Empowerment: How do you help people without hurting?

One of the core principles of the Christian Community Development Association is "Empowerment". The video below from Urban Entry gives a great introduction to the concept.

Does Serving Mean Playing Small?

I teach a Wheaton College class in Chicago every semester. I like to remind my students that the fact that they are getting a college education and own computers means they are in the top 1% of the most privileged people in the world and that they have a special responsibility to use their privilege on behalf of the world and God’s kingdom. I encourage them to maximize their gifts to become world leaders who will speak to power about the needs of the poor.

Some of the students in one of my recent classes took me to task over this notion. Should they not take the role of humble servants, setting aside their privilege to live common lives among the poor? Isn’t that what it means to serve? To follow Jesus’ example of laying aside his position of power and privilege to take on the form of a servant? To live among the poor and disparate as one of them?

It’s a good question, isn’t it? Yet, even the fact that some of us have choices, sets us apart from those who don’t.

Shane Claiborne, of the Simple Way, is a good example of a young man from privilege, with a Wheaton College education, who set aside aspirations to accrue wealth and power to live in an impoverished community in Philadelphia and join his companions in making their own clothing and diving in dumpsters for food. He uses his power in crafting the English language to give compelling voice to the lives and struggles of the poor through his speaking and writing. Many in my neighborhood would have difficulty bridging cultural worlds like he does. They lack the educational background and access to a broader network to ever impact the world like he does. He is powerfully using his privilege on behalf of the poor.

The mother of two of Jesus’ disciples wanted to ensure that her sons would have powerful positions when she asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom. As a mother, I understand that. Who doesn’t want their kids to be great? To be acknowledged and recognized for their achievements?

Jesus never reprimanded her or her boys for wanting to be great. He just gently turned the tables on the definition of true greatness with his answer. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:25-27)

I love that my students are wrestling with this question. I’m sure that some of them will become attorneys who will draft legislation and run for office, others will become doctors and teachers among the poor. Some will run businesses and finance firms that will generate revenue that they will pass on to incubate community and economic development projects and support ministries in impoverished communities throughout the world. I love their passion for justice and their desire to follow Jesus with radical abandon.

We are indeed, all called to serve, to give our lives for a greater cause, whether we head corporations and governments or pick up the dying in the streets of Calcutta.

Nelson Mandela, in his 1994 inaugural address quoted Marianne Williamson’s beautiful words below:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness
That most frightens us.

We ask ourselves
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small
Does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking
So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine,
As children do.
We were born to make manifest
The glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us;
It's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we're liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.

Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris - Hallelujah

I loved this song by Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris on the Hope for Haiti telethon.

Grace Awakening

A couple of days ago I came upon a beautiful blog post written by Jordan Dowell, who volunteered with his church, Willow Creek, at Breakthrough's women's center. Jordan gave me permission to copy a portion of his post below. You can read it in it's entirety here.

Tonight I had the opportunity along with 5 college students from my church to serve and eat a meal at Breakthrough Urban Ministries Women’s shelter on the Westside of Chicago. An old factory, turned warehouse, turned machine shop, then abandoned, and now remodeled, provides housing for 30 women and staff under Breakthrough’s name. It is a simple place, but in the unfolding production of grace this building radiates upon the stage. I wish to articulate everything that happened tonight, but to do so would take an entire book, so I must consolidate.

As is ritual, one veteran volunteer led the women in worship with her acoustic guitar while the meal was being prepared. As the women trickled into the dinning hall connected directly to the large open kitchen the smell of meatloaf and dinner rolls filled the air. The room echoed badly as the music begun, but despite that and the harsh hanging florescent lights there was an intense awareness of “home,” security, hope, and belonging among the people in the room.

I sat at a table with a woman named Patricia and shared her song book as we sang worship songs put to the simple rhythm of a guitar. She and I chatted briefly between songs as others in the room shouted song requests, then we would continue with the group in song. I noticed that as I sang louder, so would Patricia, and so I sang very loudly on one song “Hosanna.” I didn’t look at the songbook very much during that song because I knew it by memory, so I sang, loudly, along with Patricia who from the way she closely followed the words in the song book, I determined hadn’t heard the song many times before.

When the song ended, Patricia pointed with her finger to the first two lines of the bridge that read, “Heal my heart and make it clean, open up my eyes to the things unseen.” Through what seemed to be tears, she said “That’s what He did for me”
Patricia ran her finger along the words, back and forth as if stroking a precious piece of jewelry. I was taken aback by her emotion. I had just sung those words out of the cold repository of my memory without second thought while Patricia had been intensely reminded of grace and forgiveness. The next song started, but Patricia kept talking about who she’d been, who she’d hurt and disappointed, the drugs she’d used, the education she’d thrown away. She told me about an experience where God clearly “opened up her eyes to the things unseen.” With a cringe and a whisper she said, “I saw everything, I saw who I was, I saw who God was…” She paused, I was riveted by the passion with which she talked about God. Her awareness of grace brought tears to my eyes as I thought, “that’s what He did for me too.”

Last night I sang a song as I’d done many times before, but through the simplicity of a strummed guitar and through the delicate loving way Patricia talked about the words, my understanding of grace soared.

There are times when a simple single thing, when experienced in a delicate and simple way, will change your understanding of the greater whole.

Grace is a grand production that is redeeming humanity. It’s breadth and scale is magnificent, but to appreciate grace there are many elements of which we need to remain aware.

In understanding grace, there are stories we need to hear, and songs we need to sing.

Planning for a happy new year!

The coming of the new year is more than banging pans and drinking champagne. It is a great time to check in on how we are doing and make plans for the coming year. Here are a few suggestions I jotted down.

• The Red Dot: Where Are You Now?
  Start with a frank assessment of your present situation. Most shopping malls have maps encased in glass to help us find our way. The key to reading the map is to find the red dot with the declaration, “YOU ARE HERE.” If we can locate where we are, we have a better chance of knowing how to get to where we want to be.


• Your Passion: What Moves You?
  Once you have a good idea where you are, you can start asking yourself questions that will reveal what you want to achieve in 2010.
  
  What are the issues you care about? What breaks your heart, makes you cry, makes you feel? Is it children? The mentally ill? The elderly? Single mothers? Is there some issue that has evidenced itself in your family?
  
  I care about arthritis because my father suffered with it. I care about single moms because my daughter has become one. I care about kids in the city because my kids were raised in the city, and many of their friends have been incarcerated, are living in dire circumstances, or have lost their lives to street violence. I care about the homeless because many of them have become my friends, and I have listened to their stories.
  
  What issues matter most to you? Education? Healthcare? Economic development? Housing? Nutrition? Hunger? What do you think needs to be changed in order for everyone to have equal opportunity? What moves you emotionally?
  
  Theologian Frederick Buechner wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” What makes you glad?
  
  I am made glad by seeing underdogs turn their lives around. I love to see people who have never had hope for their future begin to dream. I love to develop leaders. I love to see people operate in their area of giftedness. I love to build things, create things. It makes me glad. Where does your deep gladness meet the world’s deep hunger?


• Pray for Guidance: Where Is God Leading You?
  Take time to sit in prayer with God, affirming you openness to making changes in your life as the Spirit directs you.
  
  If there is any hint of guilt or self-condemnation, lay it at Jesus’ feet and know that he loves you. Imagine that Jesus is picking up a towel and washing your feet. Look into his eyes and feel his love for you just as you are. There is nothing you can do to get God to love you more. Jesus does not require your acts of service to win his love. He just invites you to take up the towel and follow him because he loves you. This is not a burden. It’s an adventure.
  
  Where is God leading you? Ask God to give you a vision for what you are being called to. Spend thirty minutes in uninterrupted silence, letting God speak to you through your thoughts.


• Write Down Your Vision: Where Are You Going? What would your life look like if you responded fully to your calling. Can you picture it? Write about it in as much detail as you can. Draw or paint your image of yourself carrying out your vision. What will you be doing five years from now that will leave your mark on the world? What will you do in 2010 to move toward your calling. What would you like to be said of you at your funeral? Write it down. Read it out loud.


• Build Your Plan
  What do you need to do now to move you toward your goal? Build a five-year plan and break it down into years, quarters, weeks and days. Schedule appointments with God on your calendar in order to check in on how you are doing in carrying out the plan that God has given you.
  
  Bill Lutes, former program manager for Wisconsin Public Radio, wrote, “All one can do is make little beginnings, to try to do ‘the next right thing.’” What is the next right thing for you to do? What do you need to focus on? What do you need to cut out? What do you need to prioritize?


• Share Your Plan with a Friend
  This is not something you can do by yourself. You need others to join you. Invite them into your plan. Ask for their help. Ask a trusted friend to hold you accountable.


• Execute
  Nike says it best, “Just do it”! Your life will become so much more meaningful when you begin to spend it meaningfully on behalf of others. I don’t know anyone who has begun to invest their time, talent and treasure on behalf of others who has lived to regret it.


• Dream Big
  Big problems need big solutions. There is no end to the opportunities to change the world and to make an impact. There are emerging enterprise initiatives that stretch our imagination and creativity with new ways of empowering people. Dare to dream big and join a coalition of others who share your vision.

I'm looking forward to a great year in 2010. I hope you are too. Happy new year!!

Making Rough Ways Smooth

Merry Christmas! This is the season when we talk about peace and good will, family and love. It is a special time of the year when we listen to the voices of John the Baptist and Mary, the mother of Jesus, announce that, “every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth,” The coming of the Messiah would “lift up the humble” and fill the “hungry with good things”.

At Breakthrough we get to see the hungry filled with good things every day, a beautiful fulfillment of the prophecies as the people of God come together to care for those in the low valleys of life. It involves all of us listening to God’s whisper in our hearts and responding to the call to love. God intends that we care for and learn from each other.

I pray that this Christmas you will join the movement to make the “rough ways smooth” for those who are stumbling on the broken ground and the cracked sidewalks in our own backyard. This is the true meaning of Christmas, the announcement of the good news that Christ has come to bring new life. May you experience the joy of participating with Christ in the redemption of all that is broken this holiday season!

Dr. Brenda Salter-McNeil's Message at River City Community Church

The message below is one of the best messages I have ever heard on the incarnation and why we need to cross cultures to care for people. It's an hour long, but very worth the time. A powerful word. You can download the podcast version here.

When did you know?

Seth Harris, who works for the Inspiration Corporation and volunteers for i.c.stars, interviewed me a couple of months ago as part of his series of blog posts of interviews with leaders asking them, "When did you know" that you would be working for substantial change in the world? I don't know how he managed to get my Iowa farm lamb story out of me, but he did. I think he asked me to reflect back to when I was ten. Anyway... here's a link to the audio of the interview.

Health gap between blacks and whites in Chicago widens

Here's a link to a very discouraging article in the Chicago Tribune that reveals that a study conducted by the Sinai Urban Health Institute shows that the health gap between whites and blacks in Chicago is getting WIDER!

Institute director Steve Whitman, whose work has compared breast cancer disparities in Chicago and New York, said the health of African-Americans in Chicago fares worse than blacks elsewhere.

"The underlying issue here is racism and poverty," Whitman said. "In Chicago, it's exacerbated by segregation. Black people in Chicago are forced to live in neighborhoods where there are no stores to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, where schools are failing, where they don't have parks to exercise in and where they tend to go to segregated health facilities that are poorly funded and, in different ways, failing."

This is what we have been trying to say at Breakthrough! And why we are raising $15M to build the Breakthrough FamilyPlex to provide a health clinic, fitness center, sports and arts programs, early childhood education and after school tutoring. We are also bringing fresh produce into the neighborhood and beginning to grow our own vegetables. It is urgent that we get this project done and continue to strengthen our work at Breakthrough.

New Poverty and Justice Bible Available

I'm looking forward to getting this new Poverty and Justice Bible. The book highlights the more than 2000 references in Scripture to poverty and justice and includes a 56-page guide for personal and group study. This will be an excellent resource. Recognizing the importance of poverty and justice to the heart of God has changed my life.

Thanks!

The audio below is a voice mail thank you from a Breakthrough Fresh Market participant who had no food in the house. This is why we do what we do.

Telling a story with sand art

This is an amazing video of Kseniya Simonova, a Ukrainian artist, portraying Germany’s invasion and occupation of Ukraine during WWII through sand art. Absolutely amazing!!

The Harlem Children's Zone Conference

This week, Bill Curry (Breakthrough's COO) and I traveled to NYC to attend a conference put on by the Harlem Children's Zone. The HCZ came to our attention during Obama's campaign when he heralded it as an example of how organizations should be approaching community transformation. Basically they have created a pipeline of best practice programs that follow children from before birth through college. They start with what they call Baby College, a program for expectant parents, through Harlem Gems, their early childhood education program and into Promise Academy, their school. Their goal is to make sure all of their students go on to college. They hire one staff member for every 20 students they help place in college to ensure that the students make it through college to graduation.

The idea is to discover what works and bring it to scale. Obama wants to locate 20 organizations that will replicate the HCZ approach in what he has called "Promise Neighborhoods" throughout the country. Their approach is strikingly similar to what we are trying to do at Breakthrough. We went to the conference because we want to learn from what they are doing.

Key takeaways for me were the emphasis on measuring impact, the high expectations they place on their staff, and the combination of passion and excellence that marks everything they do. The people in our community deserve our best and I came back with more resolve than ever to continue to grow Breakthrough in excellence and bring it to scale until it becomes the norm in our community for children to go to college and return to the community.

I think Breakthrough has an important contribution to the Promise Neighborhood conversation in that on top of creating this pipeline, which Breakthrough is already doing on a micro level through our preschool and after school programs, we have introduced a model for relationships. I think this is missing at the HCZ or it is happening informally. Here is a link to the Breakthrough video in which Bill Curry discusses the Network Model. Beyond building skills, Breakthrough connects people to opportunity through the creation of intentional supportive relationships that link people to schools, jobs and other opportunities.

1,400 people attended the conference which was sold out with a waiting list of 400, many of whom came anyway and joined in without registering. It was inspiring to be around so many bright people who are passionate about finding solutions to the demise of impoverished urban communities. I returned with a renewed sense of urgency to do all that I can to impact our community.

Precious, the movie

Last weekend I went with a group of friends to see the movie, Precious. It's very raw, mostly due to language and the image of Precious being so horribly abused by her parents. When things get real ugly Precious switches into a fantasy world which saves us from having to watch. It is deeply moving. By the end I wanted to go out and start alternative schools and half way houses for people like Precious.

When she tries to escape her abusive situation she goes to a church. The choir is inside practicing but the doors are locked. She goes to her teacher instead. It is a sad commentary on the church, which I don't know is really accurate (in my experience it is mostly church-going people who are running caring ministries), but it is a real challenge for us in the church to step up our game in caring for hurting people.

The movie is a great discussion starter. Precious needs a lot of help, a support network, and she will need it for a long time. As in the film I find it amazing what a little kindness means to people who have lived with so much cruelty. May we all learn to be better lovers. And yes, I agree with the reviewers, Mo'Nique deserves an Oscar for this one!

My message at River City 11-01-09

The Miraculous Love of God

NY Times video about runaway kids: When No One's Looking

A conversation with experts on street violence: the kids in the middle of it

Yesterday, at the request of Steven Levitt, author of the best selling book, Freakonomics, a group of us sat down with 10 young men from the neighborhood who are insiders to the escalating violence we have been seeing on the streets and in and around the Chicago Public Schools. We asked them what they thought about possible solutions.

They were eager to share their thoughts and ideas (especially since we paid them cash to do it!) Most seemed to agree there are no easy solutions.

Question: What if you were promised $5,000 if you stayed in school and got good grades?

Answer: I would use the $5,000 to buy myself some work (drugs) and turn it into $10,000 very quickly.

Question: How hard is it for you to get guns?

Answer: Very hard… later… sure I’ve had lots of guns. I need a gun for protection.

Question: Would more police help?

Answer: Sure if they did their job. They planted drugs on me and hauled me in. They picked me up for no reason and dropped me off in a community where they knew I would be in danger. They let us go if we give them a couple of guns and they use the guns later to plant them on us when they want to take us in.

Question: Are gangs a problem in the schools?

Answer: Yes, and not just the big gangs. It could be between floors. Like, don’t come up on the second floor unless you have a class, or don’t come over to the east side of the school if you don’t want to get beat up. There are little clicks and groups.

I wish I could capture the conversation better. There were times I could barely understand what was being said because of such heavy code language.

The “old heads”, former gang leaders, get out of prison and come back and think they can run things, but there are new leaders in place. That causes conflict.

Natasha, who was killed at a bus stop on Madison last week, happened to be standing next to a couple of guys who had killed Little Jim a few weeks earlier. It was retaliation and Natasha was hit by mistake.

Madison Avenue is the dividing street right now between the Black Souls and the Unknowns.

Hip hop sets the standard. If Li’l Wayne would rap the times tables that's what they'd be doing.

There are people out there who ain’t got no one.

Sometimes the streets show you more love.

Guys get bored. There’s nothing to do. We need jobs.

Question: What would you suggest as solutions?

Answer: More places like Breakthrough. (Honestly, I didn’t set them up!) Everyone loves basketball and we need to learn how to do stuff like woodworking, auto mechanics, how to build a house. If I knew how to build a house, I would build one for you right now. (He said to the guy next to him.)

My Wheaton College Chapel Message

Youth Violence in East Garfield Park

This has been a tragic week in our neighborhood. On Wednesday, Natasha Howliet, a 20 year old mother of three was gunned down at a bus stop on the day of her three year old's birthday. She was a graduate of West Town Academy, 2021 W. Fulton St., and worked at KMart. Someone in a red car shot into the group of bystanders, probably hoping to hit the guys standing near her who still have not been located.

On Friday night, Stacey Adams, 22, was gunned down and killed in East Garfield Park. Terrence Gallaway, 28, has been charged with his murder.

On Tuesday a 23 year old young man was shot in the leg. When police tried to apprehend the shooter he fired at them!

Last Sunday, Demetrius Watson, 23, from East Garfield Park was found shot to death in the Little Village neighborhood.

The violence in Chicago is making national news and much of it is right in my neighborhood. I have heard there is a turf war going on between a couple of the local gangs. This is prime territory for the drug trafficking business

Sadly, I don't think there are any quick fixes. Young men who have been tossed aside, profiled because of the color of their skin and not challenged to believe in their future, feel they have little to lose in this war. They are the victims of generational poverty and institutional racism.

A 17 year old who participated in the Fenger mob scene a few weeks ago that left Derrion Albert beaten to death remarked, "I don't think a new day is promised to nobody. Anything could happen at any time." The Tribune ran an interesting article about why they fight.

We recently interviewed young men for our new Launch Pad program at Breakthrough. Launch Pad is a residential leadership development program for 18 to 24 year old men. We were deeply saddened by their stories. Most of them have recently come out of the foster care system and at age 18 are tossed to the streets with nothing.

I wish we had room for hundreds of these young men at Breakthrough. It is urgent that we grow this program.

We are all family

As I turned the corner a block from my home I was surprised to see a wave of nearly fifty young men and women, all wearing white T-shirts. It’s not unusual to see groups of young men wearing white tees in my neighborhood. They have become a kind of uniform publicized by the hip-hop group, Dem Franchize Boyz, in their song, The White Tee Gang, and by other rappers.

Some schools, restaurants and clubs have even begun to ban white tees because they have become so associated with gang affiliation. Police officers are often baffled when the description is broadcast that they are looking for a young black man in a white tee. They arrive to find ten young men who would fit the description. The tees have become a symbol of solidarity in the face of the injustice of the system.

These tees were different. They had black writing on them. I strained to read what was on the shirts as I slowed to let a group of them cross the street in front of me. As young man graciously waved me on, I read his shirt. “We are all family.”

“Isn’t that nice?” I thought. “Someone on the block is having a family reunion.” Then I noticed the backs of the shirts. In bold letters was written, “Black Souls.” My heart sank. The family that all of these young people on my block were associating with is a notorious street gang.

I have a dream that someday the white tees in our neighborhood will be replaced by Breakthrough tees. The kids get them when they participate in any of our sports leagues, after school programs, the choir or the hunger walk. One by one the white tees in our neighborhood are being offset by the multi-colored Breakthrough tees symbolizing the young people who really want to do well in school and to participate in positive activities that ensure a bright future instead of the violence and the hopeless downward spiral of gang life.

"We are all family". It's how I would describe the reign of the shalom of God, the answer to Jesus' prayer that the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven. But if we are not family to our children, they will find their family somewhere else.

Thanks Brad and Calm the Static!

Braxton Media: Chicago Has A Homeless Problem

Living in a War Zone

Last night, while I slept, there was a shooting less than a block from my apartment. Seven young men were wounded, several of them critically, when someone ran through a vacant lot and opened fire on a group of bystanders.

Homan and Walnut is a notorious corner in our neighborhood. There is nearly always a group of people hanging out in front of the convenience store on the corner. I have heard stories of the covert drug trafficking business that takes place in and around the store. Even the blue police observance camera has not deterred it. If you have ever seen the HBO miniseries or read the book, The Corner, by David Simon and Edward Burns, you would have an image of what that corner is like. It is a center of commiserating hopelessness, an emblem of a crumbling community crippled by spiraling poverty, joblessness and despair.

We are living in a war zone. Research shows that gang members living in the city are seven times more likely to become casualties of this war than they would be if they had been deployed to Iraq in the height of the conflict. Yet this war goes on in our back yards with little fanfare or public outcry, perhaps because we are confounded by it and tend to blame the victims.

Granted, every individual who was out there on the corner last night could probably have made a better choice about where to be and what to do on a nice Chicago evening. But there are too few options in communities like ours and life seems cheap and dispensable for our young people when they have the very real sense that no one cares. No one cares enough about their welfare to ensure that they are given a good education with marketable skills, or that they have even half a chance of ever actualizing their dreams, if they even have the audacity to still dream.

So the mounting distress finally gets released, turned in upon young black men by young black men, and the rest of us shake our heads and believe that if we were in their situation we would be different. We would pull together self-esteem from some dark hole and walk past the guys on the corner with their wads of money. We would flip burgers at a greasy spoon for eight bucks an hour and save every penny for our future. We would be home working on our homework while people around us scream at each other about who took the last piece of food and how they are going to pay the rent. We would get ourselves out of that hell hole and never look back. Why? Because we know that’s not the way life is supposed to be, for us, for anyone.

We are calling people back in to the East Garfield Park community, to rebuild it, to restore hope. Some of us have relocated from outside the community to join the many warriors who have stayed, who have been faithfully working, hoping and praying for its renewal. Others are returning with a dream. A dream that things can change. That a network of shalom can replace the spiral of despair. That healthy community can be restored, kids can learn, jobs can be created, loving families can support one another in raising healthy happy children. It’s a dream that must not fail. It’s a big dream.

Stand By Me - A Little Taste of Heaven

Dr. Soong-Chan Rha

Below is the audio of Dr. Soong-Chan Rha's important message during Euro American Heritage Month at the River City Community Church on July 19, 2009. Soong-Chan Rah is the author of The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity and the Milton B. Engebretson Associate Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at North Park Theological Seminary.

How Should We Respond to Panhandlers?

Panhandlers seem to bombard us in the city. They wash our car windshields at the gas station and then come to our windows expecting payments. They cling to rag tag cardboard signs and approach us with forlorn faces. Some are in obvious need. We can tell by their faces that they truly are blind or they are missing legs or they are sitting in wheelchairs holding dirty cups.

What should we do?

As the leader of a large organization that specializes in ministry among the homeless, let me give you my expert opinion: I don’t know!

I think God gives us these dilemmas to cause us to rely on the compassion of Christ he has implanted in our hearts. Coming face to face with someone who asks us for money is an opportunity to be led by the Spirit instead of being driven by need or guilt or obligation or the desire to bolster our own ego as a “generous person.” There is no simple answer.

Jesus said in Luke 6:30 that we are to give to everyone who asks of us. Most of us are hesitant to do that because we are afraid that we will be taken advantage of. Perhaps the recipient of our charity will use our hard earned cash for booze or drugs. Surely giving to someone who would use our money for those purposes would not be in anyone’s best interest, would it? Yet, the directive is clear. We are to give without question and without judgment.

While we don’t want to contribute to someone’s addiction, it is helpful to understand that people who are living on the street usually do not have access to appropriate pain medicine, mental health counseling, or the gentle pacifiers such as chocolate and ice cream that we turn to when we need a lift. Who are we to judge them for how they spend money? I certainly have not always made the best decisions with the money that God sends my way. Yet God keeps giving to me.

On the other hand, our gifts do not always have to be cash. I urge people to give their financial gifts to an organization like Breakthrough that specializes in wise care for the under-resourced and then get involved by volunteering to help the ministry. Then when asked for cash, we can then respond like Peter and John did when confronted by the crippled beggar. “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

A financial gift to a mission or an organization that provides opportunities for the homeless will help men and women who have been crippled by life get back on their feet and—in the name of Jesus Christ—walk a new walk. As stewards of the resources God entrusts to us, we want to make sure our gifts to the poor are invested wisely.

Instead of giving cash to people on the street, we can give directions, or perhaps a ride, to the nearest ministry that provides loving care in the name of Christ. Like the Good Samaritan that Jesus described in Luke 10, we can transport those who are battered and broken to the nearest rehab center and pay for their rehabilitation.

I have a friend who always gives people exactly what they ask for. If they ask for change, he gives them change. If they ask for a couple of dollars, he gives them a couple of dollars. He says that in the grand scheme of things, considering his budget for giving to the poor, the amount of money he hands out is actually relatively small. He thinks we make a bigger deal of being taken advantage of than we should. After all, Jesus let himself be stripped, beaten and hung on a cross unjustly to show his great love. It is not likely that we will ever experience that much injustice in our giving to the poor.

Oswald Chambers says in his June 13th devotional in his great book, My Utmost for His Highest, “Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with other people as He is with you.” So, again, we are asked to let the Spirit guide our practices when we come face to face with someone asking us for money.

One thing I am quite certain about is this: When I stand before God in the judgment, I don’t think God is going to drill me about how smart and frugal I was when face to face with someone who asked me for money. I doubt that God will point out how proud he is of me that I didn’t let myself get scammed by someone who was lying to get a few bucks out of me.

God is more likely to say something like this, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.… I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Urban Farming - Will Allen

I am really interested in doing urban farming in East Garfield Park. As Will Allen says in this NY Times magazine article, there are 77,000 vacant lots in Chicago. One out of every three lots in East Garfield Park is vacant. The time for urban farming is now. Let me know if you want to be included in the planning task force.

Being Spiritually Well

We serve the world by being spiritually well.
The first question is not, “How much do we do?”
or “How many people do we help out?”,
but “Are we interiorly at peace?”
The distinction between contemplation and action can be misleading.
Jesus’ actions flowed from his interior communion with God.
His presence was healing, and it changed the world
In a sense he didn’t do anything!
Everyone who touched him was healed.

—Joseph Campbell

Jerry

“Arloa!” I was in the center of Chicago striding toward the train. I swung around to see who was calling my name.

My heart nearly leapt out of my skin. It was Jerry with his rugged tan face outlining crinkly eyes and a huge white toothed smile. It had been nearly ten years since I had seen him but he looked just the same, the story book picture of a gypsy man, his worn hat doffed to the side, curly brown hair wafting from underneath, good wrinkles patterned from years of smiling just like he was doing now.

Jerry always rode a bike, an old, thick tire one with a horn and baskets, lots of baskets stuffed with little happy teddy bears and toys and trinkets, gadgets and widgets hanging everywhere.

He had been part of the early Breakthrough family and had moved on, not wanting to be tied down to anyone’s rules. He never asked us for anything and didn’t really want any assistance into housing. He prefers to live off the land, sleeping and finding food where ever he can and occasionally stopping in to visit family and friends. He doesn’t drink alcohol or use drugs to my knowledge, and is one of the happiest people I know. He is at peace with just his bike, the shirt on his back and his love for God and people.

Sometimes I envy him.

Regarding the garbage? It's easier to blog about it!

"Why don't you just go out and pick it up?" someone asked. The problem of trash in our neighborhood becomes discouraging and as I said in my first post on this, there is a strong tendency to just give up.

There is often loose trash in the alley and we get used to seeing it there. There is a constant stream of people who go through the garbage to take anything useful. What is left gets strewn about. When one of my neighbors did neatly bag the items shown in my first post, the bags were ripped open and the trash strewn about again. We also have a problem with "fly dumping". When someone has a lot of garbage, rather than putting it behind their own homes, they put it in someone else's alley. That way they are not responsible for the fines. In this case the sanitation workers didn't take the garbage even after it was bagged, saying they needed help loading it into the truck. Eventually, after nearly a month, that garbage has been removed, but there is a similar pile of loose garbage a few houses down from us.

In order to "just go out and pick it up" we have to supply the bags, put the garbage in the bags, watch over the bags until the garbage truck comes, and then go out and help them load it into the truck. That's what eventually happened, but it's a lot of work, so we tend to look at it for weeks. It's a lot easier to blog about it.

OK,I'm going to go out and bag up some garbage now.

Whenever I get discouraged...

I look at this.


My grandkids have my heart!

Trash Removal

After I published my last post there was a google ad on my "successful post" page for a trash removal company. Coincidence?

The garbage in my alley

My daughter has my camera or I would post another picture of the garbage in my alley. After weeks of seeing the image in my June 13th post, one of my neighbors finally went out and gathered the pile of garbage into a neat line of about six large black bags. Since then the garbage trucks have been by twice but they have not taken the garbage. One of my neighbors said the garbage collectors said they only pick up the garbage from the black dumpsters and they would need help from someone from the neighborhood to lift all of the extra bags into their truck. Somehow, I guess, we are supposed to know when they are coming and be out their waiting for them.

In the meantime, alley scrappers have ripped the bags apart to go through them and the garbage, once again, is strewn throughout the alley.

Here is the dilemma. If I call Streets and Sanitation, they will ticket my neighbor who I know does not have discretionary funds to pay fines. I also don't want to be targeted as the neighbor who complains. So the garbage remains. There is another pile of garbage just like it a few houses down.

Walter Brueggemann on Preaching

"I believe that many preachers finally get around to their sermon in their fatigue from everything else, and if imagination is the key to good preaching, you cannot be imaginative when you are exhausted."

Pray for peace in Iran

Listen to the desperation in this poem from one woman, alone in the dark on a rooftop in Tehran. I pray today for freedom from tyranny and oppression in Iran. That God's shalom will prevail.

The worst question to ask a charity

Rosita Cortez, one of the people I follow on Twitter, linked me to this article by Dan Pollata on the Harvard Business Publishing blog. He writes about one of the most frequently asked questions that affects a nonprofit's rating with Charity Navigator, the Better Business Bureau, and the American Institute of Philanthropy. The question is "What percentage of my contribution goes to the cause rather than to overhead?"

His point is that because these watch dog groups make this the only question in determining an organization's effectiveness, they don't lead donors to consider the more important question, "Is the organization making a difference?"

How can that be, you ask? Well, the media, the watchdogs, and the sector itself have done an amazing job of training the public to think that the two things are the same, i.e., that if a charity has low overhead, it must be making a difference. Major studies on the relationship between organizational strength and impact find otherwise.

A strong organization needs a strong infrastructure. By continually forcing charities to scrimp on such things as operational management, fund raising, human resource development, marketing and information technology, misinformed funders are weakening the potential of nonprofits to diversify their funding base and ensure for the welfare of their staff.

Here's a link to another article from Bridgespan entitled, Nonprofit Overhead Costs: Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Misleading Reporting, Unrealistic Expectations, and Pressure to Conform, that makes a similar case. the authors write, "When nonprofit organizations are able to invest adequately in staffing and infrastructure-- “overhead”--they are better able to carry out their missions."

At Breakthrough we try to stretch every dollar. Funding for overhead is the most difficult to find and yet it I believe adequate funding for overhead is essential for us to carry out our mission effectively. Here's what I would suggest you do before you give to any organization.

• Visit the organization to witness their effectiveness
• Meet the leaders of the organization
• Ask to see an audited financial statement
• Spend time observing operations
• Volunteer so you get to know the staff and observe how they relate to the program participants
• Ask about the accountability structure of the organization and the involvement of the Board of Directors
• Ask how the organization measures outcomes

If you like what you see and you determine that you can trust the organization to use your donation wisely, give an undesignated gift so it can be used where it is most needed.