acquiesced and decided to replace the glass.
To our eternal delight, we were able to find a replacement in a mobile windshield repair service -- and there was a Jesus fish in the Yellow Pages ad.
And so today we had not only the acute privilege of getting a new windshield for just $179, but also the joy of meeting Nate the Christian Windshield Repairman. What, you ask, is the difference between a Christian windshield repairman and a non-Christian? Why, the Third Day CD blaring from the work truck. The bumper sticker saying Twin Cities Church. And the joy my dad gets from talking church with him.
Which leads me to a similar conclusion as the plumbing post -- I'd never let an atheist touch this windshield.
"Does God Exist?" Debate at Biola
After reading Melissa's post about the William Lane Craig-Christopher Hitchens debate at Biola last weekend, I thought I'd throw in my two cents.
Hitchens says he wants to be an atheist because he loves freedom. As someone who has traveled the world reporting on injustices and oppression committed in the name of religion, he has the right to come to that conclusion. Nothing is more repulsive than the misogyny, the slavery, the brainwashing and war advanced by religious groups -- except the fact they're claiming to do it in God's name. Hitchens, thank you for hating that, because I know God hates that too.
The problem is that a life of atheism is not a life of freedom -- it's just a new kind of oppression. You are no longer bound by the shackles of "religious ignorance," but you are left with a void, a life of no eternal significance, a short-sighted purpose. At the end of the day, there is no redemption for the sinner; there is no vindication for the victim. Life is wretched and cruel, and we're all alone in our despair.
Freedom in Christ is redemption. It's the assurance that even the pain and agony of our short lives is being woven into a tapestry of grand proportions. We don't see the sense in it now; but in the grand scheme of God's redemptive plan, it has been worked out for the good of those who love him. We see just the threads of that tapestry; God is doing work beyond our lifetime to restore his fallen creation, and some day the senseless will make sense.
Hitchens would call this wishful thinking, but I'm thankful William Lane Craig offered compelling evidence why our faith is reasonable, why this narrative of audacious hope is reasonable.
In the end, we as humans don't understand freedom. We think of freedom in small and fallen ways, like the women's liberation and free love movement, like the hedonism of college life. We find that our best stabs at freedom -- our best attempts to shrug off the "captivity" of the Christian life -- merely shutter us in our own personal prisons and cut us off from the meaning of the big picture. It's a lonely and shriveled existence, and we can't understand how in the world we got there.
My prayer is that the "Does God Exist?" debate puts a pebble in the shoes of Hitchens and the other atheists and religionists who have experienced false freedom, false enlightenment. I hope their quest will lead them straight to a cross and an empty tomb.
My 22nd Birthday
It was a splendid 22nd birthday for me -- and everyone seemed to be right on track by sending their birthday greetings in Spanish!
The house had a Mexican fiesta, and with the help of some of the more culinarily gifted members, we put together homemade carne asada tacos, spicy rice and cheesy beans.
For one of the rarest moments, we all gathered together and ate dinner at our table -- all ten of us. No boys, no guests. Just the ten of us laughing and talking together. It was such a beautiful time. Often, we get caught up entertaining the guests that frequent the house, making them feel comfortable and making them dinner or coffee. It's wonderful, but it's good to be able to talk face to face with the incredible women who compose the Decadox. In our hustle and bustle of hospitality, we can take each other for granted.
In light of my coming-of-age, I want to write a resolution for my 22nd year:
> Though I may be young and healthy, I want to remember those who aren't. I want to learn their history, value their wisdom, and engage with their world. In this country, we are so obsessed with youth and beauty that we scorn the contributions of our elders. I want to honor that this year. I want to honor the people and the places from which I came, because I am not a self-made woman, and so much that I am is owed to those who have gone before me.
So that is all.
An argument for women in Biola's AS presidency
Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Let me reframe that for today: “All that is necessary for the triumph of mediocrity of AS is that good women do nothing.”
This year’s ballot selection was disappointing, not because the candidates were bad, but because so many of Biola’s incredible, intelligent, ambitious, competent female leaders were absent. In fact, it hasn’t been since the 1994 that a woman has taken the AS presidency. That’s a 15-year drought of executive female leadership.
But it’s not just a recent drought. Records aren’t complete, but since 1926, the year AS was founded, only three women appear in the annals of executive leadership: Ruth Farquharson in 1928, Carol Hulgus in 1986, and Jennifer Cowen in 1994. By comparison, 62 percent of the undergraduate student body is female. It’s safe to say that the people representing the interests and concerns of the student body are not representative of the student body.
Why is that? Why is it that women currently constitute ¾ of the executive leadership team in AS? That they’ve been presidents of SMU, directors of ministries, presidents of clubs, editors of The Chimes, The Point and The Biolan, and yet haven’t taken such a weighty role as the AS presidency?
There are a number of reasons for this “glass ceiling” in AS. First, women haven’t seen a role model in recent history. If they have never seen a woman take on this responsibility and successfully execute it, the image of what it means to be “presidential” persists – you must be an attractive, white male with senatorial experience. Voters tend to choose someone who “looks presidential,” and it will take a non-traditional candidate to re-draw that image in the minds of students.
Second, some women self-eliminate when they buy into wrongheaded biblical interpretation that women should leave significant leadership roles to men. Even if you are against women in the pastorate, AS is certainly not the church and such antiquated, culturally-enforced stereotypes only serve to debilitate and deprive such an organization.
The last thing this school needs is to elect a candidate simply because she is a woman – that would be patronizing. What we do need, however, is to nurture women who show leadership gifts and encourage them to run for this position next year.
Here’s to all the freshman women out there: Start by praying about this. Has God gifted you with administrative ability, people skills and a love for Biola? Then why isn’t AS on your radar? Some of the most talented women on campus aren’t in this post right now because they never had the dream from the outset and never prepared themselves for the role.
Second, prepare yourself. Seek out positions within AS as soon as possible, whether that be a seat in the senate or a hired service chair position. Work hard at it. And don’t get discouraged if you don’t make it the first time around. Also, take on roles of executive leadership that require you to be the primary decision maker and exercise creativity. Leading a mission trip or a club is a good place to start.
The glass ceiling needs to shatter, not because men are bad leaders and women need to prove themselves. It needs to shatter because the ceiling might be holding back the competent, humble, visionary woman AS needs to take it to new heights.
After all, nobody wins win good women do nothing.
Reconciliation
Tonight I'll be going to SCORR -- Student Congress on Racial Reconciliation, which is held annually at Biola. I've gone in past years and had different reactions every time. The archives of this blog are proof.
SCORR, especially tonight's Worship Mosaic, is a pinnacle of beautiful worship. You see people from different countries, wearing brilliant colors and foreign costumes, dancing and singing and praising God in other languages. One of the themes in years past was "On Earth as it is in Heaven," hinting at how diverse and joyful heaven will be once things like race are not liabilities, but appreciated expressions of God's beneficent plan.
But something so extravagant must have a counterpoint. SCORR is also pretty gritty, pretty depressing, pretty much a downer at times. People are angry and accusatory when they talk about the way they feel because of their skin color. Some people say whites (or "the dominant culture") doesn't and will never understand the minority culture.
I feel helpless, accused, and backed into a corner.
I look at state universities, pluralistic places where women walk around in hijabs and the student body is a potpourri of skin tones, religions and ethnicities. Why does the race issue seem so much more explosive among the most global institution in the world -- the church? Are these secular institutions that much more advanced that they are "post-race"? They're past these problems? I guess it's possible.
Or maybe it's that they've never reconciled with other races -- never engaged enough to conflict -- because they've never been challenged by such provocative mandates as "Go ye therefore and teach all nations," or loving the Samaritans.
Nothing as beautiful as reconciliation ever came easy and cleanly. Does a man who cheats on his wife reclaim his marriage by just standing by? Did Germany and the Allies get over their differences in a night? Did fallen man and a perfect God reunite painlessly?
No. And I know if we seek something like reconciliation, it will come at a cost. My only worry is that we won't have the stamina to get there.
Chimes Resolutions
Just wanted to update on the previous post -- since I've been a blogging delinquent as of late due to my broken-down computer.
God really came through for The Chimes. We were in a panic about advertising people and sports people and graphic designers, but one by one, the right people showed up. I think the team really is stronger and more cohesive than ever, and it shows.
Another great thing is our new apprentices. I wanted the transition from this year's staff to next year's staff to be fluid, and for all the wisdom and experience we've developed this year to pass on to next year's staff. I'm starting to see the fruit of that plan in the form of a half-dozen enthusiastic apprentices who have been helping staff members and taking on their own projects.
Thanks for your prayers. There are ups and downs while being the editor, and I know it's only by God's grace that it works the way it's supposed to.
Dropping Like Flies
The past few days have been pretty hard for me, so I'm blogging to ask for your prayers. I'm trying to get the new semester going for The Chimes, but people are dropping like flies. People who were working for us in hourly, paid positions have resigned, and it's pretty discouraging.
There had been problems in the past -- the people who dropped were overcommitted from the beginning, and a Chimes job wasn't going to be good for either party. But now I'm left with the job of training a new crop of people, and there are still big holes in our staffing.
Just pray that people will take these empty jobs -- pray that the RIGHT people will take them and we'll emerge stronger than ever. I'm looking forward to what God has on the other side of this tunnel.
Skype in the Jungle
For the first time since he left the country two weeks ago, I got to talk to my older brother via Skype. He's serving for two years as a missionary in the South American country of Suriname, and for some reason he's got a really great internet connection in the jungle. Go figure!
Several times in the past few weeks, I've worried myself awake in the early mornings, wondering if he was okay in a place full of piranhas, malaria and perhaps Amazonian hostility. I just prayed that God would strengthen him and guard him from danger.
From our hour-long chat, I learned his 100-mile boat ride bore an uncanny resemblance to Disneyland's jungle cruise, he encountered a real viper and came out just fine, and he's being chewed out by his partners for chewing with his mouth open (it's a vice I've been trying to rid him of for years).
It was great to talk with him and compare our cross-cultural experiences. He told me he feels like he's exactly in the middle of God's will for his life right now, and I'm thrilled about what's ahead.
To check out his experiences, see his blog at http://ryansrindels@blogspot.com He promised some pics and video would be up tonight -- let's see if it happens!
The Making of the Book Episode 5
Today was another great day on the job. Partners Kelli, Madyson and I went out for a nice lunch with former KidWorks intern and director David Benavides, who is currently a Santa Ana city councilman. He chose a great Japanese restaurant in Costa Mesa that was affordable, too -- unfortunately, I'm incompetent with a set of chopsticks, and as I quizically poked at the meat, Madyson had to discreetly snatch me a fork.
But the interview itself was enlightening and inspiring. I've never really sat down with a local politician, much less one who is as dedicated as Benavides is. He lives in the middle of the same community he interned in -- the one where he witnessed a guy shot and killed outside his window the first night he lived there. His dream is to see the community rise up and fight for a better city together.
I learned something about local politics today. At its core, it's here to help. It's there to take citizen concerns and their organized efforts and bolster them with governmental resources. We can't expect public officials to be mind readers. We've got to work hard and clamor for their attention. After those efforts, they owe it to us to listen and try to support our efforts.
If all council members were like Benavides -- principled, hard-working and in tune with the needs of "the least of these," the slimy reputation of many politicians would shed away. We need more well-intentioned, committed Christians like that in posts of leadership.
I'm excited about writing David's story. People like this make for a story worth telling. Now for the word-for-word transcribing thing ... ugh ...
