I found out some tough news today. A boy in Homewood that I know very well is going through a difficult time in his life. He is at a critical age, and he is starting to make some choices on the streets that are taking him down a bad path. That path leads to death and destruction. He has been waiting for a mentor for a long time, and nobody from my church has stepped up to mentor him. I get the feeling that we're losing him, slowly, to the negative influences of the streets. He is being mentored right now... by people who want to take him down a destructive path.
I have to admit that I'm very frustrated by this situation. I really care about his young man, and I want to find a mentor for him so bad. A mentor could change the course of his life forever. There are thousands of men who go to my church. Most of them know about LAMP. Most of them know LAMP has a waiting list of children, especially boys. There are some men from my church who have stepped up, but not nearly enough. To me, this is a matter of obedience. God has opened the door for us to mentor children in Homewood, and we are not meeting their needs.
I don't want to guilt any men from my church into mentoring, but I am sitting here today wondering why so many kids are hurting and why so few men have come forward to mentor them. There is nothing worse than watching a young person take the slow path to destruction when it could be avoided. What would happen if the church fully embraced God's call to be fathers to the fatherless? Maybe some guy from my church has a golf club in his hands right now on this beautiful day. Is that more worthwhile than mentoring a child? Maybe some guy religously carves out three hours every Sunday afternoon during football season to watch Steeler games on TV. Is that more worthwhile than mentoring a child? After five years of partnership with the Homewood community, perhaps it's time that the men in my church wiped out the list of boys who are waiting for a mentor. It's time to end the waiting game.
1 comment:
Bryan
What a shame! It breaks my heart to see this happen.
You make a good point, in that kids are mentored one way or the other - either by the streets, or by Godly men and women who step up to the task.
I share your frustration that more men from our church aren't stepping up. But to be fair, there are boat loads of Christian men from churches in Homewood that aren't stepping up either, and I find that equally if not more frustrating. You would think that if anyone should 'get it', it would be them.
Bryan, you just have to give it to the Lord. As distressing as it is, you can only do what you can do. It's in His hands.
John V
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