Back in November, our home hosted a barbeque and movie night in our backyard.  We left a flyer with every home on our street and the surrounding streets inviting them to participate and contribute to the event.  We were blown away as each and every person that we spoke with expressed excitement at the idea of bringing together all of the neighbors for such an event.  The week before the big event, we eagerly prepared our home and reminded neighbors as we came in contact with them.  On the day of the event, we set out the tables, fired up the grill, put on the music, opened the gate, and waited for the crowds to arrive.  Well … although we had some of our neighbors show, the crowds never arrived.  The day wasn’t a waste but it was not what we expected.

Fast forward three months…

Over the Christmas holiday, I made door-to-door deliveries of homemade cookies to neighbors.  Although this activity was of a much smaller scale than our first attempt at connecting with neighbors, it proved to be effective.  In following weeks, there were many inquiries about the next batch of cookies and even offers to purchase ingredients to expedite the process.  I’ll never forget the day “Cliff” came up to the car as we drove by with excitement in his voice and said, “I got the chocolate chips!”  Who would have thought that young men hanging on the corner until the wee hours of the morning would be so interested in homemade cookies?

The cookies broke the ice leading to conversation among our neighbors about ways in which we could gather together as a community.  Although we were invited, Elaina and I were not going to hang on the corner drinking with the fellas every weekend; we needed a different venue that would be appropriate for all ages.  The solution… old school “Sunday Dinner” like grandma used to do.  We come together every week at our home to share a meal in which each neighbor has mutually contributed to the planning and preparation.

Sunday Dinners have carried on for about seven weeks now.  Each week, dinner looks a little different; one week it might be good conversation over plates of spaghetti, the next it might be an engaging movie with a helping of chili, and the next week might be intense card games with a side of tender ribs covered in barbeque sauce.  What I see at our dinners is that neighbors look after one another’s children, serve each other plates of food to ensure everyone has enough, and clean up after one another so the burden is not on a select few.  Not only are they examples of us caring for one another in the most basic ways, but every interaction from meal preparation to table set up to meal clean up has become an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversation about transformation of our community.

During our most recent dinner, we first filled our bellies then focused our attention on the task of planning the upcoming “Easter Sunday Dinner”.  Each neighbor expressed a desire to make this dinner extra special with a traditional meal and fun activities for the kids.  Facilitating this planning process was a lot of fun where I was able to see the gifts, talents, and interests of each neighbor come out as we discussed the roles they would play in making the dinner a success.  We got Cliff and “Nathan” on the kids’ games, “Kevin” and Cliff on the egg decorating, Elaina and Erika on the meats, Asquith on the mashed potatoes, and so forth.

In the midst of our planning, there was a side conversation being carried on which quickly became a loud debate.  Back and forth each party passionately made their point.  When the volume came down and the discussion was over, it was clear that the love remained.  Sunday Dinners have actually become a place of honest discussion, familial security, and unconditional love.  That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout!

That said, discipleship and incarnational ministry have its challenges. It is not the quick and easy results oriented type of ministry; it is long term, intimate and grittily authentic. In other words it tends to hurt a bit for those who are experiencing it. It often means that the victories happen at such a gradual pace that we have to constantly remember where we have come from, why we are called here, what we have to celebrate and where we intend to go. If you can keep your eyes on Jesus and walk in His footsteps then this life is indeed challenging, but oh so rewarding as well.

If those last two paragraphs excite you and you feel a stirring deep in your gut that says that is what I want my life to be about, then maybe you should check out the new internship and apprenticeship opportunities we have just posted at www.join.innerchange.org

We are looking for some good solid followers of Christ who have some experience in what I have just briefly described above. We are looking to gain some good co-laborers who can hang in there and who will bring the needed energy and focused long term passion to discipling young men in our neighborhood who are coming out of addiction and sometimes tough backgrounds of brokenness but who are striving and desiring to do the right thing and live life after Christ. For more information check out the descriptions on the www.joininnerchange.org website and we will go from there. We are praying for those of you who will respond to the challenge laid before you.

Urban Resurrection, and hence our family, is in the midst of a lot of transition these days. Transition often brings a sense of chaos and ambiguity with it. In those times it can become difficult to see our way forward. I have learned that in those moments when you are not certain where the road is going it is best to look back at where you have been and take note of the many ways Jesus has lead you through past difficulty to bring you to the point where you are.  This article is one of those times of looking back in order to move forward with confidence.

As I have been straining my eyes to see where Jesus is leading us He reminds me that my striving accomplishes little and that I must loosen my grip of some things in order to take hold of new ones.  When we seek to follow after Christ and lead others toward Him and the healing He brings several things happen and I want to talk about them. Henri Nouwen in his book In the Name of Jesus has helped me to form some of my own thoughts into a more understandable form so I will quote him often in this and the following articles.

Many people have a difficult time understanding what “incarnational ministry” means. I doubt that I can fully explain it in words as it is something one must experience in order to understand and experiencing incarnational ministry takes a significant amount of time. I will try and bring out some things that God has been teaching me in the hopes that it may resonate with His Spirit inside of you.

We just celebrated THE Incarnation, the amazing event of God Himself leaving His place by the Father’s side in order to become a human child. Not only a human child but a baby born to poor parents, in a feeding trough for animals, and soon after his birth (to an unmarried teenage mother) having to flee with his family to another country as a refugee fleeing political persecution! It has been talked about a lot. So I won’t dwell on that event itself except to point out that Jesus (in the words of John Perkins) “moved into the neighborhood”.

We as His followers must then be willing to do the same to leave all that we know, our place of comfort and move into and live alongside those whom we want to share Jesus with. That is the foundation for incarnational ministry.

Incarnational ministry is not just a method for sharing the Gospel, it is a lifestyle and a spiritual discipline that is chosen in order to for God to reveal Himself to YOU as well.  Nouwen says when working and living among the marginalized you are suddenly and constantly faced with your naked self, open for affirmations and rejections, hugs and punches, smiles and tears, all dependent simply on how you are perceived at the moment. Because of this sort of environment, you find yourself forced to rediscover your true identity.

If that identity is based in your skills, your abilities, your personal attributes or any other part of YOU then you will really come up hard against a wall of difficult adjustment. That adjustment is God stripping you of self and replacing it with Himself.  Again Nouwen says, to belong and incarnate you must first let go of your relevant self – the self that can do things, show things, prove things, build things- and force yourself to reclaim the unadorned self in which you are completely vulnerable, open to receive and give love regardless of any accomplishments. This, of course flies in the face of Western cultural norms that drive us to seek success and to push for productivity that seem more tangible and measurable than the transformation of lives tends to be.

The Christian leader is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self as a conduit of Christ’s love. That is the way Jesus came to reveal God’s love. The great message that we have to carry as ministers of God’s Word and followers of Jesus, is that God loves us NOT because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love and has chosen US to proclaim that love as the true source of all human life.

This is one part of what Jesus meant when He answered the temptation from Satan in the desert by saying, One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. (Mt. 4:4) He is speaking of identity and answering Satan’s challenge for Him to prove himself the Son of God, to prove His relevance and His worth. Jesus simply pointed back to His own identity.

We are called to realize our true identity and part of that is being a kingdom of priests to minister to the spiritual needs of people. We must point others to Christ and create Christ centered community because our society points to self and creates loneliness isolation, lack of friendship and intimacy, broken relationships, boredom, emptiness, and depression and a deep sense of purposelessness and uselessness. Only Christ can fill those things and we are called to stand in the gap and point out the way as we stumble and struggle toward Him as well. Our lives are to be living examples of His grace and peace.

So, the leaders of today are those who dare to claim their irrelevance in the contemporary world as a divine vocation that allows them to enter into a deep solidarity with the anguish of people, and bring the light of Jesus there.

I see this to be true and right and it rings true to what I am seeing around me in my neighbors and in the places where we have seen the deepest and most lasting change in the lives of our neighbors and friends. When we take time to walk alongside of and be friends with and love on those around us we see deep change and transformation. When we do so we not only bring the Word of God to bear in their lives we live it out in front of them, we love them with the closest thing to unconditional love that we can muster in our imperfect state and we point them to the ONLY ONE who can truly love them and transform them.

Of course, as we do this we inevitably see the physical, social, intellectual and spiritual needs they have and because we love them we try to empower them and help them realize their own value and ability as Christ’s beloved creation. Sometimes this leads us to greater macro systemic changes that must be made. We see the true patterns and needs and dreams and desires of our community because we have taken the time, and it does take time, to know them and love them and to be known and loved by them. As we do this it opens up more opportunities for us to serve them and, more importantly sometimes, for them to be empowered to serve us and to serve each other. This leads us to be able to celebrate each other as part of Christ’s community and of wholeness and transformation.  As we live this life of incarnation following the true Incarnate God we are transformed and renewed and challenged and broken and rebuilt. This journey into our neighbor’s lives is not just for them to see Christ at work in us, it is for us to also be truly transformed and refined by the process as we see Christ at work in them.

Today a sister in Christ encouraged me with this devotional and it was exactly what I needed. Friends and family if you don’t know, incarnational ministry is no joke…..Leaving everything that the world sees as normal and following Christ is crazy but needed when we want to live a life that is blank before the Lord, allowing HIM to direct where and what we do, who we work with, live around and love through his eyes….DO you fully follow HIM? Will you give HIM your tomorrows?

GIVE ME ALL YOUR TOMORROWS
by David Wilkerson Global

The Lord appeared to Abraham one day and gave him an incredible command: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will show thee” (Genesis 12:1).

What an amazing thing. Suddenly, God picked out a man and told him, “I want you to get up and go, leaving everything behind: your home, your relatives, even your country. I want to send you someplace, and I will direct you how to get there along the way.”

How did Abraham respond to this incredible word from the Lord? “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8).

What was God up to? Why would he search the nations for one man, and then call him to forsake everything and go on a journey with no map, no preconceived direction, no known destination? Think about what God was asking of Abraham. He never showed him how he would feed or support his family. He didn’t tell him how far to go or when he would arrive. He only told him two things in the beginning: “Go,” and, “I will show you the way.”

In essence, God told Abraham, “From this day on, I want you to give me all your tomorrows. You’re to live the rest of your life putting your future into my hands, one day at a time. I’m asking you to commit your life to a promise that I am making to you, Abraham. If you will commit to do this, I will bless you, guide you and lead you to a place you never imagined.”

The place God wanted to lead Abraham is a place he wants to take every member of Christ’s body. Abraham is what Bible scholars call a “pattern man,” someone who serves as an example of how to walk before the Lord. Abraham’s example shows us what is required of all who would seek to please God.

Make no mistake, Abraham was not a young man when God called him to make this commitment. He probably had plans in place to secure his family’s future, so he had to be concerned over many considerations as he weighed God’s call. Yet Abraham “believed in the Lord; and [God] counted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

The apostle Paul tells us that all who believe and trust in Christ are the children of Abraham. And, like Abraham, we are counted as righteous because we heed the same call to entrust all our tomorrows into the Lord’s hands.

Please join me in prayers this day that we all will live a life that is given fully to our Savior!!!

Trusting in HIM only,
Elaina ~ Apprentice

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbor as yourself.”

(Matthew 22:37, 39).

If you’re like me (Kimberly), you hear these commands as “love God and love your neighbor” and you overlook the rest of Jesus’ teachings, particularly the “as yourself” part. If I were to literally love my neighbors in the way I love myself then I probably wouldn’t let them sleep when they were tired, would give them more responsibilities and expectations than they could handle, and deprive them of water when they were thirsty.

As a leader, I find it difficult to carve out space and energy to care for myself.  It has always been easier for me to care for others instead. While this is true for many, this seems to be especially true for those of us living and working in urban environments. Amidst so much need, we think, I’m okay, and others need to be attended to more than I do. Many of us have been thinking like this for so long that we often don’t even recognize we’re doing it anymore.

JESUS’ CONTRAST

This is not the way of Jesus. Throughout the gospel accounts, Jesus is found retreating into solitude, finding time for prayer, and nourishing himself in the presence of the Father.¹  Thelma Hall, in her book Too Deep for Words: Rediscovering Lectio Divina, notices this practice of Jesus, “In Jesus’ life this prayer and action follow one another in a rhythm which seems as constant as the inhaling and exhaling of breathing.”²  For Jesus, life is made up of both outward and inward movements. He is caring for himself as he is loving others.

Jesus also models this for his disciples. In Mark 6:31-32, Jesus notices that his disciples are not getting a chance to eat because there are so many people coming and going. So he says to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Jesus is not only concerned about the crowds, but also his disciples. He wants us to eat, to rest, to be with him. This rhythm is rooted deeply in the life of Jesus.

OUR NEED FOR THIS RHYTHM

In Month 1 of our Sabbath Rest in a 24/7 City series, Jude describes some of the external factors that make life in the city stressful.  This article explains the “environmental press” and the “everyday harassments” that can weigh on urban dwellers. In addition to external factors, urban youth workers also have multiple internal factors that contribute to the stress they experience.

In a study by the Fuller Youth Institute entitled “Risk and Resilience in Urban Ministry: Stress, Spirituality, and Support,” urban youth ministry workers identified chronic stressors and “modifiable” organizational stressors that they experience. “Difficulty finding time for rest and relaxation” made both of these lists.

Several factors contribute to this dynamic. Urban youth workers juggle many roles and responsibilities. We spend time with kids, walk with them through the crises of life, and want to get to know their friends and families. Knowing how much the environment impacts youth, we want to work toward community transformation. To work toward community transformation, we need to be networking. In addition to all of these responsibilities within the youth worker role, we also have families, go to school, lead ministries at church, and perhaps work another job to make ends meet. Furthermore, youth workers who are local leaders from the city often help carry the responsibility of family of origin finances. Sometimes these roles conflict with each other, and we feel great internal tension.

No wonder we feel exhausted.

Another reason it can be difficult is our lack of boundaries. Unlike therapists, teachers, or social workers, youth workers do not have jobs with set hours and boundaries. Relationships and crises interrupt our schedules and intentions. We respond quickly because we want to be – and often need to be – readily available. In their book Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No to Take Control of Your Life, Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend recognize that “we need to set mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual boundaries for our lives to help us distinguish what is our responsibility and what isn’t.”³ Setting these boundaries can be a struggle, but what urban youth worker doesn’t want to be able to distinguish what is and isn’t our responsibility? ⁴

The words of Wayne Muller give further insight into why rest is difficult and the resulting consequences: “Because we do not rest we lose our way…Poisoned by the hypnotic belief that good things come only through unceasing determination and tireless effort, we can never truly rest. And for want of rest, our lives are in danger.”⁵ This danger manifests itself in every area of our lives, not least in our bodies themselves.⁶

A VISION FOR RHYTHMS IN THE CITY

Most urban youth workers long for a life that is sustainable over the long haul. Might it actually be possible to love and serve youth without feeling overwhelmed and exhausted much of the time? What might it look like if our bodies were rested, our spirits refreshed, and our hearts encouraged?  What can we learn from Jesus about a life that is sustainable in the city, in which we love ourselves as well as our neighbors?

THE OUTWARD MOVEMENT

Following the rhythms of Jesus first means we examine the way that we are outwardly interacting with others.  This part of Jesus’ rhythm comes easily to many urban youth workers. We desire to be the hands and feet, even the heart of Jesus for urban youth. This is what gets us up in the morning. We know what it means to express our love of God through loving our youth.

Our problem is that we often do this until we have nothing left to give. Well-known spiritual leader Henri Nouwen learned that unless we create space for solitude in our busy world, “we will lose our soul while we help others.”⁷  That’s why the second part of Jesus’ rhythm is so vitally important.

THE INWARD MOVEMENT

The other side of the rhythm is the inward movement. Jesus spent a lot of time among the crowds and with his disciples, but he also withdrew to be alone and pray. His was a regular habit of withdrawing after spending time in ministry.⁸

If we look at this through the lens of our roles, one role Jesus took seriously was his relationship as the Beloved Son of God.⁹  Jesus took time to be in communion with his Father. Jesus was many things to many people -Teacher, Healer, Savior. Yet he did not neglect his role as God’s beloved Son.

How would our lives change if we took our role as God’s beloved children as seriously as our other roles, or even gave it priority?  Perhaps this would not mean we are neglecting our call as youth workers, but rather more fully living into that call.

What does this inward movement look like in the city? Jesus went away to “lonely places,” places where he could be by himself or with his disciples in solitude. Are there spots in your city that might serve this same function? This might be a location in your own home, such as a designated chair for prayer, or a literal prayer closet. Other possibilities might include a nearby retreat center, a chapel in the local hospital or a local church open for prayer.¹⁰

Once we leave that place of solitude, how do we carry the experience of solitude back into the noisy city? Perhaps we can think of the noises of the city as calls to prayer rather than distractions. Sirens and helicopters can call our attention to God in that moment.  Our time on the train, bus, or in the car can also become a place of communion with God, as well as intercession for those around us.

MODELING THIS RHYTHM FOR OTHERS

Jesus may never have discussed boundaries with his disciples. Yet Jesus did model when to say “yes” and when to say “no”. In his doctoral study of the rhythms of Jesus, Dr. Paul Jensen, Executive Director of the Leadership Institute, highlights the story captured in Mark 4:42. At daybreak, Jesus withdraws to a lonely place. The people were looking for him, and when they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving them. Jesus, however, tells them that he must leave. He must go and preach the gospel of the Kingdom in Judea, which is why he had come.¹¹  Notice how he had to say “no” to the pull of the people in order to maintain a focus on his ultimate call.

When we spend time in solitude and the urgency of ministry fades, we are able to listen to God’s still small voice. Some of what seemed so urgent falls into perspective. Knowing when to say “no” and when to say “yes” tend to become less of a struggle.

Odds are good that kids in our ministries respect many things about us.  They often want to mirror who we are in their own character and relationships. What an opportunity that instead of modeling a stress-filled life, we can model the rhythms of Jesus. Besides caring for ourselves as we take on these rhythms, we will also be loving our kids as we live in sustainable patterns that they can adopt into their own lives as they move toward healthy adulthood.

EBBS AND FLOWS

A rhythm is a rhythm because of its movement of ebbs and flows. Once we catch a rhythm, it begins to carry us along despite ourselves. By taking rhythms seriously and taking time to love ourselves as well as our kids, we may then also be able to love God more. If we are experiencing rhythms of work and rest, then we may have more to give to God. As we create space to care for ourselves and learn to set boundaries, perhaps others will actually want us to love them the way we love ourselves.

Now let me take you into our office, which has been pretty much converted into an art studio. Right now the bathroom is full of t-shirts hanging up to dry, which say “Represent” on the front and “Da Grove” on the back. In the main room is a 8×12 ft. mural in the making, which depicts what the youth would like to see our neighborhood be. In front of it Francisco (our artist intern, who has been teaching “Threads” and “Street Art”) is working with AL, Cassius, Antwaun, and a few random kids who stopped by, to finish up the t-shirts we are selling this weekend. In the next room Sekajipo (our Hip Hopology teacher/intern) is singing a song requested by Jada and Stephanie, while N’Sane works on writing a rhyme in the corner. On the table, photography done by the students is laid out, in the process of being matted.

Tomorrow is our Change of Art Showcase. Everyone is excited to show what they have been working on this summer. As we have watched the development of these art works, we have seen the youth also being enhanced and drawn out as works of art. As I see new life in them, I feel new life in myself also. I love that though our summer program is ending, we get to see our new “family” regularly because they are also our neighbors. We get to continue to grow together into a beautiful, unique, colorful mural, spreading new life across the Grove.

The reason I feel the urgency to ask for prayer is that Big K expressed fear that he will just wake up tomorrow and be the same person, getting into the same things. PLEASE PRAY THAT HE EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT MANIFESTED IN HIS NEW LIFE, THAT THIS SEED WOULD TRULY TAKE ROOT AND GROW AND BEAR MUCH FRUIT, BRINGING OTHERS ON THE STREETS TO CHRIST. This is crucial…we have been praying specifically that our neighborhood would be ridden of the drug problem because the lives of the drug dealers and users being transformed by Christ. Please pray the the enemy would lose this stronghold.

All praises to the Almighty Loving God for what He did today in Big K! I cannot stop thanking Him.”

Last weekend he presented his final project, a comprehensive “Breakthrough Plan” that lays out the blueprint for leading himself, his family, and the Urban Resurrection team to the “next level”. It was deeply encouraging to him as one after another his peers and the trainers from DeVos spoke highly of his plan and blessed his with prayer and ideas to better it. We look forward to seeing the results of this plan and hope you will too. Please keep him in prayer as he leads URez and the Miami community development networks into new and bold steps of positive change.

Check out the DeVos website for more info on how it is impacting the city you may live in or near. We highly recommend the program.