Charleston

I'm just returning from a week of vacation with my family so this is the first opportunity I've had to share my thoughts on the shooting deaths of nine people in Charleston, South Carolina. My heart broke for what happened, and, as with most people in our country, I am grieving. I am grieving the lives that were lost. I am grieving for the sheer evil that exists in our world. I cannot fathom the depths of evil that would cause someone to go into a church and kill people who welcomed him in to study the Bible with them.

The temptation is to treat this as one isolated incident by a mentally unstable person. However, this incident is indicative of the deep racial tension in our country. The tension is not just in South Carolina or the South in general. The racial divides run deep in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the country. There are deep racial and socioeconomic divisions in the city where I live, Pittsburgh. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I understand that our world faces an enemy that seeks to kill and destroy through the evil of divisiveness.

So, what can we do about this? Yes, it is important to pray. Every church in America should grieve and pray during worship services this weekend. Beyond this weekend, though, followers of Jesus Christ must commit to being transformational change agents in our spheres of influence through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. God's redemptive mission is all about reconciling relationships. When we become reconciled to God, we also become reconciled to the people that we interact with. In other words, Christians should be leading the way in our culture when it comes to racial reconciliation. Unfortunately, we are often the ones dragging our collective feet in our society.

The gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to heal and transcend wounds of division that are hundreds and even thousands of years old. As a white pastor in an urban environment with many different ethnic groups and classes of people, I am committed to living a lifestyle of reconciliation. I am committed to leading our church toward reconciliation. We will not just be praying about it this weekend during one worship service. We will continue to do the hard work of racial reconciliation on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis as the Holy Spirit leads us. I feel that this is a lifelong calling that God has given me, and I am praying that God will continue to reconcile people together in our cities, states, and in our country in general. 

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. 

God's Transforming Power in Pittsburgh

In every urban neighborhood there are signs of need and signs of hope. It is important for followers of Jesus Christ to participate in God's redemptive mission by focusing on the signs of hope and building up assets in communities. By choosing to focus on what's right in people and in our neighborhoods, we are a part of a process of transformation.

The following photo, which appeared on the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review website, was taken at the Prayer for Peace March in Homewood that I participated in a couple weeks ago:

The photo was connected to an article on the website that described in detail an act of violence that had occurred the morning of the prayer walk in Homewood less than a mile away from where we had gathered to start the march. Instead of just writing an article about a positive event that happened in our city... people praying for our city... the writer of the article chose to focus on a murder that had happened in a church parking lot that morning and the irony of a prayer march for peace happening on the same morning. Reporters simply report the news, so I'm not upset that they chose to tie the events together. A murder happened. It was tragic. It was violent. A prayer march happened. It was powerful. It was encouraging.

My heart breaks when violence happens in the city of Pittsburgh, whether it happens where I live in Homewood or where I lead a church congregation in East Liberty. By choosing to focus on signs of hope in my city, I'm not choosing to pretend like bad things don't happen. We live in a present evil age. However, Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God into this present evil age. Christians have profound hope that no matter how bad things are, God is always on a mission to redeem every person and every place. The church has an integral role in participating in that redemptive mission. God works through us to bring about shalom with marginalized people in vulnerable neighborhoods.

What does that look like, practically speaking? In the photo taken at the prayer march in Homewood, I can point out four different examples. The photographer captured one moment in time, but the people in the photo represent participants in God's redemptive mission in our city. I am pictured in the center of the photograph with a child on my shoulders. Eight years ago, God broke my heart for what breaks his heart in my city. God has allowed me to participate in his redemptive mission by launching a mentoring program in Homewood that has impacted the lives of several hundred children and just as many adults who have served as mentors. God has allowed me to plant a new church that is filled with people who are passionate about positively impacting our city. I've seen hundreds of people serve countless hours in our city, many people have been drawn closer to the Lord and in authentic Christian community since the church opened. We are reaching people across socioeconomic, racial, and neighborhood barriers. It's been amazing! And, my family is now a part of the fabric of the Homewood community. We live in Homewood, and I've seen God do amazing things through my wife and daughters.

The child on my shoulders was adopted from Ethiopia by the Himmler family. They are very good friends of ours... like family to us, really. The Himmlers were a big part of launching North Way East End. They moved from the suburbs to East Liberty right about the time we planted the church. They've attended the Encountering God in the City classes that I've taught at the church. My friend, Chad, has prayer walked through just about every neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh with me. Chad and Kristen both serve as mentors to children living in Homewood. They are leaders in the orphan care movement at our church. I happened to scoop up their son during the prayer march because he was tired of walking, and the photographer captured the moment. The Himmlers are amazing participants in God's redemptive mission. God is doing amazing things through their family. They are assets in our city. They know what is wrong in our city. They see the needs. But, they're not focused on what's wrong in our city. They're focused on what's right. They're focused on what God is doing.

The young man to the left of me in the photo is a young man who is a part of our church's mentoring program in Homewood. He was talking to me in the picture, explaining how the relationship was going with his mentor. He was telling me that his mentor was making a big difference in his life. He also told me about his hopes and dreams. He has big goals in his life. He has a plan for his future thanks to adults who are speaking positive things into his life. Our church isn't trying to rescue him or fix something that's wrong with him. We are building up assets in him. We see great things in him. His story is similar to the hundreds of other children that have been mentored over the past eight years. Some mentees have gone on to graduate from high school and go on to college or right into their vocations. Other mentees have struggled while navigating through difficult circumstances and choices in life. Either way, our mentors and mentees have been transformed by participating in the mentoring relationships. Each of the mentoring matches are assets in our city.

The man to my right in the photo who is walking behind me is my friend, Oliver Dent. Oliver has a passion for Christian community development. He participates in God's redemptive mission through organizing prayer  walks and by mobilizing Christians and churches to transform neighborhoods through real estate development. Christians who steward real estate as part of God's redemptive mission are powerful participants in God's shalom community. Oliver is realistic about the struggles in our city, but he is choosing to focus on being a part of the solution by stewarding his unique gifts for God's glory. He empowers the powerless and networks with the powerful. He is a great gift to our city. I don't know if his story has ever been told in the newspaper, but it couldn't be captured in one random photo at a prayer for peace march. Violent acts make the headlines in our newspapers, while people like Oliver are quietly working behind the scenes away from the spotlight by building up the good things in our city.

I know it's just one picture. It's one snapshot in time. But, this is a powerful picture. It's a picture that captures just a tiny fragment of God's transformational power. Still, God is in control in our city and God is working through many people to accomplish his purposes. My heart still breaks for the many signs of need in my city, but I choose to focus on how I can continue to participate in building up the people in the places where God has called me to be. I am thankful for the many people who are with me in the journey. We have much pain to reflect on, but we also have much to celebrate. There were many other people present at the prayer for peach march... politicians, activists, many Homewood community members, friends from churches and neighboring communities, pastors, bikers, suburban people, urban people, and people from across to socioeconomic and racial spectrum. The consistent, unifying theme for all of us was prayer. Prayer is powerful. Prayer builds people up. Prayer focuses on assets. Prayer advances the Kingdom of God in our city. 

Prayer

Prayer is powerful. Prayer makes a difference. I'm learning that more and more as I journey with Jesus through this life. Ideas and movements come and go. Leadership styles go in and out. Programs make an impact and then culture changes and the same programs can become stagnant. What doesn't change is God. We can always connect with God through prayer.

God's redemptive mission doesn't change. He is always ready to intervene on our behalf. God desires a relationship with us, though, which means that just like any other relationship we need to cultivate it through time together. I pray in many different ways... sometimes I prayer walk, sometimes I pray in the quiet of my house or office, and sometimes I pray when I'm driving around or listening to music. Sometimes I pray with my wife and children. Sometimes I pray with elders at the church or with friends when we meet for coffee.

The point is to pray. There is no perfect formula. We simply start with an attitude of wanting to grow in our relationship with God and then we tread into new waters with the Lord. We find that God has been tracking with us the whole time. God is right there with us in our journey. God is for us. God is close to us. Prayer helps us to be able to intimately connect with our Creator and greatest ally. 

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. 

Prayer in the City

Every Saturday morning my alarm goes off bright and early. I usually have the same thought run through my head first thing... go back to sleep. But, then, I give those thoughts over to God and I roll out of bed. I get excited because I'm starting to look forward to prayer walking in my city on Saturday mornings. I have seen God move in tremendous ways recently as our church has been praying so much. I'm not about to stop now or get discouraged.

I encounter different things during each Saturday morning prayer time, and that's how God seems to work. God desires for Christians to pray for the powerful and the powerless aspects of this world. We pray for politicians, businesses, homeless people, drug addicts and drug dealers, health care workers and systems, families, schools, churches, people out shopping... pretty much any person and any place gets covered in prayer. Cities are complex places, and complex prayer strategies are helpful.

I have know idea what God is up to with all of this prayer that he is prompting us to do. I know that God listens to prayer. We interact with the God of the universe through prayer. We experience the power of the Holy Spirit when we pray. We are obedient in our relationship with Jesus when we pray. Good things happen when we pray. I could focus on all of the negative things that happen in my city, but prayer helps me to focus on God's love for my city. God is always on a redemptive mission. It's a privilege just to be a part of that in the place that God has called me to lead. 

Prayer Walking in the City

One of my favorite things to do is walk around neighborhoods in the city of Pittsburgh and pray. My relationship with God, and my relationship with my neighbors, is worked out in the context of the places where God has called me. I love to be in the streets of Homewood and East Liberty. I get a sense of home there because that is where God has asked me to spend my time as a pastor.

When one looks at a city, great signs of need and signs of hope can be seen. As a follower of Jesus, it is particularly important for me to be in constant prayer in order to discern where and when the Holy Spirit is at work. God literally directs my path as a pastor and a leader. God might ask me to enter into a painful situation, or God might ask me to enter into a hopeful situation. I can only know what to do and how to do it if I'm spending time in prayer listening to my heavenly Father.

That is why prayer walking in a city is so important. I've said it many times before, but effective ministry rarely happens in sterile conditions. Urban ministry can be messy. It's important for those who are called to cities to be in the streets, mixing it up with people right in the middle of all of the activity. If a person or an organization is called to a cause in a city, that calling will likely be very challenging. Prayer walking is an incredible way for Christians to effectively advance the kingdom of God in the midst of complex urban environments.

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.

Prayer-focused, Cross-cultural, and Missional

This morning I gathered to pray with several people who have committed to praying for North Way East End every Saturday morning at 7am. The time together is always unique because there are so many details to launching a church campus and new prayer requests arise on a daily basis. One of the things I am committed to as a pastor is that our church will be built on a foundation of prayer. Many churches and church leaders talk about prayer being important, but they fail to emphasize prayer or model it for people and so corporate prayer can become lost in the shuffle.

I've also been intentional about building cross-cultural community in the East End, and Pastor Freedom and I have been out in the community each week building relationships across cultures. I've been encouraging the staff and elders at North Way East End to go out of their way to emphasize authentic relationships across cultures. I wouldn't say that we have "arrived" at being cross-cultural by any stretch of the imagination, but we're making good progress toward that goal. Many church leaders like to talk about being cross cultural, but I want to actually be a cross cultural faith community.

Another emphasis of North Way East End is that we are a missional church community. That means that we serve the poor and marginalized people in our city and across the world. We serve people outside the walls of the church well beyond Sunday mornings. We gather together to worship on Sundays so that we can go out and impact the world in every sector of society and across socioeconomic boundaries. As a pastor, I spent a great deal of my time this week with people living in desperate poverty in the inner city. I also spent a significant amount of time with business leaders who steward a lot of resources throughout the course of the week. Many churches like to talk a lot about serving the poor and being missional, but our leaders in the East End are working toward following God's lead to make this a part of everything that we do at the church and in our city.

Prayer-focused. Cross-cultural. Missional. These are key foundations of the North Way East End church, and we are seeking to live them out in the city so that God will be glorified. We are just starting in the process, and we have a long way to go. We are, however, off to a promising start in these areas!

NYC Urban Immersion - Day Three

Today was one of the best days I've had in a long time. I can't even begin to describe how the Holy Spirit ministered to me today, and how much God opened my heart to new perspectives on his mission to advance his Kingdom. I am truly blessed to be a part of this doctorate program at BGU. On this day I had the opportunity to spend time with some of the most influential leaders in the body of Christ. This morning Ray Bakke gave one of his classic lectures about how most money that is intended to help poor people is actually filtered out of poor urban neighborhoods to middle class urban or suburban neighborhoods. He provided a biblical foundation for why Christian leaders should care about such issues and become engaged as transformational leaders and stewards. That type of thinking is a big reason why I moved my family to Homewood in Pittsburgh. Any Christian serving the poor should go about it in an empowering way. The gospel is good news, and it is empowering. After Ray's morning lecture we visited Dr. Mark Gornick, the founder of City Seminary, a training school for urban Christian leaders that delivers a curriculum similar to BGU in that cities are the laboratories and theory is all tied in practically. A woman named Dr. Janice McClain, an pastor who immigrated to America from Jamaica when she was a teenager, shared with us about how Harlem is being gentrified and pastors like her are learning how to be effective at ministering in complex urban environments. In the afternoon we all went to Bethel Gospel Assembly, a huge multicultural church in Harlem, where Bishop Dr. Carlton Brown shared with us about how his church is doing amazing things reaching many different types of people for Christ in Harlem, in the greater New York region, and in countries all over the world. It is so amazing and inspiring to see the fruit that God is able to bring forth from churches who are missional to the core. Yesterday I visited a Chinese church that is reaching thousands of people all over the world, and today I visited a church made up mostly of African-American and Latino people who are making a huge difference in the world for the sake of Christ. Vision is a holy discontent for the way things are, and good pastors are able to be visionary. Also, there are many different ways to be effective at urban ministry. Much depends on context and vision. In the late afternoon we visited Brooklyn Tabernacle, another huge multiracial church with over 10,000 members that was started in what was once one of the most violent and dangerous neighorhoods in Brooklyn. The senior pastor, Jim Cymbala, spent several hours with us describing how the church started with only a few members and how through the power of prayer God has done amazing things. He shared with us about the importance of prayer in churches. He told us that the church must be about LOVE, or our message will get lost in all of the craziness associated with the institutional church. He encouraged all of us to be real, and not try to be actors as pastors. He also mentioned that the biggest challenge facing the modern church is at-risk youth, and that all churches should develop strategies for reaching troubled urban youth. That made me feel good that North Way has been doing just that in our city of Pittsburgh through the LAMP mentoring initiative.

There is just far too much that happened to me today to describe in this blog. I'll only be able to unpack it all over a good cup of coffee with lots of people back in Pittsburgh. God is so amazing! I honestly cannot think of a better way to learn. We learn deep theories in a classroom, and then we go out into the streets to see how that theology and theory is being applied. I was completely surprised by how authentic and engaged these amazing leaders were today. The Holy Spirit really worked through Jim Cymbala in particular to encourage me that cross-cultural church is not only possible, but essential for the growth of the church in cities in America. He also demonstrated the importance of prayer as the foundation for living out God's purposes.

I was greatly encouraged today in the three things that I am most passionate about in Pittsburgh: working with at-risk youth, missional church, and multiracial church. Today I interacted with pastors who are living out profound callings in all three of those areas, and it is so inspiring to have access to people who have been down the road that I am only beginning to go down in Pittsburgh. My heart is to continue to reach the at-risk young people that I am working with in Homewood, to continue to encourage North Way to get outside the walls of our church buildings in order to build relationships with people who are not Christians, and to remain committed to the dream of leading a multiracial church campus in the East End. All of these things are possible with God, and today my Father blessed me with the gift of encouragement and empowerment. I am ready for the next steps in Pittsburgh!

Prayer in Work

Contemplation and reflection through prayer are important aspects of incarnational living and leading in Homewood. By this I mean that when I am involved in "actions," I am doing my best to remain in a mindset of prayer in order to connect with Jesus. This does not mean that I go into some kind of spiritual trance, or that when I'm interacting with people I suddenly drop to my knees, fold my hands, and close my eyes. I just try to go through the work involved in my days with a mindset of being close to God in the midst of the complexities of urban ministry.

For instance, almost every time I drive through Homewood I pray for different people and places that I see. When kids are in my living room, I am praying for them and I am praying that God would work through me. When I'm on the streets trying to deescalate tense situations, I am definitely praying. When I'm having conversations with single moms who are overwhelmed by the day to day struggles of life, I am praying as much as I can. Whenever I interact with a drug addict or a prostitute or a homeless person, I always pray for them while I'm talking to them (and I sometimes ask if I can pray with them). I love to pray with people who are hurting in the midst of broken-down places that most people try to stay away from. To me, places of extreme brokenness represent holy ground. The Holy Spirit works in those vulnerable places with vulnerable people.

The great thing about prayer is that everyone can practice integrating prayer with their work no matter where they live or where they work. Here's Mother Theresa's take on the subject: We must join our prayer with work. We try to bring this across to our sisters by inviting them to make their work a prayer. How is it possible to change one's work into a prayer? Work cannot substitute for prayer. Nevertheless, we can learn to make work a prayer. How can we do this? By doing our work with Jesus and for Jesus. That is the way to make our work a prayer. It is possible that I may not be able to keep my attention fully on God while I work, but God doesn't demand that I do so. Yet I can fully desire and intend that my work be done with Jesus and for Jesus. This is beautiful and that is what God wants. He wants our will and our desire to be for him, for our family, for our children, for our brethren, and for the poor.

Poetic Intercession

Are you praying for a friend who is struggling with health problems or a chronic illness? My friend and mentor, Randy White, has written an incredible book called Poetic Intercessions: Artful Prayers for a Friend (Harmon Press, 2010). Over the course of a year, he prayed creatively and specifically for a friend who was very sick. I would highly recommend using this book as a resource in your prayer life for your friends who are battling long-term illnesses. Here is one of the prayer-poems from the book:

Blazing Presence,
Singe my friend this day with the
Radiant danger of a life-giving force at his side.
Pump the baffle;
Pick him up gently with the tongs of your Son's hands,
Glowing with the Spirit's fever,
Clutch him lovingly, excruciatingly with your
Burning fingers that touched so many cold and dying;
That hold the frozen universe and warm earth together
All things alive and together,
Surrounding his heart and head to purify and refine.
Move him to your white-hot core,
Blazing Presence,
For the praise of your bright Glory.