The First Follower - a surprisingly deep look at leadership.

It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader.

I found out today that my church, Ekklesia Church at Raleigh, ranked second among over 75 Wesleyan churches in North Carolina in the amount of money given away.  To put this in perspective, the church that edged us out has over 2500 attendees each week.  We have 60. 

In our nation, church “success” is often measured by the size of the building, the number of people in the seats, and the abundance of dollars in the plate.  I have never been too compelled by these measures… especially from groups of so-called Jesus-followers.  (Since Jesus, himself, never seemed too concerned with impressive structures, solid attendance, or bringing in cash.) 

Instead, it is refreshing to have found a church with different metrics:  love and support for one another, love and support for our community (local and farther away), sincere and thoughtful faith, and radical generosity. 

Our church isn’t even a year old, yet this ragtag, but dedicated, group has accomplished the following:

• fully fund a care point in Swaziland, Africa which provides food, shelter, health care and education to over 200 children, many of whom are AIDS orphans
• send a group of people to Moneni, Swaziland to meet the workers and children at our care point and send our love in person
• provide clothing, baby supplies, and support to the many teenage mothers (and fathers) at Athens Drive High School (where we meet)
• cook dinner for the residents of the Raleigh Rescue Mission (RRM) each month
• take the RRM residents out for some fun like bowling and a baseball game
• provide a family from Athens Drive HS with a safe home

One reason that we’ve been able to accomplish so much is that at least 1/3 of all money that comes into the church is given away (and this is just a starting point).  The idea being that the church should not be a storehouse intent on building itself up, but rather a redistribution center - to take care of those who could use a hand.  God taking care of people through people.

God has blessed everyone with a unique set of gifts, talents, and resources that can be leveraged to push back the darkness and make the world a better place for someone.  I’m thankful for a church that, not only encourages and empowers me to do so, but measures success by how well we’ve impacted the world around us.

Without fail, when people ask me about my church, they want to know, “How many people are going there these days?”  I don’t think we even keep attendance, which is good because I’d much rather tell them about the cool things God has done and is doing! 

I have a thing for making cocktails.  By no stretch of the imagination am I a well-versed mixologist, but I really enjoy mixing booze with juice and affixing that perfect garnish from the opposite side of the color wheel.  The garnish is key, as it elevates a concoction from the college dorm “plastic jug vodka + grape soda” level to something even my most chic or hipster friends look cool drinking.

That being said, I have an aversion to snooty drinks.  Or those that are overly fussy.  Usually I’m making drinks with friends over, so I’d like to minimize the amount of time I’m away from the socializing.  Best case scenario is a drink I can easily whip together while running my mouth.

This summer, I’ve found my perfect drink. The Vermontucky Lemonade.  It’s simple - three ingredients - lemons, maple syrup, and bourbon.  Squeeze some lemons, cut it with water and maple syrup to your desired tart and sweetness.  Add some bourbon.  Done.

Thus far, I have only made this by the pitcher-full.  If you’re a recipe person, here’s what I do (at least I think - I’m not a recipe person):

In a pitcher, add:
- Juice from 4 lemons
- Around 1.5 cups of cold water
- Around 1/3 cup of (real) maple syrup (no log cabin, please)
- 3-4 shots of kentucky bourbon (for this I like Jim Beam - don’t go dumping your Woodford Reserve into lemonade)

Swirl it up until the syrup goes fully into solution.  Pour over ice.  Garnish with mint leaves from your garden. (Everyone should grow mint, but make sure it’s in a pot!)

But seriously I’d recommend leaving the recipe behind.  Squeeze some lemons, add some water and maple syrup until you have a tasty lemonade.  Pour over ice and add bourbon to your likeness.  Enjoy!

As the White House and the House of Representatives play politics and bicker over which social programs to cut or which taxes to raise, perhaps someone should remind them of this (definitely click through for the full effect):

Our economy is crumbling, yet we are fighting three wars.  As far as I can tell, a reduction in military spending (which is easily our country’s largest expenditure) hasn’t been mentioned by members of either party.  Perhaps you or I should suggest it?

Here are a few survivors from a thunderstorm that split a branch from one of my tomato plants.

Summertime girls are the kind I like. (Taken with instagram)

Bed time. (Taken with instagram)

I recently wrote a brief message about outrage.  Needed a few more than 140 characters to get my thoughts out.

Lots of people are outraged these days.  Or at least they appear to be based on status updates, tweets, and depictions from cable news streams.  I often wonder why people seem so mad?  Most of the outrage has some root in politics.  You might hear sweeping statements like: Obama is ruining our economy, or, those Tea Partiers are reckless morons.  Sometimes it stems from politicians defying thought or reason and acting like… well… politicians, such as when many Republicans suddenly find military action deplorable and irresponsible, while many Democrats now defend it.  

Politics.

And political outrage. It’s hard not to get caught up in it. Currently there are many thoughts swirling in my brain on this topic, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about here.

I wanted to talk about the Casey Anthony verdict.  First off, I am in no way taking any stance on her guilt or innocence.  How could I?  I had to google her name yesterday just to figure out who she was.  I scan the headlines of major news outlets every day, but somehow this slipped by me.  Quick internet research informed me that her daughter was killed in 2008, she was a suspect and was acquitted yesterday.  Also, people were MAD about this.  Various friends, my cousin, and even Giada De Laurentiis were all mad.  Rightfully so.  A little girl was killed and we have no one to punish.  Or even worse, perhaps the person who did it will avoid punishment.  Either option, disturbing.

Recently I came across several stories about people living in Iraq.  These were not news reports of bombings or military operations, but accounts of regular citizens and their experiences living through a war.  Each story involved death of a loved one, injury, displacement from a home, and extreme uncertainty and fear.  I’ve heard many news reports over the years and the facts and figures blur together.  It may sound trite, but the human factor from these reports is often lost on me, and these personal stories have made me examine the role I play.  How many children have been killed directly or indirectly by my country’s actions?  How much of my paycheck each month goes towards making missiles?  Are they making me safer?

So back to the Anthony trial.  People are outraged by the 2008 death of a young girl and a potential lack of justice. (Again, rightfully so.)  But few people seem to be as mad about the (most likely) thousands of deaths of children in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya resulting from US-led military action.  Why is that?  I honestly have not spoken to ANYONE (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Apathetic) of the opinion that our current wars are still justifiable or useful.  But we’re still paying for them!  If suffering Iraqis is too abstract, there are still the thousands of American soldiers continuing to be separated from their families, injured or even killed. Oh yeah, and that debt crisis.  Is no one mad about this? 

Hypothesis:  I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately and came up with one potential explanation.  Perhaps the media controls our outrage.

Data:  Currently on cnn.com the top 7 headlines (out of 20) are about the Casey Anthony trial.  Zero are about our current wars which involve at least 150,000 Americans and over $10 billion dollars every month.  Out of sight, out of mind.

I clearly have no answers, I just find it interesting the things people get outraged about.

Why do you think Americans are outraged about Casey Anthony and not our multiple wars?