I haven't blogged for such a long time. So much going on. In fact, we had some confusion and I'm doing this in Fran's office 'cause I had to drop off Ross for choir. Blogging needs to be regular and I have a meeting later and so here I am in her office.
The community garden organizing meeting is this weekend and I'm working to get that together. I have a grant to write and contacts to make. I was worried, but God provided a master gardener from right in the neighborhood. Props to LaRena who is excited and ready to get to work.
Met up with Ryan today and we discussed community development in Keller Park. Ryan is really wanting to work on that since the CCDA conference. We talked about some good plans to culminate in a spring clean-up and concert. What's even better is that he doesn't want to tie it to the church so we open it up to a lot more people that way. Then we went and looked at some locations that would be possible neighborhood gathering places. Like me, Ryan would like to come up with some sort of coffee house/drop in center in the community. A lot of work to be done.
I'm still working with the Housing Authority to put a program in place. Just got an email from those folks and it's being put off until the first part of December. The longer this thing stretches out the lower my motivation is. The hurdles make me wonder if this isn't God's will that I'm active at LaSalle Landing. Gene and I talked about this motivation level today.
TAP is a community organizing group in South Bend affiliated Gamaliel and I'm doing stuff with them now. I'm meeting a lot of other pastors and it seems like something that is a positive step for my ministry. I'm also going to start volunteering at Stone Soup at the end of the month. Stone Soup provides assistance with utilities and rent as well as budget guidance.
As I think about what I am doing and my ministry it occurs to me that there are two levels to the work. The system is broken and on one level my work touches individuals. LaSalle Landing, the community garden and Stone Soup speak to that level and provide that help. The other initiatives like TAP seek to address the larger, systemic issues. I had never really considered this two-fold approach, but that concept makes sense to me. What it also does is keep my busy, busy, busy.
Not an exciting blog, but I had to get something out there. I'll post more next week about the garden.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
ubiquitous depression
Depression is a verifiable clinical syndrome. Most of us know about this depression and quite a few people have experienced the disorder. It occurs to me that our society is experiencing a form of depression. Last week I met with another community organizer and we talked about our impression of people being disconnected, uninvolved and apathetic. These sound like the symptoms of depression. The more I thought about this diagnosis the more it seems to fit for large sections of our society.
Lets face it, if you had to live in a neighborhood in which vacant and dilapidated houses were sprinkled throughout, it would not compliment your mental health. One of the largest landmarks in the neighborhood where I minister is the Drewry Brewery. The defunct brewery has been scheduled for demolition for some time, but no action has been taken. Instead, the abandoned facility is dangerous and a magnet for undesirable activities.
This sort of environment can do little other than breed an atmosphere of apathy, isolation and, as I said, depression. The nation's economic situation coupled with poor employment options only adds to the general malaise. So, what's the solution? Prozac in the drinking water?
This is what the community developer/organizer walks into. This is the situation I face every day. What does motivate people and move them out of their doldrums is an issue. When there is an issue that breeds strong feelings a neighborhood can get energized and organize around that issue. Sometimes an organizer needs to present an issue in a way that it clearly impinges on the interests of a neighborhood. The next step is to teach people how they can make a difference and impact the process.
I am working on organizing the neighborhood around the church with a community gardenin hopes that this will appeal to folks' altruism and benefit the surrounding community. As we work through the planning and organization during this fall and winter, I know that people can be motivated to organize around issues that impact on their quality of life and house values. I also think that the changing administration, with the openness for input, will also contribute to involvement in the process of neighborhood organization.
Lets face it, if you had to live in a neighborhood in which vacant and dilapidated houses were sprinkled throughout, it would not compliment your mental health. One of the largest landmarks in the neighborhood where I minister is the Drewry Brewery. The defunct brewery has been scheduled for demolition for some time, but no action has been taken. Instead, the abandoned facility is dangerous and a magnet for undesirable activities.
This is what the community developer/organizer walks into. This is the situation I face every day. What does motivate people and move them out of their doldrums is an issue. When there is an issue that breeds strong feelings a neighborhood can get energized and organize around that issue. Sometimes an organizer needs to present an issue in a way that it clearly impinges on the interests of a neighborhood. The next step is to teach people how they can make a difference and impact the process.
I am working on organizing the neighborhood around the church with a community gardenin hopes that this will appeal to folks' altruism and benefit the surrounding community. As we work through the planning and organization during this fall and winter, I know that people can be motivated to organize around issues that impact on their quality of life and house values. I also think that the changing administration, with the openness for input, will also contribute to involvement in the process of neighborhood organization.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
We Are Not Alone-the value of relationship
One of the hardest things about my ministry is the inherent sense of
innovation. This approach to doing ministry, modeled after the first
century, is so old that it's new to most people. Concepts like making
relationship, listening to people's stories and community building do
not fit well and are not highly valued in our culture. 21st century
American society uses paradigms that place a premium on the quick fix
that one gets from a targeted programmatic intervention, not consensus
building and inclusion.
I found a great joy last week when I connected with Mike Mather at Broadway Methodist in Indianapolis. A conversation I had with Tim Knauff, a Lutheran in South Bend, led me to Mike, who is doing a ministry virtually the same as I. Arrangements were made and I got in contact with Mike, who introduced me to De'Amon Harges. De'Amon works with Eric to make relationships and then connect people in the community, which is a mirror of my work in South Bend. It was awesome to talk with people who have an active ministry doing what I do-suddenly I don't feel so alone.
This blog posting turned into an object lesson in relationships and networking. Just look how I was encouraged and nourished by relationships. It would be easy to create a programmatic response with appropriate outcome data for the areas to which I minister, but that action invalidates the people I seek to serve. Spending time on relationship builds up, validates and acknowledges people to fulfill the greatest commandment. Even though I write about ministry, there is immense value to enhancing relationship in marriage, friendship and work associations.
I recognize the value, the necessity, of sitting in this formative time of relationship making, but the notion of a quick fix is very seductive. It just seems wrong somehow to not take action, however, jumping to a solution and doing what I think is needed, the way we have always responded, is clearly not the right way to go. The importance of spending time in relationship was underlined by Mike in Indy and by another friend who I met in Indianapolis, Bob Lupton of FCS/Desire Street in Atlanta. Mike and Bob both talked about some of their mistakes and one common theme was the failure to make relationship with those they sought to help. People who are doing effective community ministry talk about how the relationships of a successful ministry are years in the making.
We miss out on a lot when we fail to slow down. When time spent in discernment and relationship is neglected, we lose ears for the still small voice. I was just reading an article today about how our society has done away with downtime and eliminated sacred space. Sure, there is action and excitement in community ministry, but it is when we take time for reflection and relationship that the real work is accomplished.
I found a great joy last week when I connected with Mike Mather at Broadway Methodist in Indianapolis. A conversation I had with Tim Knauff, a Lutheran in South Bend, led me to Mike, who is doing a ministry virtually the same as I. Arrangements were made and I got in contact with Mike, who introduced me to De'Amon Harges. De'Amon works with Eric to make relationships and then connect people in the community, which is a mirror of my work in South Bend. It was awesome to talk with people who have an active ministry doing what I do-suddenly I don't feel so alone.
This blog posting turned into an object lesson in relationships and networking. Just look how I was encouraged and nourished by relationships. It would be easy to create a programmatic response with appropriate outcome data for the areas to which I minister, but that action invalidates the people I seek to serve. Spending time on relationship builds up, validates and acknowledges people to fulfill the greatest commandment. Even though I write about ministry, there is immense value to enhancing relationship in marriage, friendship and work associations.
I recognize the value, the necessity, of sitting in this formative time of relationship making, but the notion of a quick fix is very seductive. It just seems wrong somehow to not take action, however, jumping to a solution and doing what I think is needed, the way we have always responded, is clearly not the right way to go. The importance of spending time in relationship was underlined by Mike in Indy and by another friend who I met in Indianapolis, Bob Lupton of FCS/Desire Street in Atlanta. Mike and Bob both talked about some of their mistakes and one common theme was the failure to make relationship with those they sought to help. People who are doing effective community ministry talk about how the relationships of a successful ministry are years in the making.
We miss out on a lot when we fail to slow down. When time spent in discernment and relationship is neglected, we lose ears for the still small voice. I was just reading an article today about how our society has done away with downtime and eliminated sacred space. Sure, there is action and excitement in community ministry, but it is when we take time for reflection and relationship that the real work is accomplished.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Big visions and little dreams
I was talking to a Lutheran pastor last week who told me about a Methodist church in Indianapolis that had a person they called a "roving listener". That's a pretty cool title for what I feel like I am doing in the far northwest side of South Bend. I just go and listen. It's more fulfilling when our conversations can touch on God, but that only happens about half the time. A lot of people have trouble doing what I do, which is amazing to me because talking to people comes so natural to me.
I have been working on developing a vision for my ministry and talking to all these people is a help. It occurred to me the other day, though, that I am at a point where I need to decide if this is a little dream or if it's a place for a big vision. So much depends upon the willingness of the churches to invest in me and this ministry because I can do a bunch of little things in the community here and there that meet some needs, but to create a lasting and powerful ministry is going to require time.
I've started by submitting an initiative to the South Bend Housing Authority which has been favorably received. I'm waiting to hear from them about some of their requirements before I can start teaching some elementary computer skills classes. I have a vision of expanding that program to the point where it can be self-replicating in other housing projects throughout the city, but, again, that is a vision that requires investment.
I met with a woman today who told me how to start up a soup kitchen and it sounds like something I could do. That's part of my huge vision for the area-a soup kitchen, food co-op and clothing. Putting something like this in place will require a lot of work, time, effort and volunteers. This is something that I could do.
Part of the issue is having the faith to step out and do this. It worries me to think about the funding (particularly my salary), but I also know that I need to have faith in the venture. If this is God's will nothing can stand in its way. I preach about having faith and God's everpresent support so I suppose this is the time for me to live out my words and stand on my faith. I believe this is what disciples are charged to do so I need to just do it.
I have been working on developing a vision for my ministry and talking to all these people is a help. It occurred to me the other day, though, that I am at a point where I need to decide if this is a little dream or if it's a place for a big vision. So much depends upon the willingness of the churches to invest in me and this ministry because I can do a bunch of little things in the community here and there that meet some needs, but to create a lasting and powerful ministry is going to require time.
I've started by submitting an initiative to the South Bend Housing Authority which has been favorably received. I'm waiting to hear from them about some of their requirements before I can start teaching some elementary computer skills classes. I have a vision of expanding that program to the point where it can be self-replicating in other housing projects throughout the city, but, again, that is a vision that requires investment.
I met with a woman today who told me how to start up a soup kitchen and it sounds like something I could do. That's part of my huge vision for the area-a soup kitchen, food co-op and clothing. Putting something like this in place will require a lot of work, time, effort and volunteers. This is something that I could do.
Part of the issue is having the faith to step out and do this. It worries me to think about the funding (particularly my salary), but I also know that I need to have faith in the venture. If this is God's will nothing can stand in its way. I preach about having faith and God's everpresent support so I suppose this is the time for me to live out my words and stand on my faith. I believe this is what disciples are charged to do so I need to just do it.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
neighborhood good news
I am surprised by the way different people hear the gospel message. For example, I met with a guy and his understanding of disciple making and evangelism was connected with church growth. He framed all his outreach as how it grew the congregation and so he had no interest in working on community ministry. I didn't pursue this discussion to far, but read the gospel in such a different way.
Later that day I found myself in the far northwest neighborhood and I spent a lot of time talking with Richard. I talked to him and a couple other guys about food pantries as well as soup kitchen. They were really excited about the possibility of something like that moving into the area. There are no real social services in the far northwest so people have to travel a long way to get food. This possibility would be good news to the neighborhood. We talked about God and church and other religious stuff and it was interesting to hear their theological take on things.
The two churches I work for generously provided me with the opportunity to attend the AND Conference at Granger Community Church. GCC is the local mega-church and, while their worship style doesn't speak to me, the conference featured some huge names. I have idolized Alan Hirsch for years and he was the main speaker at the gathering. I ran into Alan in the bathroom and had him sign my book. I got to hear him speak twice and he gave me a copy of his new book. I also got to hear Mike Breen, High Halter and Brandon Hatmaker.
The message is that the church has to change. The church must go out to that part of the society that it does not touch and impact people missionally. Just what I am doing! I wonder if I am moving too quickly when I hear these guys talking about spending years doing evaluation and interviews before acting. It was fulfilling to hear other talk about what I have felt since seminary. The challenge is figuring out how to do it.
Later that day I found myself in the far northwest neighborhood and I spent a lot of time talking with Richard. I talked to him and a couple other guys about food pantries as well as soup kitchen. They were really excited about the possibility of something like that moving into the area. There are no real social services in the far northwest so people have to travel a long way to get food. This possibility would be good news to the neighborhood. We talked about God and church and other religious stuff and it was interesting to hear their theological take on things.
The two churches I work for generously provided me with the opportunity to attend the AND Conference at Granger Community Church. GCC is the local mega-church and, while their worship style doesn't speak to me, the conference featured some huge names. I have idolized Alan Hirsch for years and he was the main speaker at the gathering. I ran into Alan in the bathroom and had him sign my book. I got to hear him speak twice and he gave me a copy of his new book. I also got to hear Mike Breen, High Halter and Brandon Hatmaker.
The message is that the church has to change. The church must go out to that part of the society that it does not touch and impact people missionally. Just what I am doing! I wonder if I am moving too quickly when I hear these guys talking about spending years doing evaluation and interviews before acting. It was fulfilling to hear other talk about what I have felt since seminary. The challenge is figuring out how to do it.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
church versus ministry
I didn't publish a post last week as I usually do because we had two missionaries from Nicaragua staying at our house. I was doing translation work all week and was simply too tired to post.
The last couple weeks were spent meeting up with people including other pastors. These experiences have been weird to say the least. I met with one committee and was describing my ministry to them when one individual asked me what I wanted from them. Apparently, this church, which is wealthy, is used to being asked to fund mission and ministry. I was taken aback and told them I didn't want their money-what I was asking for was their prayers and I wanted them to prepare themselves for when I asked them to participate in my ministry. I'm thinking I didn't make a good impression because we had such different ideas of doing ministry. Financial support is essential to a community ministry, but those supporters need to buy into the vision and I guess I didn't cast a good vision.
Another pastor I met with is a very faithful guy. He is pushing the church he serves to do more Bible study and to become serious about inviting others to church. He told me about some of the outreach things they had done and how many people they had served. The down-side to the mission work was that not one of those people were grateful for the assistance nor did they attend worship at that church. For this pastor, mission meant growing the church and he felt that was his calling as well as the Biblical mandate. He went on to say that it was his thought that doing ministry to the community without directing them to a church was sort of a waste of time.
These were some pretty crazy conversations. My understanding of mission and ministry is so very different. Helping people with their relationship with God is one thing, but church membership is another entirely. When Jesus asked Peter if he loved him he said "Feed my sheep", not go to church. Jesus didn't even say to go buy sheep food, but to feed the flock. Mission and ministry are about making relationships. To love people, care for them and feed them we have to know them. This is the model of the Christ; Jesus became fully human to know us.
I did have some fun last week at a conference with Pat Meagly, Delray Brooks and Kevin Bacon. I was at a session meeting and got funded to go to a conference with Alan Hirsch presenting.
Best of all I'm beginning to get some vision of where this ministry should go. I feel resource poor, but I fe
el like God's gonna make it work. It is really hard getting my ego out of the picture so that God can work. I started getting scared, too. I'm asking for a Damascus Road experience but I don't want to be struck blind. Before you laugh, I'm praying hard for God to give me a vision and that's how God worked in the past.
Please pray for me, follow my blog, give comments and offer direction!
The last couple weeks were spent meeting up with people including other pastors. These experiences have been weird to say the least. I met with one committee and was describing my ministry to them when one individual asked me what I wanted from them. Apparently, this church, which is wealthy, is used to being asked to fund mission and ministry. I was taken aback and told them I didn't want their money-what I was asking for was their prayers and I wanted them to prepare themselves for when I asked them to participate in my ministry. I'm thinking I didn't make a good impression because we had such different ideas of doing ministry. Financial support is essential to a community ministry, but those supporters need to buy into the vision and I guess I didn't cast a good vision.
Another pastor I met with is a very faithful guy. He is pushing the church he serves to do more Bible study and to become serious about inviting others to church. He told me about some of the outreach things they had done and how many people they had served. The down-side to the mission work was that not one of those people were grateful for the assistance nor did they attend worship at that church. For this pastor, mission meant growing the church and he felt that was his calling as well as the Biblical mandate. He went on to say that it was his thought that doing ministry to the community without directing them to a church was sort of a waste of time.
These were some pretty crazy conversations. My understanding of mission and ministry is so very different. Helping people with their relationship with God is one thing, but church membership is another entirely. When Jesus asked Peter if he loved him he said "Feed my sheep", not go to church. Jesus didn't even say to go buy sheep food, but to feed the flock. Mission and ministry are about making relationships. To love people, care for them and feed them we have to know them. This is the model of the Christ; Jesus became fully human to know us.
I did have some fun last week at a conference with Pat Meagly, Delray Brooks and Kevin Bacon. I was at a session meeting and got funded to go to a conference with Alan Hirsch presenting.
Best of all I'm beginning to get some vision of where this ministry should go. I feel resource poor, but I fe
el like God's gonna make it work. It is really hard getting my ego out of the picture so that God can work. I started getting scared, too. I'm asking for a Damascus Road experience but I don't want to be struck blind. Before you laugh, I'm praying hard for God to give me a vision and that's how God worked in the past.
Please pray for me, follow my blog, give comments and offer direction!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Vision quest
I had a good week running around the neighborhood, but, once again, I felt drawn to the Keller Park area. I spent time helping Mack repair his garage, since he's physically not able to do that. I talked to a young guy who had his clothes taken by a guy who was allowed to move into the home but turned out to be a gang-banger and thug. I had no money and no way of helping this guy; it occurred to me how resource poor this area is.
I had time to sit with Gene a little on Friday and he suggested that I do some work on a vision for the ministry. He mentioned and I re-read Habakkuk today. "Though it tarry's, wait for it." resonates with me. I have been praying for this vision and waiting for it, but I still feel very unsure about the whole thing. I've generated a list of projects and talked to a lot of people to get their impression so I need to let this steep. My friend suggested I give it 40 days which would take me to the 9th of this month. I don't like to give God a deadline, but maybe it's me that needs this deadline.
I spent the day doing a lot of reading on casting visions and so on, but there's not a lot to read about this. I feel like my situation is so unique that what is written doesn't apply. On the other hand, I know that's just not so and I continue to look for Biblical examples that are similar to my situation. I started reading Jeremiah because I have a sense of being unsupported in this ministry. Don't get me wrong, I know there are people I can touch for emotional support, but there aren't too many to walk with me. I sort of sense that God sent me out to develop a community or identify others to walk with me in that task. I just feels like a big job.
As I think about the coming week I think about how I can work on this vision. I know I'm going to have to spend time in prayer and meditation, but that's hard because it's not really "doing" anything. It's hard for me to shake that impulse to do rather than simply spend time with God. I don't have a prayer closet or a place in which I feel especially close to God. I need to develop such a place or mind-set here in MI. I know that prayer and meditation are vital disciplines to my ministry.
I had time to sit with Gene a little on Friday and he suggested that I do some work on a vision for the ministry. He mentioned and I re-read Habakkuk today. "Though it tarry's, wait for it." resonates with me. I have been praying for this vision and waiting for it, but I still feel very unsure about the whole thing. I've generated a list of projects and talked to a lot of people to get their impression so I need to let this steep. My friend suggested I give it 40 days which would take me to the 9th of this month. I don't like to give God a deadline, but maybe it's me that needs this deadline.
I spent the day doing a lot of reading on casting visions and so on, but there's not a lot to read about this. I feel like my situation is so unique that what is written doesn't apply. On the other hand, I know that's just not so and I continue to look for Biblical examples that are similar to my situation. I started reading Jeremiah because I have a sense of being unsupported in this ministry. Don't get me wrong, I know there are people I can touch for emotional support, but there aren't too many to walk with me. I sort of sense that God sent me out to develop a community or identify others to walk with me in that task. I just feels like a big job.
As I think about the coming week I think about how I can work on this vision. I know I'm going to have to spend time in prayer and meditation, but that's hard because it's not really "doing" anything. It's hard for me to shake that impulse to do rather than simply spend time with God. I don't have a prayer closet or a place in which I feel especially close to God. I need to develop such a place or mind-set here in MI. I know that prayer and meditation are vital disciplines to my ministry.
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