Often when I meet people for the first time and we ask each other easy questions to get to know one another, I am asked where I live. When I say "Homewood" to a person from Pittsburgh, they usually get a funny look on their face and begin a series of curious follow up questions about what it's like to live in Homewood and why I would choose to raise my family there. This line of questioning happened to me several times this week. Admittedly, when we first moved to Homewood I was not prepared to answer those questions. I tried to awkwardly explain leadership and urban ministry theories that I had heard about and was trying to implement. I had a hard time trying to explain my calling. But now, having lived in Homewood for a couple years, I am much more prepared to discuss our reasons for moving here. It's much easier to explain now because what God put on my heart two years ago has much more clarity in hindsight. We have seen amazing things happen since we moved to Homewood, and I have all kinds of stories and experiences that I can share with people to back up the leadership and urban ministry theories that I studied prior to our move.
The biggest reason we moved to Homewood was because it was something God clearly called us to do as a family, and we decided to be obedient to God's call on our lives. God often requires Christians to give up the smaller stories of control, comfort, and safety that we try to engineer for ourselves in order to live in God's Story which often involves risk, downward mobility, and perhaps most importantly, love... love of God and love for our neighbors and love for our enemies, not just love for ourselves and our nuclear families. God's mission to humankind is much, much bigger than the American Dream. As a Christian, my biggest goal is to live in God's Story. God is moving in Homewood, and I'm simply joining his work there.
Another big reason we moved to Homewood was the relationships we had with kids and their families in Homewood. If people knew the kids in Homewood like Julie and I do, then I think a lot more people would start moving to Homewood. Most people in Pittsburgh choose to intentionally avoid going to Homewood at all costs, so they never have the opportunity to meet people in Homewood. They are missing out! A lot of kids in Homewood have many needs, but they also have tremendous courage, resilience, desire, humor, and many, many other assets that can be built upon. I could talk about how to run effective programs all day, but programs don't make a person want to move to Homewood. I could share the reasoning behind why all leaders in Homewood should move into the neighborhood, but leadership principles don't compel a person to want to move to Homewood. I could explain God's heart for reaching vulnerable people in cities, but urban ministry strategies don't cause a person to want to move to Homewood. Deep, meaningful, authentic, long term relationships with people are what make a person want to move to Homewood. Our move to Homewood is all about relationships... with God and with our neighbors.
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