Thankful to serve at our Soma Tacoma gathering by preaching on Friendship with God.
If we commit to a community hoping for a good return on our relational investment, we will likely be quickly disillusioned and deeply disappointed, feeling even more isolated in the middle of a crowd.
But,
If we commit to loving, serving, and listening to people around us with no strings attached, we just might end up pleasantly surprised at the community we will find ourselves in.
Yes, but… (comments on race and police shootings)
Caucasian brothers and sisters, please listen.
I’m grieved by the bloodshed.
I’m angry about the “yes, but” responses.
I posted those two lines yesterday morning and then wrote the following yesterday evening. I was about to share and then news of the #Dallas tragedy broke.
Instead of posting, I sent the following to about 15 of my black friends that I respect. I asked them to let me know if I am listening well. They all said I was. Almost all of them asked me to share this.
The shooting of the police were beyond tragic, they were evil. But I wouldn’t want that evil to keep me from another evil – being silent, when I felt like something needed to be said, because “we will have to repent not merely for the hateful words & actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”(MLKJr)
– – –
So Caucasian brothers and sisters, please listen.
I’m grieved by the bloodshed.
I’m angry about the “yes, but” responses.
If our response to the social media outcry on #AltonSterling and #PhilandoCastille is
…yes, but we don’t have all the facts
…yes, but here are some more facts
…yes, but most police officers are not that
…yes, but did you see their criminal record,
then I am led to conclude that these responses stem from either
some form of arrogance / pride / racism
OR from ignorance.
And I TRULY hope that it is the latter for most. Otherwise I wouldn’t write this. I wouldn’t see the point to.
What I have to say is not about racism, it’s about ignorance, hoping that there is simply a blind spot for some of us, that we need to expose.
This is the ignorance, this is the blind spot, that I am talking about:
EVEN IF some or all of the above “yes, buts” mentioned above were true (and we will leave that conversation off the table for now, please and thank you), we still MUST pay attention to what our black brothers and sisters have to say in light of it.
If my wife tells me that she doesn’t feel loved by me, it would be stupid for me to try to convince her that she does. “Yes, but” is an ignorant and potentially destructive response. Something is clearly broken and not the way it should be. The wise response is to at least begin with a posture of listening to figure out what’s going on and why she said what she said.
Our black brothers and sisters are not primarily trying to convince us of something regarding two dead black men caught on camera in the last week, though two image bearers of God who have been fatally shot would be enough reason to raise our voice, for sure, but instead what I hear them saying is,
“In light of what you just saw,
will you please listen now?
There is much more to this story.”
I’m still grieving. Really, I’m not very emotional, and it’s been a hard week for me. But I fear there will be more grieving if we continue ignorantly.
Let’s refrain from “yes, but”. It focuses on the platform and ignores the person speaking. Let’s listen. Let’s ask. Let’s act.
Father’s Day Baptism!
Our dear friend Damia was baptized this last Sunday.
…which just happened to be Father’s Day.
…and which turned out to be perfect!
Early that morning Damia came over for a little coffee party and we talked and prayed and cried and were thankful for her life and especially the last two years as neighbors. Damia was baptized as a little girl, but since then has come to understand and know that there is in fact nothing she needs to do, has to do, or even can do that can change the way her heavenly Father already sees her – loved, perfect, a daughter with whom he is pleased, thanks to Jesus.
For some father’s day is a difficult, painful, even shameful day. But for those who know that they are loved children of God, there is hope for this day, and there is much to celebrate.
We love you Damia! You are an amazing woman and we have learned so much from you and the Spirit of God in you!
Because she’s a woman
Viv, sitting in high chair, food all around her: “I want asdfjhakjsdhf!”
Me, pointing to crackers: “You want crackers?”
Viv, shaking head: “I want asdfhjhkajshdfjh!”
Me, pointing to olives: “You want olives?”
Viv, exasperated: “I want asdfjhakjsdhf!”
Me, exasperated: “I don’t know what you want, Viv!”
Laurel from other room: “She wants chocolate!”
Viv nods her head vigorously, and I hand her a chocolate covered pecan.
Me: “Laul, how’d you know she wanted chocolate?”
Laurel: “Because she’s a woman.”
Learning. 
🙂
25 years ago: The Velvet Revolution
This week is the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution and what would be the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia. Twenty-five years and two days ago, on November 16th, high school and college students began to assemble in Bratislava and the next day in Prague in protest against the political regime. By the end of the week, 500,000 gathered in the street and by the end of the month the top leadership of the communist party all resigned. My classmates were two years old when this happened, and we grew up together in the wake of the 70 years of oppression before.
But my friend Miro Toth, a pastor and church planter was one of those in the streets in 1989, and he wrote the following which I translated into English:
“Twenty-five years ago, with the propaganda of communism everywhere we turned, we tuned in with our parents to Trans World Radio, Free Europe, and The Voice of America. Twenty-five years ago we were secretly baptizing our friends in the woods, even though we were sure that agents were present and were archiving our gathering. Twenty-five years ago our western friends secretly smuggled Bibles, dictionaries, and music under the cover of night into our garages, basements, and barns. Twenty-five years ago we went to prison for organizing Christian camps, spreading Christian literature and for any contact whatsoever with the West. Twenty-five years ago we recorded sermons on unmarked cassette tapes in our living rooms. Twenty-five years ago we stuffed our windows with pillows so the secret police couldn’t see in. Twenty-five years ago we were dreaming of a coming freedom.
Then freedom came. In 1988, on the thousandth anniversary of the first baptisms in Russia, Gorbačov promised religious freedom. What followed followed quickly. The Berlin Wall fell (but not by itself, they had to tear it down…), the curtain fell in Czechoslovakia (again someone had to take a risk and step into the streets…), the Romanian tyrant Ceaușescu fell (again not by himself, someone had to shoot him…).
Twenty-five years later we are sharing the Gospel in city squares and in prisons. Are we sharing the gospel? Twenty-five years later we have influence in schools and the media? Do we have influence? Twenty-five years later we can proclaim that Jesus is alive and that 70 years of communism couldn’t erase His name from Eastern Europe. Are we proclaiming? Twenty-five years later we don’t have to be afraid to share our faith in schools, at work, on the street, on television, in the public sphere, or with our kids. Are we not afraid?
Twenty-five years later we need to stop and take a moment to remember the gift we have been given. It’s the gift of submitting all of life to Jesus without being spied on, interrogated, intimidated, imprisoned, or killed. The gift of living life to its fullest. Welcome home. This is our moment. This is our opportunity. Let’s not miss it.”
Soma School 201
Friends,
A quick update from the Joneses.
We are thrilled with daily life in the apartment complex that God has placed us in. Though this sounds too good to be true, we actually get paid to throw weekly parties in our apartment complex for our neighbors! We are known as the party people, and are already seeing opportunities to point people to the best party thrower, Jesus. More about this from Laurel and baby girl and me soon.
Beginning this Saturday, I’ve been asked to help serve at Soma School 201 in L.A.
Soma School is a week long holistic learning intensive for church planters that I told many of you we hosted in Tacoma not too long ago.
Soma School 201 is for Soma School alumni to help them with different leadership issues they’re experiencing as they lead their churches. We have 50 leaders coming from 27 different churches from around the U.S. and from Australia and the UK! It represents a lot of people that are under their care.
I will be helping with administrative needs during this week and get to sit in and learn from the stories of these pastors and the churches they serve at, as well as from the Soma leaders that will be equipping us.
Pray that this week would help these leaders and their people in making disciples of Jesus in their cities. The Spirit of God must do this!
Soma School with Partners from Eastern Europe
Friends and family,
Much has happened in the last two months since we left Arkansas, and we will now begin to update you on what this new chapter of our lives look like in the land of misty rain that flows with coffee.
We want to ask you to pray with us for the next seven days. Forty existing and future church planters have gathered in to Tacoma for seven days of experiential learning about what it means to embody the gospel in our cities, and to see churches planted as a result.
In addition to church planters from around the States, men and women are here from Canada, Australia, Russia, Latvia, Denmark & Slovakia.
Please join us especially in praying for our dear friends who will be living and learning with us:
Jano Máhrik – a long time buddy of mine with whom I started a band when I was fourteen. God is using Jano to lead one of the largest youth groups in Slovakia, and has called him to plant a church within the next two years. God has already given him a team of five other couples who are joining both him and his wife.
Jozef and Camilla Jaroščiak – Jozef is a high-school classmate of mine who was graciously pursued and transformed by Jesus right before I left Slovakia seven years ago. He is now married to his amazing Danish wife Camilla, and they both serve as teachers at a Bible School in Mariager, Denmark, and are pursuing next steps in their journey.
Pray with us that these seven days of equipping would bear fruit specifically in Slovakia and Eastern Europe, and that our friends might be encouraged as they continue to make disciples and lead in their churches.
Thank you family! We are glad that God has intertwined our stories together,
Dawson and Laurel,
and baby girl who is quite animated these days and ready to join us in less than three months!
DAWSON AND LAUREL JONES 