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Biography
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"Live Joy!" Let’s see what scripture says. Proverbs 21:15: “The exercise of justice is joy for the righteous, but it is terror to the workers of iniquity.” So, the Bible says justice brings joy. One of the blessings I experience as President of Goodcity is meeting people of faith who really work to bring about justice. I see the joy in their eyes. Interfaith Youth Core is one of the community programs we started. One of the things they do is bring young people from the Jewish community, the Muslin community, and the Christian community together to work on projects. A young woman named Sumayaa Ahmed works there because she feels it is worthwhile to spread peace and understanding in the world. Through her involvement in this organization, she hopes to clarify who Muslims really are. She shared with me that the word for joy in Arabic is rida, meaning people who do good acts are recipients of God’s pleasure. It is a relational concept that is reciprocal. It brings joy to me to imagine a world brimming with this activity that would certainly foster justice and fairness and give more human beings joy. But the last part of that quote from Proverbs says that justice is terror to the workers of iniquity. I think we sometimes forget that the Devil is one of those workers. The Devil does not want justice. The Devil does not want us to be people of joy. It’s good for us to remember that fact as we struggle to be a people of joy. There’s no reason to be surprised when it is difficult to be joyful. There are days when I wake up and don’t really feel like being joy to others. Live joy or live joy. We should certainly, as enlightened believers, live joy everyday and that joy should be live—fresh, vibrant, radiant, transparent, life-giving, and not something stale and dried up. Something else that brings me joy is this [picks up a handful of nightcrawlers]. I know some are saying ick right now. I see these nightcrawlers and receive a joyful image of fishing on a calm lake in the summertime just relaxing. For others, just seeing worms is a trial. James 1:2-3: “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” The Naomi Project in the West Garfield neighborhood of Chicago, responds to the needs of women coming out of prison. Rev. Tammy McNeal, who founded the Naomi Project, told me that the joy in her trials was that she survived, and even in the midst of despair there was hope because even though she didn’t see God in those trials, she knew he was carrying her and that was her joy. Just like I am able to find joy in a carton of worms, I can also find joy in my suffering and pain. During those times of trial, it is very easy to get so self-absorbed that we can’t see the needs of those around us and end up missing out on joy and increasing our own troubles. Too often, we allow the daily mundane drudgeries to steal any hope of joy. Oh we feel such joy in church and then misplace it at work, or at home, or at school, or in our communities. And God only knows where it is especially when we need some joy. And that’s just the point: God does know where it is. Jerry Berman, a friend of mine, says that he experiences joy in the Torah, going to synagogue, visiting his family in Israel. “Joy,” he said, “is his relationship with God.” One of my Bible commentaries on James 1:2 says the word “joy” in its strategic positioning at the beginning of the James’ letter, introduces a dominant tone of Christian optimism. I keep hearing that joy is relational. What about when our relationships cause us sorrow? Job 41:22: “In his neck remaineth strength, and sorrow is turned into joy before him.” Job, of all places in the Bible, reminds us that God can turn sorrow into joy. Joy is hard work! A lifeless piece of material can have another existence that can bring joy [blows up a balloon]. Joy is contagious. Joy begets Joy. The opposite is true as well. Atheism is receiving a good deal of attention these days. Oh, the Devil is quite busy dividing us, filling us with anger and rage, driving us to use violent words and actions, and stuffing us with hatred, jealousy, and scorn. And if we succumb to Satan’s swagger, we will never see our sorrow turn into joy. Our faith strengthens us in those tempting times. The field of positive psychology illustrates the effect being joyful can have on our health and longevity. Joy is exhibited in forgiving and in being forgiven. Joy is loaded with passion, energy and positivity. Joy grows through discipline, sacrifice, and self-denial. Joy is not a task to be completed, an event to be experienced or a mountain to be climbed. Joy demands transparency. But, we can only be joy to others if we nurture the joy within ourselves. When we surround ourselves with people of joy, we are more likely to be an agent of joy. Look what Acts 2:28 invites us to be: “You have made known to me the paths of life, and your presence will fill me with joy.” Are we able to say that our presence fills others with joy [blows soap bubbles]? Imagine if there were children here. They’d be trying to catch these bubbles, they’d be laughing, they’d be full of joy. Joy is a journey that we can all have the pleasure of taking each day. But we have to be intentional about it. To get joy, we have to give joy. If we really want to live joy—if we really want our joy to be live—then there are steps we can take. We have to continually pray fervently in reflective meditation on a regular basis, maybe daily, to ask God to allow us to be open to the Spirit of joy in our lives. How about keeping a daily record of who we brought joy to today. I’ll bet if we read it before sleeping at night we might rest easier. What words of joy did we utter this day? What actions of joy did we create this day? What joyous moments were we blessed to experience this day? Joy sure is a good feeling. It’s not meant to be hoarded and kept in a safe deposit box. God gives it to us to spread everywhere we go by being a people of justice, by finding joy in our trials, by having the insight to turn our sorrows into joy, and by embracing the courage to be joy for others. Daniel Pawlus: Mike, so good that you’ve joined us today. We’re glad to have you. Mike Ivers: Thanks, Daniel. It’s great to be with you. Pawlus: Now, I’ve had the pleasure of being with you on vision trip with Goodcity, which really touched me. I think it’s relevant to what we’re talking about today because I saw joy in that experience. What do you think that comes from? Ivers: I think it comes from people of faith who’ve made true transformations in their lives and are not just worrying about themselves but worrying about how they can improve the community and the quality of life for all individuals in their communities, based upon their seeing the needs of the communities. So it’s not just coming from themselves but from the needs of others. Lydia Talbot: Mike, you make that distinction in your wonderful message that joy is rooted in justice, is rooted in God, as opposed to happiness—the secular understanding of happiness—which is often rooted in individualism. Is that right? Ivers: That’s right. When we talk about joy and justice, we’re talking about community and the common good. That is such a real element of joy. It’s really not eating a meringue horn. It’s really more about changing lives, transforming communities, connecting people and really enhancing God’s community here on Earth. Pawlus: I’ve seen you in action. You are a man of action in a crowd, connecting people. Don’t you think that’s part of it? You called out that we need to take action in order to experience joy. It’s not something that necessarily just comes to us while we’re sitting there waiting for it, is it? Ivers: It’s not going to walk in front of and stare us in the face. We have to go ahead and participate in it. Not like we’re the only bearers of joy, but if we’ve got to definitely take it out there and get into the community. Talbot: But as writer C. S. Lewis reminds us in his book, “Surprised by Joy.” That was the name of the woman who came into his life and gave meaning to his life. We can be surprised by joy. Ivers: Oh, yes. Talbot: As you were with your beautiful, Greta. Ivers: Oh, yes. Right. It was a wonderful experience of joy. In fact, you ask me what gives me joy. Just the other day she was cooking and she said, “It gives me such great joy to see you eat the food I’ve cooked.” And I said, “Well, let me oblige you!” But you’re absolutely right, Lydia, it can be a real surprise. And sometimes it’s even the greater part of our experience of joy but it’s a matter of being open to it and seeing it and looking for it. Talbot: The receptivity. And the transforming aspect of that kind of gift from God. Ivers: That’s right. Pawlus: I know we’re going to talk more about joy, but while we’ve got you here, I think of you as kind of an expert on the faith based initiative moment. Certainly in Chicago. You’ve got a great knowledge of it. Can you just inform us or educate us what you think the future is going to be? Moving forward, there are a lot of changes happening. What are your thoughts on that? Ivers: I don’t know if I’d call myself an expert, but I’m certainly in it, in the mix and I think it’s exciting! And I think it’s important. One of the things at Goodcity that we’re doing more of is helping churches become community development corporations. So that the faith that the people practice in communities can be more transparent. And I think churches are really stepping up to the plate all over the country, not just in Chicago. I think the faith based initiative is a wonderful initiative and has to be inclusive and it has to be real. But I’m excited about the future of it because I think that more and more people are realizing that faith is something that they should not hide and be embarrassed about. Talbot: You’ve been in the mix since you were born I suspect, Mike Ivers! On the south side of Chicago. 97th Street and what, Stoney Island? Ivers: Throop Street. 97th and Throop Street. Talbot: And that bakery where you got the meringue horn is not there anymore. Ivers: No. Wagner’s Bakery on 95th is gone. I wish it was there! Talbot: I guess I want to ask you about the joy you feel when you can point to the many acts of revitalization that you have helped empower and nurture and incubate in this town. What are they? Ivers: Well, I’m just humbled to be able to participate in events, like as a Chicago Housing Authority commissioner. When I drive down the Dan Ryan Expressway and no longer see those prisons of anonymous poverty, I feel pretty excited and pretty joyful. When I work with CHA residents and see them going from a life of isolation to a life of full investment into the community, a life of self-sufficiency where they’re not dependent on anyone else, that’s exciting, that’s very joyful. I helped to work with United Power for Action and Justice, bringing together 250 different organizations coming together in relationship. That’s joyful. Helping people get jobs, connecting people. Those are joyful experiences. Being a connector and a link. Talbot: Like connecting CommonweathEdison with...what was that project? Painting houses of the poor. Ivers: That’s right. Look to the Future. That’s right. That came out of a program through Leadership Greater Chicago where an individual, John Costello, from CommonweathEdison and myself created with many others, Look to the Future, which created, built and painted the homes of the elderly and disabled in 19 different communities in Chicago. And so I think that’s some of those exciting things. I’m humbled to be able to journey with people in their faith experience and that’s so joyful to see other people articulate their faith. I feel so privileged to have participated in that. Pawlus: You mentioned Rev. Tammy, whom I got to meet on that trip. That was a really moving experience for me. I loved how you talked about her trust in the process that she went through. It was a kind of release that she experienced even though there was a challenge. But that’s another way we can come to joy, too, isn’t it? Giving more trust over to God that he’s really taking care of us in our times of need. Talbot: Was that the women in prison program? Pawlus: Yes. Talbot: Say more about that. Pawlus: It’s a great, great program. Ivers: It’s a wonderful program. This is a woman who has gone through the life experience herself and transformation to being a real ministerial leader in her particular community. I think we need more programs like that that deal with women in smaller numbers, six or seven. Talbot: This is west side Chicago? Ivers: The west side of Chicago in Garfield Park. Ivers: She nurtures them. She gives them a place to be. She connects them to whatever their needs may be whether it’s a GED class, substance abuse programs, job programs, doing different connections with the Cara Program, which is a program that works with women who are homeless, transitioning to self-sufficiency. Connecting them to the different opportunities that they may not be aware of. Talbot: And their children? Ivers: And their children. Talbot: What happens to those children? Ivers: Well, usually when the women are coming right out of prison, they don’t have their children with them. And so that’s usually one of the goals is to get the children back whether with another family member or DCFS. Talbot: If we were to get on a bus with you in Chicago, where else would we go to visit projects of Goodcity? Ivers: Just about everywhere in the city. I’d take you up to Rogers Park to see Starfish Learning Center, working with children. I’d take you down to Roseland to see different programs that we’ve started there helping churches to become community development corporations. I’d take you into the Latino community to see a program that’s helping people in the Latino community deal with diabetes education, empowerment and research. I could take you to different shelters for victims of domestic violence. Programs that are working with young people. Programs that are reaching out to make sure the needs of the representatives of different communities are met. Talbot: And Goodcity, you say, helped start the Interfaith Youth Core. Ivers: Yes. Talbot: What was your role in that? What happened? What was the dream about? Ivers: Well, Eboo Patel came and said that he wanted to start this and needed a 501(c)(3) and other technical assistance. We were their fiscal manager, taught them how to develop a board, how to write grants, how to analyze budgets, all the things non-profits need. We do so from a business perspective, taking the best of the Harvard Business Review, taking the best of Crains, then putting the best of the business world so that non-profits are efficient. That’s very important that they are well run. And when they’re well run, everybody is going to have greater joy. Talbot: What a wonderful goal. Interfaith understanding. Ivers: That’s right. Talbot: So you connect the dream with a tough business savvy. Ivers: That’s right. Pawlus: And this is really faith in action. I think you’ve landed in exactly the right place, Mike, with all your previous experience in Chicago. Again, it’s a joy to see you in a group of people, connecting people. I see you get great joy coming out of that. Ivers: I do. It feeds, like I said, in the presentation. You get more and more joyful. But I could ask you, Daniel, I could ask you, Lydia, what brings you joy? Pawlus: I love making music with people. That’s one of the things I love. Spending time with family. That would be my answer. Talbot: Butterflies! A resurrection statement, right? New life in the midst of loss, a second chance. Ivers: That’s right. That’s great! Talbot: Great to have you here, Mike Ivers. Ivers: It’s an honor to be here. Thank you very much.
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