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 Got This

I had the opportunity to go out of town on vacation this past weekend with my family. We had a good friend from church house sit for us while we were away. It was interesting trying to explain to him about what to expect while we were away. Sure, we showed him the usual things about how to take care of our dog and also some of the quirks of the house. However, we also had to explain to him about our ministry in Homewood. He needed to expect the unexpected. Our neighborhood is a wonderful place, but it is also filled with its share of challenges. We did our best to prepare him for the week ahead.

Our friend did a great job of house sitting for us. When we returned home, he shared about some of the highlights and lowlights. Right before we left for vacation, I had placed an important letter in our mailbox that needed to be mailed out the next day. After we left one of the kids in our neighborhood had snuck onto our porch, taken the letter out of our mailbox and ripped it up. Our friend heard a commotion on our porch, and he ran outside to try to see what was going on but by that time our little mailman was gone. The Homewood experience with our house sitting friend had started out with a negative event. It's really not a big deal. At different times over the past five years that we've lived in Homewood, we've had drug addicts steal our front porch furniture while we were on vacation so that they could get money from the scrap metal to get high. We now have plastic front porch furniture. There have been other little things over the years, but we've just adapted and moved on. I'll learn not to leave important mail in my mailbox next time I leave on vacation.

After the rocky start, our friend shared that, as expected, a bunch of kids and neighbors stopped by to visit him. This is the best part about living in our neighborhood. On hot summer days, little kids stop by to ask for a freezie pop to cool them off. Teenagers stop by to jump on our trampoline or to talk about the latest drama that is going on in their lives. Adult friends and neighbors stop by to chat. We all look out for one another. We are caught up in one another's stories. Our friend who stayed at the house last week got to experience these things. A little girl who must have been four or five years old rang our doorbell, and in her cutest voice she asked, "Can I have four freezie pops? One for my grandma, one for my mom, one for my sister... and, um, oh yeah... one for me!" We had told our friend about our strict one freezie pop per person per day rule at the McCabe house (hey, you gotta have boundaries, right?), but the little girl was so cute that he just had to give her four freezie pops to go.

Our friend got a taste of the ups and downs of our urban neighborhood. He took walks and got to know people. He got caught up in people's stories, and they got caught up in his. Julie and I went for a walk in the neighborhood yesterday just so we could reorient ourselves after the week of vacation. Children played in the streets and found joy in lighting fireworks for the 4th of July. Our neighbors grilled out and had parties, just like many other people in America on Independence Day. We were also reminded of the pain in our community, though, as a thirty year old man was murdered right down the street from us at 3pm in afternoon on a beautiful Pittsburgh day. Our hearts break for the violence in our part of Homewood.

Our urban neighborhood has many signs of hope and many signs of need. My neighbors do amazing things to love each other well in our little piece of the world. I also have neighbors who steal and kill, causing harm to one another. Sometimes it's all too much to take. Joy and pain. Beauty and affliction. We live in the now, but not yet. The Kingdom of God is here, but we still live in a present evil age. What are we to do with all of this? I certainly don't have it all figured out, but I have hope that God does. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

This life will have struggles. Those struggles should be handed over to Jesus. In this life we will experience powerful forms of joy, purpose, and meaning as we interact with one another. We must also view those experiences through the lens of Jesus' love for us. God is with us through all of it. I am thankful for that this week as I reengage in the realities of urban ministry. God's got this. 

Good Friday and Easter

It's been a powerful Good Friday so far in the East End of Pittsburgh. I had the privilege of walking once again in the 5th Annual Prayer 4 Peace March in Homewood. We had another great crowd turn out this year to pray for our city!

This has been a meaningful event on Good Friday for each of the past five years. Transformation is a process that takes time. So many urban outreach efforts fizzle out in cycle of one and done programs led by people who give up when things get too difficult or inconvenient. Yes, transformational urban outreach is difficult, but one of the best things that leaders and people who support local outreach can do is continue to show up and be present over the long haul. A lot has happened in Homewood since I first started joining the work that is going on here, but I am so glad that God has given me the strength to stick with it even when it gets hard. I'm thankful that the church where I serve as a pastor, North Way Christian Community, continues to be present in Homewood year after year. It's important to be focused and to partner with the work of the Holy Spirit that is going on through so many amazing leaders in this part of our city.

I'm looking forward to the Good Friday worship service at North Way East End this evening at 7pm. It's important to be active in our city in terms of prayer and integral mission, but it is also important for the church to gather to worship God, preach the word, and to encourage one another on in the journey of following Jesus. The focus of the service tonight is all about honoring Jesus Christ. Pastor Freedom Blackwell will be teaching the message. Then, we'll gather back together at North Way East End on Sunday morning at 9am and 11am for Easter worship services. I can't wait to teach live on Easter Sunday! It's shaping up to be an amazing last couple of days of Holy Week here in Pittsburgh. I'm praying for all of the other churches and pastors in our city this weekend! I'm expecting God to do big things in our city. 

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. 

Building Relationships in the City

There was a significant snow storm in Pittsburgh last night, so I was surprised when our doorbell rang right in the middle of an intense period of the storm. Turns out it was a young man that we've grown close to over the years. He lives in Homewood, and he was walking back to his house after walking to a store to get some basic groceries. He and his brothers have become like family to us since their mom died a few years ago. They are all welcome to stop by to see us at any time, so that's what Will did last night. He just stopped in to visit, to catch up on life, to tell some stories about he and his brothers, and to ask us how we're doing. There is nothing forced about our relationship. It's just doing life together. And that is the subtle progress of incarnational urban ministry.

The slow process of transformation in our part of the city happens through relationships that are built over time... one life on one life... one family with another family... our paths intersect and Jesus accomplishes amazing things. Relationships win out over programs any day. Relationships will last for eternity... relationships with God, and, as a result, relationships with one another. There are no quick fixes when it comes to the complexities of the urban environment. Dramatic improvements are few and far between. I'm thankful for the little signs of hope that I get to experience on a seemingly daily basis, and I'm thankful for the people that God has brought into my life.

City Transformation

An incredible group of people have been going through Encountering God in the City over the past four weeks at North Way East End. So far we've learned about a theology of the city, we've discussed the differences between compassion, justice, and advocacy, we've sought to understand the various forms of urban missions, and we've developed strategies for leading incarnationally as Jesus did in complex environments.

The discussions have been fun and challenging. God is calling so many people from North Way to be involved in transformational outreach and authentic, relational ministry in our city, region, and around the world. God is shaping our community to be active participants in God's redemptive mission to reach cities. My prayer is that God will continue to empower and equip us for radical living and taking risks for the kingdom of God.

Our final session of Encountering God in the City will be this coming Wednesday, November 20th at 6:30pm. We'll be discussing city transformation. That involves developing an understanding of God's shalom and what meaningful ministry actually looks like in cities. Transformation is a process that takes time and effort, but when it happens it is so worth it. I'll be telling some stories from Homewood and East Liberty, and we'll also learn from stories about people who are serving in cities around the world. Anyone is welcome to attend.

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.