Dumpster Diving, Markdowns on Hugs, and Glorious New Pennies!

River fountains splash joy, cooling God's city, this sacred haunt of the Most High. God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn. - Psalm 46:4-6, The Message

Praying in the rose garden. To see more photos, click on any of the photos here!

Here in the midst of our first summer Discover group, I am reminded how much God is here: God of the past, God of the present, and God of the future. This wonderful team from Indianapolis Mennonite Church has brought joy and service to our streets, and in turn, God is showing them how faithful and loving God is. The streets ARE safe, only because God protects us. God is at "our service," but we must be challenged to dedicate our own service to loving God's people and spreading the light and strength of God's kingdom.

This week, we learned about the adventures of dumpster diving, that the fair-trade value of a hug in Los Angeles is somewhere between 25 cents and nothing, and that pennies never looked so shiny! Though this is the language of inside jokes, or humor-that-you-had-to-be-there-for, what is easily seen is the fact that when we put ourselves out there in love and service, God meets us and completely satisfies our expectations and hopes. And usually, they are exceeded tremendously!

This week also marks the welcome to Lou-Trice, our Discern intern for 2010. Lou-Trice is currently a student at Fuller Seminary and comes to us from Sugar Land, Texas. She is literally jumping into the summer with us, learning as she goes, and we are already blessed by the perspectives and leadership she brings to the table. Please pray for a challenging and fulfilling experience for her this summer!

Thanks for reading, amen, and hope to see you here in Hollywood sometime soon!

-Matthew

Together Because of Me

Kyle, from Tennessee, Dweller 2010-2011

"When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." - Matthew 18:19-20, The Message

Robert, from North Carolina, Dweller 2010-2011

Dwell is, literally, all about coming together in service and community in the name of Jesus. Trusting in the Word, all Dwellers can celebrate that if they surround their coming together in prayer, God will also be there. God is already here, and God will be here for these new young people when they arrive in the fall.

Our current Dwell unit is adjusting to the early departure of Curtis, and we are united in prayer for the new possibilities in his life. Alex, Will, Wendy, Kenna and I also prayed for Kyle, Robert, Alex, Alayna, & Brady, and the potential others who still might join this upcoming unit. It was a profound moment for me, as it was last year with Alison, Sara, Steph, and Mary, to envision this growing family of recent and current Dwellers united in prayer for one another. That God might be present for each group, and will also be present as a bridgebuilder from one team to another. It really enhances my understanding of what it means to be a part of the body of Christ.

Alex, from Pennsylvania, Dweller 2010-2011

So we ask for your prayers for all Dwellers, for God to be molding and shaping them whether they be in preparation to step out of this life of service on 5486 Gregory or in preparation to step up and into it.

Alayna, from South Dakota, Dweller 2010-2011

If you would like to find out how you can be more involved in prayer and other support, please click on any of the photos here.

Blessings and thanksgiving. May God continually bless these young people and this neighborhood through what it means to come together.

-Matthew

Brady, from Indiana, Dweller 2010-2011

Reunion, Again

"Oh, we'll be walking on air! And then there will be one huge family reunion with the Master. So reassure one another with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4: 17-18, The Message

Three "generations" of Dwellers: Alison, 08-09; Steph 07-08; and Kenna 09-10

Reunions can be exciting, strange, encouraging, and discouraging all at once. We come back together for a time, just a time, and reconnect, share stories, see how much we've grown, (or haven't). But really, earthly reunions are just small glimpses of the true re-unification that God promises to us all, if we devote our lives and trust to God.

The second half of May brought Alison, Mary, Sara, & Steph, our Dwellers from last year, back to visit Hollywood. From what they told me, all of these feelings were present at one point during their stays. It was a reunion, in that they got to reconnect with one another, the neighborhood families and children and the place they called home for a full year. It was also a chance to meet Alex, Wendy, Curtis, Kenna, & Will, our current Dwellers. Reconnecting and making new connections.

And it was, no doubt, painful and complicated to depart from Hollywood once again, reminding us that the best we can do with reunions are long weekends, or sometimes full weeks. But last night, as Mary, Sara, & Steph cooked dinner for everyone, I heard hope in the laughter and the joy of the evening. I caught an image of heaven: the ultimate reunion, with God and one another. I caught myself doing something I rarely find space to do: imagining all of us as the eternal beings that we are. It's so easy to get caught up in our day-to-day struggles, wishing for relief, wishing to "move on." But every once in a while, moments happen that seem frozen in time, just sitting there and glowing. Joking, storytelling, making fun of one another, and breaking bread together seemed, to me, like a slice of eternity.

It allowed for a reunion within my heart and a reminder of why this work, why reaching out in fellowship, love, and service, is so very important. Indeed, it is what we were created to do.

Blessings and peace,

Matthew

Who would Jesus deport?

The question is profound enough. Think about it, really think about it.

That's what our Dwellers did, amidst our spring retreat in San Diego that centered mostly around fellowship, fun, and reconnecting. They took time to attend a May Day rally in Chicano Park, mostly a gathering to protest Arizona's new law. But more importantly, marching with others was about learning, listening, and finding common ground.

It's what Dwell is all about.

Being Led While Leading

7:57 am in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles.

"My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit!" - Galatians 5:16, The Message

In my time as Hollywood city director, we had yet to welcome a weekend group to Hollywood until a small, 6-person team from Kingsburg ventured down from California's Central Valley this past Friday night. And technically, by DOOR Discover group standards, this wouldn't even qualify as a traditional weekend group, because they were only to stay for one night instead of two. During planning, I decided to ask some basic questions about what the group was seeking and prayerfully shape their experience around the answers I got back, as we had no actual protocol for how this should look.

The leader mentioned that they wanted to really spend time in fellowship and care for homeless individuals, and if we could find a service project that allowed for that, that would be best. During a typical workweek, no problem, that's what we're all about here in Hollywood. But in the few weeks leading up, I learned that it's actually quite tough to schedule with agencies on Saturdays. Either they are closed, or, they have been booked for months ahead of time. Ironic in a good way: that in a town known for it's exclusivity and red-carpet, velvet rope, A-list events with scores of people vying to get in, there are homeless shelters and related agencies that get so much interest from potential volunteers, they also have to turn many requests away. One way the face of God is revealed here in LA, amen!

But after digging around a bit, no pun intended, we found that a local homeless shelter had been wanting to join volunteers and residents in the kick-off of a community vegetable garden. And, in fact, our phone call helped to crystallize the event into actually happening. So that was set, and then the leader asked, two days before their arrival, if they might be able to sleep on Skid Row the night before. While I wouldn't send volunteers to sleep on the sidewalks, as they can be a very volatile place throughout the night, I had heard that one of the downtown missions in the heart of Skid Row allowed people to sleep on their roof while they were free to spend as much time as possible both with people congregating near the building and folks sheltering inside. Sounded like a good idea, though I had little awareness about how to prepare the group for exactly what to expect.

And that's where the title of this blog applies: for the first time in awhile, I actually felt more led than leading. The animated spirit of this group, the exuberance to gently meet with people and share God's love, in spirit more than in words, was infectious. Though I was stressed upon meeting them down in Skid Row, because it seemed like things might fall apart on account of misunderstandings or miscommunication on my part in the last-minute planning, turned into something quite peaceful, calm, and lovely. After eating dinner, praying, and talking some about our conceptions of the homeless versus the reality, we found out there was a young girl's birthday party going on, and they'd love to have some help celebrating and playing games with all the kids in the shelter. What an outpouring of the joy of God's spirit.

The next morning, over breakfast, I learned a little about the group, some elements of their youth and what they do for fun, and some elements of the deep and difficult challenges they've been through. And, in listening, I learned even more things about my own city. Apparently, there is a functioning Christian radio station in LA, (I had given up after years of fruitless searches). They taught me that, along with helping me to learn of other options for volunteers in the future, just because they were willing to serve, felt God calling them to act boldly and uncomfortably, and they asked the questions to make that happen.

Living freely. Living animatedly. Living for Jesus. The powerful blessing of that reminder. Amen.

Matthew

Click on any photo to see more:

Why "Tiny Advantage", by Kenna

Today I was playing basketball with one of the boys who came over to hangout. We were playing a fun game of him trying to make baskets as I was running after him trying to steal the ball. As we were playing, Wendy, one of my roommates, came running by and got the ball just as he was about to shoot it and stated, “I got the height advantage”. Soon after, the ball got knocked and Wendy and him went running for it and he proclaimed, “I got the speed advantage” as he got to the ball before Wendy. As we were playing, he was coming up with all different kinds of “advantages” that he had and the one he was most proud of was his “tiny advantage”. Later on that night I was reflecting on the day and that phrase, “tiny advantage” kept coming to mind. In a game of basketball, having the tiny advantage helps to get in the tight places and steal the ball almost unnoticed. Living where the community house is on Gregory Street, is also a “tiny advantage”. The community house to the neighborhood is a place for the kids to go and feel safe. It's a place where there are people who are interested in talking with you and playing games. It's a space to run around and you don’t have to be quiet. It's a place that older kids can go to and hang out without being questioned by the police. The community house is a place that the neighborhood comes together for holidays and parties. It is a place to connect. By being a dweller and being associated with the community house I have the “tiny advantage” of trust. By fostering this trust and showing that I am worthy of it, I am able to build connections and friendships with the kids and the neighbors and for this I am blessed.

To hear more from Kenna throughout her year of service, visit her blog, "Tiny Advantage," at www.kennakoch.blogspot.com

Death into Light

“Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you?” – Matthew 5:14-16, The Message

On Saturday, or some would say Holy Saturday, I came upon a History Channel presentation on the supposed “real” face of Jesus. To be fair, they never claimed full accuracy, but the hour-long show featured the physicists, chemists, and other scientists using cutting-edge technology to 3-dimensionalize the image on the shroud of Turin and other alleged cloths used to wrap his body. What struck me most was not the “final” image, though it was indeed profound and poignantly beautiful. Rather, on this quest and throughout the program, they repeatedly displayed holographic images of Christ’s body in the tomb, complete with all the markings of torture and crucifixion. Holy Saturday has always troubled me with this strange emptiness. The idea that for a day in history, God (or I should technically say, a third of the trinity) was dead. Dead. Knowing that he would rise the next day always got me off the hook from actually accepting his death. Like, he was just “playing dead.”

But the images of a body in a tomb, whether it’s authentic to how it truly looked or not, finally hit home in my soul. There he was, wrapped in bloody cloths, lifeless and cold. I felt it: the pain, the emptiness, and the tragedy like I never had before. And all this from a History Channel show! What’s more, to see these scientists feel similar gravity along their journey was really incredible. After accounting for the fabric’s stretch and distortion from 2D to 3D, pointing out that the shroud is stained in a way that suggests light burned it from within (how cool is that?!, kind of literalizing Matthew 5:15), and matching blood stains to corresponding wounds, one scientist took the image in and held back tears, “it looks like a body after an horrific car accident.” He had to cut the taping of his segment short, overwhelmed with emotion.

Here’s what I trust: when you look for the face of God, you find it. Maybe not the literal image of God, but you find God’s countenance looking at you with love, grace, encouragement, and conviction. You find that God is indeed, facing you.

5846 Gregory is a wonderful and challenging place. It was built by various professionals and volunteers throughout the years, so there is not a sense of unifying design by most construction standards. What it lacks for in overall structural integrity (there are some light switches in the oddest of places, light fixtures that are really finicky, floorboards that are beginning to bend and bow), it makes up for in spiritual strength. On Thursday night, Alex, Will, Kenna, and I played games with neighborhood kids whose families hail from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Guatemala. Shila, a PATH intern from Denmark, joined us, so it was literally an international gathering. For too long that evening, I got lost in fretting details like, “oh, we really need to repaint some of the windows; and, we need to get some help fixing the toilets, sinks, and lights….” But the laughter from the kids reminded me that the house is still alive, even in it’s less-than-glorious state. It’s a light in the neighborhood. It’s not a pot of gold, it’s not the answer to everything that plagues Hollywood, it’s not the Savior. But it’s an un-shrouded light, a place of loud fun, a place of basketball and soccer and card-games and gardening, a place of sweaty and dirty hope.

If scientists are discovering that Jesus’ cold and lifeless body miraculously leapt out of death in a blaze of light, then surely this little house with it’s many issues can still be transformed into a loving and nurturing place, even for the brief collection of moments our Dwellers are here every year. And surely we can see God’s face alive and well in that scene, this collective and growing body of servants, and that the searing light of new life is still shining and glowing.

Curtis comes back today. The community has been hurting without him, and is somewhat anxious about what it will mean when he comes back after such a long absence. I am hopeful that God can use it to teach us, stretch us, and help us eke out even more light upon each other and our neighbors. That’s what this Easter brought to me. Death is not the end of the story.

Matthew