What LeBron's Return Teaches Us About Community Development

If you are remotely, slightly any sort of basketball fan you are aware of the near-hostage situation that has been unfolding since July 1st.

LeBron James, the greatest basketball player on the planet (I still got you Kevin Durant, but we all know the truth), became a free agent and could decide where he would play next. Basically, the entire league was forced to come to a standstill until LeBron made his decision. No other team could do much of anything until LeBron's decision and all the dominoes connected fell.

But, today, in what was termed by most as a titanic surprise, James chose to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, whom he left not without some major controversy four years ago.

But, if you want reporting, this isn't your place. As I read the letter that accompanied LeBron's decision, I was struck by a unique similarity to the type of ministry we seek to engage in here with 2nd Mile in Jacksonville.

Yeah, you read that right.

LeBron specifically addressed his letter to the people of Northeast Ohio, this quote struck me hard:

But this is not about the roster or the organization. I feel my calling here goes above basketball. I have a responsibility to lead, in more ways than one, and I take that very seriously. My presence can make a difference in Miami, but I think it can mean more where I’m from. I want kids in Northeast Ohio, like the hundreds of Akron third-graders I sponsor through my foundation, to realize that there’s no better place to grow up. Maybe some of them will come home after college and start a family or open a business. That would make me smile. Our community, which has struggled so much, needs all the talent it can get.

You see, the reputation problem he is speaking about for Cleveland is much to same as the challenge that faces most underresourced neighborhoods. When you prompt Google with "Why is Cleveland so _______" here are your top responses: bad, poor, dangerous, boring, and depressing.

Not sterling.

The same happens in most underresourced communities. From within and without. If I go out and about in Jacksonville and tell people where I live, here are real comments I've received:

"You have dodge bullets, right?"
"Oh, I never go up there unless I'm carrying a gun."
"My family won't even drive on the expressway through there, we just bypass it."

and the attempt at compassion, which is actually just as harmful:

"It's so sacrificial of you to live in a bad neighborhood."

Within the neighborhood, I hear things like:

"We just trying to get out."
"Those kids are just bad. I need to get my kids out of that school."
"I mean, I'm proud to be from Pearl (Street), but I don't let people know I came up there."

And this negative perception has a few different implications.

First, and quickest, it's ignorant and hurtful. The American lexicon has lots of idioms about this, but the basic message is it's better to keep your mouth shut if you don't know what you're talking about.

Second, the negative perception is internalized. This is incredibly dangerous. Researchers have found that the primary harm from poverty is not material, but psychological and social. Messages like those above become ingrained in the the psyche of community residents and on some level, if told the same message enough times, no matter how strong willed you are, eventually, you will come to believe it.

If I'm told from every angle that I'm dumb, a criminal, and never going to amount to anything, chances go up that of that being self-fulfilling. If I'm told that not just me, but my whole community is a threat to the peace and prosperity of the city, I'm going to grow up either self-loathing or others-loathing. There's not much wiggle room. There's a fascinating and terrifying concept called stereotype threat that speaks to this.

I was at a large church once where a pastor said, "I used to be from the hood, but now, I'm looking good." His lyrical delivery emphasized the rhyme and it got a huge laugh. I sat there horrified asking, "How do the not insignificant number of people in this congregation who are still from the hood feel right now?" Probably, pretty awful. Or at the very least, a little more ugly than they did thirty seconds ago.

Finally, when these messages abound, people in underresourced communities come to have one goal, plain and simple: to get out.

In our community, success is often defined by getting out. If you go to college, the expectation is that you will never come back (unless Grandma still lives in the neighborhood, but then it will just be for church once a month or so). If you get a white collar job, you never come back.

To "make it" is to leave.

So what does that mean?

Who owns the businesses? Outsiders who are often engaging in predatory practices (See payday loans, pawn shops, rent-to-own, tax services)

Who knows how to navigate FAFSA and scholarships? The folks that moved out.

Where are the lawyers that can protect your rights? Across the river.

Where are homes with two parents? Using their dual income to live out in the suburbs.

So, do you see why I fist-pumped the air reading LeBron's letter?

He hits every point (except Jesus) on my "How To Solve This" list:

1. People from the community hold the best solutions.
2. Your neighborhood is great and full of resources, assets, and opportunities!
3. Start a business! Raise a family! But do it here!

I have probably maligned him as much as anyone the past four years, but what he wrote today is so awesome, I think it deserves the image below:


Note 1: Yes, LeBron appears the be palming the supernova-ing Earth and dunking it into the moon.
Note 2: Don't take my tone about those who leave their neighborhoods as one of condemnation. Folks do have the right to do what they feel is best for their family. I'm just reflecting on realities I see and live with every day.

All People in JAX

This is a video 2nd Mile's association/denomination, the EFCA, made. It is the most fantastic, encouraging thing I've seen all week. I just watched it three times in a row.

All People in JAX from EFCA on Vimeo.

Proud to be a part of this team.

Proud to be EFCA.

Proud to be in Jax.

Happy New (School) Year

Below is a short blog I wrote for the 2nd Mile blog. In this space, I've got a couple quick, more personal reflections on this day. It's a unique one.

Over the past three years, I've spent more time the activity of developing an after school program than any other (save sleeping) by a longshot. In 2010, I read book after book about programs, classroom management, and on and on. I visited other programs and asked hundreds of questions. I developed a very strong picture in my mind of what I was shooting for (and what I wasn't).

In 2011, I sketched out core values and non-negotiables for the program. I gave it a name and a mission statement. And it's a mission that I still draw upon daily and think about, the dream of seeing kids grow up as disciples of Christ who live the truth of the Gospel, learn as scholars, and lead their community forward. That summer, I called parents and got hung up on more than once, but ultimately we launched two:fiftytwo that fall with ten kids. And everyone lived!

Over the next two years, I rose and fell with the program. Kids came. Kids left. More kids came. They left. They came back. It was my baby. It was my responsibility, it kept me up at night. I realized these kids had a power over me. They said things like, "Whatever, you don't care about me," and it was just about the most hurtful thing anyone could ever say. I also realized that if they said, "Hey!" with excitement, it made my day.

So, today I have a lot of mixed feelings as school starts and I am not in charge of the two:fiftytwo program. This summer I transitioned to a new role and while I'm excited about the position change and confident in the future and direction of two:fiftytwo, I found it difficult to stay seated in my chair this afternoon when the van pulled up and the kids walked in. It was hard to just say hello and let them all go about their day. It was hard to know that I'll still be in this space tomorrow. 

New days, new years, new feelings. I'll get by.

--------

Today, thousands of students across Jacksonville began school.

A new year. This means new outfits, new backpacks, and new pictures of kids standing at the front door being forced to smile.

It also means a new year of the two:fiftytwo After School Program. In fact, this is now the third year of the program and with that comes a sense of normalcy. No longer are we "figuring stuff out", but the stuff is pretty much set. Adding to the excitement some of our students are now in their third year with the program (and some of them have "graduated" up to CONNECT Middle School). So for these students too, two:fiftytwo comes with a sense of normalcy.

This summer when two of our students moved seven blocks from their old house they ran up to me one day very concerned, "Can we still go to two:fiftytwo!?!" I've also been told that these same girls assign each other the roles of our staff and play two:fiftytwo on the weekends.

It's exciting to continue on in these relationships and in the goal of seeing students follow a pathway all the way from five years old through adulthood where they live the truth of the Gospel, learn as scholars, and lead their community forward.

I say this approximately 20 times a week. but, the best leaders for Brentwood are already in Brentwood, the people who will change Brentwood are already in Brentwood, and the people who will best be able to share Jesus with Brentwood are already in Brentwood. This is why two:fiftytwo is so important. It is twenty-two plus hours per week with these future leaders from and for the neighborhood.

It's a big goal and a long process. It's complex and requires depth of investment. But it is the way to go. For students to become who God made them to be will require embracing the length and complexity. It requires an approach that knows there is an academic element, a social element, a spiritual element, and more. But, yes, it is the way to go. School's back!

If you are interested in helping out with two:fiftytwo, we have volunteer orientations at various times throughout the year. We are also always collecting supplies (paper towels, school supplies, toilet paper, cleaning products, snacks). Contact marc@2ndmile-jax.com for details.

Summer Day Camp: Year 5

Who's in the house?! JESUS!

Click, click! WE DON'T QUIT!

You ain't hype? YOU AIN'T HYPE!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to summer! The exclamations above and many more have become standard vernacular for us, our volunteers, and about 70 kids as we've launched into our fifth year of Summer Day Camp.

Though we are still at the start of Camp. I am convinced that this will be the best year yet. We have added a music and a sports station this year. We are teaching nutrition lessons that supplement snack time. Our volunteer and staff team is stronger and more connected to the community than ever before. And the theme of "The King and Me" is fully integrated into the decor, the Bible lessons, the education times, and dance station.

On the first day, I stuck my head outside thirty minutes before the start to realize we already had a line forming. And by 20 minutes into registration we were already putting kids on the waiting list as our capacity (and then some) had already been fulfilled. While this is certainly a good problem to have, it is also a heartbreaking problem as kid after kid and parent after parent had to be told, "Sorry . . ." 

It illustrates our need for more space, so that next year we won't have to turn kids away at the door. As it stands now there's a full room of kids behind me, plus over 20 students on a waiting list, plus others whom we have had to tell that even our waiting list is full. Our prayer is that next year we can have a camp with an increased capacity running out of our own facility!

As the kids have filtered in, its always great to see a collection of new faces, returning faces, and extremely familiar faces. There are campers returning who have been gone for two years. There are campers who were a part of our after school program previously, moved away, and have come back for Summer Day Camp. And of course we have campers who are with us every day for two:fiftytwo at SDC sharing that experience with a whole bunch of extra friends.

Our hope and our prayer is that this Camp is full of the students who will be the future leaders of our community. Will you join us in praying that this camp would be a place where:

• Students encounter Christ in meaningful ways?
• Long term relationships are formed that lead to year-round involvement in our after school program, our middle school program, and the church plant?
• leaders from Brentwood and for Brentwood are developed?

Stuck

I ran into a neighbor I hadn't seen in awhile today.

As he told me about life, a theme kept popping up.

In his story, he was the object of every sentence. Never the subject. Life is done to him . . . or against him. He does nothing by his own free will.

Two and a half years ago, the Department of Children and Families came to check on his two sons. They asked him questions. Every answer lead to him looking bad. DCF dug him in a hole and if he tried to answer it only got worse. They took the kids.

Two years ago, the police came with questions. They told him of accusations and words from other people. They arrested him while admitting to him the accusations were probably lies, but protocol had to be followed.

The public defender was distracted, disinterested, and presumed his guilt. A trial was a foregone conclusion, if anything the lawyer got him more time in jail rather than less.

The county released him a couple months ago.

I asked if he is allowed to try to get his kids back: "I can try, but they aren't going to listen to me."

* * *

When the World Bank interviewed over 60,000 people worldwide about what it means to be in poverty, they mentioned a lack of material things. They mentioned a lack of food. They mentioned unemployment. But, more than that, the poor described poverty in terms of hopelessness, voicelessness, and isolation.

To be poor is to be stuck. To be poor is to be powerless. To be poor is to be left out.

My neighbor feels this. He feels stuck. He's the object of the actions of others.

And honestly, if you were in his shoes, would you feel any different?

So, what do we do? 

1. Don't increase feelings of powerlessness. I would argue much of domestic and international "services" to the poor, only serve to reinforce this message. They teach, "Let us do this for you . . . (because you can't)." This creates poverty, not alleviates it.

2. Preach pull yourself up by your bootstraps even if you don't believe it. I know a lot of statistics. I don't share those with the kids. You know what I tell them? "Try hard!" "You can do it!" "You are a leader for your community!" This mindset is only possible if I . . .

3. Remember Sovereignty is bigger than poverty. Jesus is King. Jesus is on his throne. Jesus can do anything. Jesus loves my neighborhood more than I ever will.

He's not just the boss, he's the King. And the King always gets his way.

J'ville Urban Exchange March 2013

"This is the best experience of my life, wait . . . Yeah, this is better than Disney World when I was nine."
-Overheard from a spring break student
In March, 2nd Mile hosted a total of 66 people from Iowa, South Carolina, and Wisconsin on Urban Exchange Spring Break trips. Each group served in Brentwood in various capacities helping to further along our mission one week at a time. Over the course of their time these students served 520 hours on community clean-up, 606 hours in the local schools, and 728 hours in after school programs! More than 1,850 hours in total!

As these volunteers actively served as the fragrance of Christ and ambassadors of reconciliation in our community, the cumulative sum of their work brought a tangible, positive presence. It is a reminder that Jesus lives in Brentwood, that he hasn't left, that he's not afraid, and that his omnipresence and benevolence extend to our neighborhood.

As teams like these serve, they also multiply 2nd Mile in the neighborhood, thus increasing our credibility and visibility and setting the table for us the pick up where they left off in the other 49 weeks of the year.

Like no other time of the year, March visibly shows the neighborhood who 2nd Mile is. Like no other time of the year, March actively demonstrates the the presence of the church in our neighborhood. It has become an annual tradition for me to collect the mission team's compliments from community members each April.

Further, as these teams serve and seek to bless our community they are in turn served and blessed by our neighbors. Tangibly, our community offers encouragement, a helping hand, and bottles of water. Intangibly, our community challenges the team's perceptions and stereotypes, offering them the chance to grow in their faith.

But, beyond the outward impact on our specific neighborhood, these trips are important for our mission of seeing the Gospel transform communities in every way.

As we give the church a chance to serve in Jacksonville we also seek to expose the church to the full counsel of God. We hope that they would become disciples of Christ, who know the heart of God and see their cares, passions, and affections become aligned to His. We do this through active ministry opportunities as well as teaching times that focus on God's heart for justice and compassion for the vulnerable.

Each week the team dives into the Word to see what God does have to say about these issues. Further we examine the existence of both global and local justice and injustice and challenge them to discern what may be holding them back from pursuing God's priorities in their life. They finish by hearing a couple of real world examples of other's journeys with the Lord and towards the reconciliation of all things (Colossians 1:20).

Our hope is that this experience would not just change Brentwood, but that they would change Orange City, Clemson, and Madison. That it would not just change Jacksonville, but entire career fields and futures. That 2nd Mile Urban Exchange would be a catalyst that sends Christ-centered, whole gospel students and individuals back to their campuses, cities, and workplaces as agents of reconciliation themselves.

2nd Mile's Mission: Leadership Development

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.

“Come and see,” said Philip.

“Pearl Street! Can anything good come from there?” Jacksonville asked.

Just as Nathanael was shocked by his Philip’s claim he’s found the Messiah and that he was from Nazareth, an unheralded, backwater village, many people are shocked too when I tell them where I live and work.

It makes me ask, “To what level do you and I really believe that Jesus is present and at work in places like Pearl Street? To what level do we limit and doubt his presence?”

Because if Jesus is really on Pearl Street and Jesus really is the hope of the world, of course good things will come from here!

At 2nd Mile Ministries, one of our primary strategies is indigenous leadership development.  At a base level we all know that a church, a business, or an organization can’t survive on a singularity of leadership. Eventually that leader will retire, move, or die. A single person can only accomplish a limited amount. However, if influence and leadership is multiplied and mobilized, the transformation possibilities are astounding.  As a result we believe that leadership development must be a focus of anything we hope to build that will last.

But, this challenge is all the more pronounced in communities like Brentwood, where 2nd Mile ministers.  Without getting too historically in depth, the American inner city developed as the result of a number of interconnected and spiraling causes: historical, systematic, cultural, and individual causes.  There are economic explanations.  There are discriminatory explanations.  There are educational explanations.  There are family explanations.  There are lifestyle explanations.  All of them and none of them are true.

None exist in a vacuum and none of them are independent of the effects of all the others.

One key way the inner city has developed is through the destruction of leadership and role modeling patterns.  This is complex, but I’ll try to do it quick.  Basically, with the onset of suburbanization, first white business owners (and their businesses) fled the city, then black business owners fled the city, and the overall goal became to “get out” of the city.  The sign that you had “made it”, the sign that you were “upwardly mobile”, the sign that you had “succeeded” was that you got out of the ‘hood.

The result is that, in general,

1. Anyone with a college education left the neighborhood.
2. Overall pride and value of one’s neighborhood is diminished and in fact, the neighborhood often becomes vilified.
3. Potential community leaders and role models are not as present as they once were.

We deeply desire to cast a vision to the future leaders of our community that they can be change agents in their community for God’s glory and for every person’s good.  So, in our approach, we are seeking to develop leaders from Pearl Street, for Pearl Street.  We believe that not only can “something good can come out of Pearl Street” we believe multitudes of good will come from Pearl Street, stay on Pearl Street, and transform Pearl Street!

The Mission of 2nd Mile

If you're reading this you most likely know I work for an organization called 2nd Mile Ministries in Jacksonville. Recently, I had the chance to write a piece for the ministry's blog expounding upon what our mission is. I'm re-posting it here. This is what we do!

We are seeking to see the Gospel renew lives and communities so they are transformed in every way.

About six months ago, 2nd Mile Ministries created a new mission statement.  Not a new mission, just an update to our statement used to communicate it.  But, to this point, we haven’t explained in any depth what that statement means.

Well, you’re in luck.  Let’s take a look in three parts.

We are seeking to see the Gospel renew lives and communities so they are transformed in every way.

There are a lot of methods and strategies about community development.  Even if limited to the Christian realm the approaches are varied.  From the outset, 2nd Mile wants to establish and declare that it is not methods, approaches, and strategies that effect positive change, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it is believed and properly applied.

By the Gospel, at its most simple we mean, “the good news”: The good news that God, in his love, chose to become a man and enter sinful human history so that He might bring a repentant people back to himself and restore all that has become broken in creation (Ephesians 2:4, 1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 21:5).

The implications of this message are huge for both the individual and the collective community.  Further, we affirm that this message should permeate everything we do. The Gospel is not merely the ABCs of Christianity, but it is the A to Z of Christianity.  

If our message or proclamation ever departs from the truth of the Gospel, 2nd Mile Ministries has departed from our mission.

We are seeking to see the Gospel renew lives and communities so they are transformed in every way.

While the subject of the mission is the Gospel, the object of our mission is “lives and communities”.  In particular, we have in mind the particular communities of Brentwood and Northshore that we have put our roots down in.  We want to focus on seeing our neighborhood transformed.  We want to see individual lives, family lives, and community life all belong to and glorify Jesus Christ.

However, our mission in not limited to the Brentwood/Northshore neighborhood, but rather it extends out to Jacksonville, the Southeast, and the nation as a whole.  At 2nd Mile we have the opportunity to partner with individuals, organizations, and churches throughout the area and country financially, for events, and for weeklong Urban Exchange mission trips.

Our mission includes those activities.  They are a part of 2nd Mile’s goal to represent the full counsel of God to His church, both by inviting the church to join together in action and in calling the church to participate in His work here in Jacksonville.

Biblically the concepts of justice, righteousness, and care for the poor are so intertwined they cannot be separated.  We hope to draw the church to greater obedience and awareness of these realities.

We are seeking to see the Gospel renew lives and communities so they are transformed in every way.

Finally, 2nd Mile Ministries mission calls for the total transformation of these lives and communities.  Our focus is not just on education or job training or spiritual development.  Our focus is wholistic.  We are seeking a Gospel-powered transformation without limits.

In Colossians 1:20 Paul declares that Christ came to reconcile “all things” to himself.  Yes, our spiritual connection to God is first and foremost broken, but humanity’s rejection of God has also broken our relationship with other humans, our relationship with creation, our relationship with ourselves, and the systems that run our society.

But, the message of the cross and the ministry of reconciliation is undoing the effects of the Fall and that means transformation in every way.

We don’t believe for a minute that we will accomplish this mission in our lifetime, or that we are called to create Eden (or Utopia) on Earth, but that we are members of the kingdom now.  As those members and ambassadors of Christ, we are called to live as kingdom citizens and seek to live out God’s character, heartbeat, and purposes in obedience to him.

We are seeking to see the Gospel renew lives and communities so they are transformed in every way.

Bird's Can't Talk

(originally, a post I wrote for our ministry's blog)

"Ha! Bird's can't talk!" he excitedly blurted out. In an instant, my view of the boy was transformed.

The third grade boy and I were reading a story book together at two:fiftytwo, 2nd Mile's new after school program, the he saw a picture with a speech bubble coming from the mouth of a bird. It was a quick reminder of who these kids really are.

No matter what's going on at home . . .

No matter how many times I ask before they seem to listen . . .

No matter how rough the neighborhood, school, or family they come from . . .

These are still kids. And to a kid, a talking bird is hilarious.

Furthermore, these are kids made in the image of God, who we have been given the opportunity to engage with the Gospel and a clear picture of Christ. What a tremendous honor and grace!

If you want to know more about two:fiftytwo and how you can partner with us, check out our page here: http://www.2ndmile-jax.com/twofiftytwo/

Update

It's fun to look back.

I originally started this blog as a way to update people on my summer internship with 2nd Mile Ministries in Jacksonville back in 2007. Then after a couple post-internship posts it sat idle for 2 years and lo and behold I returned the Jacksonville and resurrected the blog (in fact, Thursday marks the 2 year anniversary of my moving to Florida).

For the past year or so, this has mostly been a place for past reflections and theo-philosophical musings rather than up-to-date life updates, and this has been intentional for a number of reasons, but tonight's probably a good time to give y'all an update, because today was a big day.

Almost a year after the idea was first surfaced, today we started our 5 day a week after school program!

In the past year, I've visited programs as far as 6 hours south and 12 hours North, read more books than I'd have liked, and spent far too many hours staring at manila folders and computer screens, but it's real now. It's very, very real.

Our program is called the two:fiftytwo After School Program and the link will tell you more about it.

Today was pretty great. It went better and smoother than any of us had predicted. The attitudes were terrific. Three kids said "Yea!" when I announced it was time to start homework. Rules were generally followed. Recreation time was tiring and warm.

At the same time, I'm still keenly aware that I am by no means an expert at education, program leadership, or management, but I am more excited and ready to gradually learn and grow in that process today than I've ever been before.

In fact, I've often told people that I am not passionate about working with elementary aged kids, but today, I could see the possibility that I could open up to that and actually do this for awhile. That feel weird to type.

Good thing though . . . because I'm buying a house on Friday.

There's your update!

P.S. For fans of my Biblical commentary and musings on various geographical locales, I'm gon' get back in rhythm here eventually. Don't fret!

Onward and Upward

It has been awhile since I wrote a general update on here. So, here it is.

2nd Mile Ministries is in the midst of a shift. Our early focus was on teenage youth and the past few months have seen a change in that entire dynamic. We knew we wanted to move younger, which first meant, middle school, so we began planning for that, then younger still, so 5th grade. But that lasted about a week before we very clearly saw our opportunities and that our direction needed to go even younger.

So, our focus is now set on planning for a 5-day a week after school program to begin next fall for grades K-2. This is a dramatic shift. Especially, when none of our staff members feel particularly called or gifted in working with that age group.However, we are all in agreement that this is the age and direction God is clearly leading us towards.

So, I've been visiting similar ministries around the region to glean information from them and lay the groundwork for next fall's program (which by the way, if you know someone who may be interested in a yearlong internship with 2nd Mile, contact me!).

Soon we will begin to spread the word about our plans in order to have a community meeting to truly get input about what the community needs and is looking for in an after school program. This should be good.

Otherwise, the other big news is that two weeks ago we hosted our 2nd Annual Challenge Circle Super Bowl. It was a good time. The Yellow Team were the big winners and our halftime show featured a rap performance and lesson taught by Jacksonville Jaguar (and elementary ed. major) Aaron Kampman (yes, he was on the Packers for those of you who get excited about that kind of thing, especially right now).

It was also exciting to see our D-group (D is for discipleship) students step up and help out in a big way. Below are some pictures from the day!

These things take time

I like salsa.

A lot.

For a couple months now, I've been toying with the idea of planting a small garden to grow salsa-producing vegetables. However, not for a second do I expect the empty pots on my porch to suddenly sprout tomatoes, peppers, and wonderfully delicious cilantro.

That would be foolish.

No, I've got work ahead of me. I need to get dirt. To plant. To water. Then I need to wait. And wait.

And wait.

These things take time.

You don't get a garden overnight.

I'd be a fool to think I could.

However, I fail to apply that same principle to so many other parts of my life.

I expect to grow without a waiting process. I expect to perfect my leadership skills overnight. I expect lives and futures in my neighborhood to shift drastically in a moment.

But that's not how it works. These things take time.

I need to grasp this truth strongly right now in particular as 2nd Mile takes a path that I'm near certain is the most effective, most long-lasting, and best way forward . . . but is not on the timeline I would prefer.

People much more experienced and smarter than me have said inner city ministry will not show results for 12 to 15 years. I can accept that. At least theoretically.

But, I want to do it on my terms. I want the theory without the practice. If the best path to our vision is to shift drastically back and work with 1st through 3rd graders, I can accept the idea, but the practice is hard for me.

I want results now. I want to work out of my strengths. I want to do the kinds of things I feel I'm most passionate and most excited about, but more than that.

Much more than that.

I want to see lives in this neighborhood transformed.

I want to see cycles of poverty broken.

I want to see healthy families. Jobs. Stability. Emotional health. Kids growing up as kids without drama and violence and addiction and absentee parents.

I want to see disciples of Christ lead in a place where drug dealers are seen as neighborhood leaders.

And if I'm motivated by the long-term vision. I'm willing to wait. I'm willing to work where I feel unprepared for the sake of getting to that place.

I don't know how, but I am confident that He, who works out everything according to His Good Purpose, is in every step. And even if my logic doesn't accept that as good enough, it is.

It's more than enough.

Lil' Update (like a rapper name)

As summer meanders to a close and fall approaches, things change here for me and for 2nd Mile.

In less than two weeks, the house has shrunk from 11 residents to 3. All the interns have left, except two, who are staying for the year.

We are suddenly done with our Summer Day Camp, which had consumed the vast majority of both my hours and my mental capacity.

So, no camp, no interns (well, two). What's next? That's the big question.

Some things are certain. Our youth programming with high school aged students will continue. I will still live in the neighborhood. I'll still make copies and run checks to the bank. And soon school will start again and I'll be developing new relationships in (hopefully) a few different schools. But many things are up in the air.

It brings on an exciting season. A juncture of uncertainty and with it, many, many opportunities to trust God, which ultimately is for the good: Because I am certain that His plan is always better than my plan and new risky steps are a tremendous opportunity to live by faith trusting His power rather than my own.

"Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God." - 2 Corinthians 3:5

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as some of these changes play out. Also, check out 2nd Mile's new, much more aesthetically pleasing website: 2ndmile-jax.com.

Redemption

One of my daily highlights of our summer day camp is seeing a 6 year old named Orel. He's hilarious (when asked what our bodies are, he answered, "Meat?"). His dances moves are off the charts. And he loves climbing, however due to a lack of trees, the leaders become his climbing wall.

So it wasn't fun for me last week when Orel got in trouble one day. Another camper shoved him and Orel immediately pushed back. He didn't start it, but nonetheless, he shouldn't have retaliated. So Orel got put in "the box."

"The box" is basically the saddest thing ever. While all the other kids play Challenge Circle, the campers in the box don't get to play. They must stay in the box. And the rule in the box is "You don't play, you don't move". So those "box kids", as we call them, are generally unhappy.

As was Orel, but he didn't say a word. He knew he shouldn't have fought back. So he just sat there . . . silently . . . alone.

But at halftime, our camp director talked to him, and seeing as it wasn't his fault gave Orel a second chance and put him back on a team.

Leading to some of my favorite moments of the summer.

Right away, the restored Orel was the most excited member of his team. Cheering for his teammates, jumping up and down, and (he's pretty fast) scoring some big time points in Steal the Bacon. All with a huge, excited smile on his face.

Orel knew he messed up. He knew he didn't deserve to play. But he got another chance. And he was thrilled to have it. His response wasn't about making it up to the staff. His response wasn't about making things right. He was a kid, excited to be in the game. Excited to serve his team. Excited that his missteps were redeemable.

Its small, but is a picture of a bigger truth.

"(God) gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people, that are his very own, eager to do what is good." Titus 2:14

God loves a comeback and after all, Orel is a pretty good climber.

How do you respond to your own sin? As a restored beloved child or a penitent beggar?

Where have you seen redemption in your life? Where in your life does He want to bring redemption to light?

Summer Day Camp: the Videos

Our 5 week summer day camp is now is week 4 and running pretty smoothly. Today, I'd like to enlighten you to a small picture of our world via video.

First up, 2nd Mile has connections. Through those connections we've gotten to know the Jacksonville Jaguars team chaplain and their biggest free agent signing of the year Aaron Kampman (sorry Packer fans) and this past Wednesday Aaron, the chaplain (Anthony), and 4 other players (with assorted family members) came to camp, not for publicity but because they love Jesus and want to be involved for His Name in the community.

Two players shared testimonies of what God has done in their life and then the campers performed the dances they've been learning for everybody. And on the second time through, the campers convinced the players that they needed to join them.

This is the result.

Aaron may have warned me not to put anything too embarrassing on the internet, so for the sake of his future relationship with the ministry (and because he's very large), please don't tell on me.

Next, every day the campers go through 3 rotations for a teaching station, a crafts station, and a station called Encore!, where this particular week they were learning a dance. This video is a particular gem as it features everyone's favorite intern, Andrew.

Finally, here's one more, purely because it really, really amuses me. Jai'juan, who's density hovers around the level of most metals, being awesome.

I'd like to think 6 year olds think I'm pretty cool

This summer 2nd Mile Ministries is running our second ever free Summer Day Camp for our community.

We had no idea what to expect.

After handing out fliers all over the neighborhood, we saw 16 students come on day one, then on day two: 37. Day three: 55. By day four we were at 66 and started discussing what our maximum cap would need to be. Exciting to say the least.

One word to describe the camp: hype.

Hype - n. - an unleashed, unconstrained mix of energy, excitement, and joy capable only in children (and occasional adults who are able to overcome middle class behavioral norms).

At the camp, songs are sung with hype. Crafts are done with hype. Dancing, hype. Bible lessons, hype. And, of course, the hype is fully realized in Challenge Circle at the end of each day.

Its exhausting, but fantastic.

Currently, we're in week three and have two more weeks left after this week.

Hopefully, I'll have some videos to post and stories for you later in the week.

Back!

The hood feels like home. How about that for a variation on the American dream?

Today marks two weeks since I got back to Jacksonville and its been incredible to be back. Here's a run down of things I've enjoyed, encountered, and been encouraged by:

• A house filled with myself, nine interns, and a summer staff member. Always something going on. Meetings, planning, office work, and spontaneous dance parties. Today saw the creation of a new game called tri-pong (extreme table tennis).
• The South. I like the South (but I'm still very proud that the North won the war, don't get me wrong). Waffle House. Sweet Tea. Chick-fil-a. Killing cockroaches. Love it.
• Humility. Return to Brentwood means playing basketball . . . inducing humility.
• Madison! Two of our interns are Badgers. You can't shut us down. We're everywhere.
• Visitors. Seeing the neighbors, seeing the kids at Bible study.
• Spiritual Multiplication! Charting out 2 Timothy 2:2 for our d-group guys and challenging them to each lead Bible study for a week this summer and teach each other. Seeing them excitedly respond and want to take on the challenge.
• Summer Day Camp. We're prepping for 5 weeks for the 5 to 12 year olds in our neighborhood.
• Andrew A. Robinson Elementary. I've loved getting to go back to the school I've been volunteering at all year.

All in all, its great to be back. Eh?

When Helping Hurts: Part 6 Theology with Feet

In this final post of this exploration of the brilliant book "When Helping Hurts", I'll be connecting to content of the book that has been discussed here with an example of how we are attempting to live these truths out in Jacksonville with 2nd Mile Ministries.

Upon reading this book with our team a few months ago, we were somewhat encouraged and greatly concerned. Encouraged at the ways we saw our ministry fitting this model, but concerned at the many ways we saw ourselves committing the errors described in the book and convicted that the book was dead on--but that living out those truths was going to be really, really hard.

The authors make it clear that in their decades of experience in poverty alleviation they know about mistakes because they've made them all, and they write from the humble point of view of flawed individuals who are still in the process of answering these questions, so at 2nd Mile, we too, hope to be in process, and that our process would take us closer and closer to a Biblical, loving, and effective response to the brokenness of this world.

So how does 2nd Mile seek to help without hurting in the inner city of JAX. Its starts with the view of poverty. We've ditched the material view of poverty and choose to enter into a story where we're all broken and all in need of redemption. Rather than looking to material poverty we take a relational view.

As a part of a relational view, all of our staff are required to live in the neighborhood alongside the people we are seeking to minister to (and hopefully, letting them minister to us). Ideally we come to share life with our neighbors. Their problems become our problems, their joy becomes our joy, and the Gospel permeates all of our lives with a belief that "I'm not OK, and you're not OK, but Jesus can fix us both."

So it starts with relationships.

From these relationships we seek to learn what the community really needs. This is not based on an assessment of middle class values, but is based on the very words of our neighbors and Scripture. If the community doesn't desire something, why waste everybody's time pursuing it?

From these relationships we also seek to discover the natural gifts and abilities of our neighbors and invite them to come along on the journey of restoration in our streets. We don't start from scratch but find out what's already going on and existing in our neighborhood and seek to propel it further.

Finally, from these relationships, we are dealing with people. We don't want to fix people or change them or help them. You fix a car. You change your cell phone contract. You help those "below" you. Instead we would seek to love people, to develop people, and to empower people (plus, if you watch LOST, you know that trying to fix everything never works! Right Jack?!).

We deal in development and empowerment. Specifically, we would love to see young people from our neighborhood be developed into leaders and role models who follow Christ boldly in our neighborhood and are empowered to bring the message of reconciliation with their lives. That's the goal.

I could go on for awhile, probably far too long, so I'll wrap this up here. Seriously, "When Helping Hurts" brilliant, convicting, Scriptural, well-written, and illuminating, go pick it up.

When Helping Hurts Part 5: Crisis?

What is the proper response to each of these situations?

1. An inner city American neighborhood. High crime. Poor nutrition. Few jobs. Overall feeling of being trapped.

2. Small island nation suffers devastating earthquake. Much of the little infrastructure that did exist is destroyed. General stability is mostly restored, but damage is ubiquitous.

3. American city hit by historic hurricane. Extensive wind and flood damage. Waters are yet to recede and thousands are without access to clean drinking water, health supplies, and stable supply of food.

For many of us, each of these situations would elicit the same response, to provide aid in the form of relief. A relief response is one that seeks to directly meet the basic needs of the affected population. So if food is needed, we send food. If water, send water. If medical help, send doctors. The vast majority of poverty alleviation efforts pursued by North Americans are ones of relief.

And while sometimes necessary and most-certainly they can be great acts of self sacrifice, I would argue that relief is very rarely the best response to poverty. Further, Americans are particularly quick to jump to the relief option because of our material definition of poverty (see post 2).

There are basically three ways all poverty alleviation can be classified: relief, rehabilitation, and development.

However, don't take these as hard and fast rules, if someone downtown asks you for some change, I'm quite confident you won't get to Heaven and find God confronting you for "giving too much money to crackheads" (to borrow a line from Shane Claiborne). On that note, remember we're people who have been given grace that we in no way (by definition) deserve and often fail to be grateful for AND often misuse. But anyways . . .

So relief, rehabilitation, and development.

In brief, relief is ideally a seldom, immediate, and temporary response to a crisis at hand. In my above scenarios, only the hurricane recovery would be an appropriate time for relief efforts. Relief is intended to provide for immediate needs in what could become a life-or-death situation. That's it. And once the immediate threat is gone, relief efforts should be transitioned into . . .

Rehabilitation is what comes after relief. It seeks to return an area to what it was before a disaster struck. The earthquake situation from above would be an appropriate context for rehabilitation.

These two options will almost exclusively be used to counteract some sort of natural, social, or political disaster. But all of them should lead to the third type, which is development.

Development is the best goal of poverty alleviation efforts. It takes longer. Its more complicated. Its more difficult. And its a heck of a lot harder to raise funds to do. But it works!

Development is "a process of ongoing change that moves all the people involved--both the "helpers" and the "helped"--closer to being in right relationship with God, self, others, and the rest of creation."

Prepositions are important. Development is not done to someone, nor is it done for them, but rather it happens with them. Development requires considering the best, long-term option for all parties involved and not just for their physical or economic well being, but also for their humanness, for their dignity, and for what it would take to truly love them.

Development also works best when it is asset based, basically meaning, poverty alleviation efforts work best when the skills, gifts, and abilities that already exist in the neighborhood, town, or village are considered rather than bringing in extensive outside supports.

I won't get any further into the nitty-gritty of how this works, but the book does, so please go read it if you're interested. But on the practical level, I would say this, if you or your church is involved in relief or rehabilitation efforts don't pull back from them, but rather ask, "How can we do these in a developmental way?"

Do you serve meals to the homeless? Great, now what would it look like to involve the impacted population in the task? Could they help prepare the meal? Do you get to know them? Do they know you?

Are you going to New Orleans for hurricane rebuilding? Wonderful. Carefully choose the group you go with and when you're there, be a learner. Ask about the long-term plans for rebuilding, find out how you can continue to be involved, and if you meet people remember they are a million times more important than any "project."