CityFellowship | Union Square NYC

There are two basic types of people in the city: Climbers and Artists. Climbers are the people who want to get higher (so to speak) in some way, either by climbing the corporate ladder, or some other ladder to their idea of “success.” Climbers tend to be attracted to institutional approval (awards, job recognition, degrees, etc). Even seemingly non-institutional institutions…such as musicians who insist on certain types of recognition, or hipsters who have-to live in the hip neighborhoods (Astoria, Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights are okay – but Corona, Fort Lee, Washington Heights are not)…jeans are okay provided they are designer, etc… These too are marks of climbers who appreciate these symbolic differences…

Artists are the people who really don’t care about these things. They are the ones who wore the sneakers that weren’t cool. But sometimes they are also the ones who wear the cool sneakers before they were cool – simply because they liked them when no one else did. Artists are like Jack Kerouac who couldn’t think of anything better to do than hitchhike across the country and back. They are the ones that sometimes pour themselves into useless ventures that will neither earn them money or recognition…most of them are unsung but every now and then one becomes famous and people admire their “integrity.”

Chances are if you’re a climber you can’t imagine why anyone would think like an artist-type. How can you waste your summer driving across country instead of hunting down that killer internship? And chances are if you’re an artist-type you’re always being nagged by the climbers in your family, “When are you going to grow up and take life seriously?” Climber parents tell their kids, “Whatever you do you have to be the BEST at it!” Artist parents tell their kids, “I don’t care what you do sweety as long as you’re happy.”

The Apostle Paul was a climber, he pushed himself and wanted to take the Gospel where no one else had gone…to sacrifice most and love his Savior the most… Peter was a climber too, he was often concerned about being first. John, on the other hand, was an artist type: he didn’t seem to care about being first, as long as Jesus loved him. I think climbers and artists can really learn from one another…which is something we want to do in our community. But I think it’s even more important that they realize there’s a difference… You can’t know which way to go unless you realize where you’re starting from: Climbers need to channel their climber-ness into climbing for God, otherwise they will waste their lives looking for institutional approval and merits and degrees. Artists need to channel their artist-iness into living for God otherwise they will waste their lives chasing the sky, hanging out, looking for heaven in the wrong places. They are slightly different seeming paths…because Climbers and Artists are starting from different places… Which one are you?
[About the photo: No good reason for this photo. No good reason at all. But it does have the two different colored receptacles in the background...]

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