Shalom in the City

Although it is raining today in Pittsburgh, the weather has been amazing here in Pittsburgh over the past week or so. Last night was almost perfect. We decided to just hang out on our front porch for a little while, and the signs of hope in Homewood just came out in full force. Our daughters rode their bikes in front of our house, and they played in the school parking lot with a bunch of kids from our neighborhood. A friend who is doing some great work in Homewood stopped by to talk to us about some exciting things that are going on. Our neighbors stopped by to visit with us. LAMP kids visited us. I tossed the football around while chatting with some kids. There were no thoughts of drugs or violence. Just the joyful peace of a beautiful night and good friends.

God's Shalom in the city is a goal of urban ministry. Shalom means much more than peace. In my urban context, it means that my kids can ride their bikes and play in the street in front of my house without worrying about being shot or impacted by anything illegal. It means that relationships between people and the community are healthy. Bakke Graduate University defines a shalom leader as a leader that "pursues reconciling relationships between people, people and God, people and their environment, and people and themselves. The leader works toward the well-being, abundance, and wholeness of the community as well as individuals." My goal is to be a shalom leader.