ERRANDS IN THE CITY

One of the things I love about cities in general, and Philadelphia in particular, is that you can get a lot of errands done without using a car. Short car trips are the death of our planet. Here’s what I was able to do in a two-hour span this morning just using my own two:

10:07-10:22 walk nine blocks east from work to doctor’s office to get immunization shot

10:22-10:48 doctor’s office

10:48-11:00 walk seven blocks east to post office to buy stamps

11:00-11:03 buy stamps

11:03-11:18 walk nine blocks east to specialty grocery store to buy dried fruit

11:18-11:21 buy dried fruit

11:21-11:36 walk nine blocks east to T-Mobile to buy new cell phone (my last one finally died yesterday)

11:36-11:41 buy new cell phone

11:41-11:43 wait for bus

11:43-11:51 take bus 28 blocks west to produce truck to buy produce

11:51-11:55 buy produce

11:55-12:00 walk three blocks home to drop everything off

12:00-12:06 walk four blocks back to work

Five errands in two hours, without ever having to walk more than a mile for any leg. And I got some exercise. Who needs a car?

SUFFERING

As I have grown as a Christian, so has my attitude towards suffering matured. Not that I always move forward, but I have noticed a distinct trajectory in my understanding of and experience with suffering:

1. We think suffering just isn’t something Christians experience. Growing up in a sheltered environment and then coming to faith in a comfortable congregation, I didn’t yet have an experiential category for suffering, and theoretically, I would have told you that God keeps major crises from His children.

2. We can ask God to keep suffering away from us. As I heard of and empathized with other believers’ wilderness seasons, I looked to God to help those who were suffering and to keep suffering from me.

3. We can ask God to provide relief when we are suffering. As I went through my own wilderness seasons, I saw God as the One to whom I could cry out to, who had the power and the desire to pull me from my pit and to rescue me from my pain.

4. We can ask God to provide companionship when we are suffering. Many of my wilderness seasons lasted long enough that I had time to understand God as not just the One who provides relief amidst our suffering but also as the One who is with us amidst our suffering.

5. We can ask God to provide perspective when we are suffering. Fasting, which is a form of suffering, and suffering itself are two ways I have come to believe God grows in us a holy longing for future glory; that is to say, we remember that while God is with us here on a finite earth, His desire is one day to bring us into an eternal heaven.

6. We rejoice in suffering because we understand what it means to be worthy of suffering. Now we are beginning to see the role of suffering in and of itself, not for what it elicits from us but as a sign from God that we are on the right path. Not that we enjoy the pain itself – yet (see below).

7. We rejoice in suffering because it is itself a gift from God. Now we are beyond suffering as a means to receiving more enjoyable ends from God, and understanding that the suffering itself is an end, and not only so but a blessing from God.

Lest I be accused of being a masochist or endorsing masochism, let me explain. A professional event planner once told me that remaining calm amidst event-related snafus is like enjoying spicy foods. You can react violently to the hot sensation in your mouth and frantically douse yourself with liquids.

Or you can let your mouth experience the burn. After awhile, it adjusts to the spiciness and can tolerate it. More importantly, allowing your mouth to experience the burn allows you to experience all the flavors in and around the spiciness. And so it is, the event planner told me, with events.

And so it also is, I believe, with Christian suffering. We can douse ourselves with liquids and seek to numb the pain. Or we can allow ourselves to experience the pain, give ourselves space to adjust to it, and experience all the flavors God has for us in and around it.

The apostle Paul, an expert in Christian suffering if there ever was one, wrote from prison to the church in Philippi these words: “For to you it has been graciously given for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29). Paul understood more deeply than most that God does indeed use suffering to give Christians many good gifts; but more importantly, He graciously gives us suffering as a gift in and of itself.

The apostle Paul felt the sting of Christian suffering, and instead of dousing himself with liquids to numb the pain, he allowed himself to experience it, and with it all the flavors that come with knowing God. What about us? Which of the first six numbers above will we get stuck on, rather than get to number seven and experience all the flavors God desires us to enjoy?

A NEW BLOG FOR A NEW CHAPTER

I have mused in this space periodically about our adoption process and our daughter, but now I will be musing in another space on such topics: huangkids.cjb.net, another blog I set up yesterday for pictures, chronicles, and other thoughts. Enjoy.

THANKFUL

Someone once taught me to pray through the acronym ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Out of the four, I’d say that I do the “T” the least often. I do my share of adoring God in prayer and confessing my sins to Him, and I have my share of supplications that I bring before Him. But I often neglect giving thanks. I guess it’s my drivenness and future orientation; I rarely take the time to look back on good things that have happened, ever looking ahead to what needs to be done.

Yesterday, though, I took some time to be thankful before God. I reunited with a former student of mine who was last in our program three years ago and is now a young man, running a business on the side and eager to mentor our current participants. A friend of mine from college is going through some hard times, and I was encouraged to hear him speak of how his faith and his Christian friends are anchoring him through this ordeal. Another college friend of mine is back from the mission field, while yet another college friend is about to go, and both have grown spiritually since we last spent significant time together.

In these four lives, and in so many others, God is at work. I spend a lot of time worrying about all that is not right in this world, all the relationships and places and systems that need God to come in and heal. So it was good yesterday to be reminded of these four lives where God is doing stuff, and to be thankful.

ESSAYS ABOUT GOVERNMENT

Last year, I applied to the Harvey Fellows Program, which supports Christians pursuing graduate studies in secular fields that are strategically important for Kingdom-building. Unfortunately, I was rejected. But I pulled out my application this morning and was glad to read my essays again, for they reminded me why I’m going to Fels and inspired me to keep on learning. So I’ve decided to post them here for public consumption; enjoy.

1. Write a personal statement of your Christian faith (what it is that you believe). Explain the significance of your faith in Jesus Christ to your everyday life. Be sure to describe your involvement in a local church, and give examples of opportunities you have had to demonstrate and share your faith.

I believe that the chief end of God is to glorify Himself and enjoy Himself forever. Men and women were created in the image of God to enjoy God perfectly, but by the original sin of Adam and Eve are now born with a sinful nature, and thus have experienced death, corruption, and separation from God. In our helplessness, God sent Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf, that in His substitutionary death we might have right standing with God. Ours is a life of worship to God, connection to a worldwide body of believers, and service to others, and even as we strive for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done here on earth, we await a Savior who will return and deliver us to a heavenly and eternal dwelling place.

As it relates to my everyday life, my Christian faith is a road map for life direction, an anchor against the world’s winds, and a message to proclaim. Jesus Christ is my model, my message, and my medium, and I seek to represent Him in all I say and do. My local church, where I have served as an elder for the past six years, is a source of teaching, accountability, and camaraderie.

While I have had ample opportunities to share my faith verbally, I am most proud of ways my life serves as a testimony to God’s character and values. I parlayed an Ivy League education into ten years in the trenches at a small non-profit in inner city West Philadelphia because I saw in the Bible a running theme of God’s special concern for the poor and marginalized. I chose to pursue this path of obedience, rather than the upward mobility my socio-economic status conferred upon me, because, like Moses, I considered following Jesus “greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.”

Along the way, I have demonstrated and shared my faith to my non-Christian parents, who disapprove of my life choices but understand I have made them because of my beliefs; with others who come after me, who also want to live radical lives of obedience and whose glimpse of God at work in my life encourages them to persevere in their pilgrimages; and with the urban poor, who have experienced something of the compassion and justice of God in my efforts to show love and to make right.

2. Briefly outline your vocational goals. Reflect on how your Christian faith informs your approach to this discipline. Describe the factors that have motivated you to pursue your vocation. Include the role the church and individual Christians have played in your efforts to integrate faith, learning, and vocation.

I am an unashamed capitalist, who believes that societies and economies are at their best when they are run as much as possible based on free market principles. However, markets by themselves often do not take into consideration three important perspectives: 1) a long-term perspective, 2) a communal perspective, and 3) a moral perspective. That is to say, free markets, if left to themselves, will undervalue the long-term compared to the short-term, the communal compared to the individual, and the moral compared to the amoral.

These market failures (or, I should say, inadequacies) present opportunities for government to play a role – not to replace the free market mechanism, but to supplement it so that it works effectively and factors in the three aforementioned considerations. The environment, suburban sprawl, and social programs for the needy are three examples of issues that should neither be left to free markets to resolve nor taken completely away from free market mechanisms. Rather, on these and other related topics, a government that facilitates capitalism, and that ensures that the long-term, communal, and moral are incorporated into its free market dynamics, is doing right by its citizens and is best safeguarding a healthy economy and a just society.

My Christian ideals have evolved as I have sought to apply them in a for-profit setting at Wharton and in a non-profit setting at The Enterprise Center; I relish the opportunity to now put faith into action in the public sector. At every stage, I have been driven by a desire to see God’s Kingdom come more fully here on earth: for people to know God more and worship Him, for systems to be just and the downtrodden shown mercy, and for all things and all people to be right by God.

Along the way, I have had to learn many things and integrate them into settings not always welcoming to the Christian perspective. From Daniel I learned how to pursue God in a secular academic environment. From Nehemiah I learned how to rebuild urban structures and strengthen urban people. And from my home church I have learned how to be part of a body of believers who love God and seek first His Kingdom. As I enter the field of government administration, I welcome the opportunity to learn new lessons, gain new role models, and further apply my faith in a setting that demands it.

3. Explain how this vocational area impacts society at large, and how this vocation is strategic to the Kingdom. Provide evidence that your chosen field is under-represented by Christians and tell us how you plan to impact your field for Christ.

While much lower in the US than in most of the world, government spending, at about $3 trillion per year, still accounts for about 25% of the entire GDP, a scale that allows it to influence economic issues that affect all Americans, such as inflation, monetary stability, and commercial growth. At the local level, decisions made by government entities influence crime rates, unemployment levels, and neighborhood housing. At the state level, governors and elected officials determine the quality and quantity of such important resources as public education, social services, and health care. At the federal level, politicians have the power to declare war, fight world hunger, and fund important medical research. Suffice to say, government administrators hold levers with which they can impact communities, societies, and the whole world.

For that very reason, this vocation is vitally strategic to the Kingdom of God. When I studied at Wharton, I lamented the relative dearth of worthy role models in the field; business, after all, needs Kingdom-seekers who will serve with diligence and integrity, and who will use business tools to unleash great good in the world in the form of goods, jobs, and wealth. When I signed on at The Enterprise Center, I wondered where all the Christian laborers were; does not the Bible have many things to say about God’s special concern for ruined cities and downtrodden city dwellers and broken city systems? I now wonder where the Kingdom-seekers are in government administration, the courageous public servants who say no to seeking power to secure personal gain and say yes to utilizing their skills to safeguard justice and offer mercy.

Many of my heritage and my generation find politics to be too sleazy, too gritty, or too impotent. I harbor these reservations, too. But there is another part of me that is hopeful, even expectant, that there is a place in government for smart and good-hearted people to make a difference for people, for systems, and for the Kingdom of God. That in government faithful men and women might find levers with which they can do great good for society and the world. And that by being a Christian government administrator, I might impact my field by putting faith in action, and by impacting my field I might be great in God’s Kingdom as a doer of justice and a lover of mercy. By God’s grace, there I go.

4. Reference at least one recent leadership activity (related to your academic discipline or vocation, if possible). Describe why these activities are significant, how they have played a role in your development, and how they tie into your vocational goals.

In 2002-2003, I decided to take a sabbatical from The Enterprise Center. True to my workaholic ways, I was busier in “rest” than at work. I spearheaded a replication initiative at work, got more involved in church, wrote two books, and campaigned for a Christian candidate for city council. I also enrolled in a class hosted by Leadership Inc., which annually assembles local leaders for lessons in civic duty and leadership legacy.

As it coincided with my sabbatical, Leadership represented for me an important “moment” in my professional trajectory. The youth program I had founded five years earlier hummed along without me, reminding me that great leaders are not just people who “get the job done” but are also those whose influence and vision have a multiplier effect in the institutions in which they lead. It was an important lesson in humility, for I had to accept that that year’s programmatic successes had very little to do with my efforts or insights.

Leadership took me out of the trenches to survey more of the battlefield. Month after month, I sat at the feet of accomplished educators, influential economic development professionals, and powerful politicians. Here was planted the seed in my soul, that perhaps I too could play a role beyond the realm of local non-profits and in a setting in which my decisions could affect multiple communities and entire regions. The roots of my decision to leave The Enterprise Center and to enroll at Fels, to give up a cherished institution where I did significant work at one level in order to be trained to do significant work at another level, can be traced directly back to my time in Leadership Inc.

All of us in Leadership were encouraged to look beyond ourselves and make a difference at a broader level. But I believe that while you can find good-hearted people from all faiths, only the Christian possesses the proper perspective and motivation to do great in the Kingdom of God. Christians believe that life is eternal, that the welfare of everyone’s children and not just their own is what matters, and that there is one God before whom we will all be held to account for the substance of our lives. I left the class reminded of these beliefs, and still challenge myself concerning what I will do in the world given that these things are true.

5. Describe the special strengths of the degree program(s) to which you have applied, and how they compare to the acknowledged premiere programs in your specialty. Discuss how these programs will prepare you to enter the job market and pursue a leadership position within your field.

While Fels may not have the cache of Kennedy, Wilson, or Maxwell, its graduates have a reputation for “getting the job done.” In fact, this workmanlike approach to government administration, which would make Penn founder Benjamin Franklin proud, came about as a result of a deliberate effort on the part of school administrators in the 1980’s to maintain academic excellence but also inject a practical methodology so as to produce leaders who could effect substantive change within governments. Fels students are schooled not only in evidence-based government and public finance theory but also in the mechanics of winning elections, structuring bonds, and passing legislation. Fels’ dual strength of academic theory and real-world practicality is reflected in its faculty, which includes John DiIulio, prominent social researcher; Stephen Mullin, former Director of Commerce for Philadelphia; and Edward Rendell, Pennsylvania’s governor.

Fels grads run for office, work for politicians, lead government agencies, run non-profits, and consult for public administrations. They understand both the art and the science behind government administration, and as a result are effective in using its levers to stimulate significant social change, whether through tax reform or equitable legislation or constituency services. The positive reputation of the Fels degree, the high caliber of Fels grads I know, and the startling quantities of Fels-affiliated professionals in key sectors around the city were all reasons for me to myself become a Fels grad, and will all be advantages for me when I complete my degree and enter the job market.

I am grateful for the chance to have attended Wharton in my undergraduate years, for I feel better equipped to seek the Kingdom of God. In conjunction with my Christian convictions, my business skills open doors to do justice and love mercy in inner city West Philadelphia. I can help aspiring entrepreneurs build wealth and create jobs, educate urban youth in important matters of financial literacy, and more effectively manage the people and resources and procedures of my non-profit organization. I anticipate that my Fels education will open even more doors for me. I will learn how to make agencies more efficient, taxes more fair, and services more impactful. More importantly, I will learn these lessons as a Christian who seeks the Kingdom of God. I look forward to the leader Fels will make me, the leader I will be wherever Fels takes me next.

6. Please state anything else that is important for us to know about you.

Based on the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, I am an “INTJ.” One of the defining characteristics about us INTJs is that we see “reality as a crucible for refining our strategies for goal-directed action. In a sense, INTJs approach reality as they would a giant chess board, always seeking strategies that have a high payoff” (from keirsey.com).

As a Christian, Wharton and The Enterprise Center have been two big chessboards on which I have explored the integration of three things: the knowledge I derive from the Scriptures, the faith I ascribe to in my head and heart, and the rules and realities of secular institutions. I quite enjoy living in the tension between two worlds: Taiwanese and American, for-profit and non-profit, business education and Biblical truths, professional vocation and Christian ministry, spiritual nurture and social services, head knowledge and practical action.

But these are not merely intellectual curiosities. We are talking about matters of eternal consequence. The “high payoff” I seek is no less than the establishment of the Kingdom of God here on earth. I straddle these worlds and explore their integration not for frivolous pastime but because the health of my soul and that of others depends on it.

INTJs are often accused of being cold and calculating, and indeed I have a lot to learn in terms of demonstrating more compassion and warmth. But if I am zealous in my life calculations, it is because the stakes are high. I take seriously the obligation to be a good steward of the resources and gifts with which I have been entrusted, to pursue excellence for the sake of the Kingdom of God, and to prepare myself for strategic roles in which I can effect significant social change. As I fill more fully into my vocational calling and my leadership gifts, I am increasingly eager to see what happens next, increasingly vigilant about utilizing all I have been given in talents and opportunities for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

A WEEK IN THE LIFE

In the spirit of an exercise I try to do every few years, I’m picking up on my play-by-play of my DC trip and documenting everything from the past week. Some descriptions are intentionally generic because I’m not always at liberty to share about specifics:

Friday, June 10

4a-4:20a wake up, pack up my stuff

4:20a-7a drive from DC to Philly

7a-8a arrive in Philly, gas up the rental car, return the rental car, take the subway home

8a-9a unpack, shower, eat breakfast, pack a lunch, walk to work

9a-10a meet with the director of our youth program

10a-11a meet with our alumni relations intern

11a-1p catch up on emails, voicemails, and work; eat lunch

1p-2p meet with our fundraising intern

2p-3p meet with our PR interns

3p-3:30p catch up on time-sensitive correspondence

3:30p-5:30p meet with an outside PR expert about branding and media issues

5:30p-7p tie up important work items, walk home

7p-8p make and eat dinner

8p-10p relax with Amy, watch Arrested Development, read news and business magazines

Saturday, June 11

6a-7a wake up, pray

7a-8a do push-ups and sit-ups, eat breakfast

8a-12p do school homework

12p-2p shower, eat lunch, relax, walk to school

2p-5:30p attend public budgeting class

5:30p-7p walk home, make and eat dinner, relax

7p-10p do school homework

Sunday, June 12

5:30a-7a wake up, pray, eat breakfast

7a-8a run

8a-8:30a cool down, shower

8:30a-10a go grocery shopping, get produce

10a-10:45a eat more breakfast, walk to church

10:45a-12:30p attend church service

12:30p-2p go to lunch with friend from church

2p-4p take a long-needed nap

4p-10p relax with Amy, watch Arrested Development, read news and business magazines, do crossword puzzles

Monday, June 13

5:30a-6:30a wake up, pray

6:30a-7:30a do push-ups and sit-ups, shower, eat breakfast, pack a lunch, walk to work

7:30a-8:30a do paperwork

8:30a-9a meet with president and board member about a fundraising opportunity

9a-10a meet with foundation about a giving campaign

10a-11a orient four new interns

11a-12p catch up on emails and voicemails

12p-12:30p do a performance evaluation of a summer intern

12:30p-1p eat lunch

1p-4p meet with our HR intern about a couple manuals we are working on

4p-5:30p meet with personal friend for accountability (to confess sin and to pray for one another)

5:30p-7:30p do miscellaneous work

7:30p-9p walk home, cook and eat dinner, do crossword puzzles

9p-10p relax with Amy, read news and business magazines, watch Arrested Development

Tuesday, June 14

5:00a-6:00a wake up, pray

6:00a-6:30a shower, eat breakfast, pack a lunch, walk to work

6:30a-7a prepare for intern alumni focus group

7a-8a host intern alumni focus group

8a-9a catch up on emails and voicemails

9a-10a orient new intern

10a-12p work on grant proposals

12p-1p eat lunch

1p-4p meet with our PR interns about important brand and process issues

4p-4:30p put finishing touches on paperwork related to new tenant

4:30p-5p meet with administrative person about timesheets for new hires

5p-6p do miscellaneous work

6p-7p walk home, cook and eat dinner, do crossword puzzle

7p-9p hang out with my sister, who is passing through on her way back to Baltimore

9p-10p relax with Amy, read news and business magazines, watch Arrested Development

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

5:30a-6a wake up, pray

6a-6:30a shower, eat breakfast, walk to prayer meeting

6:30a-7:30a attend prayer meeting

7:30a-8a walk home, eat more breakfast, walk to work

8a-9a work on grant proposals

9a-11a do miscellaneous work

11a-12:15p host intern summit

12:15p-1p host staff lunch

1p-2:15p run staff meeting

2:15p-2:30p catch up on emails and voicemails

2:30p-3p walk home, pick up school stuff, walk to school

3p-4p meet with independent study advisor, walk home

4p-6p do school work

6p-7p cook and eat dinner

7p-10p relax with Amy, read news and business magazines, watch Arrested Development, do crossword puzzle

A LATE HOMAGE TO THE FALLEN

Memorial Day was almost two weeks ago, but I want to memorialize those who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to nation and freedom. On Thursday, I went to Arlington National Cemetery, partly as a tourist and partly to pay my respects. In sweltering heat, I bypassed the $10 shuttle and hiked along the rolling hills to JFK’s tomb and then the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I watched a wreath ceremony and read placards of various squadrons and fleets.

And I took in the rows and rows of white tombstones, lined up so orderly that you couldn’t help but think that these fallen soldiers were rightly in formation, in death as they were in life. I read the tombstone faces, and noted the ages of the deceased and the war(s) they had fought in. Whether these brave soldiers had volunteered to serve or were enlisted meant little to me in the moment; what was important was that when our country was at war, they fought. And they died.

I have not yet fought. And I live. And after my visit to Arlington, I want to remember to live giving honor and expressing thanks to those who fought and died, and in doing so not only made the ultimate sacrifice but contributed to safeguarding my freedom and my country. To the fallen, I say thank you and well done.

LIMITS

To say I wear many hats at work is an understatement. On any given day, I might be a landlord, social director, shoulder to cry out, youth entrepreneurship coach, business formation specialist, HR manager, talent scout, PR captain, fundraising supervisor, intern orienter, grant-writer, consultant, technology strategist, event planner, janitorial help, financial analyst, butt-kicker, schmoozer, training instructor, budget coordinator, prayer partner, real estate developer, minority business advocate, board liaison, clerical support, relationship builder, scoreboard keeper, naysayer, fan, innovator, bureaucrat, program designer, and errand boy. All before lunch.

It’s always been a feverish pace where I work. I first coped by working harder, then longer, and more recently smarter. But for the last year and change, I’ve been working as hard as I possibly can, as long as I possibly can, and as smart as I possibly can, and still there’s more work to be done.

If you’re in my line of work, perhaps you can relate. It is good that I work harder, work longer, and work smarter. But it is better still, for the long run, that I learn the limits of my capabilities, and that I am able to walk away and leave what’s left to another day, another way, or another person.

ROAD LOG OF AN A’S GROUPIE

Tomorrow I head for DC to cheer on my A’s. In April, I also did a mid-week road trip, that time to Baltimore, for the same cause. I’m such a groupie.

Anyway, DC brings out the best of my robo-tourism, since just about everything’s free and there’s so many interesting things to do. Here’s my 25-hour log:

7a – leave the house, subway to rental car place downtown

7:30a – pick up rental car, head south

10:30a – arrive in Tidal Basin area, run 5-6 miles

11:30a – drive down to Alexandria to stash the car and grab a shower at my friend Pete’s house

12:30p – Metro to Pentagon City to meet my friend Nate for lunch

2p – Metro to Arlington National Cemetery to pay my respects

6p – Metro to Foggy Bottom to meet up with Pete

7p – A’s-Nats @ RFK

10p – Metro to Alexandria to crash at Pete’s

5a – up and out of the house to get back home

8a – return rental car, subway home to shower and get ready for work

Go A’s!

SCHOOL IS UNREAL

A big complaint a lot of people seem to have with school is that it’s not the real world. Academics swam in the theoretical, but that stuff didn’t fly outside the ivory towers. And for the longest time, this was the very reason I resisted grad school: as a lifelong learner, why go inside the box when the best learning was outside the box?

But after ten years in the trenches, I have enjoyed the theoretical elements of my classes. At my job, we don’t have time for intellectual pursuits for the sake of intellectual pursuits; we have to translate them into better programs or more revenues or less expenses. So it’s nice to just learn something in class and enjoy the innate pleasure of learning something.

In fact, I half-lament when my classwork has direct relevance to my job. When I learn a budgeting trick that I can use in developing our company budget, or a research methodology that can help us in our program assessments, I am half-glad that work and school are overlapping and I am able to apply lessons learned from one to the other. But another part of me seeks a little bit of an escape from the big bad world in the ivory tower, and hopes for some more lessons that are simply to ponder just to ponder.

HOW TO BE THERE FOR THE BUSY

I spoke at a PENN Christian gathering last fall about “gods” that are prevalent on elite academic institutions, busyness being one of them. A student came up to me afterwards and asked me a great question: “I can apply your talk to my life, in terms of not giving into busyness; but as one who desires to have an influence on those around me, how can I be there for others when no one has any time for relational things?”

It was a good question, one that wasn’t nearly as relevant when I was a college student in the early 1990’s. Back then, the pace was slower, and peoples’ schedules weren’t on steroids like they are now. Our Christian group stressed authentic relationships and lived out the truth that people are the most important thing. So we spent a lot of time together, and invited our non-believing friends into this mix of meaningful interactions and deep friendships.

Fast-forward (literally) about fifteen years. People are taking more classes, working more jobs, and involved in more activities. Personal maintenance takes more time, because men are into the metrosexual thing, women seem more concerned with physical appearance, and both genders exercise with much greater fervor. Friendships have become more diffuse, with the volume of connections and the geographic distances and the fast-paced nature leading to weaker and shallower relationships, though no less meaningful or authentic.

I exaggerate slightly for contrast. But I don’t think I’m just some old fart who thinks life was slower and better back when. I honesty think the world is faster now, and technology and society have conspired to particularly accelerate the pace of life and friendships for Ivy League college students.

So how does a God-fearing Christian accord themselves in such a setting, so as to be influential for the Kingdom in terms of relationships? Such was the question that was posed to me last fall. I had to concede that in many cases, we could live out our Christian lives and be available to those around us and never be taken up on that offer. But we ought not give up.

Nor should we shelter ourselves with other Christians who are saying no to busyness and yes to a richer, deeper existence. Jesus balanced a hectic schedule with time with his Father, and both his busyness in always being on the go and his discipline in waking up early for quiet time are impressive, both worthy of imitating. We also, for the sake of our mission to introduce others to Jesus, should be active in campus life, taking classes and attending parties and joining clubs, and in doing so, making meaningful and authentic (albeit shallow and short-lived) connections with those around us.

I offered to the student who had asked me the question two consolations. One is that if we are truly in relationship with God, no matter how frenetic the schedules of those around us, they will sense something different about us, because God makes Himself known through His people in this way. Secondly, in four years, everyone has at least one or two (usually a handful) of moments when they need to get off the merry-go-round. Personal tragedies, mental breakdowns, and other inflection moments do happen. And when they do, Christians should have conducted themselves in such a way that people will seek them out in those moments. And in a rat race, those connections will be all the more meaningful.

COULD THE BEST BE THE WORST

I’m going to propose something that directly contradicts a few values that I hold dear to my heart. What I’d like to suggest is that “good enough” sometimes really is good enough, and that to do more in pursuit of “better” or “best” is actually not good at all.

This goes against my desire to do my best in all I do, a value I get from my Christian faith (Colossians 3) as well as from my parents. It has also been said that the enemy of “best” is not “worst” but rather “good enough,” and in my pursuit of “best” I agree that “good enough” can be an enemy. I also believe that it is better to do a few things very well that a lot of things poorly, and that our society has confused busyness and multi-tasking for power and influence.

All of that being said, I’d like to balance those perspectives with the merits of “good enough.” For those of us fortunate to be blessed with education and opportunity, our scarcest resource is time. We do not have enough hours in a week to do everything and to do it to perfection. Nor should we waste our days underachieving and entertaining ourselves. So we ought to find a middle ground and invest our time accordingly.

Some might argue that it is good to prune down to a few important priorities, jettisoning everything else so that you have the time and energy to do your best in what’s left. I agree that most of us could stand to prune. But I also think there are far too many important things that make up our lives that ought not be pruned, but that also ought not be considered so vital as to have to give our best to them.

Let me take inventory of my own life. In no particular order, here are the things that make up my life:

church, community service, family, friends, logistical and emotional preparation for bringing an adopted child into our home, my marriage, my relationship with God (and related spiritual disciplines), personal maintenance (diet, exercise), professional development , school, spiritual disciplines, stewardship of our material resources (house, car, finances), things I do for fun (crossword puzzles, sports), and work.

That’s fourteen things! I have pruned significantly in many of these categories, and may have to prune entire categories altogether, but that still leaves a lot of important things that make up my life that I have somehow have to fit into 24 hours in a day, factoring in sufficient time for sleep and rest. So like a triage center, I constantly have to tend to what’s important, do good enough in some things, and leave other things on the back burner until later.

It can be hard for someone like me who is used to giving their best to everything, and who has a value for doing his best all the time, to be OK with that middle category, doing good enough in some things. But I’m realizing the merit of “good enough.” It’s not a sign of laziness or misplaced priorities, but rather a way that I can take care of things while freeing up time and energy for other things that are more important.

So I’ve gone from someone who scorned the attitude of “good enough” to one who is leery when I or others aren’t using the “good enough” to help balance their many responsibilities and worries. For to only have “do my best” and “leave it for next week” as choices is not a good way to manage scarce time.

Don’t go anywhere for the Fourth of July holiday weekend; stay right here in Philadelphia! Welcome America has announced its weeklong calendar of fun (and mostly free) events to celebrate our nation’s birthday.

And don’t forget that Philadelphia is one of five sites for the Live8 concert series to raise awareness about world hunger and HIV/AIDS (concerts are also being held in Berlin, London, Paris, and Rome). Performing at this free concert at the Art Museum on July 2 will be such stars as Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Bon Jovi, Sarah McLachlin, P Diddy, Stevie Wonder, Will Smith, and the Dave Matthews Band.

I've pasted some other events below; for the full calendar, go to americasbirthday.com.

LH

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Monday June 27
Philly @ The Movies
Philly loves an underdog! Enjoy a Philadelphia tradition as Sunoco Welcome America! presents Rocky II (1979) on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
8:00 p.m.

Tuesday June 28
Love Park Loves Blues
With a rock solid rhythm section, exciting showmanship and Joey “Hotbox” Simon on harmonica, get ready for the “Nitty Gritty Get Down Blues” of Randy Lippincott’s Blues Band.
Love Park
15th Street and J.F.K. Blvd.
Noon – 2:00 p.m.

Wednesday June 29
Opera On The Square Presented By The Philadelphia Airport System
Maestro Leslie Dunner will lead a cast of artists from the Academy of Vocal Arts in a delightful evening of operatic arias and American songs. This exquisite concert will feature an array of composers and performances in a variety of languages.
Rittenhouse Square
6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Thursday June 30
Arts on the Avenue
Stroll the Avenue and enjoy the smooth jazz sounds of Michael Lington, see the famous Chinese Dragon Dancers, or watch oil and canvas become a work of art. This open air festival features the sights, sounds, and tastes of America’s Birthplace.
South Broad Street
City Hall to Spruce Street
6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Friday July 1
Philly’s Dance Party and Fireworks Extravaganza
Get down! Get loose! Get dancing at Philly's biggest Dance Party! From ethnic dances to oldies there's surely a chance to dance the night away. The party will conclude with a dance contest followed by a fireworks extravaganza.
Strawberry Mansion Bridge
West River Drive (Overlooking Kelly Drive and Martin Luther King Drive)
Dance Party 5:00 p.m.
Fireworks 9:00 p.m.

Saturday July 2
Rhythm & Blues Concert Featuring Ruben Studdard and Stephanie Mills Presented by Coca-Cola
The Rhythm & Blues Concert celebrates the heart and soul of American music. Penn’s Landing will fill with the timeless sounds of soul.
Great Plaza at Penn’s Landing
Columbus Boulevard & Chestnut Street
6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

Sunday July 3
Salsa on the Parkway
This vibrant event will feature star studded performances by Frankie Negron, Foto Rodriquez Y Charanga La Unica, and La Opinion. Spend the afternoon on the Parkway with food, fun, and entertainment for the whole family. “La Ciudad de Philadelphia te espera!” The City of Philadelphia awaits you!
Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 20th street
2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Monday July 4
Sunoco Philadelphia Freedom Concert Featuring Elton John
Be on the Parkway for the biggest concert of the summer! The Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld Fund along with the Elton John AIDS Foundation, presents Sir Elton John, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and celebrity guests in a blockbuster concert performance. Fireworks follow the show!
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Concert: 8:30 p.m.
Fireworks: 10:30 p.m.