Seeking Shalom

Can't believe it's been almost a year since we gathered at Northeast with our friends to take the Seeking Shalom Study by the Lupton Center.  Here are some nuggets from the study that have stayed within my heart and mind. 

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The traditional charity models provide a lot of activities and services...people have fuller bellies and a warm place to sleep at night, which are really good, but that does not change the trajectory of anyone's life.  Our common charity models have provided comfort to poverty but have not come any closer to ending poverty.  Katie Delp, Executive Directory, FCS | Focused Community Strategies

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We must remember that we all experience poverty and that we are all broken. We all need Jesus. 

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In your love, be relational not transactional!

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Being Poor is being close to death.  So, it's hard to experience abundant life. 

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You can't thrive when you're just thinking about where your next meal is going to come from. 

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Poverty is complicated. It is not a symptom of one thing. Sushma Barakoti

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A Systems Understanding of Poverty
Includes: Sustainable Employment, Strong Support Network, Safe, Affordable Housing, Healthy Neighborhood, Mental and Physical Health Care

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Everyone needs a voice at the table. 

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The Gospel has gotten all tangled up with a sense of Western White Entitlement. Walter Bruggeman

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Hope does not need to silence the rumblings of crisis to be hope.

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Material Poverty in Scripture has much more to do with ACCESS than it has to do with THINGS.  A more accurate representation of material poverty would be to define it as the experience of being UNDER-CONNECTED rather than UNDER-RESOURCED.

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Individual Flourishing
Physical Health, Family Life, Mental Health, Vocation/Work-Life, Social Relationships, Spirituality

Community Flourishing
Education, Housing, Social Services, Safety and Security, Connections to Neighbors, Business/Commerce

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In development, the community is always the first investor - Bob Lupton

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Key Words:
Mutuality
Participatory
Holistic
Mind (and Heart)
Impact

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Determine the ASSETS of a community - Don't just identify the needs!

Disciple Out Racism

I just celebrated my 3 year anniversary as the Local Outreach Pastor at Northeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. The longer I serve in this role, the more my heart breaks for the things that I believe break the heart of God. More than ever, my heart is breaking over the oppression I have witnessed in our city. Please trust me when I say, "I have stories." We have a responsibility as believers in Jesus Christ to understand how cultural, socioeconomic, philosophical and historical realities call us to confront racism and injustice.  And in order to "understand," I'm continuing to learn, listen and advocate for change.  Therefore, I took a Preaching Masterclass on Discipling Out Racism and here are some of my favorite quotes.

Preaching Masterclass | Discipling Out Racism | Host:  Albert Tate | 2.8.2021

Favorite quotes:

God has more mercy than we have mess. Bryan Loritts 

You cannot change what you will not name. Jo Saxton

The church cannot be silent when people are dehumanized. Jo Saxton

 True reconciliation exposes the awful mess. Jo Saxton

 Pursuing racial justice doesn’t get us into the Kingdom but it demonstrates that the Kingdom has gotten into us. Bryan Loritts

We need to consistently do the work of smashing down the dividing wall of hostility. Bryan Loritts

Don’t be isolated from brokenness. Eric Mason

It’s division to ignore division. It’s not division to talk about existing division. Eric Mason

Do not ignore history! Eric Mason

Be about peace-making and not peace-keeping! Janette OK

We need to read history and not just commentaries. Charlie Dates

Don’t read the Bible under the lens of privilege. Charlie Dates

Single out those not benefiting and lift their voice. Charlie Dates

Don’t edit someone’s voice. Susie Gomez

We have to disturb the status quo.  David Swanson

Racism has built structures that impact quality of life:  exposure to violence, housing inequities, segregation, educational inequities, infant mortality, …. David Swanson

We have to call our people to conversation, demonstration, and innovation. Ricky Jenkins

Methods change. Keep moving.  Isaac Newton says items in motion stay in motion. Objects at rest tent to stay at rest. Ricky Jenkins

Proximity is key. We have to cross over. Danielle Strickland

Go on a journey to confront oppression. Danielle Strickland

Before Martin Luther Jr said the word DREAM, he spent 11 min confronting evil. Danielle Strickland

We have to be faithful in exile.  Mark Labbberton

Never be timid about sharing the story that Jesus Saves.  Eugene Cho

Reminder that Faith without Works is Dead! Eugene Cho

We have the responsibility to hold someone else’s pain – to bear their burden. Susie Gomez

We need a new wineskin and it will feel difficult to embrace. Latasha Morrison

CRT (Critical Race Theory) is super helpful in helping us understand the mess of racism.  CRT does not hold hope for the future. God holds the hope for the future. Matt Chandler

The level of our offendability often reveals the level of our maturity. Rich Villodes

Discipling out Racism is not transactional. Rich Villodes