A Bike Incident

It's amazing how life can change in an instant in my neighborhood. Yesterday somebody offered me tickets to the Pirates baseball game, so I decided to take my family and one of the boys from my neighborhood who has never been to a baseball game before. Our family was excited to have an unexpected night out on the town. We decided to eat dinner before we left our house for the game, and a couple of boys from the neighborhood showed up at our house to visit just as we were about to eat so we invited them to have dinner with us. One of those boys asked to borrow the bike of one of the other boys to go to his house real quick (he only lives about 100 yards from my house). He showed up at our house about ten minutes later, without the bike, frantically ringing our door bell and out of breath with a strange look on his face. When I opened the door he said, "You'll never believe what just happened!" He hurried inside the house and explained what had just happened. He got the story out very well for an eight year old kid, saying "Mr. B... I was almost at my house riding on Amir's bike when a car drove right past me and started shooting. They shot a whole bunch of shots into the house right next to mine, so I ditched my bike and headed into my house to duck for cover. A whole bunch of cops came and they have my whole block closed off. As soon as the cops got there, I went out to get Amir's bike but it was gone. Someone stole it, and some people told me that a teenager running from that house grabbed the bike and rode it to get away from the scene." I was just glad that he was alright, but Amir was very upset that his bike had been stolen. I wasn't sure if my young friend's story was true (bikes exchange owners frequently in Homewood), so I asked him and Amir to jump in my car with me on the one hand so that I could get them home safely if there was still danger and on the other hand to see if we could spot anyone riding the bike. We did not find the bike, but sure enough there were about ten police officers blocking off the streets around where the shooting had occurred. I went right into pastor mode... that is what pastors do in struggling urban environments. We go to where the people are hurting and we pray and help out and just generally minister to our neighbors.

One of the things about incarnational ministry is that when something bad happens in my neighborhood, I feel it. I hate that there are gun shots that close to my house. I hate that eight year old kids can't ride their bikes in the streets around my house without being in constant fear that shooting could break out in broad daylight at any time. I hate that my neighbors, people who I have grown to know and love, have to live in fear of violence. That kind of violence is evil, and it must be stopped. I don't want it to stop because of "those poor people who live in that blighted neighborhood." I want it to stop because it's my neighborhood, and my home, and I don't want that crazy stuff around my family and friends. It's just not right, and it's not the way life is supposed to be. And so my heart breaks, and when I enter into other people's pain I enter into holy ground. God meets people in their pain and in their heartache. There is no better place for me to be, as a follower of Jesus Christ, than ministering to my friends in the aftermath of a shooting in my neighborhood. We cannot minister effectively to people in pain if we are unwilling to go where they are because of fear. My calling as a Christian does not happen in sterile office or church environments between the hours of 9am and 5pm... it happens at all kinds of different hours in all kinds of messy places with all kinds of hurting people. A lot of transformational ministry happens when we least expect it.

When I made sure the boys were alright and returned safely to their mothers, I headed back to my house with the realization that suddenly a Pirate game wasn't that important and that at best we would be late arriving at the stadium because of the drama in my neighborhood. Still, we went to the Pirate game. The enemy wanted to destroy our joy because that's what he is best at doing, but we would not let our joy be destroyed last night. We had a good time together at the game. Sometimes the best thing to do for healing after traumatic events is to do "normal" things, so maybe the Pirate game helped me feel better for a little while. My heart is still burdened for my neighborhood, though. What else can I do to work with my neighbors to continue to try to put an end to the senseless violence in my streets? How else can I help? Where is God moving in Homewood, and how can I join that work each day to contribute my small part in God's plans to redeem the world? These are the questions that keep me awake at night. The faces of my neighbors are on my mind a lot because I so desperately want for there to be a sense of shalom in my neighborhood. I wouldn't trade that calling for anything, although it's not an easy calling. I feel like I need to give up control of the circumstances in my neighborhood every single day, and allow God to enter into the places where my heart breaks for the brokenness that is all around me.

The kids all came back to our house today, and we all celebrated together because Amir found his bike. Someone had given him a hot tip on where it had been spotted, and he was reconciled with his transportation shortly thereafter. We talked about the events from the previous day, and I caught up on how everyone from that street was doing. I was glad to hear that none of my friends were injured by the shooting. And we resumed "normal" life at the McCabe house, whatever normal means anymore. Every day seems like something new, and God is always teaching me things. The streets are my classroom. And that's the tension that God wants us to live in... with one arm outstretched to those in pain in this world, and with one arm outstretched to our Heavenly Father. We are called to use our lifetimes spending ourselves on behalf of vulnerable people in vulnerable places so that our God will be glorified and his purposes will be reached through us.