What’s sad is that these terms shouldn’t even be necessary. Why is it that we need to have labels to tell us that our vegetables don’t have chemicals on them? Why is it that we need to have labels to tell us that the coffee farmer got paid fairly for the months and months of work that went in to raising those coffee beans? Fifty or sixty years ago these organic wouldn’t have meant anything. Organic? Of course! What’s a pesticide? Fair trade might be a different story given humanity’s propensity to exploit one another, but even still, if we were farming the land and treating human beings as we ought, “organic” and “fair trade” wouldn’t be a part of our everyday parlance. What they do represent, I believe, is an impulse not only to do right, but to go back to the way God created them to be—farming naturally and treating people like people.

In our family’s journey to live sustainably and justly, we’ve slowly been making changes. Part of the reason that we started our garden in the backyard to explore what it would take to wean ourselves off of mass-produced vegetables. According to the biointensive farming method, with 100 square feet you can technically grow enough vegetables to feed one adult for one year. It takes years of learning and practice to get those kinds of yields out of the soil (I think the book said 7-10), but it can be done. We’re now in our second year, and we’ve been getting a lot more out of our soil—we grew enough spinach to have quite a few tasty spinach omelets, our kale crop is producing large, hearty leaves for some healthy baby porridge, our peas have given us a few servings of fresh picked peas (nothing at all like the frozen variety), and we’re hoping for dozens of leek plants and a good green bean crop later in the summer. It’s been neat learning and also humbling to see how much work actually goes into getting these crops. We’ve essentially lost touch with where food comes from. Although right now our yields are essentially like decorations—we still rely heavily on our local supermarkets for produce—we’re learning. And we’re also shifting some of our purchases toward organic and locally grown foods in deference to more sustainable and environmentally responsible methods of farming.

In a similar vein, all our coffee at home is now fair trade. There’s a great 2.5 pound bag you can get at Costco that’s certified fair trade, Kirkland brand, brewed by Starbucks. 13 bucks. For something that I brew at home a few times a week, we thought it was important that we did what we could to ensure that coffee farmers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia were getting a fair wage. In many non-fair trade situations, coffee farmers are essentially losing money in their enterprise, but are unable to get themselves out. In other words, they are indentured servants to their landlords. It shouldn’t be that way.

Yes, we shouldn’t need the terms “organic” or “fair trade.” But the reality of the world we live in is that chemically and genetically engineered, unnatural food exists and unfair business practices exist. And yes, practically speaking, there are situations where you can’t always do it. I won’t stop frequenting my local coffee shops simply because they don’t serve fair trade coffee, because I also want to support local businesses. And I’ll still buy some produce from the corner market or food that’s not organic from our neighborhood restaurants for the same reason. It’s complicated. And because of the already-not-yet nature of the kingdom, we’re in this awkward in between stage. But where we are able to make some of those decisions—like buying fair trade for our home-brewed coffee—we do. I think it’s absolutely critical to consider and think about these things, because it aligns with God’s mandate to take care of the earth and love our neighbor.

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1. Living Mulch: An Organic Illustration of Churches and Church Networks
2. Teach a Man to Fish

• Neil Cole writes and insightful piece on the role of the teacher in the church, reminding us that all teaching has to bring about a transformed life marked by obedience, and that the teacher is meant to equip and release more teachers (a la Ephesians 4). As he summarizes in his view of teaching: “(it is) facilitating the learning of others so that they know, do and pass on to others the relevant and meaningful truth.”
• In the education realm, one of our local middle schools is part of a pilot iPad implementation program, to facilitate the learning of algebra. With technology, I’ve always struggled with tension of the “cool” factor of simply having a gadget versus actually seeing them as tools to help you do something better. I hope with the iPads it ends up being the latter.
• For some of you Bible geeks out there, Bill Mounce has an intriguing starter piece on the question, “What is an ‘Accurate’ Translation?”
• And in another, social justice/inequity realm, a sobering report emerges that 1 in 7 Americans lives in poverty, a total of 43.6 million people. This is not the way it was meant to be.

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1. Friday’s Flip Book (2/19/2010): Is it February already?
2. Friday’s Flip Book (1/1/2010): Happy New Year
3. Friday’s Flip Book (9/3/2010): Simplicity in the midst of complexity

1. Every person was created in the image of God, and we are called to love our neighbor (Genesis 1-2; Matthew 22:34-40)
2. God’s passion is to set people free (Exodus 6:6-8; Gal. 5:1)
3. God hates injustice (Amos)
4. Establishing justice is at the heart of being the people of God (Lev. 23:22, 25:10-15; Prov. 3:27-28; Jer. 29:7)
5. Our participation in social justice is fundamental to our own wholeness (Jer. 29:7)
6. Jesus’ ministry was holistic, so ours should be too (Matt. 9:35-38)
7. God’s people are called to care for the marginalized in particular (James 1:26-27)
8. Those who are in a position to participate in justice must do so (Prov. 3:27-28; Luke 12:48)
9. In the end, poverty, sickness, and inequity will be abolished, and… (Revelation 21:1-4)
10. We are to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” and participate in fulfilling that prayer (Matt. 6:9-15)

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1. Mystery Brought to Light Through the Church

[Episode spoiler ahead] Last night, we watched episode 13 of Enterprise, “Dear Doctor.” Quite a compelling story. In it, Doctor Phlox is charged with the task of finding a cure to a disease that plagues one-third of a planet’s population. An intriguing part of the dilemma comes in with the fact that there are two humanoid species, of which the “lesser” species (technologically less advanced, effectively servant class) is unaffected by the disease.

After some hard work, Phlox finds a cure. But he’s conflicted. Citing “Mother Nature” and natural processes (this could be a way for the “lesser” race to rise to the top), he questions whether or not he is disturbing what was meant to be. Captain Archer is baffled, wondering how anyone could possibly withhold something that would heal millions. Eventually, they make a decision not to interfere, and only offer a medicine that will relieve the pain, and encourage them to keep seeking their own cure. He also declines their request for warp technology, which would also tip the scales unnaturally. In this part of the Star Trek timeline, they haven’t yet formulated the Prime Directive, which would have given them the parameters for making this decision not to interfere.

It really made me think.

First off, I’ve gotta say, I don’t believe in “Mother Nature” (the same way I don’t believe in luck – God is the ultimate sustainer and provider) as projected in this anecdote. However, the principles included in this episode are compelling. It reminded me of conversations in classes regarding the World Bank and the IMF, which in some instances puts the country receiving funding in a worse position than they were before receiving aid. A large part of that was an unnatural reliance on outside help and an inability to create sustainable economies internally. In other words, they gave a man a fish.

How many other places does this idea apply? I’ve had a lot of conversations with people regarding the homeless population in San Francisco. When is it right to give someone a dollar? How about two? I almost always opt to give tangible goods – a hot cup of coffee, blankets, socks, take them out for a meal (I had a good lunch with a homeless guy once in the downtown mall food court), and prayer. This is what me and some good buddies have been doing off and on for about two years or so in the Tenderloin. But the question remains – are we enabling folks to step out in a sustainable way to lift themselves out of the situation they face? Not necessarily. But at the same time, I distinctly remember a moment I had talking to a homeless man on Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley: “If people would only acknowledge that I’m here, that I’m a human, and not walk by like I don’t exist…that would be a good thing.” So in that sense, giving someone a cup of coffee on the streets does accomplish something – it reminds people that at least in some small way that they are recognized as a human being. Jesus did this plenty.

Here’s another one for you – the tension between teaching a truth, demonstrating a truth, and walking along someone into truth. This is a particularly relevant question for me with regards to spiritual development. There is definitely a place for all three of those areas, but what often happens is that one gets emphasized at the expense of the others. It certainly needs to be taught that a follower of Jesus is called to cry out against injustice. Likewise, it also needs to be demonstrated in the life of those who are leaders what it means to cry out against injustice. Even more transformative, people need to walk together into that kind of life. All three are needed.

So how did I get here? In the Enterprise example, I think the story writers were trying to portray a dilemma much like this. You can’t ignore the fact that there is a need, or that God calls people to life transformation through Jesus. So that means you can’t walk away without helping people. However, it does mean that Jesus followers need to thoughtfully consider what is the most sustainable means to bring about lasting impact in any situation. And often it’s not the easiest route. I certainly don’t have all the concrete, deliverable answers to the various societal ills or most effective tools for spiritual transformation. But I do know that right at the center of it all is the gospel of the kingdom of God revealed in the person of Jesus. So I don’t believe in luck, and I don’t believe in Mother Nature or chance or coincidences. And I do believe in Jesus, I do believe in the possibility of lasting change through the Spirit, I do believe in the power of obedience to bring about life transformation, and I do believe in intentional living that situates Christ at the center of our lives. And as 2 Timothy 2:2 says, we ought to teach others who will teach others how to live this way. That’s at the core of disciple-making.

As we walk with Jesus in that, I think more answers will come.

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