Yesterday our excellent student ministry team at North Way East End threw a block party at the ministry center. The smell of grilled hot dogs filled the streets of the city, and street chalk invited young people into the church for an evening of fun. I drove through Homewood to round up some kids for the event, and while I was waiting for two kids that I knew to get ready to go I was approached by several other kids on the block to see if they could go to the block party, too. I only had room in my car for five kids, and there were probably twenty kids who were interested in going. I knew I needed to choose wisely in terms of who could go. I think God gave me a sudden burst of discretion, because one of the young men on the corner walked right up to me, looked me in the eye, smiled at me, and asked, "Can I go?" I had never seen him before. "Who are you?", I asked. He told me his name, and he said, "I want to go with you, but we need to ask my mom first. She's really overprotective since my older brother was killed a couple years ago." I asked a few probing questions, and he went on to tell me how his brother had been murdered in Homewood. I knew it was a top priority for me to be able to take this kid to the block party at church, so I went up three sets of stairs with him at his house to meet his mom. I introduced myself to her as a pastor in the community, I explained where I would be taking her son, I gave her my cell phone in case she wanted to talk to him while he was gone, and she agreed to let her son go with me to the block party at church. Let me just say this... he had the time of his life at church! I think he'll definitely be coming back to North Way again. I know God is going to do amazing things in his life!
My heart has broken for the violence that happens in the city where I live, and God has given me a passion to do something about it. I just can't sleep at night knowing that children are suffering from broken hearts, and that young people are dying violent deaths in my own city. I can do little on my own to make a dent in the amount of violence that happens in the city of Pittsburgh, but God can work through me to make a big difference. God desires peace in my city, and he wants to work through his church to achieve his mission to bring about peace in this world. God is on mission to redeem every part of this world all of the time. God loves the people in the inner city of Pittsburgh, and he is bringing about his peace and transformation. I love that God gives me the opportunity to live and minister in a neighborhood that is often characterized by violence and death. I don't see violence and needs when I spend time with people in my neighborhood... I see God's grace and many assets in resilient people who are desperately searching for the love of Christ. My interaction with the young man and his mother yesterday was just one example of how God is working through me and many other people to bring about peace in the midst of difficult circumstances. I really don't care what happens to my life, in terms of safety or achieving the American Dream, as long as God is able to work through me for his purposes every day. That's the best feeling in the world!
I believe with all my heart that God wants to work through modern Christians to bring about his peace in many differen kinds of situations, and that the process of transformation leads us to step out of our safe comfort zones in order to embrace risk for the sake of advancing the Kingdom of God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God's commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross." American Christians can do something about the violence in our cities, and it starts with us sacrificing our own personal comfort and safety in order to be able to reach people with the love of Christ. Ironically, when we give our lives away to others we find life in Christ.
Showing posts with label Youth Violence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Youth Violence. Show all posts
Monday, March 12, 2012
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Shots in the Night
Early this morning at about 1am I was jolted out of my deep sleep by the unmistakable sound of gun shots outside my house. While my wife and daughters slept, I stayed awake for a while to make sure everything was alright. While I was awake, my thoughts drifted to all of the violence that has hit Homewood this year. Too many young people have lost their lives. It's tragic. Just two days ago a 22 year old man from Homewood was killed while waiting at a bus stop for a ride to work on a main street near my neighborhood. Someone drove by and fired 26 rounds at him. Luckily, nobody else was injured even though that was a busy bus stop at 10:30 in the morning.
Young people from Homewood dying violently greatly disturbs me. It should disturb everyone who lives in Pittsburgh... not just the people in Homewood. The violence in Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh-wide problem, so we all must come together to find a solution. In the early hours of this morning, all I could think about was the great burden I have for the young people in Homewood. I shared that burden with our staff at North Way during our weekly staff meeting this morning. I happen to lead LAMP in Homewood, and I am very passionate about it. But finding mentors for young people in Homewood, before they get involved in violence, is not just my issue because I happen to lead LAMP. It is our entire church's issue. We cannot possibly solve all of the problems that lead to violence in Homewood, nor is that our purpose with LAMP. There are many factors that lead to youth violence, and we cannot impact all of those factors. But... one thing we can do is find enough mentors to match with the kids on the waiting list. It's only about 50 children, and our church has several thousand people.
God is working through many people and organizations toward the transformation of Homewood. North Way contributes mentors as one part of those combined efforts. I am hopeful for this community. In the meantime, I am also heartbroken. Transformation is indeed a process, and my heart will remain burdened every time I hear gunshots or learn about another young person dying in my neighborhood. I will never become complacent to these violent circumstances. However, I cannot control whether or not people from my church decide to mentor the kids who are waiting. I can do my best to put the needs in front of people as best as I can, but in the end God must work on people's hearts and the people who the Holy Spirit nudges must be obedient to follow through. I know it is no coincidence that God opened the door for our church to mentor children in Homewood. If God could open that door, then he is by all means capable of bringing enough people for every single child who wants a mentor.
Young people from Homewood dying violently greatly disturbs me. It should disturb everyone who lives in Pittsburgh... not just the people in Homewood. The violence in Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh-wide problem, so we all must come together to find a solution. In the early hours of this morning, all I could think about was the great burden I have for the young people in Homewood. I shared that burden with our staff at North Way during our weekly staff meeting this morning. I happen to lead LAMP in Homewood, and I am very passionate about it. But finding mentors for young people in Homewood, before they get involved in violence, is not just my issue because I happen to lead LAMP. It is our entire church's issue. We cannot possibly solve all of the problems that lead to violence in Homewood, nor is that our purpose with LAMP. There are many factors that lead to youth violence, and we cannot impact all of those factors. But... one thing we can do is find enough mentors to match with the kids on the waiting list. It's only about 50 children, and our church has several thousand people.
God is working through many people and organizations toward the transformation of Homewood. North Way contributes mentors as one part of those combined efforts. I am hopeful for this community. In the meantime, I am also heartbroken. Transformation is indeed a process, and my heart will remain burdened every time I hear gunshots or learn about another young person dying in my neighborhood. I will never become complacent to these violent circumstances. However, I cannot control whether or not people from my church decide to mentor the kids who are waiting. I can do my best to put the needs in front of people as best as I can, but in the end God must work on people's hearts and the people who the Holy Spirit nudges must be obedient to follow through. I know it is no coincidence that God opened the door for our church to mentor children in Homewood. If God could open that door, then he is by all means capable of bringing enough people for every single child who wants a mentor.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Violence... and What Christians Can Do About It
This has been a violent week on the east end of the city of Pittsburgh where I live and work. A 14 year old girl was tragically raped and murdered by a convicted sexual predator who had recently been released from prison on parole. The young girl had a troubled past (she often ran away from home and she had been in and out of foster care), and she had put herself in a dangerous position when the evil crime was committed against her. Still, she was a victim and my heart breaks every time I read any new details in the news about her death. Also last week, a 24 year old mother of two in East Hills was killed when three young men tried to break into her apartment to steal drugs. All three of the young men have been arrested and face the possibility of life in prison on homicide charges. Over the weekend a woman was shot in the ankle during a drive by shooting involving the Sin City motorcycle gang in Homewood. On Saturday night police arrested three men who opened fire during a large street fight on Susquehanna Street (the same street that I live on). On Sunday, a 30 year old man was gunned down in Garfield. He had been the intended target of a shooting in January where a jitney driver was killed instead. Early on Monday morning, two 17 year old boys were killed while they were attempting a robbery in East Liberty.
In response to the violence, the Pittsburgh Police have pledged to increase their work in the east end until there is a slow down in the criminal activity. The city recently rolled out a broad initiative called the Pittsburgh Initiative to Reduce Crime, which is aimed at reducing violence in places like my neighborhood. I hope it works. An initiative like that is needed. I believe that the government and police should be working toward reducing crime in troubled neighborhoods, but the police response to the recent increase in violence in Pittsburgh is a reactive move. The police intervene when the peace has already broken down. The PIRC begins to act when crimes have already been committed. What role should the church play in responding to violence in troubled neighborhoods? What can we possibly to do the stem the tide of inner city shootings?
Christians can get involved after violence has been committed by caring for victims' families and visiting offenders in prison. That is an important role of the church, but I think we often neglect our responsibilities to get involved proactively before crimes are committed. How can Christians get involved proactively? Here are some suggestions:
1. Mentor a child! While violence soars on the east end of the city, I have kids between the ages of 9 and 15 on the east end who are begging me for a mentor. I just tell them, "Sorry, I don't have a mentor for you." Some of the kids have been waiting for a couple years for a mentor and they are about to age out of the LAMP program (meaning that starting at about age 16 they are too old to be matched with a new LAMP mentor). Maybe I should just tell them, "Sorry about all of the violence in your neighborhood recently. Good luck not getting caught up in it, though. I know over 3,000 people go to my church, but I just couldn't find anyone for you in four years of trying. Sorry." Meanwhile, 88% of kids who have a mentor go on to college. Kids who have a mentor are 33% less likely to hit someone, 53% less likely to skip school, and 46% less likely to use illegal drugs. Christians in Pittsburgh would make a HUGE dent in the amount of youth violence in this city if we would do one simple thing: just provide a mentor for the kids who need mentors.
2. Get involved! If you have enough time to watch the violence unfold on the TV news or read about violence in the newspapers or on the internet, then you have enough time to go do something about it. Pull yourself away from your television. Pull yourself away from the internet and your social networking sites. Pull yourself away from your smart phone. Pull yourself away from the many distractions that this world has to offer, and go to where the people in need are hurting and do something about it! You can't lead from your places of comfort. You can't make a difference from your couch. Many conservative Christians I know complain that the government is making poor people dependent on the state by offering so many social programs, and they complain that the government programs do not work to do things like prevent violence in inner city neighborhoods. However, I run into people all of the time who are working social services in Homewood. Do you know who I don't see in my neighborhood? Conservative Christians, except for some amazing LAMP mentors from North Way who have navigated through the mirky waters of social activism in order to make a difference in the life of a child. My point is that many conservative Christians that I know like to point out the many problems in neighborhoods like Homewood. They may send me articles about everything that is wrong with government programs. They may call into conservative talk radio stations to express their opinions about everything that's wrong with liberalism and poor people in America. But then they don't show up in the places they complain about, and they don't build relationships with the people they complain about. I'll sit and listen to conservative mumbo jumbo all day from a person who actually rolls up their sleeves and gets involved. If they don't get involved in my community, then I'm not really interested in their solutions to the problems that are plaguing the poor in our society. They have a big credibility problem.
3. Seek transformation! Now that I have challenged my conservative Christian friends, I can challenge my liberal Christian friends. Many people have been trying to "help" on the east end of Pittsburgh for a long time, but often things either stay the same or get worse. Often, programs are in the business of sustaining programs. I think that programs should exist to generate transformation in people and places. Everyone who leads a program, especially including myself, should be trying to work themselves out of a job. We should arrive at a point one day in the east end of Pittsburgh where we all celebrate and say, "It worked! Transformation has occurred. Lives have been changed forever. Neighborhoods have been changed forever. The east end of Pittsburgh has been transformed because violence is so low, businesses are healthy, housing is stable, children are being educated well, and the government has assumed an effective function in the area." ANY work that is done on the east end of Pittsburgh should be done in the interest of empowering people, not in the interest of bandaging them so that programs can be perpetuated. I'll sit and listen to liberal mumbo jumbo all day long from a person who leads people and places to transformation. If they're just in it to keep a program going, then I'm not really interested in hearing thier solutions to the problems that are plaguing the poor in our society. They have a big credibility problem.
4. Partner! Transformation in the east end will not happen with a bunch of heroic solo missions. If we all work together, conservatives and liberals, residents of the east end and nonresidents, caucasians and African-Americans, churches and schools, police and community members, and small businesses and corporations, then we have a significant chance of reducing violence in Pittsburgh. If we sit on the sidelines, or distance ourselves from others because of mission statements or demoninational beliefs or any other types of barriers, then I do not believe that transformation will occur in Pittsburgh. We must partner with one another.
Am I upset? Yes! Am I using strong words to push Christians to care and get involved in doing something about the violence in my neighborhood? Yes! Christians should not be able to read a news article about a young person being killed, and then throw their hands up and say, "Well, that's tragic. It's just too bad. But there's nothing I can do about it." I believe that I can speak on behalf of the young people who I know who are impacted by the violence, and say that you can do something about it. You must do something about it! Christians should be leading the way to transformation. God wants people and places to be transformed. We should model for the world how humans are supposed to interact with one another. Christians should be showing the world how to reduce violence in troubled neighborhoods. Will we mentor a child? Will we get involved? Will we seek transformation? Will we partner with one another? In the east end of the city of Pittsburgh right now, those questions remain unanswered. I hope the Christians in Pittsburgh will provide answers.
In response to the violence, the Pittsburgh Police have pledged to increase their work in the east end until there is a slow down in the criminal activity. The city recently rolled out a broad initiative called the Pittsburgh Initiative to Reduce Crime, which is aimed at reducing violence in places like my neighborhood. I hope it works. An initiative like that is needed. I believe that the government and police should be working toward reducing crime in troubled neighborhoods, but the police response to the recent increase in violence in Pittsburgh is a reactive move. The police intervene when the peace has already broken down. The PIRC begins to act when crimes have already been committed. What role should the church play in responding to violence in troubled neighborhoods? What can we possibly to do the stem the tide of inner city shootings?
Christians can get involved after violence has been committed by caring for victims' families and visiting offenders in prison. That is an important role of the church, but I think we often neglect our responsibilities to get involved proactively before crimes are committed. How can Christians get involved proactively? Here are some suggestions:
1. Mentor a child! While violence soars on the east end of the city, I have kids between the ages of 9 and 15 on the east end who are begging me for a mentor. I just tell them, "Sorry, I don't have a mentor for you." Some of the kids have been waiting for a couple years for a mentor and they are about to age out of the LAMP program (meaning that starting at about age 16 they are too old to be matched with a new LAMP mentor). Maybe I should just tell them, "Sorry about all of the violence in your neighborhood recently. Good luck not getting caught up in it, though. I know over 3,000 people go to my church, but I just couldn't find anyone for you in four years of trying. Sorry." Meanwhile, 88% of kids who have a mentor go on to college. Kids who have a mentor are 33% less likely to hit someone, 53% less likely to skip school, and 46% less likely to use illegal drugs. Christians in Pittsburgh would make a HUGE dent in the amount of youth violence in this city if we would do one simple thing: just provide a mentor for the kids who need mentors.
2. Get involved! If you have enough time to watch the violence unfold on the TV news or read about violence in the newspapers or on the internet, then you have enough time to go do something about it. Pull yourself away from your television. Pull yourself away from the internet and your social networking sites. Pull yourself away from your smart phone. Pull yourself away from the many distractions that this world has to offer, and go to where the people in need are hurting and do something about it! You can't lead from your places of comfort. You can't make a difference from your couch. Many conservative Christians I know complain that the government is making poor people dependent on the state by offering so many social programs, and they complain that the government programs do not work to do things like prevent violence in inner city neighborhoods. However, I run into people all of the time who are working social services in Homewood. Do you know who I don't see in my neighborhood? Conservative Christians, except for some amazing LAMP mentors from North Way who have navigated through the mirky waters of social activism in order to make a difference in the life of a child. My point is that many conservative Christians that I know like to point out the many problems in neighborhoods like Homewood. They may send me articles about everything that is wrong with government programs. They may call into conservative talk radio stations to express their opinions about everything that's wrong with liberalism and poor people in America. But then they don't show up in the places they complain about, and they don't build relationships with the people they complain about. I'll sit and listen to conservative mumbo jumbo all day from a person who actually rolls up their sleeves and gets involved. If they don't get involved in my community, then I'm not really interested in their solutions to the problems that are plaguing the poor in our society. They have a big credibility problem.
3. Seek transformation! Now that I have challenged my conservative Christian friends, I can challenge my liberal Christian friends. Many people have been trying to "help" on the east end of Pittsburgh for a long time, but often things either stay the same or get worse. Often, programs are in the business of sustaining programs. I think that programs should exist to generate transformation in people and places. Everyone who leads a program, especially including myself, should be trying to work themselves out of a job. We should arrive at a point one day in the east end of Pittsburgh where we all celebrate and say, "It worked! Transformation has occurred. Lives have been changed forever. Neighborhoods have been changed forever. The east end of Pittsburgh has been transformed because violence is so low, businesses are healthy, housing is stable, children are being educated well, and the government has assumed an effective function in the area." ANY work that is done on the east end of Pittsburgh should be done in the interest of empowering people, not in the interest of bandaging them so that programs can be perpetuated. I'll sit and listen to liberal mumbo jumbo all day long from a person who leads people and places to transformation. If they're just in it to keep a program going, then I'm not really interested in hearing thier solutions to the problems that are plaguing the poor in our society. They have a big credibility problem.
4. Partner! Transformation in the east end will not happen with a bunch of heroic solo missions. If we all work together, conservatives and liberals, residents of the east end and nonresidents, caucasians and African-Americans, churches and schools, police and community members, and small businesses and corporations, then we have a significant chance of reducing violence in Pittsburgh. If we sit on the sidelines, or distance ourselves from others because of mission statements or demoninational beliefs or any other types of barriers, then I do not believe that transformation will occur in Pittsburgh. We must partner with one another.
Am I upset? Yes! Am I using strong words to push Christians to care and get involved in doing something about the violence in my neighborhood? Yes! Christians should not be able to read a news article about a young person being killed, and then throw their hands up and say, "Well, that's tragic. It's just too bad. But there's nothing I can do about it." I believe that I can speak on behalf of the young people who I know who are impacted by the violence, and say that you can do something about it. You must do something about it! Christians should be leading the way to transformation. God wants people and places to be transformed. We should model for the world how humans are supposed to interact with one another. Christians should be showing the world how to reduce violence in troubled neighborhoods. Will we mentor a child? Will we get involved? Will we seek transformation? Will we partner with one another? In the east end of the city of Pittsburgh right now, those questions remain unanswered. I hope the Christians in Pittsburgh will provide answers.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Last Night in Pittsburgh
Late last night I completed a DMin project that I have been working hard on for five months. After submitting it to my professor, I collapsed on the couch with my wife and we started into a nice conversation about how nice it will be to have my schedule freed up from the demands of this latest class. All I wanted to do was relax. But... sometimes God chooses to work through us in the moments when we least expect it. In my particular case last night, that moment came with the ring of our doorbell while I was relaxing on my couch.
"I wonder who that could be?" We ask ourselves that question a lot because our doorbell gets used a lot by people in our neighborhood. We have a pretty steady stream of visitors on any given day. But it is still unusual for us to have visitors late at night. I could see a face peaking in the window beside our front door, and I opened the door to find a fourteen year old LAMP boy who was distraught and hurt. He had just been jumped and robbed by a group of about ten other boys, and for some reason he decided to come to our house for help. He was badly bruised and his clothes were all torn, so we got him cleaned up, gave him some clothes to wear, offered him something to eat and drink, and then started the process of asking him to open up about what had just happened to him. It turns out that I know the leader of the group who jumped him... ironically, also one of our LAMP kids from a different part of Homewood. Once the situation was stabilized, I decided to drive him home. He lives on one of the most dangerous streets in Pittsburgh, so I wanted to make sure he made it home safely. As I walked him to his front door, his mother and brothers were on the front porch and we all had a chance to discuss the situation. I got to stay for a while to minister to the family.
This story is an example of the importance of incarnational leadership. Ministry does not always happen at convenient times or in sterile environments. Many Christians want to help people who are hurting, but they are not willing to risk going into messy environments at inconvenient hours. This is not surprising. We have been taught to think that real ministry happens in clean environments (the church building) at convenient times (Sunday mornings). Many people on staff at churches or parachurch organizations believe that ministry happens on weekdays between the hours of 9am and 5pm. My philosophy is that a broken down row home on one of the most dangerous streets in Pittsburgh during the middle of the night in the aftermath of a street fight is holy ground. That is the type of situation where Jesus wants to work through us to enter into the pain of the world. It's where the best ministry happens... with hurting people in their territory and on their time table. The Holy Spirit was at work in my neighborhood before my family and I got here, and the Spirit will be at work here long after we are gone. But for right now my calling is to find out where the Spirit is working and minister to people in that context.
A lot happened last night in Pittsburgh. Last night, hundreds of thousands of people who are "just too busy to mentor a kid right now" sat down in front of their TV screens to watch the local news stations describe in vivid, dramatic details the violence being committed by inner city youths. Penguin fans anxiously awaited the start of the free agency signing period to begin at midnight. Discouraged Pirate fans celebrated a rare victory over the Chicago Cubs. Maybe somebody went out to a movie, or took in a play, or went to a concert, or went out to eat, or surfed the internet, or played video games for hours, or balanced their budgets to make sure enough money is going into their retirement accounts. A college student got drunk at a bar. A lonely businessman got high in his hotel room after buying drugs in my neighborhood. A kid went to bed hungry. A homeless man looked for a place to sleep. A prostitute found her spot on the corner, settling anxiously into her own personal hell. Last night, a boy who is slipping through the cracks in society got beat up in a neighborhood that most people ignore or intentionally stay away from. I know exactly where Jesus wanted me to be last night. How about you?
"I wonder who that could be?" We ask ourselves that question a lot because our doorbell gets used a lot by people in our neighborhood. We have a pretty steady stream of visitors on any given day. But it is still unusual for us to have visitors late at night. I could see a face peaking in the window beside our front door, and I opened the door to find a fourteen year old LAMP boy who was distraught and hurt. He had just been jumped and robbed by a group of about ten other boys, and for some reason he decided to come to our house for help. He was badly bruised and his clothes were all torn, so we got him cleaned up, gave him some clothes to wear, offered him something to eat and drink, and then started the process of asking him to open up about what had just happened to him. It turns out that I know the leader of the group who jumped him... ironically, also one of our LAMP kids from a different part of Homewood. Once the situation was stabilized, I decided to drive him home. He lives on one of the most dangerous streets in Pittsburgh, so I wanted to make sure he made it home safely. As I walked him to his front door, his mother and brothers were on the front porch and we all had a chance to discuss the situation. I got to stay for a while to minister to the family.
This story is an example of the importance of incarnational leadership. Ministry does not always happen at convenient times or in sterile environments. Many Christians want to help people who are hurting, but they are not willing to risk going into messy environments at inconvenient hours. This is not surprising. We have been taught to think that real ministry happens in clean environments (the church building) at convenient times (Sunday mornings). Many people on staff at churches or parachurch organizations believe that ministry happens on weekdays between the hours of 9am and 5pm. My philosophy is that a broken down row home on one of the most dangerous streets in Pittsburgh during the middle of the night in the aftermath of a street fight is holy ground. That is the type of situation where Jesus wants to work through us to enter into the pain of the world. It's where the best ministry happens... with hurting people in their territory and on their time table. The Holy Spirit was at work in my neighborhood before my family and I got here, and the Spirit will be at work here long after we are gone. But for right now my calling is to find out where the Spirit is working and minister to people in that context.
A lot happened last night in Pittsburgh. Last night, hundreds of thousands of people who are "just too busy to mentor a kid right now" sat down in front of their TV screens to watch the local news stations describe in vivid, dramatic details the violence being committed by inner city youths. Penguin fans anxiously awaited the start of the free agency signing period to begin at midnight. Discouraged Pirate fans celebrated a rare victory over the Chicago Cubs. Maybe somebody went out to a movie, or took in a play, or went to a concert, or went out to eat, or surfed the internet, or played video games for hours, or balanced their budgets to make sure enough money is going into their retirement accounts. A college student got drunk at a bar. A lonely businessman got high in his hotel room after buying drugs in my neighborhood. A kid went to bed hungry. A homeless man looked for a place to sleep. A prostitute found her spot on the corner, settling anxiously into her own personal hell. Last night, a boy who is slipping through the cracks in society got beat up in a neighborhood that most people ignore or intentionally stay away from. I know exactly where Jesus wanted me to be last night. How about you?
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