One of the greatest things about incarnational urban ministry is that I get to keep up with meaningful relationships much more effectively than when I was commuting into the community where I work. Last night was a good example. Last night around 8:30pm a senior at a local high school stopped by to spend some time with me. His mom died a few weeks ago, and I've been helping him to work through things that he's experiencing as a result. If he was just a kid in a program that I was working, then our entire relationship would be developed mostly on my terms during regular business hours. Instead, I live in the same community as him and he knows that my wife and I have an open door policy. He is welcome to stop by and visit with us any time. Our relationship is a true friendship... not one of a youth worker delivering services to a recipient. Last night a third grader at the school right next to us where our church has a mentoring program stopped by to play with my daughters and eat dinner with us. I'd bet that he's had dinner with us close to a hundred times since we've moved to Homewood, and he comes over to our house to hang out with my daughters almost every day. If I was just working a mentoring program, I'd see him maybe once a week on my terms. This way, I get to build a meaningful relationship with him over time that is truly transformational for both of us. He teaches me as much about Homewood as I teach him about life. His mom is in jail and he has never known his father, so God has allowed us to pinch hit as his family. It is a great privilege that our family enjoys... simply being his friend and demonstrating the love of Christ. Also last night, one of my long term mentees stopped by to visit with us and tell us how he's doing. He lived with us for a few weeks recently, but we have been working hard to restore his relationship with his mother so that he can live with his family. I've been through many ups and downs with him. Although he is a junior in high school, he is one of my friends and I think that God has big plans for his life. He has taught me a lot about resilience and courage while persevering through difficult life circumstances. Last night I just chatted with him on my front porch for a little while, and then he went on his way.
I think Jesus likes that my dinner table is known by many people who are struggling in life. I think Jesus likes that my home is a safe place for my neighbors. I think Jesus likes the fact that I am friends with high risk kids who might end up in gangs or getting involved in the violence in my community. Just last week, a good friend of mind who lives in a different neighborhood stopped by my house for a church small group and as we stood in my back yard we heard about ten gun shots. I'm not afraid of gun shots... that's just a part of my calling that I am working hard to resolve. God has opened up the door for my family to develop many meaningful relationships with people in need over the past few years, and I am so thankful that God has allowed that to happen. Sometimes I think that my kids are the greatest asset that Julie and I have in ministry! So much for worrying about their safety... God is taking care of all of those little details of our urban ministry adventure. Although God may be working through my family to impact some people, sometimes I think that God is slowly transforming our lives according to his purposes. God is teaching us so much about how this world really operates, and these lessons play themselves out in the day to day details that the we call life in Homewood.
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