Media with a Mission: Bittersweet Zine

by Kate Schmidgall

If we believe God is not dead and he is at work in the world, then we should be able to clearly articulate his action. As creative professionals, we should be able to do this artistically and beautifully. That’s what we strive for in the pages of Bittersweet Zine; to bring awareness to our city’s needs and inspire people to use their unique skills, gifts and experience to meet them. We hope a fresh perspective on an active God and his people of faith will begin to deconstruct divides, begin to heal misunderstandings, miscommunications and misrepresentations of God’s intentions for loving relationships with his creation.

We believe by individually participating in the bittersweet stories of our day—that is, celebrating hope in despair, justice despite oppression and abuse, joy in suffering—we are entering into the profound and humbling presence of God in places and people largely unknown to and ignored by the Church. And that’s transformative—for the people and organizations served, the issues raised, and the individuals finding new ways to understand and live out a personal faith.

In each issue of the Bittersweet zine, we profile about a dozen organizations, each doing inspiring and much-needed work in Washington, D.C.. Even though we are believers, we don’t require the organizations we profile to be. Why? Because an organization needs to be objectively evaluated based on its impact and the needs served, not on its religious affiliation (or non-affiliation).

Christ himself set this example. A lawyer asked Jesus, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus responds, “What do you think Scripture says?” To which the lawyer answers, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.” Which the lawyer follows with, “But who is my neighbor?”

Jesus, predictably, answers with a story. A Samaritan from Samaria, which is to say, not from Israel and not Jewish and not endowed with any religious responsibility or designation whatsoever. And yet, he is the only one to have compassion: “He went to [the wounded man] and bound up his wounds … then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” And so Jesus asks the lawyer, “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” To which the lawyer responds, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37

Work that honors God is not exclusive to or owned by Christians. Our labels and shallow religious designations can’t keep up with where and through whom God is moving and working. So why try? The truth is, just like in the parable, many people of faith are calloused and lethargic about caring for their cities, communities and neighbors.

I love the Westminster catechism: The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. How do you glorify God? By doing what he commands: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and your neighbor as yourself.” We love him by learning His heart (through his Word and through prayer and the Spirit) and allowing him to transform our hearts to be in alignment. And then the world will know that we are His by the way we love. We will very naturally seek justice and love and peace and mercy and grace and understanding. People will be touched by that and desire to know God, because of the sweetness of our spirits and the power of our testimony…which is not anything of our making, of course, but rather Christ alive in us. And God will be glorified. And we will enjoy him.

Seeking justice is not separate from evangelism. Going back to James 2:18, “Show me faith apart from your works [read: evangelism], and I will show you my faith BY my works. [read: in this case, seeking justice]”. Showing faith through works and caring for what (I believe) God cares about IS evangelism, just not through the conventional, relation-less, loveless rhetoric. Let’s not forget that God owns justice. Justice is not apart from God; it has its very essence in Him. By seeking justice you are serving God and giving voice to His spirit within you.

The fundamental difference between Christians and non-Christians who do meaningful work is in their motivation. Christians should be motivated because their heart is in alignment with the heart of God. Christians should also be filled with the Spirit, which yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness, kindness, gentleness, and humility. And ultimately, if reading the Word, they would be prompted to follow the example of Christ, reaching out relationally to the marginalized, oppressed, lonely, hurting, broken and encouraging them with the knowledge of a loving God. I believe that non-Christians are likely responding to the same deep senses of God’s character and promptings of the Spirit. But because they don’t read the Bible or spend time in prayer, they likely don’t recognize it’s the voice of God leading. Hopefully in their pursuit of love and commitment to selfless service for the good of their neighbor, they will cross paths with ‘the Church’ and find the ultimate anchor for the Good they seek to create in the world.

Where do you see Christian and non-Christian organizations working together to renew culture and advance the Common Good?

Editor's Note: These images are from here.