Prayer for Homewood

This morning I gathered to pray for the city of Pittsburgh, and for the Homewood neighborhood in particular, with a group of Christian leaders from many different parts of the city. The group included people who live in Homewood and are active at empowering residents at the grass roots level, and powerful leaders who are working at the systemic levels of economics, politics, and church denominations to steward their influence on behalf of vulnerable people in our city.

We gathered together to pray because we know that God is always on a mission to redeem every person and every place in our city, and he chooses to work through his church to accomplish his purposes. That is our calling as followers of Jesus Christ in this particular city at this particular time. We prayed for the common good of our city, for increasing levels of shalom, and for God to continue to move in mighty ways in our midst.

There is something empowering about prayer. No matter how much evil exists in this world, prayer reminds us that God's Kingdom is here now and that we can experience the love of God in profound ways. Prayer strengthens our faith which gives us hope in the midst of struggles. God is doing an amazing work in Homewood and in the city of Pittsburgh. Christians are leading the way in a process of transformation that is underway. It's an exciting movement to be a part of. 

The Power of Rest and Reflection

I'm taking some time this week to rest and reflect. Urban ministry can be very intense, requiring a great deal of engagement and struggle. Leadership comes with many challenges. I really enjoy serving as a pastor, but it can be taxing sometimes. That's why it is so crucial for me to be able to take time to rest. It's often hard for me to carve out space to rest in the city, so I like to get out of town usually for a few days.

When I take time to rest, I do some of the things that I love to do. I read, write, pray, and think about how my story is intersecting with God's Story. Time of reflection helps me to adjust course if needed. I try to listen for God's voice and God's instructions in my life. I'm worthless as a pastor and leader if I don't have an intimate relationship with Jesus, and that type of relationship takes time and investment just like any other meaningful relationship.

Jesus modeled a leadership style where he intensely engaged, and then he withdrew from the crowds to recuperate. The Bible is filled with many great examples of leaders who incorporated rest, prayer, and reflection into their routines. Life has so many challenges and difficulties. It's important to understand how to sustain ourselves in the Lord for the journey. 

Compassion, Justice, and Advocacy

Tomorrow evening at Encountering God in the City I'll be teaching on the topics of compassion, justice, and advocacy. Followers of Jesus often feel prompted to build relationships with people on the margins of society because Jesus spent so much of his time building those types of relationships. Jesus had compassion on people, so we should have compassion on people.

Compassion is good for Christians, but it is the simplest level of involvement with vulnerable people. We should not spend all of our time being compassionate because we also need to be working toward empowerment. Also, relationships should be done with people, not to or for people. We can cause more harm than good in our relationships when we go about things the wrong way.

None of this is really easy. Relationships can be messy. When we feel called to help people, we may sometimes do harm that is unintentional. We can learn and grow from our mistakes. However, I'll be teaching on these things tomorrow, from a biblical perspective, so that we can feel empowered to make a difference in the lives of others through meaningful, transformational relationships.

Encountering God in the City goes from 6:30-8:30pm on Wednesday, October 30th at the North Way Christian Community - East End campus that is located in the heart of East Liberty at 5941 1/2 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Street parking is free after 6pm in East Liberty. We'll have some snacks on hand if you're planning to come straight from work. There is no cost to the course, and it is open to anyone. I hope to see you there!

Encountering God in the City

This coming Wednesday evening I'm excited to kick off a North Way study group called Encountering God in the City. We'll be gathering at the North Way Christian Community - East End campus in the heart of East Liberty (5941 1/2 Penn Avenue). Child care will be provided for families, and the time should go from 6:30-8:30pm. You can register for the course by emailing Dana Hunter at danah@northway.org.

The purpose of this course is to learn more about God's mission to redeem our increasingly urban world. In the first week we'll be developing a theology of the city. In the second week we'll examine the differences between compassion, justice, and advocacy. In the third week we'll focus on urban missions. In the fourth week we'll study incarnational ministry. We'll wrap things up in the fifth week with a closer look at city transformation.

Someone who registered for the class recently asked if this course was based on Dr. Randy White's book called Encounter God in the City. While I highly recommend that book to people, the content of this course is not based on the material in his book. Dr. White directed the doctoral program that I went through at Bakke Graduate University, and he has served as a mentor to me in ministry. However, I'll be covering many broad topics involving urban ministry.

Encountering God in the City is open to anybody in the Pittsburgh area. It is for anyone who is interested in learning more about how to reach our city with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am especially hoping that we'll have a good turnout from all of the North Way multi-site locations throughout the greater Pittsburgh region.

Expecting Big Things

I had a great time attending the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit simulcast this week. Over the course of two days our staff and interns at the North Way city campuses had the opportunity to hear from some amazing leaders. We caught a tremendous glimpse of what God is doing globally with regard to leadership and advancing the kingdom of God. I look forward to the event every year because it serves a reset of sorts for me in terms of how to be a more effective leader. I'll be debriefing with my team during our staff meeting on Monday, and I can't wait to learn more from each other about where God may be taking North Way East End in this coming ministry season. God has given us a powerful vision to reach the entire East End of the city of Pittsburgh with the love of Christ, and we live out that mission through missional, cross-cultural community, solid biblical teaching, passionate worship, meaningful relationships, and by empowering the next generation of leaders in the church. God has been moving in miraculous ways at North Way East End, and I know that God is going to do BIG things this fall. Let's go!!!

A Busy Week... and a Week of Rest

Last week was a busy week.  Last Sunday night we hosted a small group from North Way at our little house in Homewood.  I facilitated the discussion time with 17 adults while everyone's kids played in our basement.  Last Monday I did a LAMP mentoring training for new mentors during the day, I had lunch in the afternoon with my three school-based mentees at the Faison Intermediate School, then 30+ kids from our neighborhood came over to our house for dinner and fun that night.  When the kids left the house, I broke up a dispute on the streets between two of the kids before making my way over to the Faison Primary School in Homewood for a LAMP cultural training.  On Tuesday I had a Bible study in the morning and a full day of meetings.  That night I helped my friends launch a new basketball program for kids in Homewood at the local YMCA.  Over 30 kids showed up for that, and I had a great time introducing my friends to the kids that I have spent the past five years building relationships with.  On Wednesday I had meetings all day once again, and another LAMP mentoring training at North Way Oakland that night.  On Thursday I took two of my mentees to work with me since they were off school that day.  They shadowed me the whole day (OK it wasn't all work... we played arena football in the Worship Cafe section of the church and we played basketball in the kids space).  The boys wore me out during the day, but I still managed to take my daughters on dates that night.  On Friday I worked on my dissertation all day and that night I attended the Family Guidance annual dinner fundraiser with one of my mentees who shared his story with a few hundred people at the Omni William Penn hotel downtown (my wife and my mentee's girlfriend also attended).  On Saturday, I facilitated two mentoring workshops at the OrphanCare Expo in Wexford.  By the time Saturday afternoon hit I was so tired!  Thankfully, Sunday was a great family day and I was able to invest in Julie and the girls.  I took Kyra and Sierra on dates, I studied a little last night, and then I watched the Steeler game with my dad.  Sunday was a great day!

Reflection is extremely important for transformational leaders.  As I reflect on last week, my first thought is that there is no way I can keep up that pace.  And I don't plan to.  I will burn out, and fast, if I have too many weeks like that.  I was not really able to have any time to take care of myself, or invest in my marriage, or get quality time with my daughters.  This past week was a week where I gave a lot away to others, but I did not do much to sustain myself.  I was able to deeply invest in six boys that I am mentoring, and I also relationally impacted probably 40 or 50 other kids in Homewood.  I helped to launch a new basketball program in Homewood.  Through mentoring trainings, seminars, and the fundraising dinner I was able to share about the powerful message of mentoring at-risk youth to hundreds of people in several different areas of Pittsburgh.  However, in times of tremendous outputs of energy on behalf of great causes, leaders must also rest and withdraw in order to connect with God and find joy and replenishment in the midst of helping others.  That's why I'm going to New York City this week.  I'm taking a rest from everything.  Many people like to find peace and quiet in wilderness when they get away, but I often like to go to other cities.  I love to explore cities, and I seem to be able to connect with God and find rest there.

I cannot focus on the grind of urban ministry all of the time.  Reaching tough kids in Homewood is difficult work.  Mobilizing Christians to become mentors is difficult work.  Quality time away from this work is important.  So what am I hoping for in my time away this week?  I think I'm looking for what Howard Thurman referred to as God's "penetrating beauty and meaning."  Thurman said, "There must be always remaining in every man's life some place for the singing of angels, some place for that which in itself is breathlessly beautiful and, by inherent prerogative, throws all the rest of life into a new and creative relatedness, something that gathers up in itself all the freshets of experience from drab and commonplace areas of living and glows in one bright white light of penetrating beauty and meaning - then passes.  The commonplace is shot through with new glory; old burdens become lighter; deep and ancient wounds lose much of their old, old hurting.  A crown is placed over our heads that for the rest of our lives we are trying to grow tall enough to wear.  Despite all the crassness of life, despite all the hardness of life, despite all the harsh discords of life, life is saved by the singing of angels." - Deep is the Hunger

God Has His Reasons

What a day! This morning I had the opportunity to provide mentor training for eleven new mentors at North Way Oakland. It was a dynamic and fun group of people, and I had a blast sharing stories about things I've done wrong (and occasionally right) over the the past five years as a mentor to many young people in Homewood. I think my mentoring glory stories become more and more embellished over time (just like my high school football stories), but I do have a good time sharing the stories. I think all leaders should develop the ability to tell good stories in order to bring interest and value to the message that they carry. If you are a leader... be a good story teller! God has placed you in a leadership position for a reason!

After the training I had the chance to meet with a young man from my church who gives me great hope for the people in his generation (he's 22 years old). He had some great ideas about how to teach kids to be entrepreneurial and develop innovative and valuable skill sets which would be useful in today's marketplace. He is a young businessman who is developing a healthy theology of work, and I hopefully helped him navigate through his calling from God to make the world a better place by using his business sense. If you are a person who loves business... you do not need to work at a church or a nonprofit, parachurch organization to make a valuable difference for the Kingdom of God with your life. God has you in your job for a reason!

This evening I took a couple LAMP kids to the Pirate game and fireworks at PNC Park. It was an exciting Pirate victory, and the sold out crowd loved the post-game display. I love Pittsburgh! The buildings downtown looked so amazing with all of the fireworks explosions reflecting off of the windows. Pittsburgh has been blessed with a strong urban center, beautiful rivers, and great people. If you live in a city... then love your city! God has you in your city for a reason!

As I try to drift off to sleep tonight, their are noises of laughing and video games coming from downstairs where the LAMP kids have crashed in our living room. Julie and I love to open our home to the people in our neighborhood. I'm sure I'll have to go down there a couple times to get them to settle down, but I know they're just having a great time at our place. If you live in a house or apartment... open it up to other people! Your house is meant to be shared, in authentic community, with many people (even people who are different than you). God has placed you in your home for a reason!

Maybe God has you reading this blog post for a reason! Today you have the opportunity to choose to lead with purpose, work with purpose, love your city with purpose, and share your home with purpose. God has his reasons...

Claver Lessons - Multiplication and Rejection

Pedro Claver invested relationally in the lives of slaves, and as a result Christianity grew well with that group of people. Eventually, new Christian slaves grew in their faith and they began to care for others on their own. Claver knew what many good leaders know... that you cannot do everything on your own. You must give up control. You must disciple others, empower others, and then release them to lead. This is multiplication. Jesus set the ulitmate example of multiplication for us. He invested intimately into a small group of people, who in turn went out and changed the world.

Claver was rejected by the world and mainstream Christian society. However, he had a good understanding of God's economy where the last shall be first and the first shall be last. In his life and ministry, he completely flipped the heirarchy of the world upside down by serving the slaves first, then the poor, then children, and then others after that. How many Christians in America today are racing to be first? Or, how many American Christians are willing to not just have a head knowledge about God's economy but actually flip their lives upside down and live as if the poor and needy of society were actually the most important investment they could make with their time and effort? Some call this lifestyle downward mobility.

Just try going against the grain and live as though all of the values of individual gain and upward mobility were flipped around. The world will scream at you to get back in line! In fact, most comfortable American cultural Christians will scream at you to get back in line! But, the big secret is that true life and communion and intimacy with God can be found in downward mobility. That was the profound thing about Jesus Christ. He was unrecognized by the powerful in the world and the mainstream religous people in his day. He modeled the ultimate downward mobility for us, dying a humiliating and excruciating death on the cross... and prior to his death he spent his time with people who the world and mainstream religous people had rejected. If we realize that we are off track in American Christianity today (which I believe is true and for which I developed a case in my prevous blog post), then we need to humble ourselves and learn from the likes of Pedro Claver. We must become downwardly mobile. It is OK to be rejected. What better example do we have than Jesus?

Christians as Stewards

A big part of transformational leadership is stewarding resources on behalf of the powerless. It is not a complex process, and to some extent all Christians who have access to resources should be transformational leaders. Resources can be defined in such ways as money, property, people, and power (although not limited to those four by any means).

All money and property belongs to God, not us. We are stewards of money and property. On average in America, Christians give away less money (percentage-wise) to their churches and charities than nonChristians. And, often money that is given by Christians to churches is not stewarded on behalf of the powerless. Instead, it is used to build bigger buildings and grow internal programs. To use another example, a large percentage of federal money that is distributed to poor communities in America never actually makes its way into the intended communities. This should not be so, but people use that money to perpetuate cycles of poverty through programming because they are not interested in the transformation of individuals and communities. Otherwise, they would be out of a job.

I could give other examples about people (such as matching mentors with mentees) or power (such as our call to take on powerful systems that are guilty of injustices). The point is: Do you see yourself as a person who stewards resources on behalf of the powerless (which captures well the subversive nature of the gospel), or are you trying to steward resources on behalf of yourself so that you can live a better life (which captures well the goals of individualism in America)? Often when we talk about stewardship in a church it is assumed that we are talking about money, but stewardship actually applies to every area of our lives.