Lament and Empathy

"To do the work of justice you have to ask hard questions. Simple questions won't get there . . . And only in empathy can we lament . . . Lament is powerful because before people will follow you, they must know you love them."  - Reverend Gabriel Salguero in his plenary address on 9/26/14

Saturday I returned from the annual Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference. It was the fourth time I have attended and I simply cannot say enough about CCDA and the organizations they represent. If we want to talk best practices, if we want to talk experience, if we want to talk obedience to the Scriptures matched by humility, these are the folks to see. On a daily basis, I operate based on principles gleaned from this organization.

The theme this year was "Flourish" and oddly enough the word I took away from it was "lament".

I've written about the topic of lament here before, so I won't harp on in, but the basic point to know is this: A lament is a prayer born out of pain. 

And there's been plenty of pain to go around these days . . .

I took 30 seconds and scanned words on the New York Times front page today and here's what I came away with: Ebola patient . . . Hong Kong protests . . . ISIS overruns Kurdish village

And I could have kept going.

The news that has most deeply impacted me in the past months is further evidence of this pain.

Michael Brown killed in Ferguson. No gun.

John Crawford in Ohio was killed in Wal-Mart holding a toy gun from the store. His last words, "It's not real."

Levar Jones of South Carolina is shot, then apologizes for following the directions and asks, "Why did you shoot me, sir?"

Jordan Davis was killed in a parking lot on Jacksonville's Southside. The defense? An imaginary gun that appeared only after Michael Dunn was face-to-face with a detective.

14 year old James Thomas was killed at a swimming pool less than three miles from my house in July over a girl.

Cab driver Stuart Carson was killed seven blocks from my house in June.

And this is just a portion . . .

Add to it.

In what is already what I believe to be a lamentable, broken, and unjust immigration system, fiscal year 2014 has seen 66,127 unaccompanied minors apprehended at the border. Over three fourths of them from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala each of which land in the top five countries in the world for murder rate. Here are tens of thousands of children fleeing their homes, fleeing gangs that are known to specifically target children as a demonstration of their cruelty.

And the vitriolic response of many in this country to this humanitarian crisis only causes more need for lament. It's as if basic human empathy has been abandoned.

Add to it.

I could keep going . . .

But lament isn't just listing injustices.

Lament is a prayer born out of pain. And prayer is about talking to the One who knows it better than you do. It is talking to the One who can actually do something about it. It is talking to the One who experienced the greatest injustice so that you and I could be brought near.

And this is the part where I normally expound on that last point. And we remember the Gospel and I remember the Gospel and my heart soars. And that's a good thing.

But today, this week, maybe this whole month . . . I need to spend a little more time in the pain. A little more time in the lament.

The redemption is coming. But it's not here yet.

The already . . . but the not yet.

So, join me in prayerful lament, please. Let's get to the redemption, but for now, join me in crying out to the One who understands pain. Join me in asking the hard questions that are the only way to get to justice.

Join with those who experience America differently than you do. Empathize with them.

Join with those who fear for their lives during "everyday" encounters. Empathize with them.

Join with kids fleeing violence only to be met by hatred. Empathize with them.

Join with families stuck in an immigration bureaucracy. Empathize with them.

We will get to the redemption. We will get the the New Creation. We will. But for now, lets sit in the pain for a moment. Let's ask the hard questions. Let's learn to empathize. Let's learn to love. Let's learn to lament.

Humble Suggestions For White Christians

I call 911 sometimes.

I’d bet I call 911 more than about anyone else reading this.

But in the last week, I've noticed new streams of thoughts running through my head that I’d like to invite you all to consider along with me.

In fact, let me just walk you through my morning.

Today is the first day of school in Jacksonville. A wonderful occasion, a new year, full of hope and excitement and brimming with potential for growth, learning, and new beginnings.

I woke up at 6:18 to my house alarm going off (it was a false alarm). The Safetouch dispatcher over the two-way intercom asked, “Do you want me to call the police?” My immediate thought, “NO!”

This was because 1. I knew it was just a system error and 2. I wasn't sure what would happen next.

Here’s the thought process my (always very active) mind went through: An officer will show up, he or she will ask to see my ID. I will realize my driver’s license is on my bathroom counter and will have to lead the officer through the serpentine path from my front door, through a hallway, through my bedroom, then around a U-shaped bend to my bathroom where I would get my wallet. But what if, while I’m doing all this, my roommate who is a 23 year old black male with tattoos wakes up and groggily comes out, shirtless, to see what’s going on. What if he walks in a little too quickly or loudly or yells something (as he sometimes does). What if . . . something goes bad.

So, no, I didn't have them call the police. Not entirely or even mostly for that reason, but that whole thought process all crossed my mind.

I then made sure a middle school girl caught her bus in time and came back home and took my Bible out on the back porch. There I noticed that overnight someone had kicked in the door of the abandoned house behind my residence. I ran through the same thought process. “Oh, I should call that in . . . but what if . . .” 

Am I right to think this way? No, I don’t think so. At least, I really hope not.

But the thought process is there nonetheless.

The thought process is there because I've spent enough time and invested enough of myself in the community of Brentwood that I can’t help but think from the point of view that dominates the mindset of my friends and neighbors.

Before I go any further, let me be clear. Let me be crystal clear, I know multiple police officers in Jacksonville, who want nothing but the safety, protection, and flourishing of all parts of the city. I know officers who care about people, who give them second chances, who work with people instead of treating them as enemies to be contained or defeated. I know this. These people are out there. I’d even be hopeful to say they are the vast majority.

But, I also know city officials have used the term “human blight” to describe people in my community. I know people who have been put in squad cars and questioned for walking down the sidewalk. I know people who refer to the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office (JSO) as “Just Shot One”, meaning shot one of us, not we shot at them. I've been to Bible studies where people hearing about Jesus before Pilate compared it to their own experience with law enforcement in this city.

There is not an inherent trust of authority in this community. And it definitely has a lot to do with race.

Yesterday, my pastor included in his sermon advice about how young people should interact with authority. The stated reason wasn't so they could get good grades or land that job during the interview, the stated reason was because knowing how to do so could potentially save their life.

I've never heard that in a sermon in the suburbs.

I also know that in Jacksonville, “authority” doesn't necessarily just mean your boss, law enforcement, or principal, I know that in Jacksonville “authority” means “anyone with white skin”, because here, if a white man asks you to turn your music down and you don’t comply, you might just get killed.

This is a reality I have chosen to allow myself to experience and come to understand.

But, for millions of other Americans, this is a reality that they live and walk with every single day.

America is experienced very differently by those of non-white skin color.

There’s the statistics that show even though white-owned vehicles more often have contraband, black-owned vehicles are more often stopped and searched. There’s the statistics that show drug sentencing being highly disparate by race. There’s the fact that a white mass murderer is labeled a “brilliant, yet troubled mind” while a black victim is questioned about “What they did to deserve it.”

All this is very real. And all this is very invisible to most white folks.

Too often though, I can be prone to get lost in the conceptual, the outrage, or (worse) cynicism. But, today, I want to write, more pragmatically.

So, what can be done?

If you are a white Christian reading this, I have some humble suggestions.

1. Pray. 

Ask the Lord to move in supernatural ways to bring about repentance, reconciliation, equity, and justice in our country. I firmly believe that these are spiritual issues, but good news, Jesus Christ is reconciling all things by His work on the Cross (Colossians 1:20), so He has a vested interest! He died to bring these things about, let’s not fool around thinking we can do it without His power in the lead.

2. Learn about the systemic. 

White evangelicals love relationships, when asked how to deal with injustice or racial reconciliation they have a one page playbook: Build friendships with people not like me! 

And that’s great. It is the only way there will be real understanding and real repentance and real reconciliation, however, without accessing and truly empathizing with the systemic factors in play, this will be cheap and (potentially) paternalistic reconciliation.

The reason white and black America have very different outcomes and experiences is largely the result of systemic structures (some of which I outlined above). Also, the reason white and black Christians usually don’t have these “real relationships" is the result of these systemic factors. To truly move towards one another, these systems need to be understood. I’d encourage you to educate yourself. I’m going to link to a series of resources at the bottom of this blog. Some are books, some are articles. Some are very long. If you really want to understand this and be an ambassador of reconciliation, I would STRONGLY recommend you bookmark this blog and read these articles over the coming weeks. Try it! Read one a week. I challenge you.

3. Experience. 

Put yourself in situations where you actively experience what I discussed above. I stole these items from this blog:

• Choose a new church home and sit under the preaching of a black preacher for two years.
• Choose a new neighborhood where your fate is intimately tied to the fate of people of color.
• Go back to school and take a history class from a black professor where your academic success lies in the hands of a person of color.
• Choose to be mentored by a person of color every week. You do what they say, when they say it. No excuses.
• Choose to go places where you see the stories behind the statistics, where someone can connect history to the present for you.
• Send your kids to a black or brown school.
• Need the wisdom of people of color to survive.

All of above is hard.

But, Jesus has already done the hard work for us.

In Ephesians 2, the Apostle Paul addresses the very issue of race and the church and he does so by pointing to Christ and saying this:

For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in the flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility, He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.

Resources:

Five Things You Should Know About Race In America: Self Explanatory.

Black Bodies, White Souls: A plea for how white Christians should respond to injustice.

Michael Brown and Black Men: NYT Op-Ed about being a black man in America.

Segregation Now . . . : A profile from The Atlantic about school segregation. Spoiler: It's worse now than before Brown v. Board of Education.

On Michael Brown, Two Americas, and the heartbreaking reality of how we view people: Blog from a Pastor in Chicago.

The Case for Reparations: This is the advanced course. Lots of history. Lots of despair.

The Letter From a Birmingham Jail: THE primary document of the Civil Rights Movement.
This American Life Harper High School Part 1 & Part 2: Everyone should listen to these two radio stories profiling a high school in Chicago.

Divided By Faith: The definitive book for Christians about race. (Here's the blog series I started about it if you want a preview, oldest posts at the bottom)

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (also a book)

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.

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/

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!

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.

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."

When Helping Hurts Part 4: Success?

Last week, I sought to establish two main points from the book "When Helping Hurts", that poverty is more than material and that poverty results from broken relationships with God, ourselves, others, and creation.

So if we accept these premises, what does progress look like? How does someone tackle problems that have existed for thousands of years? What does it look like to go beyond material solutions?

These are hard questions. I frequently tell people that one of the hardest things about my job is that I have little conception of what "success" is. There is no easily measurable standard to go by, if one accepts these premises.

But as a starting point, let's remember "the grand narrative" I presented that ends with restoration and redemption. The ultimate solution and destination is entirely outside of human control and efforts. In the end, "Jesus is bringing reconciliation to every last speck of the universe, including our foundational relationships and the systems that emanate from them." (see Colossians 1:15-20)

So the end goal and the power is found in Christ and this future restoration, but is this relevant in the meantime?

Absolutely. Christianity isn't about treasures and Heaven, it is and always has been about a King and a Kingdom. And that King is Christ. And his followers are called, chosen, and expected to live lives here on this broken planet as a preview of that Kingdom. His Kingdom is both already and not yet here. (let's throw a plug for Rick McKinley's This Beautiful Mess for a wonderful tackling of this topic)

So, success in poverty alleviation must look something like that Kingdom. The authors define it: "Poverty alleviation is the ministry of reconciliation: moving people closer to glorifying God by living in right relationship with God, with self, with others, and with the rest of creation." More specifically, the goal of material poverty alleviation is reconcile these relationships so that people can "fulfill their callings of glorifying God by working and supporting themselves and their families with the fruit of that work."

Notice what the goal is not. The goal is not to turn the materially poor into middle-to-upper class North Americans, "a group characterized by high rates of divorce, sexual addiction, substance abuse, and mental illness." The goal is right, reconciled relationships. Right, reconciled relationships that allow for persons to escape the cycles and effects of material poverty.

The goal is to see people empowered, to see their own gifts and abilities and use those to impact positive change. It must be done through a process and a relationship (with that attitude "I am not OK, and you are not OK, but Jesus can fix us both"). Its must be a process that is centered on the end goal of bringing God glory.

People over projects.

Processes over products.

Glory over all else.

When Helping Hurts Part 3: The Grand Narrative

So far in this series, I've been discussing the basic principles of the book "When Helping Hurts." In it I have asked about our definition of poverty and suggested that our commonly assumed material definition of poverty is incomplete and that a full diagnosis of the problem is necessary before we embark on alleviation efforts.

Sorry, I couldn't resist the picture. Too good. As you'll read on I think its safe to say, that is not what God's plan of redemption looks like.

Today, how did it get this way? Our world is broken, selfish, and wracked with evil (For proof, see LRA or the depths of one's own heart).

The simplest explanation is a grand narrative of creation, fall, and redemption. These three acts play out in four key relationships: our relationship with God, with others, with our self, and with the rest of creation.

So here's the story. In the beginning, God, an inherently relational being, created humanity in his own image and created each of these relationships.

And it was good. And it was very good.

Humankind's relationship with God, our primary relationship, was perfect. Humans had perfect relationship with others never erring in the task of loving one another. Humans had a perfect relationship with self, there was not a hint of shame or insecurity or feelings of worthlessness. And humans had a perfect relationship with the rest of creation as stewards and caretakers of the world around us.

But, act two sees the plot thicken. Humans choose to ditch these perfect relationships and pursue our own fulfillment, our own satisfaction, and our own ways. We doubt that this God is really as good as He says He is and head our own direction.

This is not how it is supposed to be and each of these relationships are broken. With God, with others, with self, and with creation.

Poverty enters the world in each of these four relationships. Poverty of spiritual intimacy. Poverty of community. Poverty of being. Poverty of stewardship.

Of which, the conclusion can be made that "poverty (material and otherwise) is the result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that are not harmonious or enjoyable. Poverty is the absence of shalom in all its meanings."

Further this means that poverty is not merely a problem for the material poor. We are all broken, all of creation is broken and this brokenness takes many forms.

Briefly, how might we see this play out in the four relationships for a lower class or a middle class person?

Broken relationship with God for the lower class individual may lead to denying God's existence, while for the middle class person this brokenness will often manifest it self in materialism, the replacement of God with money, possessions, and ownership.

Broken community in material poverty looks like physical fighting, broken community in the middle class is gossip, the silent treatment, and unspoken bitterness.

Broken relationship with self for the poor means hopelessness and feelings of worthlessness for the rich it means pride and promotion of self.

Finally, our broken relationship with creation is easily seen in work where purposeless, laziness, and workaholism all stem from the same broken relationship.

What this means is that, biblically, we are all in poverty. And each of these relationships interacts with the others to deepen and perpetuate our own poverty and that of others.

Knowing this leads to a key observation, "until we embrace our mutual brokenness, our work with low-income people is likely to do far more harm than good." Without an attitude that says "I am not OK, and you are not OK, but Jesus can fix us both" all our efforts will increase (!) the poverty of being of both the materially poor and materially non-poor (one through sinful feelings of superiority and knowledge, the other through feelings of inferiority and shame).

Those who seek to alleviate poverty must shed their "tendency toward a Western, materialistic perspective on the nature of poverty" and replace it with a relational view of poverty that acknowledges mutual brokenness and need for redemption.

Speaking of redemption, I need to finish the story! Because the story does not end with brokenness! The story ends with restoration of that which God originally created. With a return to a perfect relationship with God. A return to a perfect relationship with others. And a return to a perfect relationship with self and creation.

The God who created this world is not satisfied to see it torn apart, his desire is for its redemption and restoration, so he takes action to bring this about. His Son enters the world in the most humble of circumstances, lives a perfect life, and dies as a substitution for the very people who have turned and rejected God (Phil 2:6-10; Rom 5:8; 2 Cor 5:21; Eph 2:8-10). And His offer is one of Grace, a free offer for humanity to return to him and his offer comes with a promise, a promise that redemption will come. That this is not the end. That a loud voice will one day proclaim:

"Look! Look! God has moved into the neighborhood, making his home with men and women! They're his people, he's their God. He'll wipe every tear from their eyes. Death is gone for good—tears gone, crying gone, pain gone—all the first order of things gone." The Enthroned continued, "Look! I'm making everything new. Write it all down—each word dependable and accurate."Then he said, "It's happened. I'm A to Z. I'm the Beginning, I'm the Conclusion. From Water-of-Life Well I give freely to the thirsty. Conquerors inherit all this. I'll be God to them, they'll be sons and daughters to me.

(Rev 21:3-7 The Message)

The story is clear that we're all broken, we're all in poverty, but that Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, God of All the Earth will not leave us this way, that he comes to redeem, to rescue, and to save.

The Redemption is real. Real. Amen.