the Unity of the Irish

To start, I have to admit my ignorance. Before I landed in Belfast, I had no clue there was a Northern Ireland.  I didn't know it was part of the UK. It was a shock to discover that it wasn't just the northern part of Ireland, but it was a country. I had no clue what to expect, and honestly, my ignorance was fulfilling American stereotypes left and right. Needless to say (with ignorance being my best friend and all) I had absolutely no clue about "The Troubles," of Northern Ireland, even though they are a major focus of my class here in Belfast. 

For those of you who share in my ignorance, The Troubles were a period in Northern Irish history from the 1960s-1990s in which two groups of people with certain political, cultural, and religious identites fought eachother for the future of their nation.  One side, also known as the Catholics, wanted the Northern part of Ireland to be part of the Irish Republic, and another part, also known as the Protestants, wanted the Northern part of Ireland to be part of the United Kingdom.  To simplify an extremely complicated period of history: people with the same cultural, religious, and geographic roots used violence to help establish their own identity.  It is was bloody.  It was brutal.  It was complicated.  It was frustrating, and of course, upon learning more information, it immediately peaked my interest.

I have been intrigued by the Troubles for multiple reasons. One, I am a dude. In general, a lot of dudes like violence.  We are drawn to it like kids are drawn to candy stories, or crack addicts to a crackhouse.  It is why a majority of men will say they love movies like Braveheart, Gladiator, or anything else with violence.  Violence is appealing and fascinating, so clearly the Troubles intrigue me.  

I am also intrigued because the two sides, the political parties fighting here, both claim Christian identities.  One side is the Catholics; the other side is the Protestants. Both of which have roots tracing back to Jesus, and both would, hopefully, consider themselves Christians.  Therefore, somewhere in the family tree, my faith roots are connected with their background.  Both Catholics, Protestants, and myself have religious identity that supposedly stems from Jesus.  Yet, here in Northern Ireland, there are two branches of the same tree fighting over who is more important.  

Lastly, I am intrigued by the fact that their political identities are deeply connected to their religious beliefs (of course we have never experience that in the USA...), and it is these crafted, religioius identities that have shaped and led the violence, hatred, and tension found in the Troubles and in Northern Ireland as a whole.

There are clear problems with all of this. There are obvious problems with violence.  We see it in different areas of the world currently, like the Ukraine and Gaza.  There are problems when people are killed by car bombs, guns, and hatred. It is a problem when babies are murdered and civilians are inhilated. There are problems when some one dies, no matter what side they are on. It means that someone that Jesus loves has been killed. It points to the greater problem of death in the world, and it is a problem.

There are problems when two groups that claim roots and identities in the man who preached love and unity are fighting over their identity. It feels so contrary to everything that Jesus teaches and demonstrates, and as a leader of a group whose mission is to bring unity among Christians (unitednashville.com is my shameless promotion), it is the prime example of the disunity that surrounds the faith.  It bothers me.  It has made me sick in the stomach at multiple points on my trip.  It has made me angry.  It has made me embarassed and ashamed to call myself a christian.  There is a problem when there is conflict between two Christian groups over who is superior, who is correct, who has the better identity.  Even more so, there is a problem when these two groups resort to violence to attempt to fix their problems. There are problems.

And I know, I know, I know that the Northern Irish problem was way more complex than simple religious identities.  I know that it started as a religious problem in the 1600s (yes, the 1600s, before the USA was even a thought), and over time, it shifted from a religioius problem to a way more complex problem.  I know that there is supposed peace in Northern Ireland now. I know that this peace has been going for about 20 years now. (In both cases, I am defining peace as the lack of physical violence).  And I know that it is hard to apply violent, bloody tension in a small country in Europe to the broad scope of an international and ancient faith. But I also know that both sides still claim religious identities, and they both give the world a picture of Christianity (whether good or bad). I also know that interChristian tensions have been around since the first century, and I also know it is all contrary to what Jesus prayed in John 17. I also know that these religious tensions and divide are still under the surface here in N. Ireland. Lastly, I also know that these tensions are factors effecting people around the world who claim to follow Jesus, from Belfast, to Nashville, to Uganda, to Taiwan, and so much more. 

I know that these a problems, and they break my heart. These are problems, and they break the heart of Jesus.

But there is hope.  I truly believe there is hope. I believe unity and peace can be achieved.  It is not just a golden age, idolized goal, that is unobtainable.  Unity is available.   Unity is available when we redefine and understand our identities.  It is what Northern Ireland is currently attempting to do as they seek to provide a new identity in which the people can latch on to. More and more people (mostly younger, college-age folks) are redefining themselves as Northern Irish.  They are latching onto this identity and claiming it proudly. They rally around other Northern Irish people, like Rory McIlroy and Van Morrison. As more and more people stop defining themselves as Protestant, as Catholic, as Loyalist, as Nationalist, and more and more people are starting to define themselves as Northern Irish, unity is being seen.  A unity found because people are being rooted together in the identity of being Northern Irish. 

Likewise, this is how unity can be obtained among Christians.  It is when we stop defining ourselves as Methodist, Catholic, or non-denominational.  It is when we stop defining ourselves as part of Ethos, part of Crosspoint, part of this random church.  It is when we stop defining ourselves as hipster or greek, BYX or GDI, Midnight Worship or Navs. Unity comes from returning to the roots and letting he who is our root define us first and foremost. 

Let him define you. Let him define you as his child.  Let him define you as loved and cherished by the creator of the world.  Let him define you as redeemed and grace soaked. As Christians, we must let Jesus define us as loved first, and everything else comes from it.  Loving and being loved by Jesus is the string that brings unity to fruitition.  It is the reason why I can meet random strangers in St. George's Market and immediately feel bonded with them because they love and are loved by Jesus. It is why I can travel and have a place to stay in multiple countries because I have people connected with me, united with me through the love of Jesus. It is why best friends can occur across campuses in Nashville.  It was how churches can work together to change communities and cities.  It is how Christians can respond to global tragedy with love and support. Unity comes when we redefine ourselves and start identifying ourselves in the love of Jesus, first and always foremost.  Let that be the essentials, and all else can fall into place.

I know this is all super ideological, hopeful, and broad, but I truly believe unity can be obtained.  I believe it because Jesus prayed it, and I have experienced it. I often suck at it.  I often fail at it.  I have bitterness and sinfulness in my heart that can define me and shape me, but I believe that when we strive forward, when we chase Jesus, when we root our identities in his love, then the prayer of John 17 can be played out in this world, from Nashville, to N. Ireland, to the rest of the world and on into Heaven. 

"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."

John 17:20-23

Reflections on Sanity in a Coffee Shop

So I am currently sitting in a coffee shop in Belfast, because, honestly, where else would you expect me to be? I returned to Belfast this morning after about two weeks of travel. Two weeks that were incredible, unexpected, and full of memories.  I am now sitting here, drinking delicious coffee, trying to reflect and gain my sanity from all that has happened in the past two weeks.  After this, I will start phase two of my travels: a summer class at Queen's university for the next three weeks.

I have a lot of thoughts and a lot of stories that I could share, but then this post would get extremely long.  If this post gets extremely long, then you all will get bored.  If you all get bored, then you will stop reading.  If you all stop reading, then you won't get to read about my adventures! And I want to share my adventures, so I am going to focus on one aspect of my trip. The question.

When I left for Belfast two weeks ago, I left with a question.  The question was simply: what does the face of Jesus look like around the world? I feel like a had a feeling what the answer would be, but I definitely didn't expect the answers to be so clear.

First, the face of Jesus in Belfast took the form of two lovely Irish blokes.  One is a future church planter who loves Jesus and has allowed me to crash in his house multiple nights.  In him, I saw this deep love for The Lord that was rooted in theological understanding and aspiratioins.  He had asked the tough questions, walked away with more questions, and still loved Jesus. Through him, Jesus whispered to me that I should be confident in my convictions to be a church planter.  Just because we don't know when the call will be fulfilled, it doesn't mean we shouldn't be confident in our call. Along with him, another Irishman discussed with me his passion for community.  He truly believes that Christ called us to community, and that our Christ-centered communities should impact the the communities we live in.  I have seen this play out in Ethon often, and it was incredible to hear the same convictions being stated across the pond.  Along with this, both of these gentlemen showed me that Jesus doesn't mind a good drink. He created beer, with all of its different flavors and designs, and it was cool to enjoy the craft that goes behind beer with two Jesus-loving dudes.

London brough many different pictures of Jesus.  There was the aspiring church-planter who I stayed with for a couple nights.  His passion for The Lord was overwhelming.  It is rare to meet someone so quick and confident to pray over anything and everything.  He demonstrated the true intimacy one can find in prayer with the father, and showed me a picture of Jesus that starts in the scriptures and manifests itself in wonderful people around the world. He would often just stop and start praying over my life, my family, and my journey. Along with him, there were three Nashvillians who became my community for several days.  They were from Belmont, and were taking a class in London. They were the face of Jesus when I desperately needed people to spend time with. We explored the city, talked about life, and tried as much coffee as we could. It was incredible to see that the community you make in one part of the world can impact you half way around the world.  I saw the face of Jesus in the diversity and masses of people around me.  He was in the drunk masses at an Eminem concert.  He was in the different cultures of people on the streets.  He was at the World Cup bar.  He was in the thriving, multicultural HIllsong church.  He was in Jane, a Romanian immigrant who was trying to make money to get his family out of of Romania.  He was in Helainah, a Jewish immigrant who was on her own as a university student.  All she wanted was to talk to people, and she firmly believed that English accents were far superior to American accents.  Honestly, it is hard to disagree with her.

In Oxford, he was in all the people around me.  He was in the tourists, the college students, and the elderly intellectuals.  He was in the girl wearing the Vanderbilt shirt, and the guy who quickly followed her in a Taiwan baseball jersey.  He was in a friend from Vanderbilt who I literally walked into while looking in one of the colleges. That friend was the friend I needed in that moment.  A friend with a golden heart for service, and a passion for Jesus. He was Jesus whispering that he knows my needs and will always take care of me.  Jesus was in the constant support from Ethos throughout the day.  From texts and emails, to skyping into a meeting full of guys I love, Jesus was showing me that people support me and love me from all over the world.

In Amsterdam, one place I  did not expect to go, Jesus was everywhere. I saw Jesus in the face of my host for YWAM (Youth With a Mission) who recently fell in love with The Lord.  Upon meeting him, she gave up her job and went to study the word in Cambodia.  She is trying to get to Africa to serve him, and she is a firm advocate of the Spirit.  She was Jesus whispering to me that he will always open the right doors, as she talked about the peace she got in prayer when deciding to allow me to stay with YWAM.  He was in the Red Light district, a place of such blatant and obvious darkness that it is overwhelming, yet Jesus was there in the middle of a prayer room. There women were on their faces crying out to The Lord for freedom and light in a dark place.  Once they finished praying, they would go serve ladies stuck in prostitution and trafficking because that is what Jesus does.  Jesus cries out to his father, talks with his father, and then he goes and loves those who need love.  Jesus was in the random dutch guy I passed who was wearing a small cross on his neck, showing me that there are people in Amsterdam that care.  He was in the church that had a huge sign reading, "all are welcomed in this place." He was with me in the streets leading me through out the city when I was alone the most. Jesus was there.

Jesus was there. I took the second star on the right, went straight on till morning, and he was there.  I sought a Great Perhaps, and found that he was seeking me. I had an adventure, and my companion was Jesus, in a variety of ways. I traveled random places and saw that he is moving, he is loving, he is chasing, and he is there.

Now I prepare for the next phase.  I prepare for three weeks of class before the start of my senior year of college. I prepare for ministries, relationships, more adventures, hardships, and life, and one thing I am absolutely certain of, Jesus will always be here. 

Alleluia.

Second Star on the Right and Straight on Till Morning...

I’ve been trying to write this post for a bout a month now.  It has swum around in my brain, peeping at the surface, only to dive back under because of either distraction or caution.  But, alas, I am finally trying to get all of it down on a computer screen.  I am trying to share my thoughts for what is approaching quickly in the next few weeks, but I have no clue where to start.

I think it all probably started around January of this year.  We had just got back to school for second semester, and it was official the second semester of my junior year.  Most of my friends were beginning to prep themselves for their graduation, and, as it seems, my tendency is to only hang out with people who are older, or younger, than myself.  As they began frantically assessing what they were going to do with their lives once they graduated, I believe their stress and mental processes became contagion to my brain like a bad case of mental flu.  Next thing I know, I am beginning to stress and wrestle with my own future.  It was as if a weight was dropped on my shoulders. The weight of the future was suddenly bearing down on me, and I was not handling it well.

I began asking ridiculously premature questions for a junior in college. Questions like: what am I going to do when I graduate? Where do I go to graduate school? Do I go to graduate school? Do I stay in Nashville? Do I go somewhere else? Do I get married? Who will I get married to? Do I runaway? What is it like being old? Am I officially old? Is that a gray hair in my beard? Ahhhh. So many questions. So much pressure on my brain. I was overthinking too much, and it all culminated in April.

At the start of April, most everyone had left Nashville for the summer, and I was working an 8-5. 4 hours in the morning at Vanderbilt hospital. There I had to wear pants and a dress shirt, which is literally awful. (How do people breathe in those things?) And, then it was another 4-5 hours in the afternoon at Ethos. There I was at least able to put on a tank top. It was repetitive. It was monotonous, and it felt all too real, all too adult.  If there was ever a question of Isaac’s capacity to continuously preform an 8-5, the answer was declared boldly with an emphatic NO. Finally, I had had enough.  I was sick of feeling old.  I was sick of growing up.   I was sick of the mundane, everyday American life. It was not the American dream for me; it was the American nightmare. So on a Friday afternoon, I got off work and drove down to Franklin to bluntly ask Jesus some questions.

I could tell you all the details of my conversation with Jesus, but honestly, one of two things would happen.  One, you would get extremely bored, or two, you would be seriously terrified of what goes on in my brain. Therefore, I will spare you by simply stating that Jesus looked at me (metaphorically), and reminded me that I am a child of God who is called to freedom. And in that moment, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I felt the truth of those statements.  I am a child of God.  He is my daddy. He loves me.  He set me free.  I am free to enjoy life.  I am free to live life.  I am free to laugh.  I am free to adventure.  I am free to enjoy being his child. It was an incredible truth that felt great. Suddenly, I felt like a kid who was flying across Neverland, but what do with I do this newfound freedom of flight?

I knew I couldn’t keep living in the same daily pattern for the entire summer.  I did not want to end my summer like prior summers. By the end of those summers, I have returned to school questioning the value of the previous months. Therefore, I decided to do something crazy and possibly stupid.  I called my Mother and tried to convince her to help, which was an adventure in itself.  “Dear Mother, I would like to quit my job and do something adventurous and stupid.  Will you help me, pretty please?” But to my joy and astonishment, she was completely on board with my childhood fantasy of adventure and exploration.  We contrived together to craft a plan, and next thing I knew, my next Great Perhaps was set in stone.

So here is what I will be doing in T-minus two weeks: I will be spending three weeks backpacking through Europe with me, myself, and Jesus. After the backpacking, I will be studying in Belfast, Ireland for three more weeks. I know where I will be starting, and I know where I will be ending (Belfast), but I have no clue what lies in between those two checkpoints.  I simply know that I will be chasing Jesus with one question: what does his face look like in this world? I am so incredibly excited. I am so incredibly nervous.  The two emotions are swirling together in my mind pushing me each day closer to departure.

The reason I am writing this at all is because I need your help.  You being defined as a broad descriptor for you poor fools who got suckered into reading this silly blog post. I need you to do one or two of things.

1.  Please pray for me.  I am fully aware of the power of prayer, and I desperately need to be blanketed in prayer.  Pray that God will provide me with an adventure that will change my life in him.  Pray that God will provide all that I need, ranging from community, finances, and personal growth.  Pray that God will answer my question in ways I cannot imagine.  Pray for safety. Pray for joy. Pray against the enemy, and pray for anything else that you feel I desperately need prayer for.  I can’t wait to fly out on the 8^th of July with a backpack and a life covered in prayer. 

2. If you have any resources that might benefit me on my journey, please share.  Whether it is churches and congregations I should see, people and places with whom I can couch surf, or any other random, beneficial resources, anything would be useful, and you can contact me at iJonesy.16@gmail.com

If you want to follow my journey, simply follow this blog. Hopefully I can keep you updated with what is on the other side of the second star on the right. Never forget, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.”