Loving, Learning, and Leading

Lessons for Youth A long time ago, the city of Jerusalem was under Siege by an enemy and the conditions within the city became so great that the following scene is described: 2 Kings 6:28-29 Then he asked her, "What's the matter?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.' So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him." This is too horrific to truly contemplate. The idea of cannibalism is beyond our comprehension but it happens when people are truly starving to death. I share this story as I am overwhelmed with the violence, degradation, and nihilism that many of our youth share today. As I write this, many governmental agencies, faith communities, and community advocates are trying to develop strategies in the Rochester community to turn the tide on what has been on of the bloodiest years in re...

It all begins with Pain "The paradox indeed is that the beginning of healing is in the solidarity with the pain... the wanting to alleviate pain without sharing it is like wanting to save a child from a burning house without the risk of being hurt." Henri Nouwen, from his book Reaching out: Three movements of the Spiritual life. The core questions of life, ministry, mission, and even hope center around how we deal with pain: our pains, the pains of others, our culture's pain, even humanity's pain. How we deal, or in many instances, refuse to deal with these pains paints a picture of our vitality and what it truly means to live. I have shared many times with many people that God began to deal with me several years ago about this concept of wanting to extinguish pain without actually entering into to it. I had always grown up with the concept as a healthy understanding of healing and service. However, as I desire to follow the ultimate healer more closely, I ...

Learning at the YMCA This past week, the Traylor family joined the local YMCA in Penfield, NY. It happens to be one of the nicest looking YMCA's that I have ever seen. We began our "return to fitness" program yesterday, and God took the opportunity to teach me a few things that have been ruminating in my mind. 1. Perseverance in a discipline require momentum. Momentum is that feeling that we all experience when we are eagerly anticipating an activity and have a measure of confidence that we will actually successfully accomplish our goals. Momentum requires movement in the same direction (the scientific formula for momentum is mass x velocity, where velocity is movement in one direction). Paradoxically, the more we engage in a discipline, the more momentum we develop and the easier and more enjoyable it becomes. We often quit before momentum develops. Think about this with any discipline that you have desired to have, whether it be exercising, Bible reading, or pra...

The Politics of the Rich man and Lazarus Its been a while since I have blogged and I thought I would get things started again by looking at a common Biblical story that has some significant ramifications in how we see one another and the role of society in general: Luke 16:19- 19"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[ c ] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' 25"But Abraham replied, 'So...

Racism: Acting, thinking, or speaking of someone based upon a stereotyped perception of their race, ethnicity, or identity. Racialization: Practices that cause racial division and isolation that are often: 1. Embedded in the normal operations of institutions and social systems 2. Covert in nature (the purpose and the effect of the practice are not obvioius) 3. devoid of racial terminology or tones 4. Almost always invisible to a majority of people in a given culture. Although there is much in the news regarding racism, I find that very little is offered on the more pervasive, and may I suggest, more powerful effects of racializing practices. Racializing practices are things that "we" all do that are not intended to cause racial isolation or inequitable treatment, but none the less have that effect. These are things that are done by Blacks, Whites, Latino, and Asians all the time, but we do not take the time to look at t...

Keeping it real: Health Care Reform As a physician who had significant administrative experiences in the past, I got to see the ins and outs of healthcare and its funding. Its a complex topic with many different players and many different agendas. Within a single office visit there are multiple different interests secretly battling it out for attention, and for money. This is why the discussions that many of the political pundits are having regarding healthcare reform are more political agendas than authentic concerns for the health and wellbeing of a nation. The system is complex and interdependent so that each intervention has reverberations throughout the system. For instance, if you continue to limit reimbursements to health facilities and providers, as has been the case for government supported plans such as medicare and medicaid, the unintended consequence is inaccessibility to care for those who are the most dependent on care (Many practices that are primarily medicaid ...

I believe that the current discussion regarding the Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is fascinating to watch and that the process itself has huge implication on how America see's itself and our openness to discuss race and race relations with a clear head. One of the statements made from Republican Senator O. Hatch, was that he was looking for Justices that are committed to enforce the law/constitution, not legislate it. He was reacting to her very public statements that most interpretations of constitutional law are in fact ways of legislating without the process. When we think about supreme court rulings (whether they be conservative or liberal leading), we must all understand that she speaks truth. Rowe vs Wade was not a "law" but an interpretation of the constitution that made abortion permissible. Placing the separation of all religious activity from public supported venues is also an interpretation of a constitution that originally was designed to deny a ...