Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Why is there poverty?

The question often arises; if God is loving then why is there poverty in our world? It is valid question seeing that early in the life of the nation of Israel God told his people "there should be no poor among you", then just a few verses later seemingly contradicted that statement by saying, "there will never cease to be poor in your land." A close reading of this statement in Deuteronomy 15 shows at least one reason why there will be poor always among us. Deut. 15:5 follows up the statement "there should be no poor among you", with this statement..."IF only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today.

What we see is that God said there will always be poor because He knew Israel would not do what they were supposed to do! They were a material blessed nation who turned their back on the orphan, widow, poor, and alien. Most think Israel went into captivity because they built idols and worshipped them 24/7 but in actuality their pride, greed and idolatry manifested itself in committing injustice toward the poor. A close reading of Isaiah 1 and 58 show us that Israel defiantly closed their ears to the cries of the poor and put even heavier burdens on them.

While povery has a list of symptoms the root cause is God's sovereign will. God in his infinite wisdom has allowed material poverty to continue due to the sins of mankind and also in order that we can grasp a physical picture of our spiritual condition. Poverty at its core is relational and we as sinners can see just how broke we are spiritually by seeing how impoverished some people live. Not only is God's sovereignty responsible for poverty so is God's providential acts. Sometimes poverty occurs because of a great calamity. Poor people find themselves in precarious situations and one storm or medical condition can completely deplete a poor persons' resources.

Another reason there is poverty among us is the acts of wickedness of those who hold the cards. We have seen in our country how devastating greed can be as millions have lost jobs, 401k's, and retirement benefits. When justice for the poor is not intentionally remedied through systemic measures our efforts become bandaids to a much larger issue. While certainly poverty is a systemic issue filled with injustices we also must point to laziness and sins of those who are in poverty as another cause.

As we see poverty is a complex issue that we must address from a biblical perspective. Neither republicans nor democrats have a sure fire remedy to the solution of poverty. Both sides respectively have some good and bad points. One thing for sure is that our governmental programs of welfare have created more dependency and enablement than they have empowerment. The mentality of people receiving welfare has caused many of them to abandon any hope for their future of being self sustaining. I am convinced that poverty will only be ended in our country when the church steps up and begins to think and act through a biblical lens on this issue but the reality of us coming together and agreeing on solutions sometimes feels like a pipe dream. I wish I could tell you I had a whole bunch of solutions but I only know one; to love God with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourself. If every proclaiming bible believing Christian would do their part in completing this commandment we would see drastic changes in our country.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Why do they fight?

Many of my white friends can't understand what causes urban youth in particular to fight and join gangs, brutally injure others, and sometimes kill. Taking some insight from Tom Skinner and a look back at my previous life in the streets I could sum up the answer in two words: "the ghetto"...

The need to gain, earn and keep respect is the sole purpose for many inner city youth. Because life has been defined for many of them by survival there is no such thing as delayed gratification or thinking about the consequences. Life becomes reduced to a 4 block radius, neighborhood, or city and some young people simply cannot comprehend a world outside of their immediate influence. It is this reason why so many are told to "make something of yourself and get out of the projects", while many suburban parents tell their kids "don't go there, avoid it all costs".

Urban youth fight out of frustration and despair, the need for acceptance and approval and to earn respect. A kid who grows up in the ghetto and chooses to do good in school will not be respected in his neighborhood; a kid who holds to moral values and ethics will not be respected in his hood; a kid who desires to follow Christ and be a witness will not be respected. So because of these factors many urban youth just want to fit in. I believe that W.E.B Debois was correct in his writing that inner city blacks lack self esteem and purpose.

How do we cure it? Urban youth need to know they are made in the image of God and created for worship. For too long we have abandoned hope for inner city children and deemed them thugs and hoodlems. While our assessment may be correct these are the very people God has called us to go to with the gospel. If you believe the power of the gospel then build relationships through various programs and begin mentoring an inner city youth. Ask them questions and learn from them why it is so hard to make good choices in life.

Ultimately they fight because the lack direction and long term goals. They have bought into the lie that their lives and human life in general is of no value. They need to know what God thinks about them (Psalm 139) and have a fresh outlook on how the rest of the world live. They need mentors, teachers, coaches, and inspiring experiences to show them life is bigger than the ghetto in which they reside. Won't you step in and be a repairer of the breach? Join the movement in our city...The ASPIRE Movement.

JW

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Called to Obey

Having worked in urban ministry for a few years and ministered to the poor I am often commended by many Christians who tell me "what a great thing you're doing!" Some mention it as if ministering to the poor is a specific calling that only a few are called and equipped to do. That attitude continually fuels my fire help Christians understand the difference between calling and obedience.

While there are certainly some who are uniquely gifted in the area of mercy that certainly doesn't shut out the rest from engaging the poor. While some are called to be bridge builders and conduits who devote their lives to helping the poor, everyone is actually commanded to love the poor and do justice. Unfortunately we have used the excuse that we are not "called" to the area of ministry to the poor. We often want to leave that up to the experts.

There is a distinct difference between obedience and calling. We all should obey God's call to defend the fatherless, orphan and widow; love our neighbor; learn to do good to all men; and seek justice. It doesn't mean everyone is called to specifically give their entire lives to reaching the poor, but it does mean that as a child of the true and living God you will be concerned for poor and marginalized. God's grace doesn't allow for you to leave ministry to the poor for the "experts" only. It means you will pray, use your finances, devote a small portion of your time, and engage in some level of service to the work of justice especially in your own city. Every single Christian should spend some time and resources toward ministering to the poor whether you feel a specific calling or not. To not do so is disobedience.

We make the excuse that we are not called or gifted to minister to the poor but that is a cop out. One could easily say they are not called or given the gift of evangelism. Does that then mean we should not share our faith with the world around us? The fact that we may not be specifically called to minister to the poor does not over rule the fact that we are called to obey God's word in the area of justice and mercy. Every Christian has something to give the poor. I believe that when the church begins to truly use all of its members for ministering to the poor, the world will be forced to say "look at that city on a hill whose light cannot be hidden." They will see our good works (corporately) and we will reflect the glory to our Father in heaven.

JW

Friday, July 1, 2011

Man Up!

The whole notion of what it means to be a man in our modern culture is under attack.  This is especially prevalent in our urban sectors where over 70% of urban youth are growing up in a fatherless home.  Good male role models are hard to come by and many young men are drawn to thugs, drug dealers and other male figures who are making ends meet through illegal means.  These poor role models will teach them next to nothing about diligence, courage, compassion, love or what it means to take care of a family.  This dearth of genuine manhood has created a crisis.
Reach Records and Reach Life, in partnership with Restoration Academy, have created a dynamic curriculum to help address this crisis of manhood in our urban communities.  The project that emerged is called “Man UP!”  It is a multi-faceted tool used to engage young men in a variety of ways.  It is geared primarily to young men ages 12 to late 20s.  
The curriculum package includes:
  1. There is a short 45 minute movie that follows the life of the main character, Bryan, as he seeks to transition from high school into college life.  He is enrolled in a summer program that is part of his college scholarship.  He moves in with his older brother who is a high school drop out and proverbial “thug.”  Bryan faces a variety of temptations and struggles as he is influenced by his brother and his brother’s friends as well as the prevailing street culture.  He is forced to make hard choices on whether he will pursue the road of manhood the right way or according to the way of the streets.
  2. Reach Records produced an album with eight tracks that thematically ties into the movie.  
  3. Two administrators at Restoration Academy helped formulate a written curriculum.  The thrust of the curriculum is to compare the struggles and challenges of modern day urban manhood with the life of King David in I and II Samuel.  This curriculum is suited for small group discussions, classrooms, and Bible studies.  The goal is draw the young men in the group into the Word of God so that they can learn what His Word has to say about manhood.  Each lesson has questions that correlate directly with the movie, the music, and the scriptures.  Every lesson concludes with a look at Jesus Christ as “the Man” and how He overcame the areas where we as men fail.  The curriculum is very user-friendly and there are a variety of extras to it if you desired to extend your lessons over a longer period of time.
This project may emerge as one of the more dynamic resources available for urban ministries.  It’s a “must have” for anyone working with urban young men.  The content is biblically solid.  The movie and the music are engaging and compelling.  You will find yourself involved in several engaging and thought-provoking conversations with the young men in your group and Lord willing find an opportunity to direct their hearts and attention to Jesus Christ - the Man! 
*for more information go to www.manup116.com or www.reachrecords.com
**the Man UP! curriculum set should be available for pre-order soon.  It officially drops 7.23.11

- Judah Ben