Fresno

I spent most of the day today in Fresno, California.  I could have done a lot of things with my day today, but I had a little bit of time before my class officially begins tomorrow and I chose to visit a few spots that hold some memories for me.  When I first arrived in town, I drove out to Fresno State University.  The last time I was there, I attended a graduation ceremony for the Master of Arts in Education Administration program.  That place brought up a lot of old memories from the days when I was studying so much because I thought I was going to be a school principal.  Next, I drove to the River Park in Fresno to shop for a couple of things that I needed for my time out here.  Back in the day, I use to drive to River Park with some of my best friends to share meals, go shopping, or just hang out.  It was a good escape from where I was living in Visalia to one of the nicest and newly developed parts of Fresno.  Finally, tonight I am staying the night right next to Selland Arena.  The last time I was at Selland Arena, in 2002, I was playing professional arena football.  I had aspirations of playing in the NFL some day.  Now, when I look at the arena, I can close my eyes and still picture what that whole experience was like (all of the ups and downs).

It's kind of amazing how far God has brought me since my days in Fresno.  I know that those experiences back then helped to shape me, and, yet, still I am loving what I am doing in Pittsburgh right now.  I had no idea about urban ministry in my twenties.  Back then, I was focused on achieving some things in life that society really seems to value:  professional football player, or school principal, or spending time in the "nicest" and "safest" parts of town with good friends and good food.  Now, at this point in my life, my goals in life have completely changed.  Like back then, I still want to follow Christ as best as I know how, work hard at developing a great relationship with my wife, be a good father to the two girls that God has blessed me with, find joy in solid friendships, and work hard at my job and on higher education.  Unlike back in my Fresno days, I spend most of my time intentionally going into places that most people in America want to stay away from.  I am a very different person, and my values have really changed.  Where previously I may have valued what the American culture highly values (professional athelete, making more money at my job, higher education, living in a nice home in the suburbs, living out the American Dream), I am now completely sold out to go where ever God calls me to go on a daily basis.  I live in a high poverty and high crime area, and I place a high value on being friends with at-risk youth and hurting people.  I look at the broken things of this world, the things that mainstream American society does not value, and I find value in immersing myself in those things.  In Pittsburgh, I intentionally go to the placest that are perceived by mainstream society to be "dangerous" and "unsafe" because I have also learned that those are the types of places where God is present and he works through me and my family the most.

This week, in Fresno, I will be spending time with urban ministry leaders from around the world who God has called to minister in complex, urban, pluralistic, and seemingly broken environments.  I will learn a great deal from them, and from the experience of building relationships with other people who are learning to share God's heart for reaching the marginalized people in this world.  And I am thankful.  I am thankful that, as a young man, God has given me a new lens with which to view the world.  I still value the experiences from my twenties in Fresno.  I wouldn't trade them in for anything.  But I am thankful that God has opened my eyes to the suffering of billions of people around the world, and he has shown me how he can work through ordinary people like me to change the world.  I am truly blessed by that.  This is going to be quite a week in Fresno... I am bringing my old lens, and God will give me a new lens... from aspiring professional athlete to involvement in sports outreach in the inner city... from the ivory tower of higher education to getting my hands dirty in the urban lab... from the "safe" places of Fresno to the "dangerous" places of Fresno.  I can't wait to find out what my Creator has in store for me this week.