post-it project...

When we compare our lives to others, it may be disillusioning. But there is a healthy introspection that comes from acknowledging what you have in light of the blessings God has given. Therefore, give back.

In the midst of the craziness of life, I don't want to forget my commitments to serving a cause greater than myself. As I've mentioned in a previous post, I have been invited to go to Africa this summer to partner with Mavuno church in Kenya. This adventure is exciting and nerve-wrecking all at the same time. In order to be a participant on this trip each member is required to fund raise 100% of their financial support.

There's a nasty little monster that hangs on my shoulders and his name is Pride. I hate asking for help--especially financial help. But the premise and core ideology of Outreach is to invite others to join in on our journey. With your financial help you're able to participate in this adventure with me. The Post-It Project will give you a small way to be where I am.

For ten days a group of youth from Orange County will join with a group of youth from Kenya for total world domination! Well--something like that. Here's some vision for the trip:

If you want to help and support the trip, here are some simple steps:

Go to http://www.marinersoutreach.org/giving

Click on the link that says "Give towards a Faith Adventure"
Step 1: Fill in your information.
Step 2: Designate Faith Adventure Donation
Team Member Name: [Bianca Juarez]
Trip Name: [Kenya, June 2010]
Step 3: Fill in your account information.

friday video blog: imparting vision...

Imparting Vision to Gen Y from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

J. Vernon McGee says, You should never stand behind the pulpit without being able to say, "Thus sayeth the Lord." I wish I would have heard this quote before I responded capriciously during a recent interview.

Reason #829,827,410 why you should pray before you sit down and open your mouth.

If I am going to say anything, if I'm going to impart knowledge to anyone, if I am going to steal someones time, it should be under the auspice of giving away God's goodness. In an era of entertainment and diversion, how do we impart a vision and hope to our next generation that they are not forgotten.

We need to take ordinary and mobilize them to do extraordinary things because of an extraordinary God.

My words to the next generation are not to read a book or follow 10-steps, but rather look at my generation and the generations before and do what we COULD NOT DO. For the mistakes we've made or the foundation we laid, do your part.

For those in my generation or the generation before, what are we doing to live our and create a legacy? We only have on life to live and soon it will be passed. Only what we do for Christ Jesus will last.

What can we do? What are you doing? Do not fret. We are ordinary people serving an extraordinary God.

vlog: women as teachers, preachers, and leaders...

At the core of who we are, we must admit that we don't have all the answers. The truth is, I could feel dogmatic about a certain topic then read a commentary or listen to a theologian and completely change my mind.

I've been asked several times via Twitter, formspring, and facebook what are my views of women teachers. I found it interesting how some the questions were phrased because it felt like entrapment, more than a inquiry of my personal thoughts. I also found it difficult to respond to because not only is it part of my profession, but it's part of who I am.

Given my gender I tread cautiously and respectfully in certain church realms. Some churches allow women to serve as leaders, lay-pastors, or even senior pastors. Other churches won't allow women to teach, lead, or wear makeup (obviously I'm not invited to the non-makeup churches!). Both groups have scriptures, convictions, historical cultural contexts to support their beliefs.

All I know is one day I will stand before God Almightly and be asked, What did you do with my Son? The only thing I want to hear after is, Well done good and faithful servant!

This post comes with much fear and hesistation because my church has graciously invited me to share during Passion Week. My church celebrates the equality of women, yet understands Divine Hierarchy and the need for theological order within church walls. But for the first time in our church history, a woman will be sharing about Jesus, Easter, and us. That woman is me.

I had reservations knowing there may be some who want to bring out the theological whip. But, as my pastor/daddy reminded me, I'm simply doing what the first evangelists did: proclaiming Jesus rose from the dead, He is who He said He is, and our lives will never be the same because of His demonstration of love displayed on the cross. Furthermore, my father wisely concluded, the first evangelists were women. Touche Daddy, touche!

If you're in the SoCal area like to join Shachah and me for a night of worship and teaching, come down April 3rd at 6pm.

Eugene Cho stands on egalitarian view of women serving in Church and it's an interesting read with a hilarious link on a satiric post on why men shouldn't be ordained. *Note: Satire is tongue-in-cheek humor.

Pricilla Shirer gave a great answer to the Should Women Teach/Serve question on her website.

Tyler Braun wrote three posts about this exact topic. As a seminary student, I valued what he had to say greatly and appreciated the links he provided for further discussion. Read all three posts!

Friday Video Post: illegal immigration...

Before I'm a daughter, a teacher, a writer, or an Latino-American, I'm a Christian and I'm committed to the call of the Church. In other words, I'm concerned about how the Bible can orient the way the broader Christian community, denomination, and individual Christians understand their identity and role in the world today.

When it comes to the issue of illegal immigration, the topic is huge and extraordinarily complicated. I do not pretend to offer solutions contested issues or to propose some sort of political cure-all for the many problems. I simply want to raise dialogue and discussion about a serious situation. Once we can develop an appreciation of how complicated the situation is, it can help us move us beyond emotional attachments or simplistic positions that often dominate the media and current politics.

Too often discussion defaults to the passionate ideological arguments (It's not their land, It's not fair, It's illegal), economic wrangling (Immigrants are taking jobs and money), or racial sentiment (I just don't like Chinese people, I don't like Mexicans, I hate when people can't speak English).

According to Dr. D. Carroll, the number of immigrants, documented and undocumented, who have entered the country during the past thirty years has made this phenomenon the focus of national debate at many levels and in all sorts of arenas. The debate is heated, and it has generated interesting alliances that cross ideological lines.

He also notes Christians in our society locate themselves at different points along this broad spectrum of opinion. Carroll discovered that the conversation about immigration has more to do with ideological commitments, personal background, and experience rather than Christian convictions.

So--what do we do? How can we gently (and in love) discuss fear, apprehension, justice, power, forgiveness, and LOVE? Let's start the dialogue in love...

Scriptures to support both sides of the arguments:

Abraham welcoming foreigner (Gen. 18), Elijah welcomed by the Shunammites ( 2 Kings 4), sojourners not following or integrating in Israelite life (Duet. 17:15) and rituals (Exod. 12:43, Ezek. 44:7, sojourners must do hard labor (2 Chron. 2:22), aliens could be day laborers (Duet. 24:14), commanded to love the alien/foreigner (Lev. 19:18, 34, Matt. 22:34-40), Jesus as refugee (Matt. 2:13-14), sumbit to authorities and laws of the land (Romans 13:1-7).

Friday Video Post: a social gospel...

What Is The Social Gospel from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

It was said with distain, Oh, they teach a social gospel. Confused on what he meant, I prodded for more information.

I could see his concern, but instead of rectifying the situation with peers or correcting certain definitions, he choose the let the chasm between the Church* grow. We verbally wrestled through this conversation and I walked away asking if we stop could splintering the church, bifurcating demoninations, and start operating as a cohesive unit.

Yes, there will be theological bents, liturgical preferences, and message methods, but can we at least agree on one thing: The Gospel.

The good news of the gospel is that we have salvation, redemption, and justification for our sins through a man named Jesus. Not through feeding the homeless, not through visiting orphans, not through partering with the city to make our community a better place. If you've followed the blog or know me personally, my heart bleeds for the poor, needy, hurting, and destitude... but in no way will that take place of the gospel.

We need to know the gospel in order to live out the gospel.

So what are your thoughts? What kind of church to you go to? Are you physically living out the gospel or are you going on Sunday and living your own agenda the rest of the week?

*Church is capitalized here because I'm referencing the entire body of Christ, not one specific church.

Friday Video Post: youth ministry and the ONE...

I was new to youth ministry when the youth pastor asked me to oversee the junior high and senior girls. In my grandiose ideas of living like Christ, I decided to emulate the actions of Jesus. In my mind, it was going to be spiritual and holy and absolutely fantastically amazing!

But if you've ever done youth ministry, you know that there's always ONE kid who will mess up a plan, an event, or a moment. Yes, that ONE kid who believes they know everything, they're always right, and they could've done everything way better than you ever could have. And yes, that ONE kid came to my event.

The event was off to a great start. Tons of sugary snacks, greasy pizza, and cacophonous laughter from teen girls excited to sing karaoke and stay up all night. I gathered the girls up and explained to them that I would be leading them for the next couple years of youth ministry and wanted to serve them like Jesus. As an act of service to girls, our leadership team decided to wash their feet in basins of warm, sweet smelling water.

As worship played in the background, each leader washed and cleaned each of the girls feet while I shared the passage in John 13 where Jesus humbled himself and washed the feet of the disciples. It was emotional. By the time I finished reading and grabbed a basin there was only ONE girl left to be attended to. And yes, it was the ONE girl I didn't want to even get near to.

I looked at her feet and had to smoother the gag reflexes forming in my chest. It looked like she walked 10 miles in tar and her toe nails hadn't been cut in 40 years. Of all the girls here, I said to myself, I had to get this ONE.

As I touched her feet and slipped them into the bubbly basin, she began to weep uncontrollably. She buried her face in her hands and through painful sobs she apologized to me. She apologized for being negative and allowing her bitterness to over take her. She explained that she felt as if no one loved her... not even her mom. Yet as she heard the words of Christ read aloud and had her feet washed, she knew she was loved. Loved by God and loved by me.

Boy, did I feel like a schmuck!!! I started crying and confessed to her that I needed to apologize too. We were sobbing wrecks. But sobbing wrecks who felt the presence of Jesus in that room.

Friday Video Post: clubbing...

Maybe it was a bad first experience. Maybe it was because my mother told me it was bad. Maybe because it was dark and smelled like sweaty feet. Or maybe because I felt convicted simply being there. Either way, I hated being at Los Angeles' Club Kiss that Friday night in 1999.

I was curious to experience what a cool Friday night felt like. You know, all the cool kids go to downtown to club. Of course I had to go! After being there for twenty minutes, I was over it! I thought a club was for dancing. Boy, was I wrong! Drinks offered, sleazy Guido-looking guys wanting to dance, and sauna-like dance floors have tainted me ever since.

So maybe I'm not the right person to discuss the question of clubbing. Here's where you come in. True learning experiences occur in dialogue. As we discuss the question of clubbing, what experiences do you have to share that would help people formulate decisions. Please do not smite people with your comments. Yesterday I got some AMAZING feedback from facebook. I love interacting with people on that page--let's keep the gloves on ;)

I would love to reconcile our personal convictions to what the bible says to be true :)

Here are some questions to help you check the intent of your heart:

• What are you wearing? Is it appropriate?
• What will you drink? Should you drink? [drinking discussed on the this vlog]
• Will your actions cause you to stumble? Will it cause someone else to stumble?
• What will your interactions be with the opposite sex?
• Why are you going?
• Will going to a club help or hurt your faith?

Friday Video Post: is gambling a sin...

Dear God,

If gambling is wrong please forgive me playing one nickle in a slot machine with Grandma in Las Vegas when I turned 21.

In Jesus name, amen.

Growing up in a conservative household was fun! We learned that Las Vegas is the modern day Sodom and Gomorrah, tattoos are bad, and smoking is Satan's candy. Today I loathe Vegas, don't have any tattoos, and cringe at the smell of smoke. But it has nothing to do with my theology and everything to do with personal choices.

Though there is substantial argumentation for a stance against gambling [see below], in the light of scripture I want to be careful not to sow red letters onto the chest of specific vices.

The bible is clear on greed (1 Tim. 6:10), addiction (1 Cor. 6:12), and lust (1 Thes. 4:4-5), which are commonly associated with gambling. But there is also this freedom and liberty given to Christians to be responsible for our choices [reason #827,481 why I love being a Christian].

Conservative arguementation against gambling (and my two cents):

• Denies the reality of God's sovereignty. The whole discussion of sovereignty is loaded, so I will simply say that "chance" is contrary to Psalm 103:19.
• Builds on irresponsible stewarship. Matthew 6:19-20. With that being said, if I'm tithing, paying bills, and canceling debt before I use leisure allowences, I'm still a good steward.
• Driven by the sin of covetousness. Exodus 20:17. But this could be said for clothing, cars, and the opposite sex.
• Builds on the explotation of others. Exodus 20:15. If we're going to split hairs, Nike shoes are made upon the explotation of Chinese workers, our fruits and vegetables are picked by under-paid workers, and our coffee is at the expense of children's lives in South America.

Comments, thoughts, stones to throw?

two minutes and two points...

Twitter is a funny world full of #hashtags and @symbols. My mother is so confused by the entire concept of it. I pray for her. Just kidding. Well, half kidding.

The thing about Twitter I've liked is that I'm connecting with people I wouldn't have otherwise known. Like Andrew Burchfield. He's from Texas. And he has a heart bigger than the state he lives in. He's planning Realevate, a conference in Texas for young adults and asked me to participate--get this--via technology.

Mom and me don't really understand the cyber world, but we still think it's cool. Like electricity. I don't know how it works but I like it.

Anyway, I'm posting the video shout out here so we can participate in heart, but not presence. If you know anyone near the Texas Bible Institute (satellite campus) or the 10 and 71 freeways in the Lone Star state, check out the conference this weekend.

Realevate Conference from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

Friday Video Post: is a coffee date a date?

Church, circa 2008:

Him: Hey, I was wondering if maybe we could go get some coffee after church.

Me: [blink] Well, um... [blink, blink] uh, you know, I, um--no. I'm sorry.

Him: You don't drink coffee?

Me: I'm sorry. You see, the whole thing is a little serious for me. Like, I have a busy schedule and serve in youth ministry and if the kids saw me, blah, blah, blahblahblah [insert infinite blahs here]...

Somebody slap me. Hard.

There are, shall we say, uber sensitive Christians out there and I was (sometimes am) one of them. You know those people who ask for the seas to part, the heavens to open, and a divine voice to give us signs and wonders? Yes, Internet, that was/is/will be me.

I believe God can speak supernaturally if He so chooses. But the idea of dating in the Christian realm is complicated to say the least. If I'm completely honest with you, I suck at it. Like really, really suck at it. I'm the last one to answer the questions for this week, but there are my thoughts:

Here are some caveats and suggestions which are important in protecting your reputation and heart:

• If someone is asking everyone and their mother out to coffee, they are a player. And you need your PhD*!
• If someone keeps asking you out but has not or does not want to have the DTR, they are not interested in making the relationship serious.
• If you know after one or two dates that you aren't interested in the other person, be honest. Don't waste your time and their money!
• If someone keeps asking you out but likes keeping things at a shallow level, it's a serious case of DD*.
• If this is just a coffee date to get to know someone, there is NO reason why you should be holding hands, kissing, or more. Like my grandmother would say, don't give away what men should work for.
• Have at least TWO standards: 1. Does this person have a JOB? 2. Does this person love JESUS? If not, this person isn't ready to date. Period. The end.

Comments, additions, stones to throw?

**Edit to post: Tomorrow Matt will address some key questions to The Great Coffee Debate :)

*PhD=Player Hater Degree

*DTR=Defining The Relationship

*DD=Denial Dating

Friday Video Post: why are christians so ignorant...

Why Are Christians So Ignorant? from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

What can we do as Christians to educate ourselves? More importantly, what are you doing to educate yourself? Readers are leaders, share your booklists :)

For more infomration about Lumen and the amazing speakers who will be there, check out website and register for FREE. See you at Mariners on the 31st!

Please pray for Haiti. If it's the most you can do, it's the least you can do.

Friday Video Post: yoga and meditation...

Downward facing dog, inhale, she gently instructed in the most beautiful voice ever heard. Cobra, exhale, she sung as her body moved as if in water. The entire class moved in syncopation as if on her synchronized swimming team. If Barry White and Sade had a love-child, this is what she would sound like.

I, on the other hand, moved with the fluidity of a Pre-Andalusian beast and grunted like one too. It was like Mr. Snuffalupogus from Sesame Street trying to stretch to calming, instrumental music. Not cute. But I endured the class for four weeks as instructed by my chiropractor because of a running accident. My back was so tweaked, I couldn't sit down for more than an hour let alone exercise.

But towards the end of class, the singing Indian siren would encourage the class to meditate and "center" our bodies and minds on positive thoughts. Immediately I knew this was going down some New Age path of enlightenment, so I simply closed my eyes and began to pray. Meditate? Um, okay, I'll meditate on the blessings bestowed to be God. For that, my dear Indian sister, is a positive, centering thought to which I can meditate upon (Psalm 1:2).

Is Yoga Bad? from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

Are there dangers in yoga and deep trances encouraged by some classes? Yes. Is there the potential to become mastered or confused by these practices? Yes. Are there alternatives to yoga? I'm glad you asked! Check out this article about Laurette Willis and her introduction to New Age philosophies and yoga. She also speaks about the danger of yoga and the ideologies behind it.

Friday Video Post: convince me to have a child...

Instead of moderating the discussion or answering questions, I'm asking a question.

Share stories, provide insight, break down some theology--I'm asking with all sincerity.

Convince Me to Bear Children from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

If Paul is right, please convince me to find salvation ;)

advocate life...

Deep, dark eyes, barren and empty, filled with tears as he spoke in tones hushed by fear. He sat across from me and let out the guilt, shame, and rejection he was experiencing from his family and church. He grew up in the church and knew the Leviticus and 1 Corinthians texts about homosexuality. Reiterating these truths would be moot and wasteful.

He wasn't asking for spiritual insight or forgiveness, but rather crying out as a broken man in need of love. In that moment I remembered a quote from one of my favorite pastors, "It's God's responsibility to save. It's our responsibility to love." My friend didn't need condemnation. So many others already had. He needed to know he was a child of God who, like me, needs a Savior.

Advocacy for Children of God from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

I came across this article on the Marin Foundation blog and was completely taken back at what is occuring in Africa. There is a grave injustice occuring and if the church believes in the sanctity of Life, this matters. Despite gender, color, race, or ethinicity, we are all children of God. Advocate life. This is not a social gospel. This is the gospel.

four-letter words and substitutes...

The neon ball floated through the air above the net and I knew there would be no way JD would--What?! He hit it. In the nanosecond it registered, I scrambled across the tennis court but it wasn't enough time. I missed the return. To lose the set after a long, hard volley was beyond frustrating, so I did what any John McEnroe lover would do: I flung my racquet onto the floor and screamed out a word of injustice to the tennis gods. I turned to my tennis partner, Jelani, but he was motionless. I turned to JD. Then to Jas. No one moved.

Something in the cosmos changed because our lively, fun little game of tennis turned into spiritual intervention, with lame phrases like, It's just a game, or Why don't we call it a night, or the ever-patronizing, Why don't we stop and pray, by my over-religious sister.

I was confused. What just happened?

To this day, they still think I screamed out an unchoice word loud enough for people in Milwaukee to have heard. But I didn't. I promise I didn't. I let out a substitute word that may have sounded like a four-letter word. But I'm holy and a bible teacher and love Jesus and would never say such things, right? Riiiiiigt.*

But does this matter? An angst-filled word meant as a substitute is still an angst-filled word. If you're like my mother, you think I'm totally wrong. If you need intervention like me, how can we change the error of our ways? On a non-related note, why do I look like I'm going to eat you in this video?

Cursing and Coarse Jesting from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

*Disclaimer: Please don't ever bring this story up. I hate it. In my defense, I haven't cursed since the age of six when my mother heard me say a four-letter word and she washed my mouth out with a bar of soap. Seriously.

Friday Video Post: Is Drinking a Sin...

Some Christians think of alcohol as up there with adultery, idol worship, and South Park. I met a fundamentalist who argued that the "wine" drunk in the Bible is not wine at all but actually grape juice (I'm pretty sure Thomas Welch was behind that theory). I simply asked for a scripture reference which bans alcohol. He couldn't provide one. I wasn't lobbying for the alcohol industry, I was simply advocating for a balance of scripture.

Is Drinking A Sin? from Bianca Juarez on Vimeo.

When I don't have the answer on a topic, I search for one. Being a nerd, I found the experts of all experts, a conservative Christian oenophile named Daniel Whitfield. Whitfield has made an astoundingly exhaustive study of every alcohol reference in Scripture--all 247 of them. I quote his findings here:

On the negative side, there are 17 warnings against abusing alcohol, 19 examples of people abusing alcohol, 3 references to selecting leaders, and one verse advocating abstinence if drinking will stumble a brother. Total negative references: 40, or 16 percent.

On the positive side, there are 59 references to the commonly accepted practice of drinking wine (and strong drink) with meals, 27 references to the abundance of wine as a example of God's blessing, 20 references to the loss of wine in offerings and sacrifices, 9 references to wine being used as a gift, and 5 metaphorical references to wine as a basis for a favorable comparison. Total positive references: 145, or 59 percent.

[Note: Being an over-achiever, I also found one reference to medicinal alcohol in 1 Timothy 5:23. Maybe my grandma knew a little sumthin' sumthin' if you know what I mean!]

It comes down to the battle between the Bible's gusto for life, and the Bible's weariness of excess. Between it's Epicureanism and Puritanism. You can find both themes in Scriptures. The Epicurean side is best seen in Ecclesiates:

"There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and find fulfillment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God" (Ecclesiates 2:24).

So, what's do you think? How can we have our liberties, yet be mindful of our weaker brothers? Comments, suggestions, stones to throw?