The loss of some friends

Today I'm reading (still have about seven books to go) and writing for my project (still have the book reports and a twenty page paper to do).  I guess this is where I find out if I can actually integrate all of this research into work and family life.  I'm having a hard time focusing though, because I've had a heavy heart recently.

Two weeks ago, a friend and LAMP mentor named Jim Benton passed away.  This week, another good friend from the Light of Life Rescue Mission in Pittsburgh named Tom Lazar passed away suddenly.  Tom was a great encourager to me (he actually commented on this blog several times).  Last Sunday Tom met with about 11 people from the North Way Worship Cafe to work on developing our strategic partnership with Light of Life.  I'm really feeling the loss of both of these amazing men who were inspirations to me.  I know it sounds cheesy to say, but it reminds me of how fragile life really is.  These men were inspirations to me because they were such solid followers of Christ, and they were living out their callings in life.  I will miss them tremendously, and I can't imagine the tremendous loss that their families must be experiencing knowing the type of men they were.  Let's remember to keep their families in our prayers.

New BGU DMin Video... check it out!

Go to http://bgu.edu and check out the video that is posted there about the DMin program (it should pop up right on the home page of the website). It has about nine minutes of footage from my class in Seattle, and I think it will give a great overview of what I experienced.

I'm back!

After many hours of overnight travel I've arrived back in the Burgh.  My family and I are reunited, and now I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone.  This class was the experience of a lifetime.

Thanks to everyone who prayed and supported me while I was in Seattle.  I appreciate you!

BGU Journal - 1/22/09

The end is in sight!  I really love this course work at BGU, but I am ready to be home in Pittsburgh with my family and friends.  I'm sensing that everyone here is feeling this same way.  This has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but we're ready to begin implementing all that we have learned.

I was talking to Randy White today, explaining that I feel like I now have a "tool kit" for urban ministry in Pittsburgh.  Throughout the course of these past two weeks I've learned about many different ministry models for urban and complex environments.  So much of what I have learned is directly applicable to LAMP and North Way.

This morning, we were asked to pick out three main ideas that we are taking back with us to our ministry contexts.  My three were:  Live intelligently (Skip Li's advice), love Pittsburgh (Ray Bakke's advice), and embrace change (Ken Fong's advice).  I think all of these ideas will help me tremendously when I return to Pittsburgh.

Our morning lecturer was Tim Svoboda, who served as a YWAM missionary to India for almost 30 years, and who more recently has served as the director of YWAM outreach efforts in the San Francisco bay area.  He gave us a great history of missions work in India since the mid-1970s, and also an overview of the complexities of ministry in inner city San Francisco since he began serving there two years ago.  He presented a "ministry wheel" model that I think could successfully be implemented in Pittsburgh.  In his model (which he effectively used to decentralize YWAM's efforts in India), macroleaders provide enthusiastic leadership for microleaders of certain aspects of city development.  Macroleaders serve as cheerleaders and coaches for microleaders in areas such as:  street kids, elderly, migrant workers, handicapped, arts, education, prostitutes, sports, middle class, unemployed, university students, hindus, drug addicts, homeless, business, government, Muslims, prisoners, family, media, church, suicide, or the poor.  In this model, microleaders are empowered to implement effective ministry models at the grass roots level.  The microleaders become powerful in this model.  He has a passion for implementing models of urban mission through pains, problems, peoples, powers, and potentials.  He reminded us to engage the urban trinity:  police, pastors, and politicians.

Wynn Griffin then spoke to us about the importance of engaging the dissertation process at BGU.  I should begin thinking about my problem statement right now, and the research bridge that I will take in early 2010 will help to launch me into the dissertation process of this program.  BGU hopes that I will be able to publish my dissertation project into a book that is widely read.  BGU has the connections to make this happen!

Gwyn Dewey and Lowell Bakke then guided the class through a research process called appreciative inquiry.  Basically, this process helps to provide solutions to problems in cities by asking the right questions (and finding common ground) of influential people who are "brought to the table" in cities that are in need of transformation.  We practiced the appreciative inquiry process on one another, and we were presented with examples of how this process has been successful in cities around the world (Manila, Phillipines was one example).  The process involves deciding, discovering, dreaming, designing, and delivering.

Even though many of us are anxious to return to our homes, I was still appreciative of the information that I learned today.  I love to learn about new cultures, and Tim Svoboda provided an excellent overview of front line ministry in India and San Francisco.  I was privileged to learn from a person with that much experience!  As I mentioned earlier, the ministry wheel model already has the wheels in my brain turning about organizational systems that could be implemented back in Pittsburgh.  I have been searching for an effective way to organize North Way's local outreach efforts, and this provides a great framework for something like that.

The overview of the dissertation process was also extremely helpful.  I have a great deal of reading and writing to do before I get to that point.  The important thing, though, is that all of my class work should potentially tie into the topics that I'll be working on for my dissertation.  BGU really wants to work with me to publish my work as a book that could impact many other people who are interested in impacting young people in the world.

BGU Journal - 1/21/09

Two weeks is a LONG time to be away from my family!  I'm so thankful that my wife is a hero, and I'm also thankful for the prayers and support that I have felt from my friends.  I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.  Despite the difficulties involved in life away from home, this Overture I class in Seattle has been a life changing experience.

This morning Grace Barnes talked to us about balancing our lives while we're working on a doctorate degree.  Balance is not really a good word to use, because it makes it seem that we have to make room in our lives to juggle another major commitment.  Instead, she asked us to integrate.  Achieving balance is not possible, but we can integrate.  As an example of this, I should connect what I'm learning, researching, and writing into everything I'm doing with LAMP and North Way.  This way it just integrates into what I'm already doing, and my work will benefit as well.  I also need to find good mentors in Pittsburgh who will help me along the way.  Mind mapping is another helpful tool in staying on top of this amount of work.  It's a process where I take the time to focus on using my right brain to think creatively about my work.  Finally, I could try different reading and scanning styles to process through all of the information I'll be reading (at least 150 books are required for these DMin classes).

Judi Melton then talked to us about the importance of our personal learning community.  All of my assignments, including these journal entries, should be written to people who know me.  BGU requires students to involve their family members, friends, and colleagues so that the innovative work can have a broader impact in the kingdom of God.

Ken Fong then lectured about organizational leadership.  He believes that all organizations are constantly changing.  Organizations, including churches, that are static are actually dying a slow death.  All organizations are either experiencing a slow death or deep change.  He then shared a seven step process that all organizations can apply to help deal with deep change.  It involves leadership (is there sufficient leadership to initiate and manage desired organizational change?), opportunity (what opportunities and challenges are facing us today?), vision (given who we are today, what do we see ourselves becoming in the future?), energy (do we have sufficient energy / motivation to take advantage of our challenges and opportunities, while moving toward our future?), planning (how will we develop goal oriented strategies on both organizational and individual levels that will most effectively enable us to realize our future?), partnering (with whom do we need to partner organizationally and individually in order to effectively carry out our strategy and how should we best develop these partnerships?), and leadership (is there sufficient leadership to sustain desired organizational change?).  He finished with a quote from Raymond Rood, "The future belongs to those who are willing to assess their current reality, envision what they believe will happen, and then take responsibility for translating their vision into a new reality."

In the afternoon, Dave Pollard and Wes Johnson talked about spiritual formation.  Pollard described spiritual formation in terms of longing, listening, knowing, and celebrating.  He referred to Dallas Willard's argument that spiritual formation is character formation.  Johnson led us through a process of transformational prayer and biblical meditation.  We basically studied some scriptures and spent some time in them to apply their meaning to our hearts.  It required a certain level of silence, which is not something I am used to.  I am more of an "active" learner, so silence and meditation on scripture are not practices that I spend a whole lot of time doing.  I'm hoping to learn how to rest quietly in the Lord more often.

As I reflect on this day, I learned that I need to take more time to focus on the spiritual discipline of being quiet and resting in God.  Also, I can work with LAMP kids to focus on being more contemplative when much of their lives are based on distraction (music, video games, TV, movies, internet, etc.).

I was able to connect the organizational leadership principles to both North Way and LAMP.  With North Way, I gained a new appreciation for the way that Pastor Jay and the executive team have navigated through change over the past couple of years or so.  Although it has been a rough road at times, they were not afraid to take risks and lead the organization in a new direction to overcome the forces of change in Pittsburgh.  With LAMP, I am learning that I need to continue to lead and cast vision well to navigate through the various changes that we have encountered and will continue to encounter as we move forward.  We can never land in a place where we are comfortable with the status quo (especially since we have children on a waiting list for a mentor).  

BGU Journal - 1/20/09

We watched Barack Obama's inauguration to start the day.  After that, Ron Ruthruff, one of the directors of New Horizon ministries that we visited last week, lectured for about an hour.  This was one of the highlights of this class for me because I am so interested in outreach to youth at risk in Pittsburgh.

One of the big passions of Ron's life has been to advocate for troubled adolescents at the government and policy level.  His big thing is that these are just kids, even though most policies impacting them are formed for adults.  Adolescents are stuck in the middle, between childhood and adulthood, rural and urban, and between being kids of color and being white.  Because of the way cities are set up, kids all over the country (including rural areas) are listening to hip hop music and playing violent video games.  For the first time, young people are living in a world where the future is more fascinating to them than the past.  This comes as a result of modern culture.   Young people are more cross-cultural than adults, and they often know more that we do!  

We need to provide culturally appropriate services for children, biologically, psychologically, socially, developmentally, and physically.  Also, ministry models for youth at risk (and he would argue that all youth are at risk) need to leave room for failure.  Young people have been asked to "grow up" even though they are not really developmentally prepared for adulthood.  If young people are obsessed with the future, they know more than we do, and they are obsessed with individuality, then the questions stands:  How do we set up mentoring relationships for these kids that takes these issues into consideration?

Young black men in America are six to eight times more likely to be shot and killed than young white men.  One in three African American young men in America are either incarcerated, on probation, or have a criminal record even though only 10% of Americans are black men.  The question is, what are the major societal processes at work that lead to black men being disproportionately incarcerated or killed?  Many leaders are disappointed that black rappers or athletes don't stand up more often to make a positive impact in this culture, but many of them are young men themselves (not capable of understanding the appropriate roles that they were designed to play in society).

In America, one in four girls are sexually abused as children.  One in eight boys are sexually abused as children (this number is mostly lower because boys are more afraid to talk about this than girls).  Sexual abuse creates trauma for young people, which is more or less traumatic depending on how young they were when they were abused.  Kids are also traumatized by other events they see in their lives, and they are only able to become functional adults if they have "anchors" in their lives.  Anchors are the support network that help to guide adolescents through difficult years and traumatic experiences.  Anchors are relatives, schools, churches, programs, mentors, etc.  When children don't have enough anchors in their lives, they become troubled adults.    The worst ages for trauma are 2, 12, and 18.

Cognitively, the older a person is, the better they cope.  Children become extremely desensitized to violence and sexuality if they experience it commonly at a young age.  Morally, children begin to develop discrepancies between those who have power and those who don't if they are subjected to trauma at a young age.  This often leads to rebellion against authority in adolescents who have experienced trauma.  Adults who work with troubled adolescents need to teach them the answers to questions like, "What is life, who's in charge, who do I form alliances with, and who are life's protagonists and antagonists?"  Adolescents need help navigating through all of this.  Children develop identities from right and what is.  Adolescents develop identities from what's wrong and what is not.  This is a gateway to rebellion.

Adolescents form identity based on two ideas:  personal fable (nobody understands me or the world I live in like me) and imaginary audience (the entire world is watching every move I make).  Again, young people can navigate through all kinds of troubles when they are given the right kind of anchors.  This is why mentoring is so crucial!

In the late morning several people lectured about the missional and practicing approaches to church.  How can churches be incarnational and missional?  Our role as a church is to announce, demonstrate, and embody the good news of Jesus Christ.  Many churches seem to have different callings within the body of Christ.  Relationships are the key, and in many cases, people feel like they need to belong before they believe.  Churches love to create bounded sets, where people know who is in and who is out.  For instance, a church with a bounded set won't allow people to smoke, or drink, or dress a certain way.  In contrast, in churches with a centered set everybody is welcome and considered to be moving toward a relationship with Jesus.

When people belong to a faith community before they believe, it creates a mess.  What do you do with a gay couple, people who are living together, or Muslims who are seeking?  Some pastors prefer to have the mess of the centered set because the mess of the bounded set is even more difficult to navigate through.  In the bounded set, people take their struggles and problems underground so that nobody talks about them and they are eventually manifested in a major way at a later date (such as a pastor secretly having an extramarital affair for a number of years).

Pastors can decide to grow a church "big" rather than grow a "big" church.  This is done through connections, conversations, and collaborations.  Followers of Jesus serve in three realms:  personal, local, and global.  The goal for Christians is spiritual transformation into Christ's likeness for the sake of the world.  Our spiritual disciplines empower us to go out into the world with what God gives us.  If you depend on the offering plate to grow missional dreams, it may not happen.  Churches should also seek partnership.

Many pastors are more concerned about the view of insiders that outsiders.  This is wrong!  People rate their pastors just like movies or restaurants.  This is wrong!  In many churches, over 80% of the resources go toward creating a show, or program, that draws people to the church.  This is wrong!  When people get bored with a church, they just leave and go to another competing church with a better show.  This is wrong!

Churches are becoming a business, or professional religion.  They are developing beliefism, which is the worship of right beliefs (also known as our beliefs).  In America, we have generated a culture of professional Christians.  There is really not much of a foundation of professional ministry in the Bible, it's just something we've come up with.  The truth business leads to the morality business.

Paradigms in society are very powerful.  Christians should learn about which paradigms they are operating in, and they should also seek to understand uncertainty and randomness (something our modern version of Christianity seems to be against).  As a solution, people in the church should start talking with each other once again.  It is alright for Christians to engage people who do not believe as we do.  We can search for common ground upon which to base our relationships.  Churches should be practicing churches:  personally, locally, and globally.  We can practice personally by noticing people, praying for people, talking to people, and listening to people.  People won't understand local or global perspectives until they understand personal perspectives.

In the afternoon we toured a Four Square church that has several different multicultural churches operating within it, including English, Iranian, Spanish, and Korean.  It was an interesting glimpse into a model of diversity in the Kingdom of God that is not usually implemented in homogenous churches around the country. We also discovered how this church is partnering with their local community through the police department, nonprofit organizations, and city hall.  BGU values diversity and partnerships, and today I was able to see examples of these ideals in progress.

As I was experiencing these ideas today, two things seemed applicable to me:  LAMP, and the externally focused church movement at North Way.  LAMP is critical because we are working as mentors to so many African American and at risk young people in the city of Pittsburgh.  The externally focused church initiative is critical because it provides a framework for mobilizing the body of Christ in a strategic manner in areas all over Pittsburgh and around the world.  Christians are called by God to engage culture, and influence the world.

Also, one of the questions that interests me is, "How can North Way become a more diverse community?"  I would like to be able to do this intentionally, perhaps through future multisite efforts in Pittsburgh.  Even if we are unable to utilize our multisite strategies to become a more diverse congregation, would it be possible for us to use our new space for other international communities to hold services in our facilities at different times of the day on Saturday or Sunday?

BGU Journal - 1/19/09

It was kind of nice to be back in the class setting after a couple days away.  Brad Smith facilitated the an early discussion about the importance of Martin Luther King, Jr. day.  We also took turns sharing with the group what this day, or more specifically this man, meant to us.  It was a very unique discussion considering the diversity of the people in the room.

Brad Smith lectured about theology, which he defined as the "scientific" study of God.  People can study God from a detached perspective, so the term has lost much of its meaning.  BGU is interesting in submitting to God, and trying to understand Him in relevant ways.  The intent of the author is very important when studying the Bible, and the understanding of God is superintended by the Holy Spirit.  God wants to know us by incarnation, the Bible, tradition, and general revelation.  Systematic theology is important, but it has also produced many varying forms of cultural Christianity (U.S. Christianity featuring individuality and Sunday morning programs is one example).  BGU valued Biblical theology instead of one particular type of systematic theology.  Consistency with scripture is important.  

Other cultures and major religions are becoming more open to Christianity.  This is true, in part, because of some of the impact of globalization.  Hinduism, for example, may not exist in 100 years because of its strong relationship with classism.  Globalization does not sync with classism.  When the other world religions become more Christian over time and the people are searching for answers, will the church have trained leaders who are prepared to take this on?  Global theology is interesting, and Christians will need to know what common language can be found and what things are not negotiable (like Jesus dying on the cross for our sins).  Through this missional lens, Christians will need to bring back the great commission with the first commission.  The first commission is from Genesis where man is made to rule the earth in Eden.  That is how we are still designed, even though we live in a fallen world.  We are garden creatures, but we have been kicked out.  We know from Revelation that God will restore His creation.  The great commission in Matthew is still important, but it cannot be disconnected from the first commission in Genesis.

The key to all of this is stewardship, which is taking care of something that belongs to someone else.  Smith pointed out that we were created to work as stewards of the Earth.  We chose to rebel not because we doubted God's power, but we were (and are) skeptical/cynical about God's goodness.  God's creation is now corrupt and we have reduced power and purity as stewards (a concept he called futility).  Three of the most difficult areas of our stewardship are power, money, and human sexuality, yet Christians are the only ones who can ultimately steward these areas as intended by God.  Four ways to approach power, money, and human sexuality are piety (avoid them), consumerism (claim them as my right), pragmatic (use them as resources to achieve results, or stewardship (reclaim them for their original purpose).  Too many Christians have taken a piety, consumerism, or pragmatic approach to these issues, and not enough Christians have sought to be good stewards in these areas.

According to Smith, we are created to be in "business."  He said, "Business for stewardship and mission sees its purpose is to serve the needs of society - both locally and cross-culturally - in a way that transforms economies, societies, cultures and people's connection to God.  It does it in a way that sustains itself with profits, but the goal is not profit, but healthy stewardship of power, money, influence, resources, people, products, and knowledge for God's purposes.  When Christians detach themselves from the "business" of the world, it creates much pain and confusion.  Reclaiming the original purpose of business is part of our stewardship."

Humans were made for working, being in community, making decisions, reproducing, and worshiping.  The world becomes dysfunctional if we fail to do even one of these things.  The Tower of Babel is one good example of this.  They worked, they were in community, they made decisions, they reproduced, but they forgot one thing:  worship God!  Every human was made for these five things, so we cannot disconnect the first commission from the second commission.  We're supposed to have a stewardship theology.  It's not complicated, just reorienting.  

Neal Johnson, the dean of the business school at BGU, then spoke more about a theology of work.  The common theme so far is that Christians cannot detach from the business world.  There needs to be a dialogue between the pew and the pulpit, and a clear connection between Sunday and Monday.  Transformation in communities will not begin without involving the business world.  A secular/sacred divide has been perpetuated by the church.  What a person does on Monday should be as holy as what they do on Sunday.  Decision making in business should be informed by scripture.  God wants us to come alongside people in business.  Living the gospel happens 24/7, and pastors should see themselves as equippers of this.  People can live out their callings in the business world.  They do not have to become a pastor or missionary to become some kind of better Christian.

Jack Van Hartsfelt, a BGU board member and businessman, then lectured about the role of the business world in  partnering with churches for community projects.  He showed a video of a church renovation project he led as a businessman that took two weekends and involved over 800 volunteers.  He stressed the importance of coming alongside people who are already out there doing big things, with the mindset of equipping them with resources and visionary leadership.

Lowell Bakke then lectured about the local church and a theology of work.  He defined theology of work as the calling of God in the lives of people.  He shared about his brothers, Ray and Dennis, and the differences in their callings.  Ray has been successful in missions in life, and Dennis has been successful in business (he's a billionaire).  Both have felt equally called by God to their areas of impact.  The church should pay more attention to equipping people who have the calling for business.  Lowell Bakke asked, "What is your church's priority?  Is it to attract people from the community to the church?  Or, is it to send people from the church to invest in the community?  Is Sunday more important for our church than the other six days of the week?"  Church programs can actually lead people away from their callings in the world sometimes.  Maybe when 20% of the people are doing 80% of the work in church programs, it's because the other 80% of the people are out in the world potentially making a difference where the people in need are.

After lunch Brad Smith showed us a feature film called "Power Trip."  The story was about Dennis Bakke's company, AES, who tried to solve the electricity problem in the country of Georgia.  It was an amazing story about how corporations can make a very positive or negative impact in the world.  It emphasized the need for Christians to empower and equip people in business for the sake of gains in the kingdom.

My first analysis of all of this is that it seems to make sense, but it's going to take me a while to process through it all.  I hope to develop more of a theology of work, but that is difficult to do working in a full time ministry environment. 

One of the most tangible things I can do when I get back to Pittsburgh is to start valuing business and government leaders more in light of the unique position God has called them to.  In fact, over time I would hope that I'll be able to encourage people more effectively to understand their worth and influence in the world as it relates to God's purposes.  Also, as a mentor I would like to help my mentees to understand a theology of work that enables them to effectively develop a calling.

Application

BGU Journal - 1/18/09

Today I had a day off from studying, so I decided to explore some more of the city before watching the Steeler game this afternoon.  I walked about ten blocks downhill from my hotel to the Seattle waterfront.  I spent some time in the Seattle Aquarium.  A friend of mine once told me that there's nothing more relaxing in life than looking at fish.  I think there's some truth to that!  My favorite fish was one that glowed in the dark in order to attract prey.

After the Aquarium I headed up to Pike Place Market and I bumped into four friends from the DMin program.  They invited me to have lunch with them at a seafood buffet, so of course I had to join them (I can never pass up a buffet).  This informal time together was actually a great time to get to know one another.

I went on a boat tour of Puget Sound after lunch.  The tour guide said that Seattle has 220 cloudy days each year, but today I was blessed with a perfect sunny day!  I could see for miles in all directions.  I love exploring the west.  It's such an adventure.  Seattle is set against a dramatic backdrop of hills, islands, and snow-capped mountains on all sides.  Also, most of the skyscrapers were built after the World Fair in the 1960s so the skyline is very modern.  The most interesting part of the tour was the huge boats, cranes, and locks in the shipyard areas.  As was the case with most of this trip, it was a lot to take in!

I chilled out in my hotel room and watched the Steeler game after the boat ride.  Go Steelers!  They're going to the Super Bowl!  Now, I can't wait to get back to Pittsburgh.  There's nothing like a city that is involved in a sports championship run.  It's an incredible sense of community.  I also can't wait to get back to Pittsburgh because I miss my wife and kids so much.  Two weeks is a long time to be away.  I'm glad many of the trips I'll be taking over the next few years will only be one week in length.

Thanks to everyone who is praying for me!  This whole experience is causing me to depend on God in a way that I never have before.  It's amazing how God meets us when we take risks.

BGU Journal - 1/17/09

We travelled to Ray Bakke's home, called Bakken, today.  This was quite an experience.  He lives about two hours away from Seattle, and his home is gorgeous!  He lives on twelve acres, and his property includes a trail of 20 different locations called the "mission trail."  Each stop, or stake in the ground, represented a century of the Christian church (since the birth of Christ 2,000 years ago).

The trail was a unique experience because Bakke is such a student of Christian history.  His mind is like an encyclopedia.  He is an example of what I would call a life long learner.  Also, he loves to share what he has learned with other people.  For instance, his library has over 9,000 books from all over the world organized by time and topic.

After a lunch of Chinese food Ray's wife, Corean, played a concert on her piano from the main room of their home.  She has an amazing gift, and she must have performed about 10 to 15 songs from memory on her piano in the main room of the house.  I was amazed by her abilities.  After lunch we toured the house and property for a bit.  Then, we went to Ray and Lowell Bakke's childhood home a couple miles away, which showed the property that is currently utilized as a retreat center and managed by one of their cousins.  This property was also an amazing place!

I loved every minute of this day!  This was an amazing experience to learn from a leader who has led so many people around the world over the past fifty years.  Ray Bakke is truly serving as a mentor to me, and I am so privileged to be going through this experience.

I'm looking forward to having a day off.  We have really been pushing over this past week, and it will be good to have a chance to reflect on what we've learned.  

BGU Journal - 1/16/09

Ray Bakke started the day off with a lecture on reflective leadership.  This year marks his 50th year in ministry, so he gave us an overview of his life experiences over the years.  I have read a lot of this in his books such as Street Signs, The Urban Christian, and A Theology as Big as the City.  It was a unique experience listening to an author fill in the gaps with stories and details orally.  People have accused Bakke of being "anti-rural" because of his urban reputation, but he told us that wasn't true.  He values all environments, including urban, suburban, or rural.  If we are all made by God, there is no reason to hate or dislike people based on where they choose to live.  He gave his autobiography over the course of about an hour.  I won't repeat it in this journal, but if you haven't read his life story it's worth reading it in his latest book, Street Signs.

Bakke's experiences as a young pastor propelled him into a lifelong journey to explore a theology of the city.  Many people, especially Christians, had viewed cities as evil places.  Many Christians viewed God as a rural God, meaning that He is only found in the wilderness.  So this is what caused him to take a year off from seminary in Chicago to study a theology of the city.  The word city is found 1,250 times in the Bible.  Over 140 cities are mentioned in the Bible.  Ezekiel 16 is a classic piece of urban scripture.  In urban theology, cities are all connected.  So, urban and suburban are connected to one another.  Suburbs are the sisters of cities, and we need to love them just like we would our own family member (even if we disagree with them).  Bakke said that when James Dobson talks about the family, he fails to consider the "community" or city as a part of the family.  He disagrees with Dobson's view of the family as only a nuclear unit.  We're connected with the people in cities and suburbs... they're our relatives in a way because of the way God describes the connectedness of the city in the Bible.  As another example of urban theology, Bakke challenged us to read Genesis 41 and 47.  After reading both chapters, try to determine if Joseph was a capitalist or a socialist.  He was both.  He applied capitalist and socialist strategies in leading the land.  Daniel is another fascinating case study in urban ministry.  

Bakke argued that the New Testament is an urban book.  Paul never went anywhere that had a smaller number of people than Thesselonica.  His missionary strategies focused on cities in order to spread the gospel.  Bakke thinks theology should be shaped by scripture, history, context, and the church.  He said western theology is viewed in lateral, or horizontal terms.  For instance, how far can we send missionaries around the world?  Eastern theology is viewed vertically.  For instance, in light of the past two thousand years of Christian history will the next generation embrace Christ?  He argues that both horizontal and vertical aspects of the great commission are essential in an effective missiology.

Another good example of reflective theology examines the Old Testament books of Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah.  Each of these books focuses on the context that God used to transform a culture.  Esther infiltrated the king's harem in order position herself politically for the sake of righting an injustice against her people.  Nehemiah took the mantle by getting a letter of credit from the king and physically rebuilding the city.  Then, Ezra emerged to provide spiritual and cultural structure to the society.  God used each of them to transform the same city.  

During the "dark ages" of the Old Testament in the book of Ruth, God gives several perspectives on the importance of history.  In the first part of the book, the reader must ask the question, "Is history cyclical?"  In the second part of the book, the reader must ask, "Is history just an accident or luck?" In the third part of the book the reader must ask, "Is history a conspiracy, or a manipulation by people in power?"  Finally, in the fourth part of the book, God shows us that history is neither cyclical, accidental, or a conspiracy.  God is moving, God is in control, and He takes history very seriously!

When you reflect on how the book of Matthew begins, you notice that he starts with a listing of what Bakke called the four grandmothers.  They are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheeba.  What's unique about this?  Some theologians have noted that they were all sinners, but then again so were the men listed as well.  Luther noted that each of the women were foreigners (Canaanites, Hittites and Moabites), and it's a reminder that foreigners and people who are different than us should never be left out of missions work.  Also, Mary and Joseph were both descendants of these women.  God chose scandalous blood lines to incorporate into His own body.  By doing this, Jesus smashed racism!  He was the mixed-racial Savior of the world!  He was also an Asian baby who became an African refugee, as noted in the story of the flight to Egypt.  In knowing how God values all of these things, how should this shape our current views in America on race and immigration?

History ties us to the past, so reflective leadership is critical.  The people in history are having their voice heard through the scriptures, and this has a profound implication on missions.

The next lecturer was Janet Marrow, who is a member of the Board of Trustees at BGU and the founder of an organization called TRUST in Chicago.  She described TRUST as an organization that brings stakeholders to the table through relationships, in order to reach understanding through relationships.  Over the years the organization led to many strategies that transformed the city of Chicago.  She really believes that all Christian leaders need to be able to understand and influence systems.  Many Christians, especially those with an overly individualized view of the gospel, tend to shy away from systems because they think they are all evil or corrupt.  Actually, God calls us to engage systems.  There are many examples of this throughout the Bible.  Systematic change works best because we are all connected.

After lunch with the BGU board of directors, we heard lectures from Grace Barnes about servant leadership.  This was an interesting topic in a group as diverse as this, because this concept has a different meaning culturally in many of the cultures of the people present in this class (China, Africa, Phillipines, America, etc.).  Servant leadership occurs when servants become leaders, and leaders lead by serving.  It's a bottom - up approach.  The hierarchy is turned upside down, and the leader views their role as equipping others to succeed.  It is a leadership style that is focused on other people.  Although servant leadership is important, it cannot and should not be the only type of leadership style used by a good leader.  Leadership is a paradox.  For instance, personal development in a leader is also important.  How can we lead others effectively if we cannot lead ourselves effectively?  Leaders should understand their calling to God first before they try to lead others.

Once again, this day's material was a lot to take in.  It's all interesting because the information consists of many countercultural ideas.   But then again, being a Christian is in itself a countercultural way of life.  I did not really feel threatened by any of the material, but I know many people who might definitely be threatened by a lot of these ideas.  For instance, I know many leaders of organizations, groups, or even their own families who I would not consider to be servant leaders.  They rule authoritatively instead.  Many of these leaders are not reflective, and they are not very interested in personal development.  What would a leader like this think of the idea of intentionally giving up control in order to elevate others?  How would their organizations or people they influence respond if they suddenly tried to do this?

How will people react to the evidence that in Genesis Joseph applied socialist principles for the benefit of a society?  How will people react if I challenge James Dobson's view of the family?  Does James Dobson have the final say on what a family is supposed to look like?  What do white evangelical Christians in America think about a Jesus who was a multi-racial refugee from scandalous blood lines?  Do Christians read scripture with a rural bias (meaning that God is only found in the wilderness)?  Do I understand history as it relates to theology?  These are all questions I'm processing through for the first time.

This journey is causing me to seek God in places that I have seldom thought to look.  I can very clearly remember my first week of college at California University of Pennsylvania in 1994.  All of the football players were required to live on the same floor of one dorm, and suddenly I was shoved into the world of cross cultural relationships.  I was a minority on a team of mostly African American players, but it was a great learning experience as a 17 year old kid.  

Moving to California to teach was another great cross cultural experience starting in 1999.  I remember the very first class I taught.  It was about 110 degrees outside, and four teachers brought their first grade students to me for a physical education class.  As these children sat and listened to my instructions, I suddenly realized that about 50% of them had no idea what I was saying because they only spoke Spanish!  Also, 80% of my students were Hispanic.  It became very obvious that I would be the one who would be needing to change my approach... and fast!

Moving back to Pittsburgh to work with LAMP was another similar learning curve for me.  As a leader, I had to navigate through many cross cultural issues as a result of serving the children in the Homewood and East Hills neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.  Thankfully, Errika Jones from the Pittsburgh Board of Education was an excellent mentor and she was very patient with me (and North Way in general).  She continues to model effective cross cultural relationships, and systematic thinking, for many people in Pittsburgh.  Joanne Galinowski, one of our LAMP partners from Family Guidance, Inc., is also very effective at cross cultural relationships.  I continue to be grateful for her servant leadership style as well.

I share these personal stories because they are a part of my journey toward hopefully becoming a better follower of Jesus.  I am enrolled in this DMin program at BGU to broaden my worldview and strengthen my leadership abilities.  I am trying to develop an understanding of the whole body of Christ, not just a white American view of God.  Only 13% of the world's population is white.  Less than 5% of the world's population is American, yet American Christians seem to have an overly important view of themselves in relation to our modern world.  I have a long way to go!

BGU Journal - 1/15/09

This morning I led a devotional time for the whole group with two new African American friends, Richard and Ronnie.  We sang the old hymn Blessed Assurance, and it led to a good time of reflection.  After the devotion, Randy White divided us into three groups for a "visual" debriefing of what we learned on the previous day.  I was in the "artistic" group, and we drew a bunch of symbols (no words were allowed in our group) that represented the collision of cities with the kingdom of God.  

After this brief exercise we all piled into a bus to head to our first destination called New Horizons.  This is a faith-based youth facility that provides services to over 1500 street children each year.  Our tour guide was Ron Ruthruff, who Ray Bakke introduced as "the most gifted youth leader in the country."  We toured the facility, examining everything from the intake process, to the meeting of basic needs (food, laundry, bathrooms and showers), and most importantly, fellowship (as in every ministry model... relationships are key).  This holistic ministry model to street kids involves outreach (workers spend much of their time out in the streets with kids), relationships, a place to belong, food (meals lead to fellowship), life discovery, and a mentoring program that they call Adoptive Life Skills Mentorships.  This was a career-based mentoring program where the adolescent kids met with a mentor for eight to ten hours per week for a minimum of one year.  So, depending on the interests of the kids, they could "work" with or shadow a maintenance person, food worker, small business owner, social worker, or many other career options to choose from based on the current volunteer base.  Over six thousand children run away from home in King County (Seattle) each year, in a country where over two million children run away each year.  Areas like Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco have a large amount of street children because of the climate and culture.  Out of those 6,000 runaways, about 3,000 return to their family within a week.  But, between 800 and 1,000 children slip through the cracks of society and end up on the streets of Seattle.  These are the kids this ministry seeks to serve.  Ron said that 80% of the street kids have suffered from some type of physical or sexual abuse from their families.  In order to connect more effectively with these kids, New Horizons diversified their staff that now includes about 50% black or hispanic population.  Although alcohol and drugs are prominent in street children, the biggest problem for street kids is prostitution.  Over 50% of the children are involved in prostitution.  It's the number one way they can survive on the streets (often they are unable to sell drugs because there is so much competition).  New Horizons also utilizes an effective volunteer management system, and they have very high standards for volunteer outreach workers.  This kind of volunteer work is very demanding, so it is not for everyone.  One of the problems they experienced in their mentoring program was... how do you create mentoring relationships when the kids know more than their mentors (especially in terms of technology)?

We left New Horizons and went to the Church on the Hill, pastored by a young man named Jason Hubbard.  He planted this church that now meets in an old building that is used as an underground theater.  They moved to this site about 1 and 1/2 years ago after the bar where they were meeting for five years shut down.  This experience was all about learning how to "do church" to people on the margins.  All of the people who go to this church are people who would not normally have attended a traditional church or megachurch.  They are a very diverse group of people, although I would probably describe Jason as a conservative type who is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute.  For over an hour we examined the passage of the first chapter of Daniel, which describes how Daniel was an adolescent growing up in Babylonian captivity.  We examined this chapter of the Bible with context, a summary, theological application, and anthropology.  He said that many churches today rush to the anthropology of scripture, but there is much to be learned and applied by examining scripture through the other areas.  The simple purpose of Church on the Hill is to connect life with Jesus.  They are not concerned about growing in numbers.  They are just concerned with building relationships with the people that God is bringing into their lives.  Jason also partners with the other pastors in this area to build relationships.

After lunch at a pizza joint we rode the bus back to BGU for an exercise that lasted all afternoon.  Each of us had about 5 to 10 minutes to share our testimonies, and it was an amazing experience hearing the life stories of people from all over the world.  I shared about the move Julie and I made to California, then to Ohio, and on to Pittsburgh.  There were many amazing positive and painful situations along that journey!

I was really impacted by the presentation at New Horizons.  I've been really thinking about studying urban youth as my specialization at BGU because of my work with LAMP, but this was almost a confirmation of that.  I love thinking about "outside the box" ways to reach young people.  I was interested in how they had thought out specific details of their ministry over time, including such things as the intake process (kids shouldn't have to wait in line forever in public for services because it's humiliating).  In Ron I saw a picture of a person who is living out God's calling on their life.  I hope that I can develop such an understanding of the needs of troubled youth in America as him.  I love to meet people who are living out their calling in ministry (whether professionally or on a volunteer basis).  I also picked up a great deal of insight into New Horizon's mentoring program.  They also have high standards for their mentors, which is one of the things that I feel is a strength for LAMP.  Over the years Ron had progressed to the point that he didn't let anyone work directly with the kids unless they signed on the bottom line to make a commitment for at least once a week over the course of at least one year.  This is very similar to LAMP!  Relationships do matter to children, and we as leaders don't need to introduce any additional harmful or short term adult relationships into their already tumultuous lives.

The Church on the Hill was a new experience for me.  I've heard of these "types" of churches in Pittsburgh, but until now I haven't taken the time to visit any of these places to try to learn how God is moving in these congregations.  I was fortunate to see a great picture of a church that is reaching people on the margins, the type of people that most people in the body of Christ today try to avoid.  It's much easier to send a missions group to a jungle in a foreign country than it is to send people into a troubled neighborhood in proximity to their own city!

I think that I learned a lot about urban youth ministry today.  Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by LAMP in Pittsburgh because of the nature of the children that we serve.  After experiencing this organization in Seattle, I don't feel so overwhelmed to continue the good work that God is doing in the city of Pittsburgh.  I only hope that I will be able to demonstrate the kind of leadership that is necessary to sustain a mentoring partnership like this over time (like that part of the New Horizons mission).  I did sense the affirmation for continuing to hold to high standards for the mentors who want to get involved in LAMP.  It's much better to have them commit for a year than it is to push an uncommitted volunteer through the system just because we need more mentors.

I also understood the role of a leader today.  I need to be vigilant in equipping and connecting with the volunteers who participate in LAMP (and other urban ministries that North Way is partnered with).  These relationships are key to the overall survival of LAMP's mission, and when you break it all down, it boils down to the importance of healthy adult relationships for the kids being served.

BGU Journal - 1/14/09

After spending the day in the lab yesterday (the city), today we had lectures all day from urban ministry leaders.  I had this day mentally circled on the schedule because I knew I would have to put my thinking cap on.  I really did!  It was intense from 8am to 4pm.

First, Randy White talked about conceptualizing the city, and specifically, how this applies to transformational leadership.  He asked us to imagine the city conceptually.  Can we see it?  We need to be able to see, hear, and generally sense what is going on in cities in order to transform them.  He shared his background of urban ministry in Fresno. Also, he presented the apostle Paul as a model of conceptualization.  According to the Bible, when Paul arrived in Athens he took the time to observe the objects of worship in the city.  Second, the city impacted him and he was deeply disturbed.  Finally, he chose to engage in the key sectors of the city (markets, synagogues, and political arenas) in order to communicate the gospel.  A physical exploration of cities (Nehemiah also did this) is crucial in order to formulate strategies.  Urban leaders should seek to understand the trinity of a city.  This includes the Urbs (infrastructure of systems in the city), Anima (shared knowledge of the residents and their unconscious beliefs and assumptions), and Civitas (behaviors, or what the city is known for).  Another type of trinity, which is presented by Robert Linthicum, describes the city as religion, politics, and economics.  Because all cities are products of collective sin, when things go wrong a religion of control, an economics of exploitation, and a politics of oppression results.

H. Spees, the Vice President of Leadership Foundations of America, then lectured about connecting the city, or operationalizing unity.  He first described the great turn around that the city of Fresno experienced between the years of 1992 and 2001.  He gave a great overview of systems in cities, and great transformational leaders seek to understand systems so that they can impact them.  One segment of the city is the community sector, which is comprised of neighborhood and volunteer organizations, local schools, local churches, and families/children and youth.  Also, cities are composed of ten institutions:  Public school, government, and law enforcement (public sector), media, business, labor (private sector), religious groups, non-profits, and churches (social sector), with the community sector in the middle (impacted by all the others).  A healthy community involves all of these institutions working together for the common good.  A major breakdown occurs when these systems don't work together (as is the case in many inner city communities).  However, the church can engage these institutions by understanding that there are "hidden" Christians in each of these institutions.  Christians are located in the community sector, they are located in the church as an institution, the church has individual leaders in each institution, and Christian leaders serve as connectors between institutions.  Since connectors are key, it is a big problem when Christians in these sectors develop an individualized view of the gospel (and neglecting the social aspects of the gospel).  Engaging in the city is complex, and it requires leaders who understand the importance of building relationships.  Churches who seek an easy or simple answer to city issues are setting themselves up for failure in the long run.

David Hillis, the president of Leadership Foundations of America, then lectured about concretizing organizations.  He said that organizations have four biases.  They way you do something is, if not more important, as important as the thing being done. We are are activity rich and relationally poor.  We have a high theology and a low anthropology.  And, culture always trumps the vision, values and theology of an organization unless they transfer the culture.  He then described how organizational leaders fall into three categories.  They can be teleological, which means they view things the way they ought to be and inspiration is the goal of the leader.  They can be deontological, which means the leader values moral obligation and right action based on information.  Or, a leader can be trinitarian, which means they understand that the fundament truth is relational as represented in the triune Godhead, and the leader is incarnational by valuing relationships.  Good leaders understand all of these characteristics, but the best leaders are trinitarian.  Hillis also described desire as an important aspect of this leadership model.  He thinks that the church does not know what to do with desire, and neither do educational institutions.  What are some solutions to this?  Leaders can create meaningful meetings.  Also, they can be more transparent.  They can give power away freely.

Kris Rocke, the executive director of the Center for Transforming Leaders, lectured on contextualizing leadership.  He started with the question, "What did Jesus do in his 30 years before he started his ministry?"  Than answer was, "He listened and reflected."  Rocke then talked about how many of us are conditioned to read scriptures from a position of power.  What happens when we read scriptures from a position of people in need?  He started doing this and it changed the way he understood the Bible.  If you want to preach the good news with and for the powerless, then you need to learn to understand their theology.  Scripture is an invitation to a conversation.  It's not a blueprint.  He described a theology from below.  We need to read scripture so that we invite people to bring their voice to the text.  This is dangerous, but he believes God is big enough to protect the integrity of the scriptures.  He then went on to describe that there are three gateways to transformation:  prayer, praise, and pain.  Pain is the widest gateway to transformation (this is where most of are drawn closer to God).  So why can't we read scripture through the perspective of pain?  Because most of us have set up our lives to avoid pain.  The greatest disability in the church today is the inability to suffer.  We divorce ourselves from painful places.  But, if I can't enter into my own pain, how can I enter in to yours?  At this point, many people who are in ministry like to project their own pain onto other people so they don't have to deal with it.  A scapegoat mentality occurs, and we start saying "them" or "those people."

After lunch Dr. Damian Emetuche, an West African missionary to Seattle, lectured about multicultural interactions and worldviews in light of immigration. He said that the west, including Americans, values time orientation, dichotomistic thinking, crisis orientation, and task orientation.  He said that many other cultures in the world, including Africans, value event orientation, holistic thinking, noncrisis orientation, and person orientation.  In America, it's important for Christians to understand multiculturalism and the worldview of immigrants.  Worldview is a philosophy of life.  For instance, the worldview of African Americans is very different from the worldview of African immigrants living in America due to the issue of slavery and oppression in this country.  There is a gap in their collective understanding, their worldview.  What are the missiological implications of this?  Relationship is vital, language is critical, a holistic ministry approach is necessary, small groups are good strategy, and people of a different culture can be viewed as a potential ministry force.

Skip Li then lectured on incarnational leadership.  Skip is an influential lawyer from Seattle who is Chinese.  He was born in India and raised in many countries all around the world (his father was a Chinese diplomat).  He speaks Chinese, Spanish, and Engish.  He lives in an urban part of Seattle called the university district, and he moved there after living in the affluent suburbs for many years.  He said his move to the university district was the best thing he's ever done for himself and his family.  He defined incarnational leadership as leadership that transforms communities through personal relationships.  Jesus chose to come to earth to be one of us, and he transformed the world by the way he did this.  In this way, Jesus taught us all how to live incarnationally.  Personal relationships are at the core of transformational leadership.  Li said the main principle that he think's it's important to live by is that each of us needs to be constantly active and use our minds in facing the constant moral choices of this world.  This is the key to living a worthwhile life, in that we all need to continue learning and growing.  Our culture is powerful, and it makes us conform this it's way of thinking.  Christians are called to be countercultural.  Often Christians allow the power of culture to do their thinking for them, but we have a moral imperative to break free from culture.  This is a day by day choice that good leaders are able to make.  Because of the predominance of culture, simply proclaiming the gospel by word doesn't work in this culture.  We must seek to proclaim the gospel with our actions.  This is the only thing that resonates with people anymore, although many Christians are still trying to hold on to their privacy and individuality.  Incarnational leadership tears down stereotypes in culture.  People don't know what to do when you start living out your faith in front of them through actions.  He ended his time with us with this quote from John Stott, "Work is a means of grace that God has given to man.  It's the expenditure of time in a task that fulfills ourselves, serves others, and glorifies God."  Wow!

Brad Smith, the president of Bakke Graduate University, then lectured about the body of Christ around the world.  He talked about the concept of convergence (two or more things coming together).  For Doctor of Ministry students, three things come together:  Career, Calling, and Spirituality.  He also said that this is a great time to be a leader in the church because about every 500 years or so something big happens in the church (we're due at about this time).  Our earth is changing, and I could be at the beginning of that time.  How will the church respond?  How will I respond?  What will the church look like 100 years from now?  We need to seek to understand history so that we can be good stewards of the resources God has given us in moving forward.  Studying the history of the church is important, but it also requires discipline. The BGU program is big on understanding the history of the church in order to determine where the church is going.

This was a lot of information to take in today.  I found that I had my internal "truth radar" up because the professors told us that they would be covering material that might challenge my worldview.  I'd say the biggest stretch came for me when Kris Rocke lectured on the topic of pain.  This is a dangerous topic, because most people don't like to talk about their pain.  It's very intimate.  Also, we don't like to talk about how pain might drive a countercultural perspective on sharing the gospel.  As a leader with LAMP, this was a tough subject for me to try to implement.  I don't know if I want to understand the pain that my mentees experience every day.  I don't know what it's like to be fatherless.  I don't know what it's like to live in fear all of the time time that someone might do something bad to me or my family.  I don't really know what it's like to live in poverty all of the time, and how that shapes one's worldview.  Mostly, I feel much more comfortable if I think that I'm always able to lead the kids that I work with out of generational poverty (as if that is going to be some kind of simple process that is not painful and complex).  

I also had my "radar" up when Brad Smith lectured on the geography of the world, and how the world is changing into a global culture.  I seem to like my place in the world (even if I don't admit it), and I'm made to feel uncomfortable when I'm forced to try to understand the global and urban perspectives from around the world that are shaping Christian ministry in this century.

So how does all of this apply to my ministry context?  How does it apply to North Way, or LAMP, or Pittsburgh, or America, or the world?  I was presented with many different viewpoints today, and many different perspectives on the world and the importance of God in it.  It seems to me that all of it is applicable.  Every time I hear a new perspective on the gospel, or how it applies to someone else's context, I gain a new perspective on how it applies to my context.

BGU Journal - 1/13/09

Today I spent most of the day in the lab... the city of Seattle.  Before we left this morning, a geographer named Ron Boyce gave a lecture about the nature of cities.  The special emphasis of his talk was on Seattle.  He described the importance of avoiding distractions when exegeting a city, and seeking to understand the importance of the shaping forces in history while discovering the present.

Next, Ray Bakke lectured about the difference between urbanization and urbanism.  Urbanization is the city described as a gigantic magnet.  It sucks all of the resources out of entire regions.  Bakke said that rural people are identified by biology and geography.  Urban people are identified by what they do.  This is why when an urban man loses his job, it is devastating because he also loses his identity.  This is why many urban males don't go to church (70% of most inner city church members are women).  They don't want to go to a church with a male pastor whose job (or identity) is stable when theirs is not.  It's emasculating, seeing the pastor's name all over the bulletins and on the sign entering the church.  Anyway, urbanism is the city described as a magnifier, or the woofer and tweeter of society.  It is the city as a stage prop, a process by which urban ideas and culture are spread throughout the global world.

Many cities now are building up into airspace, trying to draw rich people and young professionals back in from the suburbs.  So, taller buildings are being built, which include condos to buy instead of apartments to rent.  It's working, and these people are moving back into cities which is forcing poor people out into the suburbs.  This trend will be important for the church to understand over the coming years.  He also shared about the importance of pastors being for their communities, not just of their communities.  This means it is important for pastors to partner with the police, clergy, school administrators, hospitals, and other organizations that are a part of the fabric of the community.

Most of the rest of the day we explored Seattle.  We went to First Presbyterian Church, St. James Cathedral, Harborview Medical Center, Skid Row, World Relief, the International District, Waterfall Garden, Occidental Park, Pioneer Square, Seattle Art Museum, and Pike Place Market.  The two highlights of this tour were World Relief and Pike Place Market.

At World Relief we learned about the difference between immigrants and refugees.  They are a Christian ministry who helps to place refugees from around the world in homes and communities in Seattle.  Refugees are different from immigrants in that they don't come to America because they want to.  They come here because they are forced to, often as a result of conditions involving intense persecution, rape, violence, or war.  So their needs are great, but this is also an amazing opportunity to minister to people in need.

Pike Place Market is a shopping area in Seattle which happens to be the number one tourist attraction in the area.  Ray Bakke challenged us to tour this facility for an hour, and then come back to the group to discuss why a place like this could be so successful and diverse.  Most shopping malls are homogenous (like most churches in America), but this area has managed to transcend any class or racial boundaries.  One big question was:  What can the church learn from Pike Place?  How can churches become more multicultural and multigenerational?  

The biggest question posed for this day was by Dr. Randy White.  He asked, "If Ray Bakke loves this city, Seattle, so much... do  you love your city this much?"  Also, "Do you know your city like this?"

This question really challenged me.  I know some things about Pittsburgh, but I have not intentionally tried to develop a deep love and understanding for all of its people and places.  I am really looking forward to going through this process on my own (or perhaps with some friends?) when I return to Pittsburgh.  I will now be viewing the city through a new lens.

I also need to continue to be intentional about building relationships in Pittsburgh.  This applies to relationships that go up to the powerful and down to the powerless.  So in LAMP, if I am going to be an effective leader over the coming years I am really going to have to pay attention to these types of relationships.  My most important role is to invest in relationships.

BGU Journal - 1/12/09

Wow, today was incredible!  I've been looking forward to this day for a long time, and it was such a great experience.  My first class started this morning at about 8am, and I just returned to my hotel room in downtown Seattle at about 7:30pm.  About 20 students from around the world are here, representing places such as America, India, China, the Phillipines, Amsterdam, and Kenya.  

This morning the academic dean at BGU, Grace Barnes, gave a lecture about being strangers (as we are all meeting each other for the first time), the nature of transition (as this program is a major life transition for all students), and an overview of the Transformational Leadership for the Global City degree.  

Then Ray Bakke lectured for about an hour.  This was a real treat for me as this was the first time I've heard this amazing urban ministry leader speak.  He talked about how God is urbanizing the world.  In 1900 only 8% of the world's population lived in cities.  Now, over 50% of the world's population lives in cities.  508 cities in the world have over 1 million people.  Bakke also discussed the need for Christians to plunge into global urban ministry.  In 1900, 80% of Christians were white, northern, and Western.  Now, 80% of Christians are outside the West.  China and India are now the largest English speaking countries in the world.  Africa is the fastest growing urban continent.  He then gave an overview of the DMin program at BGU.

Brad Smith, the president of BGU, then lectured before lunch.  He discussed the unique learning environment at BGU, which is structured but also designed to incorporate creativity, stories, and experiences into the learning model.  Cities are the labs, and students serve as the practitioners.  Students may find that faculty will ask tough questions instead of just providing outlines of information.  Sometimes even professors disagree on viewpoints, and they see that as a good thing.  He then described this program as a pioneering environment for advanced leaders.  It has a lower structure (intentionally) and higher dissonance. 

I had lunch with Ronnie McCowan, an African American pastor of a church in Kansas City.  Our lunch exercise required us to have lunch with one other person in order for us to share our life stories with one another.  He has a great story, and it was fun meeting someone new.  After lunch Brad Smith led a group discussion in which we were asked to share a couple highlights of our time spent with the other person at lunch.  

Brad Smith then lectured again.  This time he gave his perspective on how the world has changed (similar to what Ray Bakke discussed).  He described how technology and a global economy have impacted the world, and especially ministry.  Christians need to understand what is going on in the world in order to engage effectively.  He also gave an overview of urban ministry 101:  Relief, Development, and Advocacy (Justice).  He gave some unique insight into a statement I've heard before.  The statement goes:  "In urban ministry it's important to give someone a fish (relief), but it's also important to teach someone how to fish (development)."  Smith added that justice must also be added to this equation.  What happens when the lake is contaminated, or there is a fence around the lake that keeps the person from fishing?  This is why urban ministry leaders must also be involved in justice.

For the remainder of the day, Ray Bakke led us on a tour of downtown Seattle.  Seattle is beautiful and has had many great accomplishments, but is has also been built on injustices (mostly to the native American people who were here before settlers arrived).  First, we visited Columbia Tower (the tallest building in Seattle).  Then, we walked across the city to have dinner at a Pizza restaurant in a huge mall.  Bakke lectured as we walked, explaining that Seattle is a Pacific Rim city now.  It faces west across the Pacific to China and Japan instead of east as it has typically in the past.  He also described how the freeway systems were built in America, and how they were not neutral.  Many people were discriminated against when these highways were built after World War II.  He also discussed the analogy of Colossians and Phillipians in relation to urban ministry.  Colossians tends to lead the reader to see how Jesus is involved socially and in systems.  Phillipians tends to lead the reader to see how Jesus is personal.  What's needed most is balance between the social and personal perspectives of Christianity in order for leaders to be effective.

I have to admit this first day was exciting but overwhelming.  This was just the beginning of my learning here, and I can already sense that my urban ministry paradigm is being shifted.  I was pleased to experience that, as advertised, this learning model fits right in with me.  I love to learn in a hands-on style.

Also, I can tell already that I will be learning from and alongside some amazing urban ministry leaders.  Everyone who lectures here leads from a base of credibility in urban ministry developed over a number of years.  Although all of the leaders were impressive, I was probably most impacted by the time with Ray Bakke.  Having read his books and hearing so much from other people about his unique perspectives on Christianity, it was a real pleasure to be able to listen to and interact with him for a whole day.

Another highlight of the day was the diversity represented in my classmates.  I love learning with these folks who have travelled here from all over the world.  The table I sat at for dinner was representative of this.  To my left was a man in his 70's who directs a mission organization for Russia and Kazakstan.  Beside him were two Africans, one who pastors a church in Kenya and another man from Nigeria who attended seminary in London and now serves as a missionary in Houston, Texas.  To my right were two women from Hong Kong who were able to share their experiences in training pastors in rural China.

This entire program ties in so well with what I'm doing with LAMP and other outreach efforts at North Way Christian Community.  I really needed a program that was practical and hands-on, and this was definitely it.  Also, I'm so pleased to be able to learn from and be mentored by people who are on the cutting edge of innovation in the church and urban ministry in general.  I am very encouraged at the moment that in Pittsburgh, we are on the right track with LAMP.  Furthermore, there are resources out there that can help to equip me for issues related to mentoring, church and state partnerships, urban and suburban partnerships, cross-cultural relationships, and much more.

Time to Adventure

It's here!  I leave early tomorrow morning for two weeks in Seattle for my first class, Overture I.  I've read about 2,000 pages to prepare for this class, so hopefully I'll be ready.  Here's some specific prayer requests that I have broken down by day (this also gives some insight into what I'll be learning each day while I'm there):

1/11:  Please pray for safe travel.  Both Pittsburgh and Seattle have seen bad weather lately, but I know God is of course in control of all of that.  Also, pray for Julie and Kyra and Sierra while I'm away.  I'm sure Julie will have her hands full, and she'll need lots of support while I'm away.

1/12:  This is the first day of class, and we'll be doing introductions and receiving an overview of the Doctor of Ministry program.  Ray Bakke and Brad Smith will be lecturing, and we'll be touring Columbia Tower.  Please pray that I'll be able to keep up with all of this information and settle on a specialization that fits right with the research I'd like to do with LAMP.

1/13:  Today's topic is Understanding the City.  We'll be learning about geography of the city and exegeting the city (lectures), plus walking tours of World Relief and Pike Place Market.  Please pray that God will show me how the learning from this day could apply to the context of Pittsburgh.

1/14:  Today's topic is World and Personal Perspectives.  We'll have lectures about conceptualizing the city, connecting the city, concretizing leadership development, contextualizing leadership, worldview immigration, incarnational leadership, and emergent church.  This sounds like a full plate for me, so please pray that I'll be able to process what is going on in the world for application to my own perspectives.

1/15:  Today's topic is Ministry Perspectives.  In the morning we'll be studying urban youth ministry by touring New Horizons.  Then we tour Church on the Hill to examine church plants.  In the afternoon we do an exercise called Sharing my Life.  Please pray that I'll have many take-aways to apply to LAMP upon return to Pittsburgh.

1/16:  Today's topic is again Ministry Perspectives.  Lectures will be about reflective leadership and servant leadership.  Please pray that God will teach me to make these learnings on leadership a part of my skill set.

1/17:  On this day we go to Ray Bakke's home for a day of learning, including participation in the mission trail.  We'll also enjoy a piano concert by his wife, Corean.  Please pray that God would draw my heart close to him during this day.

1/18:  Day off!  Please pray that I'll have a chance to rest up for another intense week to follow.

1/19:  Today's topic is Calling-based Leadership.  We'll be learning about business as pastor, business as stewardship and mission, and theology of work.  We'll also be watching a movie called Power Trip.  Please pray that I am able to understand these topics that are mostly new to me.

1/20:  Today's topic is Church and Ministry Multiplication.  We'll be learning about at-risk youth, missional church, and touring church plants all afternoon.  Please pray that I'll be able to apply these at-risk youth ideas to LAMP, and that everything I'm learning in general will be beneficial to North Way's vision.

1/21:  Today's topic is Theological Reflection and Organizational Transformation.  Lectures involve academic writing, organizational transformations, and spiritual formation, as well as group discussions.  Please pray that God would bless me with the gift of academic writing (which does not come naturally to me).

1/22:  Today's topic is Ministry in Complex Contexts.  I'll be learning about ministry in India and Appreciative Inquiry.  We'll also participate in communion and the last supper.  Please pray that God would give me a more global perspective on His church.

1/23:  Today's topic, the last day of the class, is Feedback and Conclusion.  We'll be reflecting on our take-aways.  Then I fly out (red eye) at 10:35pm from Seattle.  Please pray that I will be able to finish this race well!

1/24:  Please pray for safe travels again this day.  I'm sure I'll be looking forward to seeing my family, so hopefully all the flights will be on time.

Thanks for praying!  Also, I will probably be journaling almost every day so there should be lots of content on here.  I'd love to hear your feedback as I'm journaling!

Bryan

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

The research I did for my Master's degree at Fresno State involved the school-wide discipline strategies that were being implemented at the middle school I was teaching and coaching at.  When I first started teaching, I noticed that something was missing in the schools where I was working.  The discipline systems seemed ineffective for most of the students I taught.  These involved out-of-school suspensions for minor class disruptions, or expulsion for fighting, and also just general punishment-related actions and little if any positive forms of discipline strategies.  After almost two years of researching these thoughts, I came to a conclusion that one of the main things that was missing from my school district was a respect for the "heart" of the students.  The students were taught academic standards, and punished for misbehaving, but there was no general concern for their hearts (or what some would call their spiritual development).

Some would argue that school's should not be concerned with the spiritual development, or heart, of young people.  I completely disagree with that.  Most adults are unwilling to go into the territory of the heart because many of them are unfamiliar with how to live from their own hearts.  Nevertheless, any adult who has an impact on young people (teachers, coaches, parents, pastors, mentors, counselors, etc.) should be addressing children at the heart level.  This should not be the only thing that is focused on, but it should be a considerable part of the holistic approach to child development.  Jay D'Ambrosio, a teacher and author in Pittsburgh, did a great job outlining the need for adults to address heart issues in adolescents in his book "Rethinking Adolescence."  He wrote, "Every day in this country, students drop out of school, get suspended, get into fights, try drugs, steal, cheat, lie to their parents, and betray friendships.  We are losing them.  Why?  What have we not given them?  The answer is that we have not taken the time to connect with them at the heart level."

Scott Larson and Barry Brendtro cover this topic well in their book "Reclaiming Our Prodigal Sons and Daughters."  They said, "Modern youth are suffering from a deep spiritual hunger.  Yet most schools are so narrowly preoccupied with academic achievement and superficial behavior that they fail to meet the most basic emotional and spiritual needs of their children.  Likewise, many courts are no longer committed to meeting the needs of our most difficult children.  Even professional counselors may not know how to speak to the hearts of the youth they serve.  Now, as the frantic pace and complexity of modern life upsets our balance, we strive to correct our course and rediscover a purpose for living.  Such has always been the case with our most troubled youth who find little hope in their lives and are compelled at a young age to ask deeply spiritual questions.  Today, even secular researchers recognize the importance of integrating the spiritual dimension into a holistic approach to positive youth development.  Concepts such as virtue, faith, and forgiveness are taking center stage as we realize the emptiness of a do your own thing world."  The also go on to say, "The missing ingredient in most of our efforts with young people at risk has been the spiritual dimension."

I'd say this relates to LAMP in that we train our mentors to learn what is appropriate to cover with students in terms of heart and spiritual issues, but we don't want them to ignore those areas.  In fact, we don't want mentors to worry too much about academic or behavioral outcomes with their mentees.  The mentees really just need caring adults to engage them at the heart level, an area that is often overlooked by most adults in their lives.  From this perspective, mentoring fills a huge void in the lives of young people.  It also helps to fill this void for school personnel who have so much on their plates.  After all, all of the knowledge and good behavior in the world does not mean much at all without finding one's purpose in life (a heart issue).