{"id":7022,"date":"2017-06-21T14:48:32","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T21:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?post_type=stories&p=7022"},"modified":"2017-06-21T14:48:32","modified_gmt":"2017-06-21T21:48:32","slug":"a-listening-ear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/a-listening-ear\/","title":{"rendered":"A Listening Ear"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author\u2019s note.\u00a0 In place of visual elements, I have opted for audio only.\u00a0 As one who deals with the reality of diminished vision myself, I am keenly aware of the challenges faced by people who have diminished or no sight.\u00a0 I thought it to be a worthy endeavor to capture a few little pieces of this sound-rich world and share them in the context of this synthesis.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"FullSizeRender\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(These metal strips are inserted into every sidewalk in Hong Kong.
\n<\/em>Designed to assist visually impaired people find their way around. \u00a0Kind of like brail for your feet!)<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The sounds of Hong Kong.<\/b><\/p>\n

We are studying the interplay of economics, church leadership and culture.\u00a0 I am particularly interested in whether or not the presence of the church makes a substantive, measurable difference in the economic landscape of a culture.\u00a0 Is it a contributor or a consumer?\u00a0 I am hoping to find that the church contributes to physical and spiritual well-being for the individual in this life, not only in the life to come!<\/p>\n

As I venture into more diverse cultures and societies, I am discovering some general principles to be true.\u00a0 People are:<\/p>\n

-vastly different yet in many ways the same<\/p>\n

-mostly hopeful but struggling to have that hope sustained<\/p>\n

-dreaming of a better future while managing the numbing sameness of present reality\u2026<\/p>\n

These can be clearly seen in an urban context where a massive volume of people are pressed together into a limited space.\u00a0 While any major city around the world would serve to illustrate these points, Hong Kong seems to stand as quintessential.\u00a0 Skyscrapers rise higher and higher as the population swells upon finite land space, there really is no where to go but \u201cup!\u201d\u00a0 The struggle for sustainable life is real.\u00a0 Surely here, surrounded by opulent buildings and smoggy air (signs of progress\u2026), the human population would be advancing steadily!\u00a0 Poverty must be close to being eradicated and the brotherhood of humanity will be on display, right?\u00a0 Each one caring for his fellow man, laboring for the good of all\u2026<\/p>\n

Progress\u2026<\/p>\n

Do the sounds of progress reach the ears of those wondering where the next meal will come from, or where they will sleep?\u00a0 Does the hustle and bustle of prosperity sound the same to the young woman openly selling her sexual services as it does to the traveling businessman who purchases those services from her?\u00a0 Does a bourgeoning economy translate into overall human flourishing?\u00a0 Today, we can travel to all points on the globe with remarkable ease, effectively blurring nationalistic lines but are we any better off for it?<\/p>\n

(Close your eyes and press\u00a0“PLAY”)<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/dminlgp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Hong-Kong-sounds.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Where is the church in all of this, do we steward our economies to facilitate transformation?\u00a0 Is there place in Hong Kong (and other urban centers) for a \u201cbalance[d] approach to evangelism and social action that is modeled after Jesus\u2019 example of not only preaching about the coming kingdom of God but also ministering to the physical needs of the people they encounter?\u201d1 \u00a0If there is, it is not easy to find amidst the sea of humanity where hard work is rewarded with more hard work and even the popular art of this \u201cmulti-directional, hybridized\u201d2 people has become techno-oriented.\u00a0 The most popular public display of artistic creativity is the synchronous lighting of their skyscrapers facing the harbor each evening, a monument to their economic might.<\/p>\n

It seems that Hong Kong is dead set in their desire to prove to the world that they are a global city with global aspirations and word-class economic systems.\u00a0 But do these economic advances trickle down (out) to the average person on the street?<\/p>\n

(Close your eyes and press\u00a0“PLAY”)<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/dminlgp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Hong-Kong-sounds-2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Again where does the church fit in all of this?\u00a0 It seems that instead of influencing the world\u2019s economic systems toward providing fuel for community transformation, using financial resources to elevate the downcast, we have adjusted the other way.\u00a0 Our \u201cleadership\u201d studies are anchored in the teachings of Collins, Friedman and Maxwell instead of Jesus, Paul and Peter.\u00a0 We have modeled ministry in the church after prevailing economic systems.\u00a0 Think about the typical gathering of the religious for a moment.\u00a0 We show up (wherever \u201cthere\u201d may be), pay some kind of admission price (tithes or other), observe the proceedings from the safety of our chairs, then go back about our lives.\u00a0 It is the height of consumerism!\u00a0 But do the communities around us look measurably different as a result?\u00a0 While there are exceptions (Jackie Pullinger and St. Stephen\u2019s Society come to mind), for the most part, the sad answer is no.\u00a0 The sounds of the church don\u2019t seem to reach much beyond the stained glass and polished wood of the chapel.\u00a0 And how are those sounds much different than the Taoist shaking her fortune sticks?\u00a0 \u201cBless me!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cShow me!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cGive me!\u201d\u00a0 These are the prevailing themes that occupy the prayers of the faithful\u2026\u00a0 In any language\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Close your eyes and press\u00a0“PLAY”)<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/dminlgp.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Church-Sounds.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

Do we, among the clamoring noise, listen to hear the sounds of the people?\u00a0 The hurting, broken and lost are surrounding us in greater numbers every day!\u00a0 How will we make use of our freedoms to leverage these ones up out of the depths?\u00a0 As global leaders, we must use the gifts of economic prosperity, capacity for travel and ease of global communications to make whole those who have been shattered by the effects of sin.<\/p>\n

What remains to be seen is, will we?<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Donald E. Miller and Tetsunao Yamamori.\u00a0Global Pentecostalism: the New Face of Christian Social Engagement\u00a0<\/i>(Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2007), 212.<\/li>\n
  2. Kam Louie, ed. Hong Kong Culture: Word and Image<\/i> (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2010). loc. 220<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Author\u2019s note.\u00a0 In place of visual elements, I have opted for audio only.\u00a0 As one who deals with the reality of diminished vision myself, I am keenly aware of the challenges faced by people who have diminished or no sight.\u00a0 I thought it to be a worthy endeavor to capture a few little pieces of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7022"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13484,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7022\/revisions\/13484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}