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I had a rare experience last Monday night. In fact, I don’t remember it happening before Monday night. It started about 9:45 as Amy and I were heading toward bed. My phone beeped indicating I received a text message. The message read “remember God loves you no matter what.” The problem was, I didn’t know who sent it. I didn’t recognize the phone number it came from (I didn’t have it stored already in my phone) and the sender didn’t sign it. Through a series of text messages back and forth I found out it was one of our church members.
I can’t tell you how much that lifted my spirits. Our church members often pray for us (the ministers) at church. But that was a first for me in the five years that Amy and I have been at Wonder City. For the first time someone took a moment to let me know they were thinking about me outside of church. For the first time someone took a moment to encourage me. For the first time the encourager became the encouraged.
Last Sunday night I and several other adults took 17 teens from Wonder City to the Winter Jam concert. I don’t know if it was the mood I was in that night, or what. But I was disappointed for my teens. With the artist I knew would be there I was hopeful for an upbeat show that my teens could connect to. I knew going in the lineup was short on hip-hop style music, but Toby Mac looked promising. When we arrived, the youth ministers were asked to attend a “Youth Leader’s Reception” where we would be joined by some of the artist “to pray over the concert and your youth.” It was really a time for World Changers to get our mailing address and to give us some information about how they were going to do the “alter call” (their words). While we (the youth ministers) were in that “reception” the first act was on the stage. For me, it went downhill from there. Every time, there was some momentum built with the acts and music something would be done to kill it cold. The speaker came out and spoke 10 minutes about giving before a “love offering” was taken up. One of the members of Newsong came out and spoke 10 minutes about sponsoring orphaned and abandoned kids in foreign countries. And they had a 15 minute intermission. It appeared that my kids were just as disappointed and frustrated as I was. Many of them were up and down throughout the whole thing. Several asked me if we could leave at intermission (we stayed because we knew Toby Mac was up next). It was one of those events that as I left I said to myself, “Glad we came, but don’t think I will do it again.”
I don’t think I would have been frustrated by all that stuff had my teens not been there. During the fall I had taught a series of lessons on Wednesday night using holy hip-hop. We would listen to a song and talk about the themes in the song and look at appropriate texts. I wanted to show my teens that there is music that they would like to listen to other than the junk that secular hip-hop artist put out. Here was an opportunity to get my kids even more exposure to and excited about Christian music. However, it just didn’t work. Something like this may have worked for many more sub-urban churches and youth, but it just didn’t work with my urban kids. To top it all off we had taken three new teens with us that night (none of the three had been with us for more than 2 services).
At least, that was how I was feeling when I left the concert. When I dropped off six girls at the same house, they all said how much fun they had and the two new girls that had gone with us said they were going to start coming to Wonder City. Then, I was pleasantly surprised at Bible class on Wednesday night when I asked what they thought about it. Several indicated some of the same things that I mentioned. But at the same time, they all had something good to say about the concert. They all found one act they connected with. And some of them enjoyed watching me “rocking out” (one of my teen boy’s words). I am a little more hopeful as I write this than I was earlier. God can take something that looks like it fell on its face and totally work something out of it. Praise the Lord for that.
An event, during last Wednesday night’s Bible Class, reminded me how much work there is to do in our community. Two brief facts to help you visualize what happened. First, our store-front church is next door to a laundry mat (we highly discourage bringing laundry to do during church, but it happens from time to time). Second, the way our “building” is laid out the teenage (jr high and high school) class is right by the “front” door.
Sue (not her real name) is a single mother with three children (6, 3 and less than a year.) Sue herself is no older than 20 years. Last Wednesday she brought laundry to do during church. So during class, she is back and forth between the laundry mat. Each time she is carrying her infant daughter and her 3 year-old son is walking behind her. Upon returning the last time she opens the door to the building about half-way or less and enters the building with a bag of clean laundry on her shoulder. Her son is trailing far enough behind her that the door shuts before he enters the building. Instead of stopping and letting him in, Sue keeps walking and says, “Bye.” The child is outside and crying. One of our teens gets up, opens the door, and picks up the child.
I was very disturbed by what I saw and it broke my heart. I spoke with a couple of our leaders after church about how best to address the situation (after all I am a “rich” married white male with no children, and she is a poor, African-American, single mother). They suggested that since I was the one who witnessed the event that I speak to Sue and tell her that this could not happen again. When I went and spoke to Sue, her response to me was, “He didn’t come in.” This child is 3 years-old and in her mind he is already responsible for himself.
Not only are the gospel and the grace and forgiveness of God desperately needed in this situation, but so much more. Parenting classes are just a start. But more than that, hope is needed. You see, Sue is hopeless. She displays it in all of her actions. She rarely has a smile on her face. She often walks with her head down. She has not finished school (I’m not even sure she made it to high-school). She does not have a job. She is the victim of sexual abuse. There is no life in Sue. Sue has no hope. No hope breaks my heart. It breaks God’s heart.
Pray for Sue and her family.
A Vision for Wonder City
This past Sunday I preached a sermon at Wonder City recasting our vision and purpose for our congregation. My goal was to rekindle the dream of what Wonder City can be within our vision. Here is a short summary of what I preached.
Wonder City’s vision or purpose statement is “Bringing God and People Together.” When I look at this vision statement I can’t help but think of two types of reconciliation. The first type, and the most obvious, is reconciliation between God and his creation. We all know the effects of sin in our lives and the separation that it brings from God. We are in the business of helping people get right with God. We are about reconciling individual lives to God. But we are also about reconciling whole groups and systems to God. The word “people” in our purpose statement is intentionally plural. Each one makes the decision to turn from God on his or her own. However, when multiple decisions are added together the effect is disastrous, turning whole groups of people and even systems away from God’s will. Families are affected for generations. Systems within government, business, and society at large become broken and continue to enslave rather than liberate. We are therefore in the business of reconciling these groups and systems to God and his will for them.
The second type of reconciliation is person to person. The words “and people” are not just plural because of groups and systems, but humanity needs to be reconciled to itself. Sin drives barriers between and separates not just people from God but from each other as well. We all know people who have been torn apart by sin—people whose sinful and selfish behaviors tore relationships apart. Jesus said you can’t be reconciled with God if you are not reconciled with your brother (Mt. 5:23-24). So we are in the business of helping restore and repair broken relationships.
I believe we have a clear picture of what these types of reconciliation look like in the words of Jesus. He said (speaking of the greatest commandment), “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mk. 12:30-31; NIV).
Of course, the implications here are many. First, it means we are about sharing, teaching, and preaching the word of Jesus. Second, it means continuing our after-school program—so kids can love the Lord their God with their entire mind. Third, it means we speak up when we see and hear about things in the political system that will hurt the poor—because that is loving our neighbor as ourselves. There are many other ways in which we can fulfill these commandments and our purpose. These are but just a few examples.
Our request at Wonder City is that you pray for us this year as we set about our vision and purpose of “Bringing God and People Together.”
For those of you who want to know what my ministry looks like on a daily basis go read my friend's Josh's blog on the "Life and Times of and Urban Minister" You can find it at http://jagoo.blogspot.com/2005/08/life-and-times-of-urban-minister.html
Welcome to the new Wonder City Ministry blog. I have created this blog to keep those of you who are interested in what is happening at Wonder City more up to date and informed. I also hope to have a free exchange of ideas around issues and topics that effect the poor and how to minister to and with the poor. From time to time I will also keep you updated about personal things that are happening in Amy's (my wife) and my life.God Bless
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