Running Away From or Running To Brokenness?

This evening the principal of the local elementary school came over to our house to have dinner. We have developed a good relationship with her because the LAMP mentoring program has been a big partner at the school for the past five years. We talked about various kids, the need for mentoring in developing assets in high-risk youth, the issues (good and bad) going on in the community, the state of public education in general, the state of the Church in general, and lots of other topics. We had some great discussions, and she is a good leader with a true love for the kids in Homewood. Several kids from the neighborhood, who happen to attend her school, were visiting us and playing games with our girls while she was at our house. When the kids all saw her, they each made sure to tell her, "I love you!" Obviously, the kids at the school like being around her, and she's working hard to improve things at the school.

People often ask me how LAMP churches have been able to partner with public schools. As representatives of the church, we respect the guidelines that the school district has given us in the partnership. But, the success of the partnership has more to do with the willingness and support of the public school district and individual schools than it does anything else. The leadership at the schools in Homewood realize the value of having caring adults spend time with their most vulnerable students. People may not always understand the value of mentoring, but it provides a preventive measure in intervening in the lives of children who could use lots of extra support at a young age. Mentoring is not a quick fix, but there are tremendous academic and general life positive outcomes associated with good mentoring programs over time.

Still, faith-based mentoring does not work without actual faith-based mentors. Many struggling public schools in America are desperately searching for support and resources, but unfortunately many Christians in America are fleeing from impoverished neighborhoods and distancing themselves as much as possible from public education. For me, I'm still trying to figure out how running away from problems and creating Christian bubbles for ourselves and our children has anything to do with following Christ? I believe that the Church operates in its finest form when Christians are engaging and rolling up their sleeves when it comes to tackling complex issues in society. We are at our weakest when we are running away, and Christendom seems to always be weakened when Christians run away from problems. That is one reason why I am so passionate about faith-based mentoring initiatives. I love to see Christians running full speed into the most broken situations, engaging relationally with some of the most vulnerable people in our society. I can't think of anything more Christ-like than that.