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Wilderness Journeys Perfect Your Faith To Move Forward

Thank you to those who have supported me during this time of silence and transition.  A good friend asked me “what did you do wrong to be silenced?”, to which I replied not that kind of silence.  It is the silence you experience when God is moving you to a new place and new assignment that causes you to stop, reflect on the past, review His promises for your life and recall the provisions He has provided when you were entering into other places that stretched you beyond your current situation.  When God instructs, prepare to move forward in a way that requires your faith to be strong.  I have been silent on this blog for the past four weeks out of obedience to the guiding of the Holy Spirit.  A preparation process for moving forward.  The New Urban is not about showing hopeless kids hope; it’s about changing attitudes of kingdom building among the adults and young adults charged with leading our youth through this transitional state to adulthood.  It’s about a collective vision of moving young people forward, not a siloed classification of young people.  The Bible teaches that all have sinned and come short of the glory.  All need him, not just the poor, not just those experiencing challenging circumstances but everyone.  I truly believe God is moving Youth Ministry to a new understanding of faith, vision and  equipping of young people.

Faith can be idle when circumstances are calm.  But, when adversity hits then our faith is exercised.  Like muscles, our faith grows stronger when exercised.  I have learned that faith states the dream, examines all options, uses all resources, removes all nonessentials and then moves forward.  I now understand what it means to say – “a man able to see in faith sees things that do not yet exist in the natural realm and sees the potential to bring to pass something marvelous.”

In the Bible, the Hebrew  word  forward is about taking a journey that has many stages to it.  In Exodus 14: 13 – 15 the people had to first stand still and then go forward.  This has been an incredible journey the Lord has me on to this point.  I walk in expectancy of all that He has for me going forward.

 

I invite you to also move forward in your relationship with Jesus Christ, in your ministry and in exalting God, engaging unbelievers and edifying the believers:

F – represents the future.  Things do not happen by chance, they happen according to His will.  Don’t be distracted by circumstances seen with the natural eye.   (Prov. 19:21)

O – signifies ordinary people. God uses ordinary people to accomplish His will.  Throughout history it wasn’t about titles, degrees or pedigree – just ordinary people.  In Romans 16 Paul mentions 24 people used,  Luke 10:1 speaks of 70 that went out 2 by 2.

R – stands for resiliency.  The Bible tells us that “a man who holds his ground can become strong like the oak” (Prov 24:10).  As Christian leaders we are to cultivate our ability to endure under pressure, rise after failure and push ahead when others quit.  Spurgeon said, “by perseverance, the snail reached the ark”.

W –  represents wholehearted prayer. Prayer is an intense dialogue with diety. It is your decision to personally pursue and seek guidance from the Lord.  It is an intense, continual, wholehearted seeking of relationship and conversation.

A – indicates the attitude of faith and courage that fuels your moving forward to fulfill the vision God gave you.   Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the mastery of it.  You must be able to see your vision, say it and seize it.  You must have faith to see what God is doing.

R – stands for remember. Looking back over your life, recall what God has done for you.  Even as you look back over your test and trials, you will see where God has brought you through.  That which seemed like there was no way out, no solution or now path forward . . . look at you now.  And if you are in the midst of a storm now, look around and remember – “you have been here before.”

D – signifies decisions.  Decisions determine your DESTINY. Every decision in your life has a consequence; some positive and some negative.  When we take matters into our own hands, that is when God allows us to struggle in the darkness created by our decisions.  To move forward, learn from wise men’s (and women’s) lifestyles and decision making processes.  Don’t be afraid to seek wise counsel. (This is the biggest mistake most young leaders make – The I Know It All Syndrome).  Don’t take my word, read Prov. 1:5; 8:33; 9:8,9.

 

Your path forward belongs to the Lord .  Be confident and stay conscience . . .

 

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Is The Right To Vote A Racial Entitlement? Oh How Far Have We Moved From God

Scripture teaches us we are to view  government through the lens of scripture, attempting to persuade them to make laws consistent with biblical standards of morality.   I know I have readers who are Republican and who are Democrats and I don’t want to alienate any of you.  Preaching on politics is just too divisive.  But I like Paul will challenge you, as Christians, to faithfully discharge your responsibilities before God on issues of  justice.

 

             “I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for i did not shrink       

                                     from declaring to you the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27)

 

Scripture  point to believers who spoke out on behalf of government doing what was right.  Jesus taught, in Matthew 22:21, about the distinction between the things that belong to Caesar and the things that are God’s.  Daniel, in Daniel 4:27 called out Nebuchadnezzar to hear his council and break off his sin by practicing righteousness.  Verse 49 says he was regularly at the king’s court.  Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 29:7 told the Jewish exiles in Babylon to seek the welfare of the city because in it they would find their welfare, the laws and policies consistent with the Word of God.  Joseph oversaw Pharaoh’s great wealth.  Moses demanded freedom for the people of Israel – “let my people go” (Exodus 8:1).   Nehemiah orchestrated the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.  Queen Esther had influence on the king in changing the “policy” that were created.  Several of the prophets witnessed to the moral standards and requirements of treatment of people and how to conduct themselves.  John the Baptist rebuked Herod for the things he had done (Luke 3:19).  In Acts 24:25 Paul spoke to Felix about “righteousness and self control and the coming judgment”.

 

 

Today I am honored to bring to you a man who has been in the fight for justice for a long time.  A man who has stood on the front lines, the soup line, the unemployment lines and the prayer lines in an effort to bring justice to every man. I thank him for inviting me to be a guest on his TV program this Saturday night and for  joining the conversation today.

 

 

 

GUEST POST: REVEREND  JESSE JACKSON SR.

Weekly Commentary | Chicago Sun-Times

In oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the Voting Rights Act, Justice Antonin Scalia slandered the act as a “racial entitlement,” arguing, “whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes.” So, the right-wing justice intimated, the conservative “Gang of Five” on the Supreme Court had every right to step in and overrule the 98 senators who voted unanimously to reauthorize the act (including the senators of every state and jurisdiction required to seek pre-clearance of any changes in their voting laws).

The justice proved once more that he is not a neutral arbiter of the Constitution but a right-wing activist with an agenda to enforce. Deference to the popularly elected Congress and president is, apparently, only when they do what Scalia considers to be proper. When they choose to reauthorize a Voting Rights Act that has protected the rights of millions and transformed America’s democracy since its passage in 1965, Justice Scalia thinks the court should negate their act, since he somehow considers protection of the right to vote a “racial entitlement.”

Scalia’s racial taunt has received the scorn it deserves. It makes more sense to apply his reasoning to the real “racial entitlements” that still scar our nation.

For example, a recent study by Brandeis University revealed a stunning increase in the wealth gap between whites and blacks in America. The gap tripled between 1984 and 2009. In 2009, the median wealth (the difference between what you own and what you owe) of a white household was $113,149. The median wealth of a black household was $5,677.

Why the difference? The study found five contributing factors.

First, whites were more likely to be homeowners than blacks, often because their families are more able to help with down payments. Black families who worked for 200 years in slavery and 100 years in segregation had less ability to accumulate wealth.

Second, whites made more income than blacks, even for comparable work.

Third, blacks are twice as likely to be unemployed as whites, and, with less of a family cushion to rely on, more likely to deplete their savings when unemployed.

Fourth, whites are five times more likely to inherit money, and their inheritance averages 10 times as much. Again, this surely is in part a legacy of our scarred history.

Finally, whites are more likely to have a college education than blacks. Blacks are more likely to find advanced training difficult to finance. They are more likely to graduate with debt, and their average debt on graduation is greater.

The wealth gap is, in Scalia’s words, a “racial entitlement.” Only this entitlement favors whites, not blacks. As Scalia wrote, “whenever a society adopts racial entitlements, it is very difficult to get out of them through the normal political processes.” That’s why it took a Civil War to end slavery, and to amend the Constitution to guarantee equal protection of the laws. It took the sacrifice of lives and limbs in a civil rights movement to end segregation, and to pass the Voting Rights Act to provide minorities with an equal right to vote. On economic inequality, the promise of 40 acres and a mule for freed slaves was broken. Dr. King marched on Washington to redeem a “canceled check” marked “insufficient funds.”

If Scalia is right, “the normal political processes” won’t solve this racial entitlement. Nor, for that matter, will the right-wing Gang of Five on the Supreme Court.

Keep up with Rev. Jackson and the work of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition at www.rainbowpush.org.
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Maybe The Unity In The Body Of Christ Is Not Important To Youth Workers

I was recently asked what is the Biblical basis for the concept of The New Urban and how do we know it when we see it and how do we live it out.  In framing my answer to this person the narrative of the conversation moves from games, gimmicks and entertainment of young people to authentic collective ministry focused on equipping young people for the pressures and challenges they are facing day to day.

First and foremost the Bible teaches us that we are no longer separated and are all in the same spirit.  Ministry to young people is not urban, suburban or rural; its Jesus Christ crucified.  And our unity is an integral part of that dialogue.

 

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many.  

1 Corinthians 12:12-14

 

Second, the equipping of young people is also about our own walk with Christ, for how can we convince young people to live a life that we ourselves are not willing to live.  If we never engage with people unlike ourselves we plant an image of divisiveness in our young people that is not the reality of the world in which they exist.

I believe as the Body of Christ that we are “to present our bodies a living sacrifice” in honor and praise to God (Romans 12:1-2; Eph. 1:6), to reflect the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in our lives, to evangelize the world by the preaching and sharing of the Gospel (Acts 1:8) and to equip Believers with God’s Word to face the struggles of this world.

 

Third, people have differing skills; ministries have different talents and resources.  Working together enables our varying gifts to work together to advance the gospel to young people.   We must do ministry with young people together, not just conferences and meetings of youth workers.

Jesus Christ has given different ministerial gifts to the Church For the perfecting of the saints .  . . for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16) and it’s through our unity not separation that we bring young people to the full understanding of the gospel. The ultimate mission of the Church is winning souls to Christ through the preaching of the Gospel.

 

The individual looked at me with a blank stare on their face.  He said, but I don’t get it, what events should we do first?  I replied, before you focus on events lets spend some time in prayer and ask God to make sure our hearts are pure.  That the life we live be pleasing to Him.  Ask Him to help us to view everyone as equal, to not think of ourselves as above others and open our hearts and minds to how we work together with people of all types.  That our walk be an example to those under our care and we point them to Christ not us.  Let’s pray for the issues our young people are facing.

He then said, now what? How about we go visit someone at a church outside your circle of influence and let’s spend some time with them in prayer about the issues their young people are facing.

He replied, ok let’s hurry up and get through this, I need to setup the dodgeball game for the kids tonight. I wondered how do you tie it to the Word of God?  “Oh we don’t really, the kids like it and it’s how we keep them engaged.  We’ll do a quick lesson at the end.”

Really

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Spiritual Formation for Motley Crews by Gabriel Salguero

Last week on our consciousness cruise, we metaphorically stopped on the corner of Praise & Judgment to refuel.  As we left that station headed for the ramp to get back on the highway; through a series of detours and events, I was blessed to meet Pastor Gabriel Salguero.  Gabriel is the Senior Pastor of The Lamb’s Church of the Nazarene, a multi-ethnic church in New York.  I had an opportunity to speak with him to discuss what God is doing in his neck of the woods.  He has given me permission to share with you his view on Spiritual Formation for Motley Crews.  He discussed his belief that urban churches are presented with unique opportunities to model the rich diversity of the kingdom of God as seen in Isaiah 11 and Rev 7:9.  I am honored to share his words today with all of you.

This continues our mission of continuing to broaden your understanding and consciousness of  The New Urban.  Bringing you this view from multiple perspectives from around the country.  Enjoy and please comment below.

 

 

 

GUEST POST: PASTOR GABRIEL SALGUERO 

These days “discipleship” and “Spiritual Formation” are ubiquitous terms. Blogs, books, conferences, and conversations all strive to respond to the question, “How do we nurture Christ-like disciples in our generation?” While I know well that there is some great writing and teaching being done in this area my hope is that my musings as a “young” (I’m 39 and not sure what young is anymore) urban pastor of a multi-ethnic church restart can in some way contribute to this important conversation. I am of the conviction that spiritual formation and diversity are deeply interrelated.

The Lamb’s in New York is the congregation my wife and I lead. The Lamb’s had its most recent restart in 2007 when we relocated from Times Square to the intersection of SoHo, Chinatown, Loisaida (a Spanish term given to this part of the Lower East Side). The average age of the new members is around 28, and we have some older Chinese and Hispanic immigrants whose average age is between 55-60. In addition, we have graduate students worshipping with folks who barely have any formal schooling. The Lamb’s has two worship services; one in English-Mandarin and the other in English-Spanish. In short, it’s a real motley crew. Honestly, we are probably violating the majority of rules and expectations for church-planters and church-restarters. I am often tempted to pursue the homogenous unit principle (HUP) as I see many of my dear friends growing in numbers at much faster rates. Still we are, at least for the present, pursuing a road less traveled. One main reason for pursuing this course is discipleship.

Many of the NY church-planting successes used as models across the country are paradigms of young urban professionals (Yuppies) that worship together. Indubitably, there is much to celebrate in reaching young urbanites. Still, a challenge remains. While some number of these congregations has some spattering racial-ethnic diversity they often lack economic and class diversity; not to mention leadership diversity. I do NOT believe all congregations have to be multi-ethnic and multi-class. However, I do believe that urban churches are presented with unique opportunities to model the rich diversity of the kingdom of God as seen in Isaiah 11 and Rev 7:9. Beyond modeling the ecclesiology of Pentecost, and the early church experiment of creating a new Christ-centered community of Jews and Gentiles, diversity is essential for spiritual formation in our generation. As this new community learned to work through difference and disagreement for the sake of the cross, they were becoming disciples who learned grace in action.

How does diversity inform spiritual formation? Simply put, Christians are broadened and deepened as they worship, study, do ministry, and share life-together in community. It is across difference where the most important of Christian virtues, love, is tested. Now this has to be beyond window-dressing of doing drive-by ministry “to” and “among” the urban poor, immigrants, and the rich, racially-ethnic diversity of the global church present in urban centers. When all these demographics form a vital part of our worship community and leadership, spiritual formation takes on a richer texture. As we listen to one another across differences, our own assumptions, prejudices, and limitations are challenged by other followers of Christ. This is precisely what Christian ecclesiology is; “unity in Christ with diversity.”

In the main stream, many congregations push for assimilation and homogenization in the name of “urban missiology” and is usually said as, “Whatever it takes to reach people.” However, Christian missiology has a distinctive. Our mission is not absent from ecclesiology. What makes our mission so distinctive is that Christ calls us to embrace the other. In Scripture, this radical hospitality is “xenophilia”–not just tolerance of the stranger but love and celebration of the other. It is not telling the other, “You must be just like me for us to be in community.” The cultural and class-homogenizing impulse while often facile is not the way of the cross. Our congregations ought not to be cultural or class silos that only gather us with people who make us comfortable. Much of culture is going in the direction of echo chambers. Google+, Facebook, and Twitter accounts will be custom-made so that we only have advertisements, friends, and links that reflect our own image. Church ought not to be simply a reflection of me, my class assumptions, my favorite songs, or cultural values. No! Spiritual formation requires that the church reflect Christ not in my image, but Christ as he is in the world.

Now if we seek diversity just for diversity’s sake we’ve missed the point. The motley crew congregation is not something we pursue to be “hip” or “trendy.” We do it because it has always been at the heart of the foundation of Christ’s church. The diversity of Christ’s body teaches us to exhibit and receive grace, to be slow to speak and quick to listen, and to value every member of Christ’s body. A motley crew church helps protect us from reducing the Gospel, to our hermeneutic, our preaching, our culture, our class, or political party. Yes, for in this kaleidoscope of people we can see the multiform grace of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This is not easy; we’ll trip all over ourselves. But we don’t do things because they’re easy. We do them because they’re right. Grace abounds.

 

 

 

Follow Pastor on twitter @salgueros

 

The Church Website is www.lambschurch.org

 

 

If you are in or near New York, Pastor invites you to join The Lamb’s this Wednesday, February 13, as they welcome the season of lent.  You can join them in the following ways:

 

1)  Ash Wednesday Prayer and Ashes

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: The Lamb’s Church, 61 Rivington Street, New York, NY 10002

 

2)  Joint Ash Wednesday Service at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene: In lieu of our mid-week worship service we will be having a joint Ash Wednesday service in the Bronx at Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene.

Time: 7:30pm.

Location:Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene

971 East 227th Street

Bronx, NY 10466

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Ray Lewis Giving A Shout Outs For Jesus? What!!!



This week we are going to take an off ramp on our consciousness cruise of Nehemiah’s’ four step plan for saving his community and stop at the corner of Praise and Judgment to refill our tanks.

 

We just completed a week of public events where a number of individuals in the publicly chose to mention and or speak of their faith in God.   The social media world lit up all day Sunday and Monday over these “shout outs for Jesus” – in several texts, tweets, emails and blogs people voiced concern over those who spoke of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Many casting judgment as to weather these individuals were really Christians or not.  Surprisingly, several of these individuals casting judgment profess to be Christians themselves.

 

San Francisco quarterback Colin Kapernick tweeted scriptures all week and mentioned God in his interviews.  Adrian Peterson, in his acceptance speech at the Saturday night NFL Awards, thanked God for allowing him to win the MVP award and come back from his ACL injury.  And away from the Super Bowl scene; at the NAACP Image Awards, an event that honors people of color in TV since the other award shows minimize participation of people of color, Loretta Devine greeted the audience with a – “Praise the Lord everybody” greeting.   Which received it’s own criticism.  And of course Ray Lewis’ “no weapon formed against me shall prosper” quote before, during and after the Super Bowl.  Lewis also explained, in response to Jim Nance question on how the Ravens were able to overcome such odds and obstacles, in the post game interview answered –  “if God be for you, who can be against you”.  (Both of those quotes are used frequently by those of the faith)  Yes, that’s a slippery theological slope.  In other words, if God is for us, that doesn’t mean there’s an equal and opposite person that God is against.     I’m sure there were others over the weekend but these are sufficient for our discussion as we refill our take here at the corner of Praise & Judgment.

 

The Bible tells us in Matthew 7:1- 6 to first remove the plank from our own eyes before we attempt to remove the speck from someone else’s.  If we were “back in the day”, would we have treated Paul the same way as he preached the Word of God after his conversion?  Paul, who was the mass murder of Christians who later called himself the “ chief sinner”.  Would we have judged David for all his transgressions in the midst of being such a great warrior and king?  The Bible says David was a man after God’s own heart.  Would we have asked Ester, whom do you think you are speaking up; you only came into relationship with the king as a result of someone else’s misfortune.  We never know what God is working out in the lives of an individual.

 

I am not defending any of the celebrities.  Their incredible skills and success could be a part of God’s common grace.  And they may or may not have received His saving grace.  As the body of Christ, instead of judging we should be praying for those going through the process of sanctification.  That God will encourage and strengthen them in this journey.  That as public figures, that their lifestyles will show the fruits of their conversion.  And they will overcome any of their struggles.

 

We don’t know if these guys are real; but it is not for us to judge or decide.  We are not the moral police and we need to treat people like Jesus treated people.  We must remember, scripture also tell us that none is perfect but the Father.  We ourselves are striving to live a life that is pleasing to God and we too make mistakes.  Our own personal accountability is not reduced because ours sins are not in the public eye.   Sin is sin and God views our transgressions the same as He does those of others.  Weather ours sins are of the flesh or sins of the spirit (judging, hating, envy, etc), God sees them all.

 

 

As leaders, we must model the lifestyle we want our young people to live.  In this multimedia world where everything is seen by all, our young people should see us loving one another and praying for those who we see struggling with their faith.  Demonstrating the fruits of the spirit we are teaching them  – genuine love for His people, heartfelt obedience to His commands and Christlike character traits.   These can only come about by the Spirit of God working within our life.  Our young people HEAR what we do more than what we say.

 

 

Let me hear from you.  What are you thoughts on this subject?  Give me a shout out, your opinion is important to me.

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What Is Your Vision For Your Ministry?

Today we move to Nehemiah’s second step for transformation of his community.

 

Step 2 – Nehemiah developed a vision of restoration that symbolically connect to those hurting today

 

After praying and fasting he moved to creating the desired future state.  He didn’t just launch out and start doing things; he thought through – were do we need to be?  Where are we trying to take people?  What does the end game look like?

As we watch the news each day and live out our lives, we see significant moral breakdown in communities across the country.  Issues may not be the same in every neighborhood, but every neighborhood has issues.   We as leaders have to be the light for our community and provide the moral compass for our young people to follow.  We have to teach them what the Bible says about the conditions of this world  (You must know the times . . .).

To rebuild our communities we need the Word of God, continuous prayer, faith in God’s ability and the Holy Spirit to guide us.   We have to be willing to step up and say there is a better way.  The church has to show the hope and purpose that can be available to and for people.  In the process of bringing hope to our young people we must understand their discouragements and how it affects them.  And help them understand that any improvement effort will face challenge.   We must realize, as Nehemiah did, how we can be productive in the positions we occupy within our community.  What is your vision to bring change to the lives of the young people under your care?  We can’t be scared or shy about stepping up, speaking up and bringing truth to power.  For I believe we have been placed in our positions to affect those who have power to make change.  We must stand strong no matter what others think.

To be successful we must know our purpose.  The devil is clear, his purpose is to kill, steal and destroy our lives, our hope and our future.  We must be focused in our approach to ensure success.  The church, not political leaders must lead the change.  Without God all efforts will go astray.  As leaders, you will need to reach back and lift someone up.  We have to re-teach young people the values of respect for self, property and life.  We must as the church, live a life of caring for people believing our communities will rise again.

 

Again; our young people are depending on us to step up and equip them to be able to discern and make Godly decisions.  Stay encouraged. Stay engaged. Stay upon the Wall.  Our young peoples DESTINY demand our diligence.

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Does The Burden You Have For The Young People You Serve Lead You To Your Knees Or In Search Of Another Curriculum Or Program

 

Today we begin looking at the details of Nehemiah’s four step process for dealing with the burden he had for the people in Jerusalem.  We as leaders should have a burden for the conditions our young people face and an action plan for supporting them.

 

Step 1 – Nehemiah heard the report of his city.  In response, he spent four months of fasting, praying, weeping and mourning.

 

Our communities are deeply broken by the conditions society, some self-imposed, others that have been created.  We face economic breakdown with parental loss of jobs or the inability to acquire employment.  Businesses are struggling or closing.  We face family breakdowns in two family homes, parental relationships and the relationships between parents and kids. Single family homes are overburdened by the responsibility of the one parent.  Our educational system now pits teacher union reps against administration looking to get control of massive budgets; while neither is really focused on the education of our young people.  The young people themselves don’t see the true value of education and the capable ones dummy down to fit in and avoid peer pressure, thus affecting their long-term prospects of economic self-sufficiency.  Our men are being broken by a system that has devalued them and targeted them in a way that makes high school to prison the norm for a large number of our men.  The political system is run by power brokers whose self-interest sacrifices any other efforts.  The little man with few financial resources has no voice.  Services and assistance are being cut or redirected to those who don’t have the greatest need.  People have lost hope and see no way out and are giving up.

The challenges described above are not just in the urban communities; I am describing all communities.  Unfortunately, we don’t always want to face up to the reality of trouble existing in our own community.  By not addressing these head on we leave our young people exposed to deal with what they see, in their own way.  I conducted a workshop, last week, at a suburban youth ministry and after the workshop the adults were amazed at the attitudes of their young people and the experiences they were having.  The youth workers assumed the issues were in the other communities, not theirs.   They said they have “the good kids” but learned they were not equipping the young people to effectively make Godly decisions.   The young people began to discuss not only their issues but also how they felt the youth workers didn’t understood them, were not equipping them or living as an example for them.  This was incredibly eye opening to these youth workers.  This upper middle class, suburban, curriculum rich ministry learned they had not spent much time in collective prayer seeking God’s guidance in equipping their young people to deal with the issues they face.  Now don’t confuse my point; curricula is necessary but not the end all be all to helping our young people grow.

As youth workers and leaders, we have to engage more in the lives of our young people to understand what they are dealing with day-to-day and not assume everything is ok.  Issues may not be the same in every neighborhood, but every neighborhood has issues.  Your burden for the young people should lead you to find your neighborhoods issues.   That search starts with prayer and fasting on their behalf.  Engaging them in conversation about their challenges and taking those issue to the Lord for guidance.

 

The Bible says when Nehemiah heard about the challenges of his people he was grieved –

3And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

 4And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,

 5And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:

 

Nehemiah was a middle class person who had a seat at the table with those in control.  He was considered successful and set.  Even though, he was concerned about his people and felt he needed to take action. He knew that phrase the old folks us to say and we must understand today that – “but for the grace of God, go I”.  People have to care and we are the people who have to lead the caring.  Our young people are depending on us to step up and equip them to be able to discern and make Godly decisions.  Stay encouraged. Stay engaged. Stay upon the Wall.  Our young peoples DESTINY demand our diligence.

 

Next week we will look at Nehemiah’s next step after praying and fasting.

 

What is the burden you have for the young people?  How is your team collectively getting it’s understanding?  How are you engaging them?  Join the conversation and be a blessing to someone else.

 

 

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Your Diligence Determines Our Young Peoples Destiny

I would be remiss if I started into this blog without first recognizing the birthday of Reverend Martin L. King who would be 84 today.  Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience.

Now to the ministry . . .

Today I am writing to encourage those of you in the trenches of the new urban ministry.  As I explained last week, the new urban is a life style that permeates all segments of life.  It’s non-geographical; it’s multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-generational.  It’s looking through a prism with each layer being non-parallel.

I want to start today’s focus with a statement that is extremely relevant for those serving on behalf of young people – Behind every social problem; there is a spiritual solution!  Our young people are facing incredible moral challenges.  Whether they are watching the Game on BET or Whitney on NBC; the media makes casual sex, living together and all other forms of sin seem exciting and ok.  Gay marriage has become a cornerstone of network television. NBC calls its new comedy about a homosexual couple adopting a baby “The New Normal,” and that kind of understates it. This season they are not only normal they seem de rigueur.   Actors and entertainers, in Hollywood, are changing relationships like we change underwear.  Kim Kardashian makes out of wedlock pregnancy “in fashion”.  The music industry, of which everyone is listening, still glorifies sex, violence, money power and respect. We must be the counter to all of this for our young people.  Violent shootings are in every community.  In reality, this kind of violence is in many ways a part of our violent history and culture, and we have to start recognizing that there is no “typical” face of violence — it is not just the black kid killing people in gang shootings, the Mexican cartel member, or the “Muslim terrorist.” It can be, and often is, the white, suburban kid next door.  Over 917 deaths from shootings have happened since the Sandy Hook shooting.

 

Lives that are void of spiritual commitment are more willing to accept social response to spiritual problems.  We have to break the cycles, educating our young people on the structural roots of their suffering; historically rooted in structures of apathy and dependence.  J.F. Kennedy once said – Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.  We must help our young people lift themselves out of a self-centered; mentality that says they are victims rather than as the Bible says – we are more than conquers.  Our vision of the community must be God’s vision.  Our mission is to reach our cities and make them places where God’s presence, God’s way and God’s Word flourish and is understood to be the only way to solve problems.  Yes, young people in our cities face numerous challenges.   But WE are called to minister and serve in these environments because this is where God had placed us.

 

We must see our cities as it really is today before we can reach what we hope it to be.  God has a vision for our cities to become places of shelter, communion, purity and hope.  We must understand God’s sovereign purpose for our lives and the communities in which we live.  We must speak positive words and cease denouncing the city and being negative about its problems by beginning to addressing them through prayerful strategic action.

 

The Book of Nehemiah, and the burden he had for his city, lays out a model for us to address this deep spiritual burden for our community, neighborhood and city.  The purpose of your ministry is to bring healing and wholeness to a broken people and a broken generation.  God takes the broken pieces of humanity and transforms them into building blocks for His creation. The opportunity to become builders and arise up out of the ashes of brokenness is upon you the youth worker, a part of God’s church.

 

Over the next few weeks I will break down Nehemiah’s four-step action plan and how it perfectly ties into your responsibility to the young people in your communities:

Nehemiah heard the report of his city.  In response,

1.  Nehemiah spent four months of fasting, praying, weeping and mourning

2.  Nehemiah developed a vision of restoration that symbolically connects to those hurting young people today

3.  Nehemiah witnessed firsthand the terrible conditions of the city

4. Nehemiah purposed to arise, restore and rebuild.

 

Our young people are depending on us to step up and equip them to be able to discern and make Godly decisions.  Stay encouraged. Stay engaged. Stay upon the Wall.  Your diligence determines our young peoples destiny.

Join the conversation, share some of your challenges in the new urban that it may strengthen other youth workers . . .

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Youth Ministry Has Taken An Exciting New Directions — It’s Called The New Urban!!!

Happy New Year everyone.

I have just returned from a couple weeks vacation in Paris with my wife’s family.  My time away allowed me to reflect on the past few years and where I see the future of youth ministry.   As I said on facebook the other day – My wife asked me to step away from the IPad, IPhone and email while we were away.  I was able to do some deep reading, contemplative, reflective, introspective thinking and I was able to spend some incredible downtime with God in prayer and fasting.

 

As a result of this time, today we are re-launching our entire Platform – our ministry, social media, workshop series and sermons under the forward looking focus on Leadership in the New Urban.  We will focus on the new models required in ministering to all young people, in keeping our sanity and in networking outside our familiar circles.

 

These are exciting times for those of us who labor in the vineyard.  The urban landscape has changed in such a way that nothing is what it use to be.  The challenges our young people face are so expansive and can no longer be approached through our previous methods.  So what is the New Urban?  The new urban is a lifestyle that permeates all segments of life.  It’s non geographical.  No longer viewed through the lens of suburban, urban or rural.  Check out your young people, everyone’s into the music, the dress, activities and the talk of the new urban.   It’s multicultural, multiracial and multigenerational.  It’s cosmopolitan meets the thug, its hip-hop with a violin and everything in between.

 

 

MINISTERING TO YOUNG PEOPLE

For Youth Workers, the New Urban will require us to be at the top of our relational, relevant and revelatory game.  Young people don’t want to be entertained, taken for granted or spoon feed.  They are living in a world where everything goes and are questioning why they shouldn’t participate.   Peer pressure to conform to the world view is intense.  The world is telling them there are no limits, no morals and no judgement of anything they do.  Yet they want to know how to make God honoring decisions in a world where morality seems to be fading.  They want to see us “Walk The Talk”.  They don’t want us to be their best friends; they want adults who will walk along side them through their mess, guiding them along the way.  Pizza is great, but presence is better.  Lights are nice, but loving is more impactful.  Gimmicks are interesting, but grace is more desired.  Entertainment is fun, but equipping is long lasting.   Dodgeball is engaging,but destiny is the focus is.

 

 

UNDERGIRDING YOUTH WORKERS

Let’s face it, we are challenged with the new urban also.  This world is waxing worse and worse right in front of us and we are about two steps ahead of the young people in keeping up and understanding what’s going on in the secular culture.  We are dealing with situations we never expected the young people we minister to would be involved in at this age.  Our only advantage is our spiritual maturity and experience in dealing with the idols of the world.  The Bible tells us, “we must know the times. . .”.  Even though, I have to admit, sometimes I struggle with the burden of our young people. The weight of their plight brings me to tears.  But we know all of our problems, all of our pain, all of our situations, all of our heart ache can be left at the feet of Jesus.  Place your cares upon Him, He will hear your call.  We serve a God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we can imagine.  Trust in His Word, you know none of this is new to Him.  Stay encouraged and on your knees.

 

 

NETWORKING TO STRENGTHEN EACH OTHER

If we are willing to share our gifts, talents, resources and knowledge we will prevail.  If we are willing to network with other ministries in and outside of our normal circles; if we stay unified in the Kingdom building, holding each other up, praying for each other, strengthening each other in our walk, we will prevail.  Building strong networks take time, energy, empathy, open minds and passion.  In a world of social media, it is easy to make connections, but these connections are not a network.  The strength of your network is more important than the size of your network because, in the end, a strong network is something that you carry with you.  Today’s youth workers need to be able to build networks and work with others to address our young peoples challenges.  In the past it was possible to minister on your own and stay in your personal circle but today, requires sharing information and collaborating due to the overlapping of our young people’s experiences. Where we live is irrelevant, the size of our church is irrelevant, what we did in the past is irrelevant.  To assist parents in the spiritual development of their children, we must press toward to the mark . . .together.

So my brothers and sisters in Christ, stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.  I offer this prayer of encouragement from the words of the songstress Laura Stong’s Blessings   :

Dear God;

We pray for blessings
. We pray for peace.


Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
.  We pray for healing, for prosperity.

We pray for your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need
 yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

We pray for wisdom
. Your voice to hear
.

And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love,
 as if every promise from Your Word is not enough

All the while, You hear each desperate plea
 and long that we have faith to believe

.

What if our greatest disappointments
 or the aching of this life,
 is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
.

‘Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
, what if your healing comes through tears.


What if a thousand sleepless nights
 are what it takes to know You’re near

And what if trials of this life
: the rain, the storms, the hardest nights
 are Your mercies in disguise.

In Jesus name . . . Amen.

 

Welcome to the New Urban, ready or not here we go . . .

 

 

Actions                                    Preferences

 

                         Attitudes                                     Perspectives

 

Aspirations                                    Principles

 

 

 

 

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Learning And Relearning The “Truth About Reality”, Or The Truth About Urban Ministry

Some make it a habit of reading the experiences of Urban Ministry through the lens of stereotypes, symbols and beliefs and its difficult if not impossible to attach other meanings because there are no other interpretations beyond the “knowledge” they carried with them.  That knowledge would be “shadows cast on the wall” that prevent them from knowing the truth about urban ministry.  They take the shadows as objective representations of reality.  It’s time for us to help them confront their shadows so that they may know the truth about urban ministries.

Most times this is not an intentional act against another group but a lack of deep scriptural knowledge.   I am not referring to memorization or reading of scripture, but an exegetical study to understand the linkages and meaning of treatment to and of others in relationship to treatment of self.  The power behind Jesus commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself should flip the script on our day-to-day thinking.  This goes beyond the idea of just helping someone in need. This view does not allow you to look at them as less than, separate, inferior or not deserving of all that you would do for yourself or your family.

It is antithetical to think that we would do more for others than we would for ourselves.  We each see the world from our own self-interest first and then in service to others.  But this view contradicts scripture.  Let’s look at one of the most well intentioned concepts of service – mission trips.  On the surface they seems totally the right, the Christian thing to do and a learning opportunity for young people.  But from the side of those you choose to serve, it is as disrespectful as any action that one could engage.

 

I will use the word of two greatly respected figures, Martin L. King and Bishop Arthur M. Brazier, to unpack this concept in an attempt as was taught in Ephesians, to tear down the walls of separation in the church that worship the same God and has the hopes of a future in the same heaven.

King said – True altruism is more than the capacity to pity; it is the capacity to sympathize.  Pity may represent little more that the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern, which demands the giving of one’s soul.  Pity may arise from interest in an abstraction called humanity, but sympathy grows out of a concern for particular needy human being who lies at life’s roadside.  Sympathy is fellow feeling for the person in need – his pain, agony, and burdens.   Missionary efforts fail when they are based on pity, rather than true compassion.  Instead of seeking to do something with people, we have too often sought only to do something for them.  An express of pity, devoid of genuine sympathy, leads to a new form of paternalism, which no self-respecting person can accept.

 

Bishop Brazier said – Some in the church contribute money to support missionary hospitals and schools in foreign countries.  They take trips to involve themselves in the total life of people with whom they are working for the sake of Christ.  Why is it that some, while supporting total involvement abroad oppose total involvement at home?  The New Testament sets out clearly a position of equality when it unequivocally states that none of the biological, ethical, social or psychological distinctions by which we compartmentalize men and make some inferior and some superior has any validity as far as their standing before God in Christ is concerned (cf. Col.3: 11).  If this is the case then surely there can be no artificial distinction and barrier in our relationship with each other.  

 

I write this out of love for my brothers and sisters so all races, creeds and religions.  Those I serve with, beside and those yet to be in relationship.   Truth is never uncalled for.  There is no polish without friction and it is with men as someone has said about tea: if you wish to get its strength you must put it in hot water.  So the real opportunity for those outside the urban community is that there is no meaning in a given situation until you relate your own experiences to it, regardless of what you might have been taught about it.  Obtaining personal experience in meaningful relationship with other leaders in the urban communities plays a critical role in this process.  It is through a lived experience of being with others that stereotypical perceptions can be transformed.

 

A general implication of the arguments presented is that, like any diversity related discourse, the choice, conceptualization and the practice in the diverging context not remain essentially a contextual matter.

 

Let’s talk about it.  Hit me back with your comments, thoughts and questions.