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

Recalibrate

Recalibrate... That's what my MAPS APP has to do when I miss a turn. The little blue arrow tries to get me back on course. Recalibrate...It's a word I've heard the Holy Spirit whisper over my soul lately. So, it's been nearly 7 months since we started wearing masks and social distancing due to Covid19.  I really can't believe we have been walking this journey for this long. As a mom, a wife, a daughter, a friend and as a pastor - I've had to recalibrate several times over the past several months. We have had to learn to adapt while recalibrating schedules, school and finances. During this season, I have seen Covid19 cause much heartbreak as people I know and respect highly have died from the virus. Early on, the virus made its way from China to our street - our neighborhood here in Louisville, Kentucky. One of our neighbors was on a ventilator for several days due to Covid19 and we weren't sure that he would make it.  But, he did. We are thankful. In addition to the heartache and stress COVID19 has caused, the racial unrest in our city has literally broken so many hearts. The Breanna Taylor shooting, along with the death of George Floyd, has led to over 100 days of peaceful protesting in our city. In a few cases, the protests have turned violent and people have died and businesses destroyed. Downtown Louisville is boarded up and a few businesses in East Louisville, including Dicks Sporting Goods and Meijers in Springhurst, are boarded up as well. Political unrest is high as well.  Just this morning we heard that President Donald Trump and the First Lady have been diagnosed with COVID19 and the President is now in Walter Reed Hospital according to many sources. 

Through all of the heartbreak and chaos, I have been trying my best to live out Matthew 6:33 - Seek first the Kingdom of God! I have been reminded to not worry but seek first the Kingdom of God.  I have been reminded to not store up treasure here on earth but seek first the Kingdom of God. I have been reminded to not pray like the hypocrites but to seek first the Kingdom of God. I have been reminded to not announce my good deeds like the hypocrites but instead seek first the Kingdom of God.  Yeah, Matthew 6 is a pretty good chapter of the Bible. But it's not just about seeking the Kingdom of God but God's righteousness.  As Christians, in all situations, we must seek the RIGHT thing.  And, the right thing is not always popular.

Today, I'm very thankful for how the Holy Spirit helps me recalibrate!

Attacking Pride with Humility

 

Lord, have mercy on me a sinner! Today, I confessed my sin of pride.  Being vulnerable is not easy for me but by God's grace, I was able to share 4 ways in which pride has manifested itself in my life.

1.  Envy

2.  Critical Spirit and Harsh Tongue

3.  Caring what others think

4.  Attitude of independence from God

Envy has required a double cure for me in that I must practice contentment and I must practice love.  I practice contentment by being satisfied in God's goodness to me and I practice love by rejoicing in God's goodness for others.  My critical spirit and harsh tongue must learn to be kind and tenderhearted toward others. When I begin to care what others think about my faith in Jesus Christ, I am reminded of the Holy Scriptures which tell me to not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And, when my attitude of independence rises up, I must remember that life apart from Jesus cannot produce "a part" of Jesus.

Lord, have mercy on me a sinner.

We must attack our pride with humility. Pride is our enemy and humility is our friend. 1 Peter 5:5 reminds us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.  We must confess our sin to God.  And, when we have behaved badly, we shouldn't run away from God but rather, we should run toward God. 

Hebrews 4:14-16 reminds us that we have a God who can empathize with us and we can approach God's throne of grace with confidence knowing that we will receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 

Amen and Amen!

Wear Your Mask!

Are you there, God?  It's me, a parent in a pandemic and a city filled with racial unrest. 

I could really use

your help!

We know this season requires sacrifice

Help us be gentle with ourselves

As we show up

In unexpected ways and in unexpected days

We need Your help, O God.

We don't know how to hold

The weight of expectations

And we feel our limitations

As we navigate pressures

And parenting (NTI Instruction, Online School)

And politics (& Racial Unrest & Violence)

And a pandemic

We need Your help, O God.

Meet us here in our humanity

For your power is made perfect in weakness

And may the gentleness we give ourselves

Pour out in our interactions

With our families

And our neighbors

And even those who leave us scratching our heads

We need Your help, O God.

(Prayer by Liturgies for Parents)

I'm doing my best!

T

Trust - The Secret Art

Psalm 63:3-4 CEB My lips praise you because your faithful love is better than life itself. So I willbless you as long as I'm alive; I will lift up my hands in your name.

It’s been about 6-8 weeks that we have practiced social distancing and the quarantine thing. I miss people. I don’t sit still well. I like routine. I like being “on the go.” Before Covid 19, I enjoyed my daily routine. I liked waking up early, having my early morning quiet time and going to the gym. [I miss you Iron Tribe Fitness.]  I enjoyed my daily Panera coffee (sometimes with friends) and taking Max to school. My days at work always had an element of surprise or challenge and I enjoyed it.  Afternoons sometimes involved picking Max up from school, having the soccer car pool, taking a walk or preparing dinner. Now, it feels more of the same and only by God’s grace have I once again learned the importance of contentment. 

When all of this social distancing started, we had one big change in our house. Elliott came home from college to study remotely. It seemed things changed so quickly.  I heard my boys say to me early on, “Mom, stop freaking out.”  And I would say, “Me, freaking out.  Why are there shoes all over the floor? Why are there dirty dishes always in the sink? Why does the dog’s food bowl always seem to be empty? And, why are there candy wrappers laying all around the house?”  Then I would have to stop and take a deep breath and press the reset  button. I would have to say a prayer of confession. “Lord, I am so sorry. These things are so trivial right now compared to the suffering, grief and hardship that our community and world are facing right now.” A quote that has given me a lot of encouragement recently is one by Lysa Terkheurst:  

"Trusting in God’s plan is the only secret I know to the gentle art of not freaking out."  

Yes. Trust. It’s always easier in theory. Here in Psalm 63 we see that David wanted God more than he wanted life. He was in the wilderness in Judah fleeing for his life. He was social distancing and for good reason. It’s interesting how social distancing is starting to feel a little like I anticipate the wilderness feeling – lonely and uncertain. However, in his wilderness David didn’t spiral down into self-pity but instead chose to praise and trust God. He knew that the never-failing loving kindness of God was more to be desired than life itself.  

This scripture “because your faithful love is better than life itself” has been so convicting to me this past week.  If I want God more than I want life, then I want God more than I want all the joys of this life—watching my son play soccer, visiting Elliott at the University of Cincinnati, celebrating milestones, traveling with my family, visiting state parks, watching University of Kentucky Basketball, waving my scarf at the Louisville City soccer games, enjoying dinner with friends and the list could go on. When David says that the love of God is better than life, he is not denying that all these good things come from the love of God. He is warning us, rather, that if our hearts settle (even gratefully) on the beauty of the gift and do not yearn for the infinitely greater beauty of the Giver, then we are idolaters and not worshipers of God.

This is why we cannot do without the wilderness experiences of life. If all of life were complete bliss, as so many people think it should be and as so many try to make it, then would we not much more often become addicted to enjoying the gifts of God rather than God?  For me, God has used this social distancing [the wilderness] to remind me that the faithful, steadfast love of God is truly better than life itself.   

What you know...

"I want to KNOW Christ - yes to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...." Philippians 3:10

During the coronavirus pandemic, it's essential to remember -- "What you know has to take over what you fear."  God has seen me through doubt, uncertainty, anger, grief and much more. Maybe God has seen you through through the same feelings. Do you know enough of God to know God will get you through this time?

Remember that FAITH grows in unfamiliar places.

We will get through this together.  And, by God's grace, we will get through it in a way that makes us better people and better Christ followers.