'I must be an acrobat, to talk like this and act like that...' -Actung Baby,U2
I am Jacob Bailey. I have been writing here for a while now. I am 27 years old, on the brink of moving to Spain. I love my wife and two beautiful children. Glad you stopped by - please let me know you were here by posting a comment.
leading with QUESTIONS
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
notes from Doug
Doug and Ruthie were with Tania and in Chicago for the immersion weekend. They can both be seen in the videos linked by the previous post. Doug's thoughtful response is below. I vote with him saying "me too Doug!"
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Ruthie and I recently spent some time in Chicago with our partner organization, International Teams. During our time away, we were able to get a fresh perspective and draw fresh faith from what God is doing in our lives and in Rochester, MN. During our time, we had an “immersion experience” in Chicago. We spent the weekend in Lawndale, a pre-dominantly African-American community. The entire weekend we spent our time listening and learning; whether it was listening to the stories of oppression and racism from our African-American brothers and sisters, listening to our newfound homosexual friends share their story in the bars of “Boystown,” connecting with homeless people downtown, or spending time in a large Chicago mosque during prayer time and hearing the ‘call to prayer’ resonate within the conscious of “Christian” America. We concluded the weekend worshipping together in an African-American church.
What Ruthie and I learned together is that human beings are spring loaded- we are geared to pride- toward oppressing people on the basis of knowledge, race, sexual orientation, religion, and social status. What I saw and I realized in myself is how often I use the truth to justify myself rather than convict and humble me of my own sin and pride, how much fear has kept me from engaging homosexuals as people instead of some impersonal agenda to destroy the family, and I saw the effects of systemic injustice within housing, real estate, taxes, and education. Ruthie and I were challenged to the core. I think that our time in Chicago was a real spiritual awakening “to LOVE mercy to DO justice and to WALK humbly with our God,” (Micah 6:8). As we seek to join in God’s work here in Rochester we have a profound desire to see how reconciliation, humility, and leading as learners will open doors and pathways to healing for displaced-peoples and us as we find ourselves in this global village called Rochester, MN.
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