Another Incident in Homewood

My doorbell rang last night at 11:30pm, and I knew right away that something strange was going on. One of the young men from my neighborhood, a seventeen year old senior in high school, stopped by to let me know that his younger brother, a fifteen year old boy who is involved in LAMP, was in the hospital. The mentee had been walking around with some friends in a part of Homewood that they probably shouldn't have been walking around, a feud had escalated, some shots had been fired, and the mentee was hit by a car while he was running away (at least that's the version of the events from the older brother's perspective). The mentee had been taken by ambulance to children's hospital, and his mom was over there with him, leaving the older brother and several other kids that I know to themselves on their block trying to figure out how to respond and wondering how their brother and friend was doing. This is the third shooting in the past week and a half that has impacted kids I'm close to in Homewood. These are the types of things that happen to pastors involved in urban ministry. It's hard to know how to respond. That's why it is important to be connected intimately to the Holy Spirit, because there are no simple solutions on how to respond to complex, urban issues. In the case of last night, I decided to drive my young friend home so that he made it there safely. Then, I drove over to the hospital to visit the mentee and his mom to see if I could find out any additional information about his health status that I might share with his brothers and friends back in Homewood. Once I went back to Homewood, I stopped at several houses to share the information and kind of deescalate their anger a little bit. I stayed for a while to talk about things, and then I went home. I also called the mentor to let him know that his mentee was in the hospital and to pray for the situation. The mentee seems to be doing OK, by the way, but I'll be finding out more information about his status when I visit with him today.

Summer time is a difficult time to minister with the high risk youth that we work with in Homewood. Situations that require pastoral support occur quite often, and for some reason God has chosen to work through me to reach tough kids and their families. It's a calling that I cannot ignore, and I know countless other ministry leaders in Homewood can relate. There are some pastors in Homewood who have been ministering in the midst of people's pain in Homewood for years and years. I honestly don't know how they do it, but I do know that their work is important and needed. When we are called to work with people experiencing the grind of urban poverty, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to know how to respond to each unique circumstance. My story from last night is not a story about me... it's a story about God and how much he cares about kids in Homewood and how much he wants to demonstrate his love to people in need. God values every life that he creates, and I know God has a positive plan for every young person in Homewood. God wants to work through ordinary people like me to carry that message forward. Because of that, the urban ministry worker must be empowered, equipped, and called by God for this work. We must be ready to engage, even if it is inconvenient. I am thankful that God chooses to work through me sometimes. Please pray for my neighborhood, please pray for the young people in my neighbhorood, and please pray for the pastors, ministry leaders, mentors, volunteers, school leaders and teachers, people from organizations such as Homewood Children's Village, Operation Better Block, YMCA, Rosedale Block Cluster, and other people and organizations that are working together toward the process of transformation in Homewood. No child should have to grow up in fear and despair, and I am praying that a brighter future is coming for the kids in Homewood.