Becoming Chris Kamalski

"There's a Writer outside ourselves, plotting a better story for us" ~Don Miller

Tag: Jesus Christ

May 24, 2013

Show Me How [60* Second Field Stories].

The degree of interest in authentic discipleship unto Christ so excites me!

The degree of interest in authentic discipleship unto Christ so excites me!

A Season Pondering Discipleship Unto Jesus…

Due to wonderful feedback on our new format, here are 7 points on our work of mission with Bridges of Hope.

  1. Head to Facebook for images from February entitled “Show Me How.”
  2. Chris has begun coaching the Community Development staff men weekly, mentoring them personally as they facilitate After School Programs & Community Health Evangelism (CHE) development training. Currently, we are reading “In The Name of Jesus” by Henri Nouwen.
  3. Maxie completed a beautiful prospectus for Bridges of Hope which will be instrumental in applying for and securing local South African corporate social investment funding.
  4. At least 4 local church communities in the Franschhoek valley have expressed commitment to raise mentors for each one of our 55 Academy students. Chris anticipates launching the Bridges Mentorship Project in early winter!
  5. Our international director, Susan Wadley, presented a powerful seminar on “Overcoming Shame & Abuse” to staff & students that resulted in substantial dialogue about this important topic in South African culture.
  6. Two Academy girls (Gr. 11 & 8) expressed interest in baptism during Easter as a public declaration of their place in God’s family. God is alive & at work in our student body!
  7. A growing sense of unity as “child mentors” is building between Orphan & Vulnerable Children and After School Program facilitators as Chris trains them in discipleship & listening skills each Friday.
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April 23, 2011

All Deserted Him And Fled.

Good Friday summed up in one powerful image. (More coming on 3rd Place's powerful Stations of the Cross interactive exhibit + Tenebrae Reading of the John passion narrative which I helped facilitate soon).

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March 15, 2011

Face Of Christ (Project 365, Day 81).

Aperture: f/5.6     Focal Length: 55 mm     ISO: 320     Shutter Speed: 1/60 second

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February 6, 2010

No Leisure To Eat.

Such a provocative invitation from Jesus.

I live in a fairly steady experience of anxiety in these days, a combination of moving forward to a life overseas in South Africa for this next season, the hard realities of fundraising in a lingering recession, and the sense that I am on a precipice leading towards a new sort of life, a life greatly desired, yet feared as well. Anxiety is defined as “a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome,” which nails squarely on the head the reality of my life right now.

I am not uncertain of whether I am to return to South Africa, or whether God has called me there for at least this next transitional season of several years. But what about all the things I don’t know, like: When will I be fully supported? Will my needs be met in time? What will this next season be like relationally? How will I be developed as a leader? Am I really moving to the other side of the world, ‘for good’ in a sense? And a million other stray fragments similar to this.

I have a growing understanding that anxiety is largely a mental battle of vague, nagging thoughts, and often resides in the realm of non-reality. ‘What if?‘ is the question that imprisons the mind, shutting down the heart, in this state. That is why the call of Jesus to not worry about tomorrow (see Matthew 6) is so provocative, as well as His invitation to come away for rest in a season where His followers were described as having ‘no leisure to eat!’

Frankly, I want to continue worrying. I want to shove food down my throat while frantically attempting to finish seven different things at once. In some twisted, pathological way, I feed off of this sense of worry, finding some sense of a self, albeit a false one.  I am aware of, yet scared of, the whispered invitation of Jesus to open up my real self to Him today.  This involves Jesus being with me in my anxiety, not veiling it in some religious fog. What a profoundly unsettling, yet beautiful, invitation.

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