This article really sums up some of the dynamics that we experienced in five short days in DC. It's a really strange state of affairs as upper middle class condos and stores take over a random street while a few streets down, lower income folks struggle to make it. It's one of the most subversive and gradual systems of injustice that anyone can see. I'd like to see PG County's census data. Have they seen an upsurge?
“If you are looking for theologically saturated Christian music that has the greatest potential for widespread appeal, your best option may be Christian hip-hop. Because of its form—a high volume of words with little repetition—hip-hop may provide one of the best modes of music to convey propositional truths and doctrinal content that at the same time connects to a younger generation." - Anthony Bradley.
I read an insightful article questioning why parents are letting their daughters dress in increasingly sexually provocative ways. Although not from a faith perspective, the author makes a great point that the laxity of parents may arise from a sense of guilt in having experimented in much the same ways. As well, there could be a desire to be cool or even to revisit those days by having beautiful-looking girls and boys. In many ways, it's a subtle form of child sacrifice whereby the parent pursues his/her selfish desires at the expense of the child.
The truly sad thing is that the Gospel could really free a parent from having the guilt of past failures. The Gospel tells us that we are not perfect, not even morally guiltless. We don't have to be perfect parents to teach our children God's ways because the Gospel gives us hope in spite of our failures. If you're a parent remember that your job is to introduce your child to the grace that you yourself have received. Your job is to not make them more successful, or more popular, or more stress-free. Your job is to introduce them to their real and true Father.
Practically, I've heard lots of parents complain about how hard it is to find modest clothes for their daughters. No doubt this is true, but isn't the inconvenience and time spent worth it? Even if you have to pay a little more or spend more time shopping?
For those parents of daughters that need some advice or guidelines for this, check out http://www.teen-beauty-tips.com/return-to-modesty.html. It's a pretty good starting point for opening up the topic of modesty with your daughter.
What an incredible last (full) day in SE DC. It began with a spontaneous worship set from 11:30 pm to 12:45 am, and closed out with several debriefing sessions. The day went pretty much as the previous one. My group woke up and went to the Mayfair Mansions Community Center for GED tutoring again. I met with Mijajuwon, and we got to work right away. Today's challenge was algebraic word problems, but Mijajuwon eventually got it. Again, it was amazing to see his confidence level and his enthusiasm skyrocket as he grasped the concepts. At one point, he just chuckled as he put his head on the table - he couldn't believe that he was getting it, and that it was that simple.
On our way back, we had some more amazing conversations with neighborhood residents on the bus, and we stopped by favorite Afghani-owned fried chicken joint for a 15-piece wings and mambo sauce! We returned home, and after a brief rest, I (and about 10 students) traveled to the coffee shop to visit Mack and have some coffee.
After dinner, a group from Yale came to lead us in some worship, and it was a sweet time of singing and being together. We were grateful that they would travel so far to come and serve us. One of the Plunge coordinators then shared a creative message from Luke 19. It was a great catalyst for our small group discussions for next steps. We are spending a lot of energy on next steps and what God desires of us individually and corporately. Our conversations were filled with pressing each other to truly apply what we have learned and seen. After all, what we did here in 5 days is not nearly as important as what we'll do back home, but in order to what we need to back in West Chicago, we need to be here to see and experience.
Ideas like learning Spanish, controlling spending, volunteering to tutor were put out there. Surprisingly, I realized that there was a subtle tendency to reduce our learning here to the simple idea of reaching out to people along our daily routine. Some of us shared that we just needed to be more missional along our daily schedules. However, to do this subtly shifts the equation. We didn't need to come to DC in order to learn to be more missional with the people who we meet daily. Rather, all of us in the team realize that the Bible puts a priority on ministry to two specific 'classes' of people: 1) the nations; 2) the vulnerable - the poor, fatherless, widows, sojourners.
The truth of the matter is that it is very possible to go about our daily lives and actually avoid these types of people. Life in the suburbs makes it possible to never cross paths unless we intentionally go out and pursue. We can't just say that we will be more loving to the people we meet, not with what we've seen and have been taught. We are accountable to God for the message we've been given, and it is a message to God's people concerning the least of these. To live out this message will require some foundational shifts in our daily lives, weekly schedules, and overall priorities.
We spent the rest of the night and morning talking about what our responsibility to the vulnerable and to the Church is. A ton of great ideas are brewing and some decisions are being made. We're still talking about our story and our next steps, but we're definitely excited.
If you've been following this series of blogs, I'd like to first thank you for your continued interest and prayers. Second, I'd like to ask you to stop for a moment and pray for the city. God is doing some amazing things in SE, and urban ministries are definitely feeling the pinch of a down economy. Third, would you consider talking to someone from our team? If you are a Christ follower, what is your responsibility to the poor and to the least of these? Do you take Matt 25 seriously, that whatever you did to the least of these, you did unto Jesus? I say this not to stir up guilt, but to invite you into what God is doing - that you might experience the kind of fullness, the kind of joy I have right now. I understand more than ever the kind of people who are on God's heart, and spending some time with them brought me closer to Him, and for that I am grateful.
