Charles Lee

Someone posted a great question for conversation yesterday on my thoughts page…

Is Ghandi in Heaven? (Now, for the sake of this conversation, it will be assumed that there is a heaven and a hell. The person asking was coming from a Christian perspective which you don’t necessarily have to agree with.)

What do you think? Do great moral figures like Ghandi enter heaven or is he in hell? Can we really know? Is there a definitely line and criterion for entrance?

May the conversation begin…(Please, don’t do this in the spirit of arguing or dogma.)

This message entitled, “Life’s Dirty Little Secrets”, is Part 7 of a current series called, “Life Under the Sun” (A Study Through the Book of Ecclesiastes). Topics discussed in this message include envy, loneliness, and irrelevance.

“Life Under the Sun” describes the world under the realm of the gods. In this book, the author takes his readers through a vivid depiction of a world without God. The dark nature of this book invites us to take an honest look at life with all its imperfections and implications. Does existence really matter?

My keynote presentation is embedded below.

Click here to hear this message on the New Hope South Bay podcast (iTunes required). Just click on the “subscribe” button for download (even if you don’t actually see this episode yet…It’s there and will be visible in the next day or so.).

Please feel free to share your thoughts about this message after you have listened to it.

During my travels in North Carolina earlier this week, I had a great conversation with Gregg and Penny Hunter, parents of Zach Hunter (young abolitionist and creator of Loose Change Loosens Chains), about parenting and activism.

As discussed in some of my previous blogs, Tina and I have been working through how our work in the social justice world relates to our parenting of our children. We regularly find ourselves in tension between exposing the realities of our world to children by “showing them as it is” and “sheltering” them from it until they’re ready. We understand that age-appropriate exposure is necessary for their overall health and psyche of our children. The difficult is in finding where the line is (if in fact, there is a line…who knows?). I’m sure it differs for each child.

In speaking with Gregg and Penny, it was very helpful to hear about considering “entry-points” for children (aka young activists). In other words, creating steady, age-appropriate experiences and engagement of knowledge is essential in modeling to our children our love and desire to embrace humanity, especially those who experience injustices around the world.

I think that I have been guilty at times for making entry points into social justice too universal (i.e., for all ages and backgrounds). Although most of the activism my children experience are relatively safe and thought through, I do think that I must be more intentional about helping them develop in this area of life.

Q: If you are a parent and currently participate in areas of justice regularly, how do you parent your young activist(s)? Or maybe, your parents modeled this well for you…please share.

I would love to begin a conversation on this topic with you!

Over 100 people gathered this past Friday night to participate in our second Freeze Project. The following is a video we just uploaded on Youtube about our Freeze at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, CA. Special thanks to everyone who participated! Enjoy!

Help us get the word out to your friends and family!

If you missed our first Freeze Project, here is the video from our first one (also, available on Youtube):

We (JustOne) are very excited to be entrants in Ashoka’s Changemakers Ending Global Slavery: Everyday Heroes Leading the Way collaborative competition. This is a global competition that aims to find holistic, innovative solutions to global slavery by seeking out and recognizing individuals and organizations that raise awareness of slavery’s root causes, liberate those in bonded labor, and reintegrate former slaves into their communities.

By being part of this competition, we have a great opportunity to get the word out about our work to leaders in the field, investors, the media, potential partners, and other supporters.

The competition winners will be decided by online voting, so the more people we can inspire, the better!

Please help us rally support for our work:
1. Visit our project entry [http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/node/8629].
2. Leave us feedback about our entry. Here’s how:

• If you do not have a Changemakers account, please click here to register on the site. It only takes a couple of minutes.
• Login at the Changemakers website: http://www.changemakers.com/.
• Go to the competition page: http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/competition/freedom.
• Visit our entry, read about what we do and leave us feedback! [http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/node/8629]
• Update your profile and be part of a growing online community of support

3. Spread the word to your colleagues and friends through your emails, blogs, or websites.

This contest can give our work a great boost. Thank you very much for your help!

Charles Lee
Founding Member & VP of JustOne
www.just4one.org

For the month of July, I would like to highlight KIVA, an organization that helps people in developing countries literally get out of poverty through micro-lending. According to their website, “Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.”

I really appreciate how practical Kiva’s plan is for alleviating poverty and how easy it is for anyone to get involved in their efforts. As a potential donor, you are able to review on their website entrepreneurial activities from developing countries along with a photo of the person(s) benefiting, their loan information and a description of the need (including the specific amount needed). The loan amounts I saw on their website varied from  as low as $100 to over $1000. Furthermore, there is a percentage bar that shows how much of the loan has been raised to date.

The following is some more pertinent information from their website:

The people you see on Kiva’s site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.

Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, our partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entrepreneur on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.

Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way. To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money.

Please consider involvement this month with KIVA and let’s help to alleviate poverty around the world!

Catalysts for Change: This group is dedicated to living as catalysts for cultural change as it relates to the injustices of the world. Each month, I will highlight a non-profit that is making a significant difference in the world to bring relief and development for people who experience injustice. My hope is that these highlights would bring awareness, create conversations, strengthen networks, and mobilize us into action. I invite you to add your comments about and experiences with the various organizations highlighted each month.

Link to Catalysts for Change Facebook Group (Click Here)

Link to Catalysts for Change Virb Group (Click Here)

Have you ever seen a screen name or received email from someone who found a way to SCREAM out their faith in God? You know the kind…

• Ilovejesushowaboutyou@gmail
• jesusismylover@yahoo.com
• godspeaks2me@msn.com
• hopingforheaven@sbcglobal.net
• AIM IDs:
  • jesusistheanswer777
  • youregoingtohellimnot (I know…very hyperbolic…sorry)
  • souljah4christ

[By the way, I'm not even sure if these actually exist...I hope not.].

Why do people do this? To be bold? To “testify”? To “share” Jesus? To seek converts? To remind themselves that they actually are followers of Christ? To share Christianese? This makes sense, right?

What would we ever do without this marketing? Sarcasm here

SOOOOOOOOOOO…Can you suggest some good Christian screen names and emails for our brothers and sisters in Christ who really, really need your help? I’m sure there’s someone out there looking for a good (cheesy) one…

In recent months, I have been reading much about the world of open-sourcing and/or crowd-sourcing. To put it simply, it’s a philosophical approach to development that invites “the crowd” or public (in many cases) to participate in the formation, refinement, and distribution of goods and services that have traditionally been centralized in closed systems or structures. Some of our popular cultural icons including Amazon, Google, and Wikipedia have each, to various levels, attempted to capitalized on the ever-growing web-culture of crowd sourcing (to varying degrees of success).

Open-sourcing is more than just creating a hub of ideas like an online forum. It is a more intentional attempt to collaborate on projects and ideas that may be mutual beneficial to the parties involved in the interaction. [For examples and case studies, see the book "We are Smarter and Me" by Barry Libert.] The root idea is that innovation and development occurs more quickly and with better results if people are invited into the formation process. In addition, collaborative efforts naturally help in the marketing of any idea or product.

The reason I share this is because I would like to invite you to participate in the formation of a web community that could potentially benefit churches by creating an environment in which ideas may be shared and formed together. Currently, there are some websites that allow churches to upload work to share with other communities of faith (e.g., Powerpoint slides, media, audio files, text files, etc.). Nevertheless, I don’t see much that allows for collaborative formation of ideas.

From my past experience and numerous conversations with church leaders, it is pretty evident that some churches have great ideas that are about 50-60% actualized. Unfortunately, these churches with great ideas lack the necessary resources to overcome obstacles for actualization (e.g., strategy, finances, supplemental ideas, time, design, etc.). What if an online community could be created where churches could share their “almost” actualized idea with others who may help them get there? In return, both churches could have joint ownership of the idea at the end and find mutual benefit for God’s Kingdom (that’s what it’s about, right?).

I currently have a handful of web & graphic designers, programmers, business developers, potential investors, and church leaders helping with the formation of this resource. I thought it would be important in our infancy (given our open-source nature) to invite YOU (yes, you) to contribute any ideas you may have in the formation of such an endeavor. Would you take a few minutes to answer some of the following questions?

• Would you use and contribute to this kind of open-source church resource?
• What strengths (if any) do you see in such a web resource?
• What concerns (if any) do you have for such an endeavor?
• Do you see yourself helping us out in creating this? If so, how?
• Would you help us get the word out about this once it is formed (via social networking sites, blogs, websites, etc.)?
• Is this idea consistent with the values and principles presented in the Bible?
• Do you know of anyone (including yourself) who would financially invest in this kind of endeavor?

In closing, this is still a new idea. More will develop in the weeks and months to come. I would love to have you be a part of this journey to actualization.

I recently had a conversation with some friends about French fries…yes, the healthy treat I indulge in once or twice a month. We were in the midst of ordering food and I noticed that they ordered fries without salt. I asked them if they were just being health conscious (which I knew was not possible since they ordered fries). This was not the case. They actually like salt on their fries.

They said that they order fries without salt because restaurants/fast food joints usually have to make a fresh batch to accommodate the less frequent salt-free fries consumers. This insures that the fries will be hot when ordered. Afterwards, they simply add salt later. Nice!

Do you have any fast food restaurant tricks or secrets to share?

First and foremost, thanks to everyone who responded to my question about whether or not one should take a salary from a local church to do ministry! All of your insights were enlightening and in many ways, I think most of you answered the question fairly. In synopsis, I think that most of would agree on the following:

• There are “pros” and “cons” of either choice. In other words, there isn’t one perfect answer to the question. This leads to the second point…
• The context of making such a choice is of upmost importance (e.g., context of motive, purpose, and overall spiritual health for self or family).
• The choice should not be driven by guilt nor pressure.
• Prior to any decision making, one should be focused on the person and mission of Christ within the context of communal movement. It is never about the “job”, but rather, the vocation.

At a personal level, let me explain my reasoning for volunteering at our church New Hope South Bay…

First of all, I am far from being independently wealthy. I’m not even dependently wealthy.
Secondly, I don’t volunteer in order to seek some kind of public martyr status (i.e., I’m not looking for comments like “Hey, look at that guy, he gives up so much for God!”). If it were so, the reward would definitely not be worth the sacrifice. Thirdly, I don’t live like this because I feel that every pastor should “work for free”. In fact, I am not completely closed to one day being paid by our church. Here’s why I chose and choose to volunteer:

• I did it for my soul. In planting our church two years ago, I had the unique opportunity (along with others in our leadership) to root my “public” ministry away from any fiscal obligation to a faith community. I knew that this commitment would provide a healthy context for trust in God, exploration of monetary issues within the church, and freedom to be who I could be in Christ apart from job-related expectations potentially created by pay. I personally believe that without this set up at New Hope, I would have missed out on the reality of volunteering for a church, both from the side of leadership and those who belong to the community.
• I did it for mission. We, as New Hope Leadership, were challenged in our beginnings about the percentage breakdown of allocations of funds in many churches, especially those we were a part of in the past. In addition, some of our research on the early church enlightened and challenged us to consider imagining a community faith that would designated large portions of its budget to elements that contribute to the mission of God and His Kingdom. In response, our leadership agreed that not taking a salary would allow us to funnel more funds directly into ministry. Even though we relatively a small church right now (130 adults on Sunday), we have had the financial room to invest fiscally and with resources in projects both locally and globally to benefit thousands around the world. In the first two years alone, we gave away over $50,000. Considering that we only started the church with around 30 people, I think this figure is significant.
• I did it to model Christ-following. I personally believe that the stewardship of our finances is often a great indicator of one’s relationship in Christ (not always, but generally true). I considered it vital to help create a community where the leadership would model this kind of commitment to Christ. Our community recognizes that our leaders facilitate ministry in addition to their other commitments of work and family throughout the week. I think this working knowledge has created a different set of expectations and volunteerism in the church. This kind of work ethic coupled with intentionally times of rest and sabbath, produces a great environment for communities to have to work together to “carry the load”.

Has this been easy? No, of course not! We don’t expect it to be. Our families have had to give up much to make this happen. Beyond the romance of it, it is extremely difficult at times. [I would ask that anyone considering this option of volunteering speak with someone who has experience.]

Has it been good? Most definitely. I would not exchange what we have birthed for anything else in the world.

Will I ever get paid by our church (or any other church)? I don’t know. Due to our growing size of projects, initiatives, resource building, and congregation, there does appear to be a need to potentially hire some people. The biggest factor is ministry growth. I like the fact that hiring is birthed out of actual need and not out of structural position-filling. In any case, we will deal with that when we get there. I don’t believe we need to stress over hypothetical situations. There are too many other things to think about.

In conclusion, I am NOT promoting one choice over the other. I DO believe that this conversation is worth having with anyone considering church leadership in the vocational sense. One thing I’ve learned about life and ministry thus far is that regardless of these kinds of choices, we must stay close to Jesus in our day to day walk with him. If not, we will miss the point.

Inadequately Submitted to You,

Charles Lee