This was my last full day in New York City. I'll miss the city and the many new friendships I've made this week, but I really cannot wait to get back to Pittsburgh to be with my friends and family. I've learned so much about God's heart for reaching the city from some of the most incredible urban leaders in the world. This morning Ray Bakke lectured about how Paul went to many different kinds of cities, and he modeled many different approaches to reaching people in those cities depending on the culture and context. The gospel message of Jesus Christ never changes, but different methods of carrying forth the message should be utilized. Our first site visit this morning was to Trinity Lutheran Church in Manhattan where the congregation is led by a pastor named Heidi Neumark. Around a third of the population of the church is Latino, a third is African-American, and a third is white. In attracting a cross-cultural crowd, she has incorporated a lot of art and diverse imagery into her teaching and the look of the church. I gained some great ideas about how to connect with many different groups of people in the East End of Pittsburgh. After lunch we all spent time with Tim Keller, a pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He shared with us about his journey in life, and how Christian leaders can lead effectively in complex urban environments. He has tried to create an "ecosystem" in New York that leads to sustainable church growth and planting plus effective partnerships with specialized parachurch organizations. Church plants are important for established churches in cities, and vice versa. Keller has been very effective at bridging the gap between personal evangelism and social justice in evangelical churches, and it was interesting to hear his perspectives in person. In the late afternoon we visited the studio of Makoto Fujimura, an artist who is impacting culture in New York and around the world through the International Arts Movement. Our class had a wonderful discussion about how Christians can impact culture in cities through the arts, and many of us pastors had lots of questions about how we can integrate the arts into our churches. I heard some wonderful ideas that I just might try out in Pittsburgh. For our last stop in the day, we visited NYU, the largest private university in the country with 50,000 students. We spoke to the Protestant chaplain about her role in providing spiritual support for students at NYU, a door that has opened up a lot since 9/11 caused the university to be more open to religous activity on campus. We also heard from a Muslim chaplain and a Jewish chaplain who support students at NYU. It was very interesting to listen in on the interfaith dialogue that these three campus leaders have opened up with one another. The conversations between the chaplains and my classmates were also fascinating.
We have been introduced to some of the most significant leaders in all of New York this week, and it has been a lot to take in! Today was another great day. The pastor at the Lutheran Church this morning introduced some powerful ways to connect with people from the neighborhood cross-culturally, Tim Keller provided us with some powerful thoughts, and the rest of the speakers throughout the course of the day were full of insight. I was surprised at how interested my classmates were in integrating the arts into their churches, and I was equally surprised by some of the answers the artists provided as advice to pastors. The artists suggested that instead of pastors thinking about how to use art in the church, that pastors should go to where the artists live and do their work and spend time with them in order to get to know them and learn more about their art (whether it is on canvas, or with a voice, or with an instrument, etc.). Interaction with artwork does not need to be transactional right out of the gate. We do not need to try to force Christian meaning into the world of art. Art, as with all things in the life of the church, is a gift from God.
I'm sure I will be trying to apply many things at North Way based upon today's experiences. For one, I need to continue to try to learn the context and culture in the East End of Pittsburgh as we approach our launch date. I am really thinking through the artwork and design of the East End Ministry Center. I think we could do some innovative things to attract a more diverse group of people to the church. I'm thinking murals and different kinds of artwork that are welcoming to many different kinds of people. Tim Keller encouraged us to build strong relationships with parachurch organizations that specialize in certain parts of the church's mission, and in the East End I am going to continue to connect with organizations that can help us to reach many different kinds of people. Partnerships can be really helpful to both churches and the organizations. LAMP is a great example of that in Pittsburgh. Our church has much to build on, and many areas that we can grow together.
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