By Seung Chan Lim:

2006 was a significant year for me. It was not only the year that I turned 29 (as in just about to hit the 3-0), but it was also the year that planted the seeds that would eventually put me at this scary place I am at right now.

One of the things that happened that year was that I attended a small art panel in downtown Pittsburgh. It was a totally unexpected thing for me to do because of the attitude I had back then toward “art.” To put it bluntly, I equated art with BS.  I had very little respect for artists in general, and the word “art” was just fluffy, fuzzy, and meaningless.

Writing that last sentence leaves me physically uncomfortable now, because my ignorance is so obvious in hindsight. But back then I was absolutely certain about that feeling. If attending this small obscure art panel could have been expected, it would have been to prove that art was BS.  But even that was not why I was there.

The reason I was there was a highly irrational reaction to a phrase I read the day before: “Do one thing every day that scares you.“  This was a transitional period in my life, where everything I had believed in had come into question, so that phrase struck a chord with me.  After reading it, I happened to see a note about a panel discussion in a downtown art gallery, where artists would be facilitating a discussion on racism. It seemed like a random lil event, but that randomness  — and the idea of meeting strangers in a panel setting — was, well, scary. So I had to do it.

The art panel turned out to be very very small. There were maybe 15 people in the entire space. After a long awkward period of browsing nonsensical paintings around the gallery, we were asked to sit in the main hall of the gallery. We then split into three groups of 5 to start the discussion around the topic of racism. I had my share of stuff to say as I have experienced this in the U.S. myself, so I was quite eager to pitch in. But then as I sat there listening to one person after another sharing their stories of how they experienced racism, and why they found it unjust, etc… I noticed a pattern. Each one of them not only shared what had happened to them, but when they got down to the bottom of their feelings, they divulged the fact that it has effected their daily lives by filling it with fear. That because something heinous had happened to them once, they had come to believe that they can indeed happen again. And this fear was preventing them from questioning the strong belief they had developed as a result.

This was a huge smack on my own head, and it became very clear to me at that moment that I have also been living a life of fear. And this fear resulting from having experienced a heinous act of hate by others, had deeply seeded a sense of fear in me, which has essentially turned me into yet another hater not much better than those who had acted badly toward me.

I’ve experienced two horrible incidents on the street. Once in Seoul and once in Beijing. Both times all I did was look at someone in the eye and say “hello”. But what happened afterwards was that they got very angry and wanted to beat me up. Well, run like hell I did. After having gone through something like this a couple times (across culture, no less) I must have taken a mental note to myself that smiling and saying “hello” to strangers is probably not a good idea.

So, what I absolutely __loved__ about the “idea” of America (before I got here) was that people seem to say “hello” on the street and smile to each other. They say “good morning” as they enter their work place, they greet the door man, the guard, etc… At least that’s what it looked like in the movies. I was fascinated! It seemed like such a wonderful place to be! So when I got to the U.S. I tried it out by smiling and saying “hello” to strangers on the street. And it didn’t work! Many times people gave me the “who the hell are you?” look.
So I quickly got very timid, and stopped doing it. It was bad enough that this was a new thing I was trying…

But what this discussion made me realize was that, the fact that I stopped trying, meant that I was discouraging others who might also be trying. To bring it back more closely to the realm of racism, if I saw a black man walking toward me downtown, even if I didn’t have the racial prejudice of thinking he’s bad news, I would still avoid eye contact because I have never had a positive experience greeting strangers on the street. But then he can very much take that as a racially prejudiced act, and be reaffirmed of the racism that still clearly exists in the world today. What just happened there? Nothing good. It only perpetuated fear. While I may have acted on my past negative experience of greeting people on the street, the result is reciprocal feeding of fear on both ends.

This really made me think again about how simple it can be to bring joy into our everyday lives. Not only our lives but of others. If we could just muster up the courage to smile and greet at the strangers we pass by on the street, I wonder how different the world would be?

Just that lil conscious act of courage, of trust. Nothing more. Nothing less. I think that would be an amazing act of design.

—

(The short film below describes these thoughts in more detail.)

By Joey Berrios:

Casey Anthony, Osama Bin Laden, Joe Paterno, Rob Blagojevich. Chris Brown. These are not names normally associated with grace. Most of the time, we think of punishment and retribution — people beyond God’s grace.

Which says a lot, because the way that we extend grace to others is connected to how we receive God’s grace. It’s radical, and it encompasses our struggles, pain, and heartaches; our sin, past mistakes, and failures; even our relationships and friendships.  And if we feel that some people are beyond God’s grace, we cannot fully experience it for ourselves.

The apostle Paul is a great example of God’s radical grace. Most Christians would have had reservations about extending grace to Paul, who was a murderer and persecutor. But God extended grace and changed his life forever. He gave Paul a mission, and His grace saw Paul through to the end.  Because of that grace, we have most of the New Testament of the Bible, and through Paul’s story we see that even the worst of sinners are eligible to receive God’s wonderful grace.

Paul said the following words about himself:

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1:12-14)

We have all made terrible mistakes. We have all said things that we wish we could take back. We have all done things that we deeply regret. But the incredible truth is that God wants to pour out his radical grace and completely revolutionize our lives — if we allow it to. And to really be in a place to allow it, we need to be willing to give it.

Hillsong United’s recent song, “Like An Avanlance,” proclaims this:

And I find myself on me knees again
Caught up in grace like an avalanche
Nothing compares to this love love love
Burning in my heart

And when you’re caught up in an avalanche, you can’t help but go along.  May we all experience the grace of God like an avalanche as we extend God’s radical grace towards others.

By Desirae Schneider:

Why People of a “Second Chance”?   What’s so special about a “second chance”?

As part of the POTSC community, I LOVE these types of questions. They spark conversation, and conversation sparks a heartbeat, and a heartbeat is all grace needs to make a radical difference.

So what is so special about a second chance?  EVERYTHING.

A second chance is the most powerful thing you can extend to another person.

It amplifies love.
It restores hope.
It redeems value.
It rises above the tides of judgment.
It breaks free the chains of repression.
It grabs hold of the hands of the anguish and deems them beautiful.
It takes a person from being devalued because of their actions to being valued because they are a person.

A second chance is grace in action.  A second chance is the story changer.

It takes someone from…

there to here
unseen to seen
forgotten to remembered
lost to found
drowning to swimming
abandoned to rescued.

How do I know this?

Because my story was radically changed by grace.  Not because I am a great person or a person who has earned her way, but because I am a product of grace.   I am a second chance with skin on.

So why People of a “Second Chance”?

Because we are all walking second chances.

By Mohan Karulkar:

I’ll admit it.  When I saw Chris Brown perform during the Grammys, I made a face and turned to my wife.  “I really don’t like him,” I said to her.

And actually, I said a lot more in my head.  “He’s sleazy.  He’s sketchy.  He’s abusive.  He’s a terrible influence.“

I was a little ashamed when I reviewed the string of choice labels I’d just lobbed at the TV, but I shrugged it off and moved on.

Then I started hearing the rumblings of a controversy.  People were upset.  People were writing articles with titles like “Do We Have To Forgive Chris Brown?” and “No, We Don’t Have To Forgive Chris Brown.“    (yes, really)

And if things weren’t touchy enough, a group of fans tweeted that they’d let Chris Brown “beat [them] anytime he wants.” (yes, really, again)

Good grief.

Meanwhile, Grammy Producer Ken Ehrlich has stated that he was rooting for Brown: “I just believe people deserve a second chance.  The year he had this year, really brought him back into the public. He really deserved a second chance.”

So, who’s right?  And why does it even matter? It may seem almost irrelevant, since Chris Brown is a celebrity, and our thoughts have pretty much no bearing on his situation or the greater controversy.

Except it isn’t irrelevant, because in my experience, our thoughts towards people far removed from us inevitably leak into our thoughts towards people close to us.  So over the last few days I’ve read, thought, polled, and even prayed about it.  And I noticed something that I never noticed before:

We tend to believe that when we give someone a second chance, that means we’re condoning whatever they did to blow their first chance.

In fact, “Believe” may actually be the wrong word.  Maybe it’s about fear.  Maybe we’re afraid that if we forgive someone, people will think we’re condoning their actions.

In any case, that kind of thinking takes forgiveness off the table, because even if we conceed that forgiveness is a good thing, as many of the most angry responders to the controversy have done, we could never risk the chance that we might start approving of the crime.  Or even the appearance of approval.  So don’t even ask, because I’m not going to do it.  It’s not worth it.  He hit her, and that’s wrong, and end of story.

That’s not true in all cases, though, right?  If it were, then we’d be disowning our kids, returning our pets, and moving to Fargo.  In fact, we can be quite generous with forgiveness — so long as it won’t embarrass us.  Mouthy kids?  Unloving parents?  Unfair parking tickets?  Lazy spouses?  We’re not so embarrassed by that stuff.  No one’s afraid of their neighbors thinking they condone parking tickets.

But molestation?  Domestic abuse?   Infidelity?   Violent crime?   Don’t even ask, because I’m not going to do it.  It’s not worth it.

Well, I’m going to go out on a limb and claim that’s a prison.  Something we’re afraid of (people thinking we approve) is preventing us from doing something we know is right (forgiveness).  If that’s not bondage, I don’t know what is.

So let’s be free of that.  Say it with me.  Free.

Forgiving a bully doesn’t mean you approve of bullying.
Forgiving a spouse doesn’t mean you approve of cheating.
Forgiving a company doesn’t mean you approve of bad service.
Forgiving yourself doesn’t mean you approve of your wasted youth.

and …

Forgiving Chris Brown doesn’t mean you approve of domestic violence.

If someone else wants to interpret it that way, then let them. Meanwhile, change the world around you through one act of forgiveness at a time. Chris Brown may very well be a bad man; I don’t know.  But I know forgiveness is a good thing.  Why?  Because it’s been pretty darn good to me.

And I’d rather go with something I know than something I don’t know.

We are excited to to share thoughts from Charles Lee, author of the new book Good Idea. Now What? There was a time when POTSC was just an idea, swirling around our heads as a combination of experiences, thoughts, emotions, and inspiration.  Getting from idea to action is sometimes the hardest part, and Charles’ insight should be helpful to anyone brimming with inspiration.

Also, be sure to check out a free sample of his new book!

GOOD IDEA. NOW WHAT?
By Charles Lee:

I love being inspired.

I think inspiration is essential to fueling our creativity. Inspiration touches us at our core and moves us to care about the things that really matter.

Unfortunately, inspiration alone can’t change our world. Ideas need to be embodied and actualized. Otherwise, they simply remain as thoughts in our minds or words on paper.

Yes, ideas are not enough.

Good ideas need things like intentional strategy, implementation processes, sustainable infrastructure, collaborative teams, viable networks, smart branding, and a deep commitment to hard work to see everything through. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart.

Nevertheless, it’s not impossible. Ideas can be implemented well by anyone who truly considers their concepts worth actualizing. Do you really believe in the ideas that run around your mind and keep you up late at night? The good news is that many of these elements needed for implementation have proven principles and insights you could leverage to help take your ideas to market.

This is why I wrote the book “Good Idea. Now What?” This book was written for on-the-go idea-makers (yes, people like you!). Written in 40 short, stand alone (yet connected) chapters filled with practical principles, insights, and next steps. The book is designed to be clear and concise for those of us who don’t need 10 stories to get the point. Got a few minutes? Finish a chapter and continue to move forward with your idea. Learn from some of the best implementers out there like Soledad O’Brien of CNN, Scott Harrison of charity: water, Ben Keesey of Invisible Children, and Blake Mycoskie of TOMS.

Our world needs your ideas! I hope that this book can help you make your ideas a reality. Here’s a free sample to get you started!