The One Here With Me

 A song for Good Friday
 

"Peter said to him...

 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.'

 And He said, 'Come!' 

And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, 'Lord, save me!'

 Immediately, Jesus stretched out his hand and took hold of him, 'You of little faith, why did you doubt?'" Matt 14

 I think Jesus says this to me a lot. In our life, work and community, a sure way of knowing that something is going to work out is if I am afraid that it won't. My wife and friends are always helping to reassure me. They have spoken on behalf of Jesus to my fearful heart so many times.

 This may sound like Jesus is being negative here, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?", but when I read it, it sound comforting and gracious (maybe said with a smile? or a "I could'a had a V8" style hand to the head). When I take a risk in order to walk with Jesus in impossible places, even if I fearfully fall, he will catch me and set me to rights again.

 Chris

 P.S. for an even better reflection on Peter and his tendency to "step out without knowing" go HERE to the lovely Malcolm Guite's sonnet for today.

The Old Country Band

More Canadians in Modesto!

Just over a week ago, we hosted a team of leaders from Global Youth Volunteer Network, an international organization of students and others who seek education and connection with people involved in justice issues around the world.  Every year, we get a leadership training team from universities across Canada.  This year's team sought to understand our city and hear the voice of the homeless here.

Homemade cookies and coffee at the library

They had a beautiful, hospitable idea on a colder rainy day last week to bake oatmeal cookies, make coffee and take it to the library where many homeless people go to get out of the rain.  It was awesome to watch them spend time with the community, work with them to solve problems (we got kicked off of the actual library property) and create ways to learn from and share with them.  They put up 3 poster boards with questions for people to weigh in on.

Community is: sharing, helping each other, "it's always good for God to show that He loves us", connection/friendship, inclusive, everyone, "full of good people that need to not give up (and) better our people...coming to make this place a better place to live.  To be in peace and live the right way, that's what God puts us here for", giving a hand to those you don't know yet.

What I would like to see in Modesto: Homelessness to end, nobody deserves it, more live music, "I'm pretty happy with my Modesto", less mannequins and more bikes (?!) and more Canadians, me(not), People with more things to do with their spare time so they have no time to think or do any bad, more prayer.

Faith is: Committing to something you believe is truth, whatever you want it to be, hope & love, love & peace, keeping on, tied to hospitality, Leaving it up to God to give you what you want because you love what you see and can't live without it.  It's too beautiful to leave, "I believe in God and also believe that people who feed people in need are people of God. So, from my heart, God bless everyone of you boyz and girls. That's what's up, from Jaime".

A few girls on this team helped one of the guys sign up for an email address at a job search organization.  We just received word that he got a call back from one of his applications and was scheduled for an orientation for a new job.  Friendship changes the world!

Making Lemonade for 9th Street

BBQ on 9th

Surprise YWAMers!

Last week, after a chance meeting of a newer youth worker in our city, I learned that there was a team in town from Youth with a Mission in Pichilemu, Chile.  They were here all last week!  Because YWAM works through relationships and not protocol, this team was here through a connection between the team leader and this youth pastor...they had no idea there was a YWAM Modesto (a thing I am getting used to - ha!).  So after a few phone calls, we had the great surprise of having a guest YWAM team at the 9th Street Cafe last Friday.  And they were a great group, doing all the things a good YWAM team does...

They came to serve the 9th street community with smiles, music and laughter.  And they spoke Spanish to cafe regulars that I am not able to talk to.

They supported people with prayer

They learned how to play dominoes from Arley (and he beat them badly)

They learned the important Modesto cultural lesson of Taco Trucks

They really, really enjoyed the important Modesto cultural lesson of Taco Trucks

And later that night, our family attended an outreach service they did in a West side ministry center, where they performed dramas and gave testimonies of God's work in their lives.

It was a nice surprise to have them with us an now they're off to do much of the same in San Diego and  on into Mexico before they head home.

For the underdog.

"I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants." Jesus, Matt 11. 

 There is something at work in us that cheers on the underdog. We love a story with an unlikely hero overcoming huge obstacles in spite of himself. I believe that is in us because it is first in God. 

 Directly opposite to the world's system, the Kingdom of God is for the misfit and the unprepared, the small and the not-so-smart. It is for those with no false stage to stand on. We like to trust our knowledge and experience and lean on our goodness and hard work. 

 The Kingdom can only be received by children who have simple faith that nothing can replace falling into the arms of Jesus and finally finding our rest there. 

"Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Jesus, Matt 11.

One Little Christmas Tree and a pretty big Candy Cane

This is the Kids Christmas program at my church that Amie came up with. You'll see Sam as a Candy Cane, Stella as an angel and Chris as a Candy Cane stand in...

Christmas Sunday, 2012 kids presentation.

The Whitlers try on a beard.

I participated this year in the Rabbit Room gift exchange.  The Rabbit Room is a website promoting the sharing of good stories, art, music, food, thoughts and friendship.  This year, you could sign up for a giant game of Secret Santa.  I got my gift in the mail yesterday.  It is a beardhead hat.  It is glorious.

Welcoming the Stranger

“Often, often walks the Christ in a strangers clothes” - an old Celtic proverb

The concept of hospitality is one of Youth With A Mission’s 18 foundational values.  Among YWAMers (Youth With A Mission...um...ers), when you say the word “hospitality”, a specific picture comes to mind.  Hospitality is that place or department that looks after visitors to your property.  At most YWAM locations, at least the ones with buildings, there is someone looking after “hospitality”.  A room or three where guests can stay for a few days free of charge or for a suggested donation.

My family was recently the recipient of YWAM hospitality down in Los Angeles while we visited the Disney Park and we had a great experience.  We stayed in a comfortable 3 rooms with access to bathrooms and a small kitchen.  We were welcome at community meals (although our first day there was “base fasting day” :), there were nice gift baskets in our rooms with goodies and good conversation with other guests.  It was a full time for the hospitality department and a good time for us.

While very nice, if this is our only expression of hospitality as a mission, then we are missing something.  I have been thinking about this word a lot.  If I could sum up our calling in one word, our calling as a YWAM community, our calling as a family (the Whitlers) and even the special gifting of the local congregation I am a part of, it would be the word hospitality,

From the Merriam-Webster dictionary...

hos·pi·ta·ble adjective

a : given to generous and cordial reception of guests

b : promising or suggesting generous and cordial welcome

c : offering a pleasant or sustaining environment

In our worship service on Sunday, one of our elders spoke from Matthew 25, the story of the separation of the sheep and the goats.  While Mark was speaking, it hit me that all of the ministries to Jesus, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, giving clothes to the needy, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick and the prisoner, they are all expressions of hospitality.  This is what life is about...welcome, food, drink, sharing, visiting, listening.

Hospitality this way assumes a growing relationship.  In these few things that Jesus mentions, there is a progression of intimacy.  It starts out with the sharing of very basic needs like food and clothes and moves to time, visiting and bringing strangers into your home.  There are tricky and uncomfortable aspects to all of this.  How do I remain hospitable without becoming and enabler?  How do I protect my family from danger?  How can I walk out hospitality in a “balanced” way?

A wise friend once told me that it’s best to replace the word “balance” with “tension.”  That’s where we live, in tension between a challenging thought and the status quo.  And Jesus doesn’t seem to offer any help here as to how to walk it out.  Maybe because he wants us to wrestle with these uncomfortable concepts.

We generally respond to this kind of thing by relying on programs.  We support the mission who takes in the homeless, we do canned food drives, we organize service projects (insert the obligatory “none of those things are bad” comment here).  But without real connection to people, these things only go as far as they physically can.

“If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Cor 13:3

Like any friendship, our response to strangers and those in need can develop over time but this assumes that we stay long enough for that relationship to grow.  There are men that we have gotten to know through our calling in the city that have horrible pasts but some are part of our life and family and love to be around my kids today because we actually know them for who they are now, not for what they have done in the past.  This took time and some very uncomfortable situations but that’s what relationship is all about.

And we are by no means experts.  I have been the recipient of heartbreaking hospitality and thoughtfulness that has taught me and challenged me and humbled me.  My friends Dave and Liz pour their life and money and time out for others in so many beautiful ways that it’s hard to pick an example.  I have wonderfully hospitable family and friends in our congregation and in YWAM and in the many beautiful communities I have been able to visit around the world.  One of the finest moments of my life was being extravagantly served music, water and bananas by the students of a small Christian school in a Burmese refugee camp in Thailand.  I don’t deserve such grace.

And that’s the point, isn’t it?  We welcome the stranger because we ourselves have been welcomed to a table so bountiful that it makes no sense to keep it all to ourselves.  There’s no way we’ll use up all this grace.  There’s plenty to go around.

And hospitality must start right where we live.  What good is my welcome of strangers if I don't let my family and friends in?  How can I serve the poor if I don't serve my wife, children and friends?  There are many opportunities to welcome others in all throughout our day.

So give a cup of cold water or a hot cup of coffee but then, stay and listen.  You can’t be busy and hospitable.  We have to fight our culture and slow down.  And as we welcome others, the stranger in us is welcomed too.

Sam Whitler: Boy Comedian

Welcome To 9th Street! by Stella

This is our 9th Street outreach cafe as interpreted by Stella. She wrote this herself, folks...

Welcome to 9th Street! from Chris Whitler on Vimeo.

Woman of the Ghetto CD release

If you're in Modesto, you've probably heard how Dellanora Green, a formerly homeless woman, was banned from singing in downtown Modesto a few months back (if not, you can read more about that HERE). Well, the community responded. Some folks started a petition, it was talked about in the press and around town and the Peer Recovery Art Project (http://www.peerrecoveryartproject.org) stepped up and help Dellanora produce a CD that can be sold in the gallery on J Street!

This past Wednesday was the release party at the gallery and it was a lot of fun.  Dellenora, the queen of the event, was so happy, surrounded by folks that love her and have been blessed by her powerful voice filling up our streets.  For her fans, she signed CDs that the gallery was selling as well as shirts bearing her likeness.

CDs are available now and feature Dellanora singing just as she does on the streets of the city.  All the songs are a cappella, powerful, vulnerable and raw, much like the woman herself.

Do yourself a favor and go down to check out the Peer Recovery Art Project Gallery in a beautiful studio on J Street downtown.  It's a wonderful addition to our city.  And pick up one of Dellanora's CDs.  They are $20 and the profits go right to Dellanora herself.

Amie, Chris and Dellanora :)

Dellanora Green CD Release Party - Street Performer In Downtown Modesto,...

Another fun #youthgroup game

This is one our kids love. It's a story game that you could play easily with your family or a small group. Everyone has a piece of paper and something to write with. Everyone writes on the top the opening line to a story and then all papers get passed clockwise. The next person writes the next line to the story and folds the top line over so that only the most recent entry is visible to the next person. Keep going until you get back your original paper and then take turns reading around the circle. It's fun and kind of like a giant game of mad libs.

There once was a boy named Potato and he was bad He didn't start out bad but became bad when he found out his name was Potato He didn't like Potatoes or yams for that matter so he threw them at Jonathan And he cried. The End. P.S. Everyone laughed.

 Once upon a time, a bear named Henry lived in the woods One day, Henry was walking In the beautiful Bahamainian sun when suddenly She fell off a cliff. Haha! The end. But not really. She survived with only one broken neck, two sprained hands, 8 broken ribs and a fractured skull Soon, she recovered and became a doctor Who killed everybody (there's always that kid :)

 Ok, one more... Once upon a time, there was a platypus His name was Robert. His primary concern was making a million. But no one would hire him because he had hooks for hands. So he got angry and mean. And thought about mass destruction (same kid). So while he was thinking, he went and got nachos. Because nachos always solve everyone's problems. The end.

Where are they now? - Darth Vader

Happy Friday! This is a little video we made as Spidie Sense, our old comedy troupe with YWAM in Kitchener, Ontario in Canada...I'm gonna say it was the Spring of 1996. Special thanks to Terry Nelson of Innertainment for digging it up and bringing it back to life! This was filmed on VHS and edited with two VCRs! Ahh, those were the days. Enjoy the story of Dartholomew J. Vader after the Star Wars years...

Lazarus, come out!

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  I don't have a lot of time to prepare for all the things that I do.  So, often, I can be found consolidating.  For instance, I help to lead a small Bible Study down at our residential motels here in Modesto.  We're going through the gospel of John.  So guess what our neighborhood youth group sometimes gets?  Yep, that's right, a recycled Bible study from the gospel of John.  And, you know, they don't seem to mind.

When we first started the meeting at the motels, I bought a great resource that I can't believe I've not used until now.  I went down to the used book store (one of my favorite spots in town, Yesterday's Books) and got a Serendipity New Testament for Groups.  So both of our meetings are quite simple.  We read the scripture together and discuss it with some leading questions.  Just this simple act takes us to some great places in conversation and prayer.

This past week was John 11, the story of Lazarus.  On 9th Street and at youth group, we read about Jesus waiting two days before leaving to go see Lazarus, his seriously sick friend.  We talked about how Jesus must have a different perspective on death than we do.  We read about Jesus' conversation with Mary and Martha and how even though Jesus knew Lazarus would rise, he still cried with the sisters.  We talked about Jesus' care for our feelings even if he has a bigger perspective.

We read about how when the dead man heard the voice of Jesus, he stumbled out of his grave and how Jesus asked friends gathered around to help him take off his grave clothes.  We talked about how we are surrounded by people that God is calling out to with life and light.  We talked about how Jesus asks us to help our friends remove their grave clothes.  How we can be a part of seeing people free and come to life.

It is Jesus who calls.  It is Jesus who gives life.  It is God who gets glory.  It is put to us to help people take off the grave clothes that they get wrapped up in.

I was at a 2 year birthday party at AA a few weeks ago with a friend.  I saw this at work there.  The folks at that meeting are helping each other remove their grave clothes.  And just being there, I felt some of mine fall away too.  This is the beauty of friendship.  We can actually be a part of helping one another be free and come back into life.

I've always wanted to write liner notes...

When I was a kid, after getting a new tape, I loved opening that baby up, sitting and listening to it (on my Walgreens cheap knock off of a walkman) all the way through while looking through the liner notes.  The cassette cover would flap out again and again, containing the lyrics, more pictures, credits and sometimes (especially in CCM tapes) some explanations of where the songs came from and most popularly in Christian music, scripture references.  I once tricked my Mom into letting my buy a Stryper album (she wasn't hip to heavy metal yet and I already secretly had the bootleg) just so I could have those sweet liner notes.  But that's another story.

So what can you expect from my new collection of music?  I mean besides 11 new, original tunes from yours truly.  Well, mostly original.  I did co-write some of them with a few biblical prophets.

Here, my friends, are my liner notes I wrote about these songs available for immediate download just over there to your right or at http://noisetrade.com/chriswhitler  (and be sure to check out my good friend Jimmy's music available HERE).


Entrance Ramp Prayer - This song is life as I have experienced it in YWAM traveling with friends too numerous to name. And the adventure continues..

Thick Darkness - Exodus 20:21 “The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.”

Burning Bushes - Composed on a walk through Modesto’s struggling, beautiful Airport Neighborhood.

Valley Song - Several true stories from the homeless, voiceless people I met when I first moved to Modesto

Circles Around Circles - Inspired by a science podcast about black holes and the nature of the universe. As it turns out, death and letting go has always been the path to new life.

Psalm 90 - Probably the oldest song in the pack and not just because I co-wrote it with Moses.

Hold On - From Revelation 2:25. Written for our dear friends in Canada when we left to start our work in California.

Disappearing Orchards - I hummed the first line of this song while actually driving through a disappearing orchard. It is ever my temptation to trade the good and real for quick satisfaction. The original title was ‘Help Me Remember’

Desert Father - Inspired by “The Way of the Heart” by Henri Nouwen, the writings of the Desert Fathers and the life of St. Anthony

Joy Peace Truth Life Christ - For friends, for me, for all of existence. I don’t know why we left out the “free” but we did.

Hosea 6 - A song for returning.  One I could sing every morning.

From the 9th St. Cafe: How to make the new Iced Cadillac!

We set up a weekly street cafe on south 9th Street in Modesto.  The popular drink is the 'Cadillac', a mix of coffee and hot chocolate.  The year, we've perfected the iced version.  So here, in pictorial form is how to make the Iced Cadillac - a great way to make friends in hot weather!

Modesto singer banned?

This is Dellanora Green (wearing a green Dellanora Green shirt!).  She has been a staple character in downtown Modesto for many years now.  You can see loads of videos about her on youtube under "singing homeless lady" and other titles (THIS ONE is pretty good).  She is an easily recognizable figure downtown.  She has a strong voice and sings familiar songs for anyone to enjoy.  Singing is how Dellanora makes her meager living.

Dellanora is not an intimidating person.  She approaches folks downtown and asks if they would "like a song for a donation."  If you say no, she politely walks on until she finds someone interested.

Quite a few years ago now, Jimmy from our team, helped her to record a Christmas CD so that she could sell them to people who wanted to support her further.  We've kept in touch with her through the years.

Last week, I saw her downtown as she informed me that she had been issued a warning citation to stop singing as it falls under our "aggressive panhandling" bi-law in the city of Modesto.  If you have ever encountered Dellanora, you know how silly that is.  She is far from aggressive and she offers a service for very little.  She'll take whatever anyone can give and does not badger people for money.

She is literally singing for her supper.  A local lawyer has offered to help Dellanora produce a petition for folks to sign to allow her to keep singing on the streets of our city (hear Dellanora talk about it HERE).

I know that I'll be looking for her this week and adding my name to that list.  Could you?

I am not against the police or the government and I indeed believe that we should work as a community to discourage aggressive panhandling.  But Modesto can be a compassionate community and I believe allowing Dellanora's voice to fill our streets is part of that.

Fire at Shiva's Motel

 Wednesday night there was a fire at Shiva's Motel on South 9th Street. This is the place where we have been trying to connect with people in one way or another for 8 or more years. 7 people lost the very little that they own including our friends James and Cheryl. Everyone is ok but they have lost clothes and personal belongings. There is a mother and a 3 year old girl. And a few others that I do not know personally.

 When we arrived Thursday afternoon to have our weekly Bible study at the Shiva, the team we partner with from Christian Challenge had been there a while already. And local ministries were already engaged. A congregation committed to bring dinner down for the motel residents and our friends were rushing off to the store to buy some sandwich fixins so folks could have a lunch.

 
We carried on with the Bible study and were able to join in prayer with the community



 The local Gospel Mission stepped up to provide some clothes for the people who have lost their things in the fire. It was great to watch people, motivated by compassion, respond in love to an emergency. 

Good things can happen when we work together.