Cleaning Up the Streets

Today volunteers from all North Way campuses... Wexford, Sewickley Valley, Oakland, and East End, showed up in Homewood and East Liberty to pick up trash in the streets. It was great to have everyone together working toward the shalom of the inner city of Pittsburgh. A healthy city center is important to the entire region, so it was wonderful to see suburban Christians serving alongside urban Christians. We had volunteers from Rapha Ministries in Homewood serving alongside the volunteers from North Way. At North Way East End, we gather to worship on Sunday morning so that we can go out into the world on the the other days of the week in order to live like Jesus and love our neighbors in our neighborhoods, at our jobs, and in the streets. As I picked up trash today, I had the opportunity to build relationships with other Christians and with random people living in the Homewood and East Liberty communities. Events like the clean up remind me that the church isn't a social club. The church is the means God has chosen to be the most transformative agent for good in society. We don't have nice little Christians at North Way. We have Christians who allow God to work through us to accomplish his mission to redeem every single part of this world. Together we are making a dent in the universe every time we demonstrate the love of Christ in our city. 

Finding Purpose in Urban Ministry

Over the past several weeks I have been experiencing the full ups and downs of urban ministry. Every day is different, so I never know what to expect from one day to the next. On some days I have meetings where I sit in an office or a conference room for a little while. Most days I am meeting with people in the community. I love to be with people. I love to be in the streets. I love block parties and worshipping God. However, budget spreadsheets and strategic planning are still important to the vision of the church. I enjoy interacting with homeless people and kids who are at risk for street gangs, and I enjoy spending time with business executives and grad school students who are navigating through the pressures of higher education. I like investing in young families as much as I enjoy supporting empty nesters and retirees in their plans to honor God with the later stages of their lives.

I admit that the dynamics of urban ministry can be very challenging, but I am thankful that God has prepared me for this calling. I am learning a lot every day, and I must depend on God to come through every day. My goal in my life is to give myself away to God's purposes every day. I love being a part of God's mission. People's hearts are being transformed by God. Our city is being transformed by God. I can't think of anything else that I'd rather being doing with my life right now, and my goal is to help everyone else that I come into contact with to experience the profound joy that is found in living in God's mission every day.

Dissertation Oral Review Date Set

For those who have been following along with my doctoral journey... I have scheduled the oral review of my dissertation on Friday, May 11th at noon.  I would greatly appreciate your prayers as I prepare for that big step in my journey.  If the oral review goes well, then I will be all set to graduate in Seattle on June 2nd with a Doctor of Ministry degree in transformational leadership.  My oral review committee includes Dr. Randy White (Bakke Graduate University representative), Dr. Eric Swanson (my dissertation supervisor), Dr. John Stahl-Wert (my second reader), and members of my Personal Learning Community.  It's hard to believe that four years of hard work will all culminate in this one big event.  I'm looking forward to it!

Another Great Weekend in the East End

We are coming off of another big weekend at North Way East End.  Followers of Jesus generously served in our community all weekend.  We worshipped God together, received a powerful message from the Lord through good teaching, and we continued to build community with one another through a huge block party that nearly all of the church attended after the morning worship service.  I love that we welcomed all kinds of different people from the community into the ministry center for food, fun, and fellowship.  I am so excited by what God has done through the East End campus in just a matter of a few months, and I'm expecting big things this summer as we continue to reach out into the community.  We are following God's lead, and the Holy Spirit is moving in amazing ways in the East End.

Missional Church Taking Shape

I have been so encouraged by the way people are so eager to serve the Lord at North Way East End. We believe that God has called us to be a missional church that crosses cultures in order to advance the Kingdom of God, and it has been amazing to see how our church has grabbed hold of that vision in just a period of a few months. I can't wait to see how God will work through this church to accomplish his purposes around the city of Pittsburgh in the years to come. We gather to worship on Sundays so that we can go out into the world and make an impact for Christ throughout the course of the week.

The Killing Fields

After an incredible weekend of urban ministry, I had the opportunity to take a couple of days off. On Tuesday I went for a walk in Homewood with my wife, and we strolled past this scene:

The city of Pittsburgh is finally tearing down a block of abandoned row homes in my neighborhood that at some point in time gained the reputation "the killing fields" because so much crime and violence happened in that area. It has taken four years since those buildings were first condemned to finally tear them down because the owners lived out of the neighborhood, mostly out of the state and even out of the country. The owners had no interest in taking care of the abandoned properties because they made a lot of money off of them by writing them off as losses. The slum lords were finally held accountable by the city, and one day they will be held accountable before the Lord for the damage they have done to my neighborhood. In the mean time, local leaders are thinking through what will replace the killing fields in Homewood... parks, new housing, gardens, etc. Whatever goes into the space once the abandoned buildings are torn down, I know that this community and those blocks have been covered in prayer. As we stood in wonder at the destruction we saw on our walk, Julie looked at me and said, "Let's walk down this alley and pray for this street." We prayer walked the killing fields. We prayed for the families who once lived there. We prayed for the victims of the violence that once ruled there. And we prayed for God to move in a mighty way to restore shalom to the neighborhood. Some day soon, Homewood will be known less for violence and more for assets because of the great work that God is doing. Prayer works, and God is working through his people to accomplish his purposes in Homewood.

An Amazing Morning

The Prayer For Peace March in Homewood was incredible! Hundreds of people showed up on a sunny day to lock arms with one another as we walked through the streets in the community. Much thanks to everyone from North Way who showed up to continue to support the ongoing process of transformation in the city. I was so proud of our church this morning! All of the praise and honor and glory belongs to God!

Prayer For Peace March

Tomorrow morning at 10am people from all over the Pittsburgh region will gather to walk and pray for peace in my neighborhood, Homewood. The prayers will unite people from many different walks of life... urban and suburban, rich and poor, and black and white. We will gather together to humble ourselves before God, and this is important because peace in Homewood is important for the entire Pittsburgh region. Especially for Christians, we should be greatly disturbed and compelled to action when there is violence in our own city. Some Christians will decide to stay away from Homewood tomorrow because of fear, and some will choose to stay away because of complacency or lack of concern for the pain and brokenness in Homewood. Still, some Christians will be obedient to God's call to bring about shalom in the city. A strong group of followers of Jesus will rise up to fulfill God's mission. Transformation is not easy, but transformation in Pittsburgh will take another big step forward tomorrow. I am blessed to be playing a small part in God's mission to bring about peace in my neighborhood.

Walking in the City

I love to take walks in the city. The walks in my nieghborhood partially help my young and extremely energetic dog, Bella, to get out a lot of her pent up stress (hence, not taking that pent up stress out on chewing furniture or destroying my yard). The walks also allow me to get to know people and find out more about what's really going on in the streets. As a pastor in the city, it is really important for me to be out and about in the community to interact with people. There is no such thing as effective urban ministry that is done from a safe, sterile church office. Urban theology is hashed out in the streets, in neighborhoods, with people and in the midst of the complex urban environment. As I walk, I search the city for signs of hope and signs of need. I look for assets that can be built upon. Just yesterday I happened to meet a businessman who has owned a business in my church's neighborhood for fifty years. He told me all kinds of great things to know about the neighborhood. That's how contextualization happens. I listen a lot. I get out of my comfort zone a lot. And that's right where the Holy Spirit loves to work on my heart and help me grow as a leader.