Jesus Didn't Use a Heavenly Megaphone

I love practicing incarnational and contextual leadership in Homewood. I have studied both leadership styles in depth, and both are proving to be very effective in being more of a transformational leader. That is the point, isn't it? To see individual lives and communities transformed through the love of Christ? God works through me because he is a God of purpose. He is a God who is constantly on mission.

So how do these styles of leadership play out? I have built many relationships with kids in the community over the years. I am practicing the art of presence, which means that those relationships are fostered much more effectively when I am in close proximity to the kids. I have conversations when I am standing on their front porches, in their living rooms, or in their schools. On their turf. I have conversations with them about life in my kitchen, which is on their turf. Believe me, their turf can be very messy, but leadership does not often happen in steril conditions. When something good or bad happens in the community, I feel it, too. In many ways, I can relate.

Leadership cannot be done effectively from afar. Leadership cannot be done effectively without the actual presence of the leaders in the midst of the context. I know people who will argue with me on those points, but they argue with me because they are not willing to dive into the areas they lead with everything they have. They want to lead from a comfortable distance. They are partially in, not all in. I am not saying that those who spend time with kids in Homewood must move to Homewood. That is not the point. But, if you are going to impact kids in Homewood, you must be willing to spend a significant amount of time on their turf.

You cannot lead a church, or a school, or a business, or a family from afar. What message does a pastor send to a church when he is not willing to live near the church because of brokenness in the community? What message does a school principal send to the students and their families when he or she won't live in that community? What about business owners who lead from afar? Many individuals and businesses own rental properties in Homewood. Many are slum lords who don't live in the community, they don't take care of their properties, they harm the community with their irresponsible business practices, and then they probably go to church on Sunday somewhere close to the nice cushy neighborhoods they live in and thank God for the "blessings" he has given them. Do they not see how truly messed up that is? And how can husbands and fathers be effective leaders of their families when they are gone for weeks at a time on sales calls? It can't be done. It's not worth it. It may be a needed sacrifice for a period of time, but no amount of money is worth sacrificing a marriage or straining relationships with your children. Men are much more than paychecks.

Peter Kuzmic sums all of this up well: Evangelicals emphasize the text of God's word, the Bible, as authoritative for belief and practice. Ministers of the gospel must be competent interpreters of Scripture. The text is, however, neither proclaimed nor practised in a vacuum but always in a concrete situation or context. All of Christian life and mission is a two-way street with constant traffic between the text and the context, between God's holy word and God's alienated world. If we ignore the world, we betray the word because the word sends us into the world. If we ignore the word, like some of our liberal friends, we will have nothing to bring to the world. People need a message of hope and life for situations of despair and death. We have learned that there is no authentic mission from a safe distance. Mission with integrity does not take place in antiseptic conditions. I have frequently struggled with the question of how to evangelize in painful situations without appearing to exploit human suffering. Entering the context is of crucial importance. Jesus did not pick up a heavenly megaphone to shout down to the inhabitants of Planet Earth: 'Repent!' He entered human history and human flesh. He was hungry. He was thirsty. He became a refugee. Contextualization is not just knowledge of the other context, but being willing to identify yourself with the context and become vulnerable." - From the book "Justice, Mercy, and Humilty: Integral Mission and the Poor"

Has God given you a passion for inner city kids? Go there! What about older adults? Go there! What about orphans? Go there! Enter their context. Enter their struggle. Make it your context. Make it your struggle. God calls us all to a life of purpose, and it is most definitely not for you to have made it through life safely and comfortably. Don't bury your talents. And, don't try to use your talents from afar. Instead, follow the example that Jesus gave us with the only perfect life that was ever lived.

Compassion

If you were able to attend the worship services at North Way this weekend, then you heard a powerful message from pastor Kent about our collective calling as Christians to care for under-resourced people in our society. If you have not heard the message, you should check it out at www.northway.org.

Pastor Kent touched on a theme that is very important to Christianity. We should all be on mission. When God restores us, he gives us a hope for a future. Our lives should become different. Also, the mission that we receive from God often comes out of brokenness. In other words, if you think you have it all together and life seems to being going pretty well for you, then you may have a hard time discerning the calling that God has for you. Our mission to care for others often comes to us when we are humbled, as was Peter in the example that Pastor Kent gave in his message.

One final thing: There is a difference between compassion and justice. Although it is nice to do something for somebody in need, it is more transformational when you empower someone to act or when you free a person or group of people from systematic opression (whether it is political, economic, or any other system). All of that to say... please remember that Christians are called to act compassionately and also powerfully on issues of injustice.

Homewood Clean Up

We had a great turn out for the Homewood Clean Up today. Thanks to everyone who showed up today to make a big difference in the community! North Way has the best volunteers! Greg and Kelly Phillips did an incredible job organizing the event with their mentee, Deshaun.

Ups and Downs

The past week was filled with many ups and downs related to LAMP. On the one hand, I was repeatedly discouraged by attempts to recruit new LAMP mentors. Some expressed fear over going into the Homewood community, while large scale announcements at church for new mentors yielded very little interest. On the other hand, I feel like God brought several people who are currently mentoring into my path to encourage me. They told me about how much mentoring over the past several years has meant to them, and the amazing impact they are having on their mentees.

I am very passionate about mentoring in Homewood, so I do get overly discouraged by the lack of growth in LAMP sometimes. At some point, though, I need to be careful with that because I take things too personally and it is up to God to work on people's hearts to want to get involved. God is in control of LAMP, not me. I do not call people to mentor... Jesus does.

Also, being fully immersed in the Homewood community often magnifies the ups and downs experienced in urban ministry. Big break throughs may seem to be more than they are, while brokenness makes things seem worse than they may actually be. This is why it is important for me to have relationships with people who can speak into my life and the circumstances surrounding what I do for a living. LAMP is then much more about a community of people rallying around the young people in Homewood, and not about one passionate person who is trying to lead the way.

The Soul-dier

One of my best friends, Jason Gregg, has written a new book called The Soul-dier: Battling the Unseen. It is available for pre-order at this time... just click on Jason's link that I have posted on this site and it will take you to his web site which has details about how to order the book.

Jason has an amazing life story, which he has been able share recently at North Way, on the Stacy and Hutch show, and most recently on the latest Journeymen podcast. I am really looking forward to reading the book when it comes out.

An Appeal for Mentoring

It is great to be back in Homewood after a week away. I missed our life here, although it was good to get a break from everything. I paid attention to the news while I was away, so I was able to keep in touch with what happened with the woman who was killed by a stray bullet on her way home from the library in Homewood and also the prayer walk that was attended by nearly 200 people on Good Friday.

The news of the violence hits me hard for several reasons. Things are more personal to me now that I live in the community. A woman tragically lost her life, and a new layer of fear develops within the community and for those who do not live in Homewood who might be interested in making a difference here (such as mentoring a child, starting up a business, or buying a home and raising their family here). Also, the young men who allegedly committed the crime were 15 and 16 years old. All I could think about while I was away were the many 15 year old young men who I have been pouring my time into over the past four years. I have such a burden for reaching them, and it really hurts when I see young people committing such violent acts.

I saw some comments on the news article about the prayer walk on Good Friday from people who seemed to think that prayer was of no use. From their perspective, that means that God has abandoned Homewood and all hope is lost. To that, I would say that God has not abandoned Homewood. Prayer is needed now more than ever. God desires to see shalom in the city, and especially in neighborhoods like Homewood. We, the body of Christ, have been called to lead the way. The last thing we should do is shy away when things get tough.

My neighborhood is hurting, but please do not give up on Homewood. We need your prayers! We need your time and energy! People of all ages in Homewood need help from their Christian neighbors, whether from Homewood residents or from people who live in the metro Pittsburgh area. There are many good people and organizations who are currently working and have been working in Homewood for a long time. Don't give up on them... they need your support now more than ever.

Finally, I truly believe in my heart that a great way to impact Homewood over the long run is through mentoring children. The impact is felt one child at a time. If you have been mentoring a child through LAMP... I say thank you so much! Please keep up the good work because you are needed now more than ever! If you live in Pittsburgh and you are not currently mentoring a child, then I would ask you to please do it! Did you know that there are over 40 children in Homewood waiting for a LAMP mentor right now? Some have been waiting for nearly two years, now. Friends... this should not be! Could 40 mentors be found from the 200 people who attended the prayer walk in Homewood on Good Friday? Could 40 more mentors be found at North Way, which currently has over 3,000 people attending but less than 100 LAMP mentors? And what about the other churches in Pittsburgh? It breaks my heart every time I have to look one of our LAMP kids on the waiting list in their eyes and tell them that I don't have anyone for them. It's not about me, though. It's about the kids in Homewood. And, it's about the church in Pittsburgh stepping up to mentor children in need in the area.

The Message for New Generations

I'm currently studying the first five books of the Bible. One theme I am learning about is that new generations of people have to hear God's story in different ways. The example is that Deuteronomy basically covers the content that was in Exodus, just in a different way to a new generation of people.

This topic can be a controversial subject. Many Christians believe that God doesn't speak to us anymore, and that we will learn all we need to know about God through timeless, unchanging Scriptures. Public readings of the King James version of the Bible are in order. Other Christians, of the more liberal lens, deconstruct and speak so many cultural and generational insights into Scriptures that one can hardly tell what is the gospel message and what is pop culture.

What do you think? Do different generations of people need to enter into God's story in different ways? If so, how is that done effectively in our modern culture?