Who's Who at AC3--Kellie Ade

In our mission to be a safe church for seekers, we sometimes hear those attending say that they don't know who someone is. We want you to get to know the faces you see around AC3. We are starting with the Triad, and last time we introduced you to Lori Caperoon. Next up, we have Kellie Ade, Assistant to the Creative Teams Director at AC3!


Questions--Spiritually minded

• How I clear my mind after a challenging day:

As much as I'd love to tell you that my very first impulse is to pray, it's usually more of "I wonder if there's any beer in the fridge" kind of thing. Then I'll play my guitar a little bit, and then maybe cry, and then I pray. And then I play Skyrim. Slaying virtual dragons is surprisingly relaxing.

• Advice to a person of faith dealing with a broken relationship with their church:

We're Gospel people: we're in the business of reconciliation because God first reconciled Himself to us through Jesus. There is no person in God's estimation able to do anything bad enough to exit the realm of His grace. However, I also know that we ourselves are not God; we can't change or rescue people like He can, especially if they're not willing. All we can do is hold a posture of openness, vulnerability, and love without chasing down or pushing away. Also, some practical advice:

1. Seek wise counsel. No, really.

2. Keep your conversations about the person you're in conflict with to an absolute minimum (i.e. if they're not right there with you, don't talk about them).

3. Remember the Master's words in Matthew 7:1-5. It'll keep you humble in the heat of a conflict.

• When I declared I was going to walk along with God, instead of away from him:

There wasn't one single moment that I've decided this. When I try to describe to people what my walk with God is like, I usually stick my finger in the air and turn it around in a series of loops, moving from left to right. At the apex of the loop, I'm a committed believer with complete faith and feeling absolutely certain about everything ever; at the bottom of the loop, I find myself in skeptic's shoes, having to test and retest. Sometimes I can get frustrated with the cycle, but I find that each time around things get a little clearer, a little deeper, a little more real. I am always being converted; intellectually, emotionally, on a daily, even moment-to-moment basis.

• Change I’d like to see among Christians today:

1. Ask more questions. Manufacture curiosity if you have to, but with one caveat - questions are meant to be asked in the hopes of an answer, not to just sound edgy and profound.

2. Prioritize church attendance/involvement. Don't deprive the community of yourself.

3. Prioritize listening over speaking. If we make an emphasis on being a culture of better listeners, we will make a real difference in our world. 

• Advice I’d give to Younger Me:

Basically, the lyrics to the song "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World. Also, you might want to wash your rasta hat.

Kellie and her husband, Tim

• Gifting I most admire:

Hospitality, encouragement, and mercy. These are gifts I do not have, and I find them baffling, mysterious, and deeply, deeply necessary. The Christians I look up to the most have the greatest character, sense of compassion, and their openness to others is incredible and inspiring.

• What I tell others about serving:

It's not about you ;) But it IS one of the best way to get connected if you're feeling disconnected from both others and God.

• 3 disciplines/habits that keep me connected to community:

1. I try to come to church even if I'm not serving on anything. It makes me available to others and puts me in the path of my church family. It's something I have to do consciously since I tend to be woefully introverted.

2. Normally, I'm serving somewhere during the week or the weekend. Not to be a broken record, but service is a very strong community adhesive. If I'm serving, I'm connecting with others and I'm in tune with the needs of my community.

3. This might seem counter-intuitive, but I strictly limit my time on social media (Facebook, Twitter, whatever). I find that when I'm not as distracted by my virtual social life, I find more bandwidth for the actual flesh-and-blood people in front of me. The quantity of interactions goes down, but the quality goes way up. I find the internal resources to be more present to the people in front of me when I'm not free-falling down my newsfeed trying to keep up.

• 3 disciplines/habits that keep me connected to God:

Honestly, just the boring ol' basic ones:

1. Daily Bible reading and meditation (my personal favorite devotional plans come out of Streams in the Desert, A Year with C.S. Lewis and Celtic Daily Prayer).

2. Prayer journaling (which is cool because it inevitably establishes a record of what God was doing in my life, which I often only see in hindsight).

3. A conscious effort to take things slower than I'm naturally inclined to. The gravity of being busy is often the biggest hindrance to intimacy with God. There's a specific temptation to do this in ministry work especially: to mistake working for God as being with God. It's as if I'm running around frantically doing Jesus' laundry and dishes, telling myself that's intimacy, while He awkwardly sits on the couch waiting for me to sit next to Him and just talk and hang out. I have to be more disciplined in slowing down, being present. Still not that great at it, though ;)

Questions--Secular-minded

• What book left a lasting impression on you?

Mere Christianity is definitely a top one. I can't seem to stop re-reading it as I always find something new in there. A close second would be The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel.

• If you could eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Haggis. I'm not even kidding. It's delicious.

• Beach or Mountains? Why?

It's Washington; why pick?

• Favorite season? Why?

I'm gonna go with the basic-white-girl answer and say Fall because I can wear a hoodie and still go outside. Great hiking season.

• You can only listen to the same song OR watch the same movie for the rest of your life. What do you choose?

"Dry the Rain" by the Beta Band

• What is your idea of a dream vacation?

Backpacking in Europe somewhere; pretty much anywhere. I ain't picky.

• What are your top 3 hobbies?

1. Playing/writing/recording music

2. Hiking/going for walks

3. Skyrim

• What is the last thing you binge-watched?

"Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt".

• Morning person or night owl?

Nope.

• Best advice I’ve ever gotten:

"If you're making a decision primarily motivated by fear, it's probably not the right decision."

Or, a less esoteric favorite, "Measure twice, cut once".