A Look into Joining the Irresistible Revolution

Posted on Sunday December 4, 2011 by Jacob Campbell.

I have been making a determined effort as of late, to push myself to read more. I try to spend some time in the morning reading my devotional (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers) and my bible first thing in the morning with my morning coffee, news, and cigarette (yeah, I know that isn’t conventionally acceptable to say at church and my mom keeps telling me I need to quit). I have also been reading at night before going to sleep. It’s been a great habit for me to get into. The latest book that I have finished has been The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an ordinary radical by Shane Claiborne (2006).

I might add, that by just finished I mean as in this morning unlike Mitt Romney is chided by Jon Stewart, see video below. There have been a couple of books which I feel have been very transformational to me. In reading Claiborne’s book, I think that it will fit into that category. The back of the book describes the book as being invited into a movement which begins in our hearts and extends though our hands into a broken world. They say that this book with both “comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable.” I will say as I have been comfortable, I have been disturbed some by my comfort through this book.

One of my co-workers, Jamie, gave me a copy of this book. She suggested as we have talked about purposeful communities and communal living. The idea of community and communal living is something that I have scribed on my heart and something I have longed for. Since being in the Master’s Commission I can remember talking to people about wanting “to start my own commune” (I often phrase it like that to see what type of reaction I will get out of people). While it is not in the scope of this post to lay out the vision that I have (and it’s not to start a cult, so don’t worry) I will try to spend some time not just talking about it, but I will write it so that you can read about it too.

Claiborne is one of the founding members of The Simple Way, as they describe it on their website “The Simple Way is a web of subversive friends, conspiring to spread the vision of ‘Loving God, Loving People, and Following Jesus’ in our neighborhoods and in our world.” It is communal living that happens in Philadelphia.

I think one of the reasons that the book disturbed me so much (in a good way) was because of the issues that it touched on. Claiborne seems to sum up their movement as the following:

We are just trying to discover a new (ancient) kind of Christianity. We are about spreading a way of life that exists organically and relationally and is marked by such a brilliant love and grace that no one could resist it. – Page 348

Book Cover of Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical (2006). Book Cover of Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical (2006).

While this is simple he discusses how this relates to parts of our life in way’s I hadn’t thought of before. He describes in real terms what it means to love our enemies and gives the strongest case for non-violence I’ve read so far. He described what it means to live with and love the poor. When I’ve thought of being in a community, it didn’t change my desire to still be a part of the middle class even though I’ve always thought the community should be located in the ghetto. He describes about whether or not he should have health care (when people around him aren’t able to afford it). He describes about church tithes and how the church shouldn’t be using the majority of their funds to pay for buildings or for workers but should be giving to those in need. All differences in topics I haven’t taken time to critically think about.

I would highly suggest the book. I will say that it is very Christian oriented, but even if you aren’t a believer and are what he Claiborne describes as an activist I think it would be a great read. You can find it on Google Books and Amazon or their own website.The other thing that it made me hungry for was a difference in my profession. I love my clients that I work with, but I have been becoming fed up with the bureaucracy that is present to work in mental health. I long for living and working in ways that he describes. He describes that their daily living looks like the following.

It’s a little easier to describe an ‘average’ week. We have prayer each morning (at 8am). Then we dive into days that are filled with things like hanging with friends in the neighborhood or folks living on the streets, helping kids with homework, and helping folks get to appointments. We’ve got some lovely gardens and a little neighborhood thrift store. Most of us work jobs part-time and that frees us up to do other stuff we don’t get paid to do, but love. Activities and programs change from time to time, but we share food with lots of families, and try to be good neighbors. We have dinners together each week, and we have a Sabbath one day each week where everything rests. There are times where we have other things that grab our attention around some of the systemic injustices around us. Right now we are working hard to end gun violence on our streets, and to create some local jobs and more stable housing for folks. It’s not always sexy. In fact, we had some visitors that lived here for a week, and at the end of it we asked them what they learned. They said, ‘We learned it’s not that spectacular, and that we can do this right where we are.’ That’s a good word. – The Simple Way’s FAQ’s Page

It made me hungry to not be worried about if my productivity is high enough or if I’m meeting my timelines for meeting with clients. To just be free to do what comes up and what needs are present. To not be worried if my clients know each other and their confidentiality might be broken. To not have to call them my clients, but to be a friend to those in need, not just a worker. I recently told one of my co-workers that I think if I got laid off it would be a good thing. Then I could go and do something more radical. Maybe join the occupy movement or something.

Friends, Family, and Thanksgiving 2011

Posted on Saturday November 26, 2011 by Jacob Campbell.

You are here sign for Astoria The “you are here” sign for Astoria Oregon’s Column.

This Thanksgiving has been pretty spectacular. It has been the first that I’ve split my holiday, and it has worked out really great. Minnie, my mom, and I started on Wednesday (I took the day off from work) and headed to Long Beach Washington to meet up with the rest of my family. We got to introduce Minnie to my mom and my tradition of listening to books on Tape as we go on road trips. It’s a great way to pass the time. We listened to Daddy’s Little Girl by Marry Higgins Clark which is turning out to be a pretty great book (we should hopefully finish it on our way back tomorrow. On the way we stopped and had lunch in the Dalles and got to look at many of their beautiful murals (you can check out Fun, Fundraisers, & Thanksgiving 2011 Facebook Album for all the pictures from the trip and some other stuff before). On the way we stopped in Astoria. While this is where The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop were filmed, we didn’t end up finding any of the shooting places. We ended up checking out the The Astoria Column and climbing to the top of the 164 steps. I will say that we had to go past a road closed sign (which my mom said she didn’t see) and got told to leave by a city worker because of some “dangerous trees.” For some reason my calves are still sore from the climb.

We made it to Long Beach, and met up with the rest of my family. My aunt and uncle let us use some of their points at the The WoldMark Club Long Beach. It was nice, although it was much nicer to spend the time with all of my family. My extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins) are all close and we get together several times a year. Actually, speaking of Thanksgiving, that is something I’m super thankful for. We walked along the beach, played games, and talked. It was also the first time I’ve ever brought a girl to meet the rest of my family. It was pretty cool, and they all really loved Minnie.

Minnie and I decided that we should also see her family, we are here in Puyallup. Again, food, family, and fun. On our way over here, Minnie sent us on a detour to Aberdeen. I keep telling her that I’m going to fire her from being a navigator, but I think detours allow for new adventures. We found a small memorial to Kurt Cobain (a park with some signs) because he grew up there. It was hard to find, and really small. It but it was interesting. It was just unveiled recently.

Busy Weekend of Drinks, Fundraisers, and Outreaches

Posted on Monday November 21, 2011 by Jacob Campbell.

Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery Beggars' 2011  was a wonderful event this year. Every year they have a large selection of Christmas Trees as silent auction items. This is one of those trees titled Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery Beggars’ 2011 was a wonderful event this year. Every year they have a large selection of Christmas Trees as silent auction items. This is one of those trees titled “Homeless Teens Live in Glass Houses.” I’m guessing it is inspired by My Friends Place.

The last several days have been very busy. We (Minnie and I)went to the monthly Young Professionals of the Tri-Cities social night out, a fundraiser for Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery, hung out with great friends at Twigs, helped pass out fliers and food to teens, Minnie’s dad’s 61st birthday dinner and her friends birthday party, went to church, and got my car fixed. Like I said, a busy couple of days.

I haven’t participated with the Young Professionals of Tri-Cities. It’s a good organization. I have made a lot of different connections and it’s a great way the community. If you are interested in participating in YPTC you can check out the YPTC Facebook Groups and YPTC Facebook Page. We went to the Nov. After-Hours Social. It was at ZINFUL Panini Grill & Wine Bar. It has a old fashioned feel. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. I also enjoyed the company. The YPTC meetings generally are about meeting everybody, talking about our professions and what we are currently involved with. It’s always a good time.

The YPTC event was on Thursday. On Friday evening (after a busy day at work), we went strait to the Beggars Banquet 2011. This event is one of my favorite fundraisers that I attend yearly. They started doing it several years ago, and it was made up of a couple of dozen people inside Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery. For the last couple of years they have been having the event at the The Three Rivers Convention Centers. It is a venue that can host 750 people. They packed it. I haven’t had a chance to find out how well the event did this year, but it looked like it went well. It’s a really fun event, that not only has both a live and silent auction, but it has a soup tasting contest. Atomic Ale Brewpub & Eatery won with their Atomic Ale’d Red Potato Soup. As the evening wore on with the live auction (which seemed to do really well with a professional auctioneer), we along with Charlie and Christine. We decided that it must be time for a couple of drinks. We decided to go to the new coolest martini bar, Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar. I must say, the hype (which I’ve heard a lot of people talking about it) is true. I’ve been to their locations in Spokane, but it’s nice to have something as classy in the Tri-Cities.

  My Friends Place  is a project of Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery. It is the first shelter going to be opened in the Tri-Cities for homeless teenagers. My Friends Place is a project of Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery. It is the first shelter going to be opened in the Tri-Cities for homeless teenagers.

The other thing that it is nice to have in the Tri-Cities is a shelter for homeless teens (My Friends Place). You can read more about on my blog post for The Lawyers & Artists Ball 2011 for My Friends Place. Saturday morning we went and picked up fliers and survival kits. We went around Kennewick looking for teens to talk to and hand out stuff too. While (I think due to the snow) we didn’t meet up with many kids, we did talk to quite a few. We got the opportunity to hear some peoples experiences. We met a girl who was a little bit older, but was pending homeless. She described that she has been having a lot of problems lately. We tried to share some resources with her. We met another lady who told us about her son that had committed suicide a couple of years ago, but had been homeless himself. When you feel like your not doing very much (i.e. passing out fliers or something), it’s hard to recognize how much of an impact you can have. All of the other teens that we met said they knew people that needed it.

After being touched be the people we met, we went to he Yakima Valley for two Birthday parties. The next morning we went to Eastlake Tri-Cities. It was the second time we’ve gone there, and we really like it.

Can These Dry Bones Still be Raised, A Review on Chris Hodges’s Death of the Liberal Class

Posted on Wednesday November 16, 2011 by Jacob Campbell.

The book cover of Chris The book cover of Chris Hodges's Death of the Liberal Class. The book cover of Chris The book cover of Chris Hodges’s Death of the Liberal Class. You can view the book on Amazon.

As I generally do, I was listening to National Public Radio (my driving companion when I’m not listing to gangster rap) and I first heard a story Hedges Laments The ‘Death Of The Liberal Class’. I was struck listening to Hodges talk about his life and the liberal class. It was a soon after that that I ended up being at Barnes & Nobel and quickly bought the book when I saw it. You must understand that this is about a year (I don’t know why it took me so long to read it, it was really good), and I was spending a lot of time at anywhere that had wireless internet.

I started reading it for a while, and then I put it down for a while, but kept picking it back up. Don’t let the fact that it took me a year to read cause you to believe that it’s not a good book. It was very engrossing, educational, and inspirational in its own way. He goes from describing what the liberal class was originally, to how it has been dismantled and loss of the processes which used to inhabit and permit the class. My favorite chapter is the one on liberal defectors, because I feel it is always so powerful to hear peoples stories. The final chapter is about titled rebellion and encourages the reader to rebel against the system.

Other then the topics and information of the book, I especially enjoyed Hodges vocabulary. The following some of the words that were new to me (although in my little book there were a lot more that I wrote down):

While there is a lot of people much smarter then me that discuss what the significance of the Dry Bones Prophesy is in Ezekiel. I’m not claiming that God was talking about the liberal class (although that is kind of a funny thought due to how conservative some Christians appear to be. But I do think it is a very visual scene that could portray where the the liberal class is as Hodges describes it.

It is a book that I would highly recommend to read. I think it is timely right now, too. While it was written prior to the Occupy Wall street Movement but I think that it is along the same lines.

The Lawyers & Artists Ball 2011 for My Friends Place

Posted on Tuesday November 1, 2011 by Jacob Campbell.

This is the graphic used for the Lawyer's and Artists Ball 2011 Event. It is pretty amazing. I absolutely loved it...hopefully some day, I can make artwork of a similar quality. This is the graphic used for the Lawyer’s and Artists Ball 2011 Event. It is pretty amazing. I absolutely loved it…hopefully some day, I can make artwork of a similar quality.

On Saturday, I got the opportunity to attend My Friends Place’s Fundraiser called the Lawyer’s and Artist’s Ball 2011. It was a pretty amazing event. I have been lucky to be able to be on the committee to start My Friends Place (you can also check out the My Friends Place Cause Page. My Friends Place is both a non-profit organization and a program of Safe Harbor Crisis Nursery. It has been quite a process and I have been loving the opportunity to be a part of something big and a great need for our community!The event went wonderfully. There were tons of great costumes and I think we raised a lot of money. You can check out the photos I took (I wish I had taken more) in my Facebook Album Lawyer’s & Artist’s Ball 2011 Album. It was impacting to hear the story one man told about his son who recently died… but had previously been homeless. We found out that he and his family had donated $10,000.00, which is enough to open the doors as soon as possible.

Still in The Right Profession

Posted on Thursday October 27, 2011 by Jacob Campbell.

Job Well Done Job Well Done

As my avid blog readers (I think with all the time my site was down, there are probably none… LOL) probably already know I love NPR. I’m always listening to it in the car all day (unless I’m bumping some Drake). Last night as I was getting off work, late as normal, and driving home. NPR had a really amazing story on. It was Native Foster Care: Lost Children, Shattered Families. It was very informative and powerful. I think I teared up a little bit.As I was driving home, and being impacted by this powerful story, it reminded me of what one of my professors told us one time. We were watching some pretty upsetting videos, and she (Mary Ann Clute) told us the day that hearing some of these stories no longer effect us is the day we should change professions. I guess listening to to this story makes me realize that I really am still in the right profession.That’s a great big “Job Well Done” to me.

If your curious about what the percentage of Native American Children are in the foster care system in your state, check out the map below or Disproportionality Rates of Native American Children In Foster Care.

It Starts Again

Posted on Thursday September 29, 2011 by Jacob Campbell.

I have been been doing graphic and web design stuff for the last several years. It all started with an original blogspot website . My friends all started posting blogs and I created my own. Later I learned that I wanted to change how the blog looked and felt. I started teaching myself a little bit both doing some of my own graphical design and webdesign. After a while, I figured I wanted greater control and to create my own website. I used some free space from my ISP. I out grew that, and decided I wanted greater control over my site and the ability to employ PHP. I purchased my own web hosting and domain name. I built a pretty extensive website using WordPress as my blog software and creating static PHP pages with different functioning. After going through my entire website and having to update a few things a couple of times, I decided it was time to use a CMS. I started using Drupal as a CMS. I spent a lot of time, and had placed all of my static pages onto Drupal’s system and designed it how I liked it. I started to learn to change some basic structural components of the system to the way I liked it. Then Drupal upgraded to a complete new version. Since I am always looking for the newest greatest thing, I upgraded my site. I lost all of my data as it was structured in the process. I have all of the backup files, but I can’t just import it. I lost a couple of hundred pages and my blog articles. I’m especially sad, because I had recorded many of my travels through Europe and South America. I’m hoping to make this site better then it was before and with more enhancements. My website was down for a long time, and now I’m starting fresh… I won’t lie. It will probably take me quite a while to get back to where I was before, but I will work on it. I hope you enjoy what you find and I always appreciate comments.

*[ISP]: Internet Service Provider

Business… Life, Work, and Organizations

Posted on Saturday January 15, 2011 by Jacob Campbell.

Life has been busy lately, and I haven’t posted anything for a while. Most of my time has been taken up by working. I’m working as a Mental Health Case Manager at Nueva Esperanza a part of Tri-Cities Community Health. I have been really loving it. I’ve gotten lots of cool opportunities working there, and am learning a lot.

I’ve still been working at Safe Harbor. Next month, I will be starting to lead a group for pre-teens / teens. I’m pretty excited about it.

I also got to go to the social night out for Young Professionals of the Tri-Cities. It was nice to meet so many people of different organizations. I really enjoyed it.

I’m hoping to have some changes come to my website here in the near future.