The High Cost of Poverty

There was a great article in Monday's Washington Post about how expensive it is to be poor. The poor pay more for a gallon of milk, pay more for inferior housing, for transportation and health care. Prices at the corner stores are higher. You spend time waiting for the bus and at the laundromat. You spend money at check cashing and pay day loan joints, etc. etc.

Here's another link to an article from a paper in Texas that makes the point that the poverty line is set too low.

Consider the current U.S. “poverty line” amount for a single-parent family with two children. According to the Census Bureau, the 2008 amount was $17,346. Would this annual income cover a family’s basic needs?

According to the Economic Policy Institute’s Web site, this three-person family in the Kerrville area (rural Texas) must earn $31,320 annually to pay for key necessities, without setting aside any money in savings or investments.

Is this our country's way to keep the number of people living in poverty down? Just don't change the "poverty line" level even though prices go up?

North Lawndale Churches: More Harm Than Good?

There was a challenging article in the Sunday Chicago Tribune about the proliferation of churches in North Lawndale. I thought the article was kind of on target. As the community experienced disinvestment in the 60's, businesses moved out and storefront churches moved in, often side by side in the heart of the neighborhood's business district. If businesses are going to be brought back into the community, it makes sense to me that the churches should be given incentives to move off the business strip and into the residential communities. Tax revenue from thriving businesses would do a lot to turn the community around.

The article also mentioned concern from some community leaders and even some pastors that the churches aren't doing enough to heal the community's ills.

What is disheartening to me is the raw anger expressed in some of the 95 comments that have been left on the site. Here's what one commenter had to say...

Wow. I live in this ward. From many years of Neglect, I must say that it's depressing. We have almost "200" Churches in our ward and at least 90% of them are Powerless beyond their own front Door. It's depressing that many of these churches are constantly getting Grants, Tax- exempt Status without giving back to their community. How can you have this many churches and still have a ward that has to be almost one of the worst to live in? It's Deprived, Depressed and our entire make-up are Second Class Grocery Stores that hike Prices because most of their make-up are due to Link Aide, Mounds of Liquor Stores who's bottles are picked up by residents DAILY (Yea even the liquor stores have no respect for the community that they do business in. Mostly "Dollar General Stores" ... Forget Coffee Shops, Dry Cleaners, places to sit and eat. Those don't exist here but hey How about ALL OF THOSE CHURCHES

Another wrote:

One would think that a community that has received the attention of so many "men of the cloth" would have no need of a police force.

I'm thankful for Lawndale Community Church. They are on the Ogden Avenue strip too, but they have Hope House for recovering addicts, a thriving Community Health Center with 241,000 annual visits, and a Christian Development Corporation which has generated over $14 million of investment in the Lawndale community. They are being the true Church in Lawndale.

What Doesn't Go Away

Here's a link to a very real and pithy article by our own Breakthrough Housing Specialist, Paul Luikart, published by Burnside Writers Collective. He writes...

It’s good work, very good work, but being involved in the lives of these men and women takes its emotional toll, believe me. Of course there is a lot of joy in the work, but the moments of pain tend to stick to my psyche a lot longer. Some days I come home and sit on the couch and stare and stare at nothing, having completely retreated from the day into the darkest depths of my brain...If I believe (I do believe this, you should know) that an essential element of this kind of work is identification with the poor, then what elements of the lives of these men and women will never leave me? It’s sort of like I fear transference of the emotion of their experiences.

Paul expresses eloquently the challenges of hearing the troubling stories of abuse over and over and carrying that burden as well as the tendency to feel proud.

It’s not like a real overt sense of superiority, but just a little something I carry around in the back of my mind so when I meet somebody new at church, let’s say, and I ask him what he does and he says something like, “I’m in finance,” I can dip into that little sack of pride in the back of my mind and think at him, “Finance, huh? Well, who gives a rat’s ass? I know a guy with a huge crack problem and it’s my job to help him. Finance? Please. Come on, ask me what I do, you sucker.”

I'm trying to whet your appetite with these quotes, but you really need to read the entire piece. Great writing, very honest, profound.

"Good News?! You can’t handle The Good News!!" - Raffi Shahinian

Check out JR Woodward's blog. He has posted an article by Raffi Shanhinian implying we really don't want to hear the good news about "the first being last, and the most powerful being slaves."

Do you really wanna hear about allegiance to a Master? Do you really wanna hear about ultimate justice for the poor and the oppressed?

I mean deep down, in places you don’t talk about at parties, do you really wanna hear about serving others as a lifestyle? And not just friends and family, I mean others, you know, those uncool, unwealthy, unsexy others, or as some people put it, “the least of these?”

Indeed! The gospel Jesus taught in Luke 4:18 is good news for the poor.

Prayer for Children

Listen to this beautiful audio of Pastor Daniel Hill and the congregation reading one of Marian Wright Edelman's A Prayer for Children during the benediction at River City Community Church this morning. You can listen to Daniel Hill's dynamic sermon about children at this itunes podcast link.

A Prayer for Children

By MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN

We pray for children
Who sneak popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in math workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
Who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
Who never "counted potatoes,"
Who are born in places we wouldn't be caught dead,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.
And we pray for those
Who never get dessert,
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
Who watch their parents watch them die,
Who can't find any bread to steal,
Who don't have any rooms to clean up,
Whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser,
Whose monsters are real.

We pray for children
Who spend all their allowance before Tuesday,
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
Who like ghost stories,
Who shove dirty clothes under the bed and never rinse out the tub,
Who get visits from the tooth fairy,
Who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
Who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone,
Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who have never seen a dentist,
Who aren't spoiled by anybody,
Who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,
Who live and move, but have no being.

We pray for children who want to be carried and for those who must,
For those we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance.
For those we smother ... and for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.

Blacks hit hard by the recession

Here's a link to an article from BBC news about poverty and the profound effect of the recession on the African American community in Chicago.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, black unemployment has risen to 13.4% since the recession began in December 2007. The national unemployment rate is 8.5%.

You will see pictures of the Greater Chicago Food Depository produce truck. When the truck comes to our neighborhood, East Garfield Park, on the west side of Chicago, a line circles the block. Fresh produce is difficult to obtain in our neighborhood. East Garfield Park has been labeled a food desert by a researchers. The study indicates that Chicago’s food deserts are nearly exclusively African-American.

What I did on my personal retreat

I've been asked by several people what I did during my personal retreat day last Thursday. I hadn't taken a personal retreat day in a long time, much too long. Every time I do it I wonder why I don't do it more often. I really want to make it a more regular practice. I really needed this time for restoration and direction. "He restores my soul". Psalm 23:3

If I don't block out time on my calendar far in advance and guard it ferociously, it just doesn't happen. In fact, there were several things that came up on Thursday that seemed pretty important. It almost seemed like a test to see if I would cave and not follow through. But, of course, I was able to delegate everything, which I think is part of the benefit of taking the day. It is kind of like fasting. It reminds me that the world and Breakthrough go on just fine without me. I get untangled from my co-dependence on my work.

By the way, isn't it interesting that the Israelites were told to "deny" themselves and take a sabbath of rest (Leviticus 16:31)? I would think a sabbath of rest would be considered self-centered rather than self denying, but it really is about withdrawing from the many things that hold our focus and about presenting ourselves, instead, to God, for reflection and renewal.

I started the day in my usual place where I light candles and sit in prayer, meditation and Scripture. For this special day I followed several of the retreats from the blue Upper Room Guide to Prayer. There are 12 monthly retreat models in the back of the book. They involve 30 minutes of silent listening followed by Scripture readings, readings for reflection, reflection, prayer, journal writing, recreation, rest and then repeating the cycle.

At one point in the retreat I felt led to get out my acrylic paints and try to put on canvas what I was experiencing. I created this painting.


I'm not sure what it is exactly. There is the sense of being carried on water which is a bit turbulent. (I often feel carried.) Then there is definitly new green growth, sprouts, shoots of new life coming out of something that looks like a heart on fire, or a germinating seed or an egg. Anyway, I have never done a painting like this before, so it was an experiment for me and I actually kind of like it.

Then I did another retreat cycle and then drove out to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. I hadn't been there for years. It has changed a lot (great new kids play area). I walked several miles until I found a place to sit and did another of the retreats.


I was affected in several ways by the day. My soul, which had begun to feel dry, was definitely stirred and restored. One of the themes of the day for me was power. Luke 6:12-19 describes the effect a night of prayer had on Jesus. "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God." After the night in prayer Jesus chooses his disciples and a large crowd gathers around him and it says in verse 19, "the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all."

Power was coming from Jesus. He would later say in Acts 1:8 "you shall receive power".

Zech 4:6 "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. Spirit = Ruwach = breath

Acts 17:28 “For in him we live and move and have our being.”

Ephesians 3:16, “strengthened by his Spirit in your inner being”

Joshua 3:5 “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

Consecrate - sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified

Amazing things, wonders = alp, pala, paw-law’

• to be marvellous, be wonderful, be surpassing, be extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action
  
• to be beyond one's power, be difficult to do
  
• to be difficult to understand
  
• to be wonderful, be extraordinary, marvellous (participle)

Psalm 20:7 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."

Anyway, there was lots to ponder. I ended my time by refocusing on my personal mission in life and did some planning. It was an amazing day. I really want to make this a monthly practice.

Do you have personal retreat days? Where do you go? What do you do?

Why we need to focus on education

The schools in our community are in bad shape. There are 2,265 grammar schools in the state if Illinois and all four of our local schools are in the bottom 100. At John Marshall, our local high school, 3.5% of the juniors are at or above their grade levels in math and science and only 6% in reading. The average PSAT school is 4% at or above their grade level. There are 180 days in a school year. At John Marshall High School the average number of days missed is 95! Westinghouse High School, just a block away from Breakthrough, will open a new facility in the fall and none of the kids from the community grammar schools have been able to test into it.

On a positive note, we gave the Bracken test for kindergarten readiness to the kids in our Nettie Bailey Student Achievement Program. The kids who attended our Breakthrough Beginners (preschool) program tested at 72% compared to those who did not attend who are at 17%. This is strong evidence that what we are doing is important and is working. Twenty of our program graduates started college last fall. While this is significant and encouraging, we recognize we have much work to do.

Click here to support Breakthrough's academic program.

The stress of poverty affects kids' learning ability

Here's a link to an interesting article in the Washington Post that discusses recent research on the affects that the stress of living in poverty has on the cognitive ability of children.

Now, research is providing what could be crucial clues to explain how childhood poverty translates into dimmer chances of success: Chronic stress from growing up poor appears to have a direct impact on the brain, leaving children with impairment in at least one key area -- working memory.

Food as art

I had a wonderful dinner last night with dear friends at "Arun", a Thai restaurant at 4156 North Kedzie in Chicago. Breath taking taste and presentation! Check out the Nemo fish below made from a carrot!!

Let all the earth PRAISE THE LORD!!

Race still matters

In tomorrow's Chicago Tribune, Clarence Page has written an editorial entitled, Race still matters for poor blacks.

Mainstream black leaders tend to blame black poverty on external barriers like racism, discrimination and the disappearance of low-skill jobs.

Conservative critics tend to blame black poverty on black behavior, attitudes and other "cultural" conditioning.

Page suggests that Obama and other lawmakers should work on legislation that recognizes the power of both culture and racism. He writes, "Obama won the presidency by insisting that racism was no longer powerful enough to stop him. But is it still powerful enough to stop those whom the civil rights movement left behind in poverty?"

Putting things into perspective

You Can Fly!

Check out this inspirational video about Jessica Cox who pilots a plane with no arms...

Big Dreams

Listen below to the kids from our neighborhood expressing their dreams and feel their struggle to change the community.

Jim Collins on Distinguising Great Talent

How do you distinguish the truly great talent from the rest?

The right people don't need to be managed. The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you've made a hiring mistake.

The right people don't think they have a job: They have responsibilities. If I'm a climber, my job is not [just] to belay. My responsibility is that if we get in trouble, I don't let my partner down.

The right people do what they say they will do, which means being really careful about what they say they will do. It's key in difficult times. In difficult environments our results are our responsibility. People who take credit in good times and blame external forces in bad times do not deserve to lead. End of story.

Click here for the full article.

CompassionArt: A Creative Attack on Poverty

Martin Smith from Delirious brought twelve top Christian singers and song writers together in Scotland for a week to produce a CD of new music called CompassionArt. Included were Michael W. Smith, Darlene Zschech, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Paul Baloche, Israel Houghton, Graham Kendrick, Steven Curtis-Chapman, Andy Park, Stu Garrard, and Martin Smith. All of the proceeds from the album and the use of the songs will go to charities that care for the poor. I downloaded it through iTunes. Not only does this project strike a blow at poverty financially, but it is really great music! I love Highly Favored, King of the Broken, Friend of the Poor and Fill My Cup which features CeCe Winans and the Lakewood Choir.

Notes from Breakthrough donors affected by the economy

I am blown away lately by the faithfulness of the Breakthrough donors... and I mean they are putting REAL faith into action. Here are excerpts from two notes I received just this week.

I have been studying Elisha and the story of the man in 2 Kings 4 who brought 20 loaves to Elisha. It was probably his tithe, and Elisha was able to feed the one hundred people with him and there were leftovers! -- during a famine!! Don't you love God?! He can take even the smaller amount of money and make it go farther than we ever dreamed it would go!! We love you guys!

Here's another note that came with a large unexpected donation!

We have certainly been impacted by the financial decline in 2008 (but that doesn't make us special!) but continue to be challenged by God to give generously and faithfully. We have been meditating on the story in Mark of the "Young Rich Man" and have been following Jesus' simple and clear words "...you have only one thing left to do... sell your possessions, give to the poor and follow me." "Only one thing left to do" is the mantra that we are focusing on when we are worried about the scarcity of money and want to keep it for ourselves -- it is encouraging us to give.

Another of our supporters has decided to restrict herself to $176 per month for groceries which is what Illinois Food Stamp (Link) recipients receive so she can continue to give. She is practicing intentional "self regulation".

This is the real deal. I am humbled and inspired. I'm not sure what God is up to right now, but I have a feeling it is very good for us as we learn to activate what Brennan Manning calls, Ruthless Trust!

Waterfront Community Church is giving it all away!

Here's a video from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams about Waterfront Community Church in Schaumburg, a church that gives all of it's weekly offerings to help the poor!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Trusting God in tough times

My word this week is from Ps. 78:19-22. The whole chapter is good, but basically God is ticked with the Israelites cuz they don’t remember all of the things he provided for them. They say, “Can God spread a table in the desert?… When the Lord heard them, he was very angry… for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.”

Led to Pray

I don’t even remember why I was so exhausted and depressed. I just know I went to bed with an oppressive foreboding that I couldn’t shake. Everything in me ached. I struggled with my “dark night of the soul” until I fell into a fitful, anxiety ridden sleep.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of my alarm awakening me to attend a 6:00 AM church prayer meeting. Instantly I knew something had changed. My heart was light and cheery. I bounced out of bed delighted to face the day. My heart sang with joy. I danced my happy self into the living room of one of our church members where a small group of prayer warriors were gathered.

“Arloa, are you alright?” asked Dorrine Kain worriedly. Dorrine’s brother, Lester Foster, had been staying at her home while on furlough from his missionary work in Bolivia.

“Yes, I am great!” I responded. “Why do you ask?”

“My brother, Les, just returned from his two hour prayer walk. He told me that for some reason this morning, God led him to pray for you and he has been fervently interceding for you for the past two hours!”

I was dumbfounded. First of all by the immense love God had for me, and secondly that Les Foster had made himself available to God at 4 AM which was his daily practice and that he had been obedient to the call of God to pray for me! For two hours, while I slept, Lester Foster was wrestling in the spirit world for my soul!

The following Sunday I caught him at the door of our church. “Les, thank you so much for praying for me,” I told him. “You couldn’t have known how important it was to me at that moment!”

He looked caringly into my grateful eyes and replied assuredly, “I know”.

I wish I could tell you that I have that kind of prayer life. I don’t. People who sacrifice sleeping in or watching television to intercede in prayer for others, know something about laying down their lives to follow Jesus that I hunger for. Their obedience to the call to prayer effectively influences the deep spiritual work of pulling down strongholds and changing the course of our lives. The work of prayer is the most important work we can do. I know I need to be surrounded by people who know how to pray and I need to prioritize my personal time with God above all.

Thanks Anita...

...for mentioning my blog on the radio today. Here's back atcha!

Under Bridges

Paul Luikart read the lyrics to the song, Under Bridges, by Brave Saint Saturn, today during his devotional at our Breakthrough Staff Development Day today. I downloaded their album, So Far From Home, on iTunes.

Here are the lyrics to "Under Bridges"...

Yesterday while walking,
Beneath an overpass,
I saw the figure of Jesus,
Standing barefoot on broken glass.
His beard was graying,
The smell of urine filled the air,
Asking if I had some change,
Anything that I could spare.

Emaciated,
His shaking fists balled up,
Influenza and pneumonia,
Begging God to take his cup.
So different from his pictures,
Breathing air through yellowed tubes,
Jesus Christ, dying of AIDS,
Can look right through you.

And all have hated,
Crucified and walked away,
The Savior of the prostitutes,
Drunkards, rapists, and the gays.

Under bridges,
With hands raised,
From the ghettos they praise his name.
Broke and crippled in the dark of night,
Raise your voices to Jesus Christ,
Hallelujah.

I love this heart touching story of friendship

Carl Ellis on the Breakthrough Stories Podcast

If you missed our Breakthrough Breakfast Symposium with Carl Ellis on January 17th you can listen to or view a podcast of the event on the Breakthrough Stories Podcast. Those of us who attended agreed that we could have listened to him for hours and want to get him back for a longer class.

Bill Shereos' Sermon on the Economy

Yesterday, Bill Shereos, pastor of the First Evangelical Free Church in Chicago, preached a sermon that I think is very helpful as we navigate as Christians in the present economic crisis. Here is the audio blog...

A live birth aborted

Did you hear about the teenager who went to get an abortion and while waiting for the doctor gave birth to a live baby girl? The clinic staffers cut the cord, stuck it in a plastic bag and dumped it in the trash. Ugh!

Pornography in the Chicago Library

I had lunch with my friends Don and Amanda Bratschie yesterday and they told me about a crusade they have launched to try to get the Chicago library to block porn on their internet computers. It is really a shocking story. Check out this link to see Don and Amanda on WGN TV and this one to read Amanda's blog.

The economic mess and what we trust in

Hat tip to Jim Wallis and his facebook status update for linking me to this New York Times editorial by Thomas Friedman from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He says everyone is looking for "the guy" who will tell us how to get out of our economic mess and how to protect our savings, but there is no such guy! We are going to have to live with more uncertainty and with a lower level of trust.

So what does it mean to live with a lower level of trust? Perhaps we have been misplacing our trust. Hmm. I think we need to trust now more than ever, but in our Provider, Jehovah-Jireh. Remember this old song?

Dr. Peter Cha on Social Justice

Dr. Peter Cha (Ph.D., Northwestern University/Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary) is a friend of mine and has had a huge influence on me. He is Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Here is a portion of a message he gave to an Intervarsity group in which he describes the historical split of the Christian church over social justice. You can watch his entire message on youtube.

Bill Gates on Aid to the Poor

The NY Times posted a video today of an interview by Nicholas Kristof with Bill Gates. Gates explains why aid to the poor is more important now than ever. He suggests you pick a cause and get more in depth knowledge about it, and that you visit great nonprofit organizations that are successfully making a difference. Seeing what is going on will draw you in to action. May I suggest Breakthrough?

Carl Ellis at Breakthrough Tomorrow Morning

You can still get in on the Breakthrough Breakfast Symposium with Carl Ellis. It's tomorrow morning at 9:30 until noon at 402 N. St. Louis in Chicago. See you in the morning!

ALIVE!!

Last Sunday, our pastor, Daniel Hill, of the River City Community Church, started a new series called Alive, so the worship team led us in this rousing song by Rebecca St. James. Love it! You can purchase it on iTunes here.

The Sheep and the Goats Revisited

Heather Wax wrote an article for the Ooze that I am pondering.

Jesus answered, "In as much as you were not a brother to your sister, you were not a friend to me either. However, since this is the revised story, and I'm just a caricature of the real Jesus, I'm not going to sentence you to fire or anything. But I am going to sentence you to think long and hard about the heart of both sheep and goats - when you lay in bed at night, when you're in the shower,and driving to work...and ask you to read the real story over again. That way, when you meet the real Jesus, you'll hopefully be a little more ready. Watch and pray."

Homelessness on the rise

It is not surprising in light of the current economic climate in the US that the latest survey by the US Conference of Mayors shows that homelessness is on the rise. Most US cities are reporting double digit increases in the demand for homeless services and emergency food assistance. This trend is reflected in the requests for assistance that we are seeing at Breakthrough. We have always had waiting lists for people who are seeking to enter our shelters, but now we have a waiting list to get on the waiting list. At a time when some donors do not have the ability to give at the capacity they once did, we are experiencing an increasing demand for our services. Those of us who can will need to step up to even higher levels of compassionate care.

Prayer and Praise Night at Breakthrough - January 10th

At 6:00 PM on January 10th at the BMC (Breakthrough Ministry Cernter) at 402 N. St. Louis, Von Matthews is going to lead anyone who wants to show up in a time of prayer and praise at Breakthrough. We hope this will become a regular event that will unite our guests, staff and volunteers in a time of worship and prayer. Please come.

Mark you calendar for Carl Ellis on January 17th

I mentioned before that we have invited Carl Ellis to join us at Breakthrough for a breakfast symposium on January 17th. I have quoted Ellis often in my own teaching about the centrality of social justice to the message of the gospel. He has a way of describing what I have called the "righteousness window" and the "gospel gap" that has transformed my theological understanding of racial and social justice. Click here to learn more about the symposium and to register, and click here to listen to one of Carl Ellis' messages. You won't want to miss this event!

Chicago: A city divided by race

Check out this article in today's Chicago Tribune.

US Senator Dick Durbin visits Breakthrough

We were honored today when Kate Maher and her staff at the Greater Chicago Food Depository brought Senator Dick Durbin by for a visit to see the front line of food service and distribution. Senator Durbin has been influential in supporting a farm bill that will help to make more food resources available for communities like ours. The Senator ate lunch with us and stayed for more than an hour in spite of a ferocious blizzard. In this picture he is discussing the needs of the people served at Breakthrough with Breakthrough's Associate Director of Interim Housing, Cheron Massonburg.

What the experts have to say about being homeless when it's cold

I sat in the Breakthrough Ministry Center with a group of guys who are residents at Breakthrough and asked them about their experiences. Here is the Breakthrough Stories podcast. You can subscribe to Breakthrough Stories here.

Woman's body found frozen on sidewalk

This is the kind of headline that makes me cringe. I literally feel pain over it. God help us not to let anyone near us experience this kind of neglect.

Another reason why I love Chicago!

I went to dinner and a play with friends on Friday night. I hadn't shoveled my car out from the last snow storm, so at the end of the evening the two guys in the group shoveled out my parking space. All of us who live in the city without garages know that once you get your spot shoveled, it is understood that it is yours. Some put out chairs to make sure no one takes their spot, but in neighborhoods like mine, everyone knows where I always park and they have the courtesy to leave my parking spot for me. Of course, I would never take someone else's spot either.

Saturday, I walked to the Christmas store at the Breakthrough Ministry Center and then to the Breakthrough Joshua Center for the Breakthrough kids program and then drove to a friend's party. I wasn't surprised to find my spot still neatly available when I got home.

Sunday, I spoke at River City Community Church and then drove out to Willow Creek to see their amazing Christmas show with some friends. When I got back to let Charlie (my dog) out before going to another friend's party, I discovered the snow plow had gone down our street and had thrown snow into my spot. Not wanting to violate the unspoken parking code I rammed my car into the spot and knew instantly I was severely stuck. I rocked back and forth a bit and finally called my friends to say I was going to have to miss their party. I had a nice night at home.

Since my apartment is just two blocks from Breakthrough's offices, I had no problem walking to work this morning, but had this nagging concern over how I was going to get my car unstuck.

So I did another commonly accepted routine. I got out my shovel, dug out a few shovels of ice (everything is frozen solid with sub-zero weather in Chicago), and began to rock my car back and forth. Sure enough, within about five minutes my neighbor, Darnell, was there to grab the shovel and a few moments later, Gary from down the street arrived. They shoveled, yelled directions about how my wheels needed to be positioned and whether to move forward or backward, and with combined effort, they lifted my car out of the rut I had dug and I was on my way.

I got out of the car to thank them and ask them if they needed anything. "Oh no", Gary replied, "That's what neighbors are for." So I gave them both hugs! I love my neighbors and I love how Chicagoans pull together in times like these. It seems everyone has a story like mine.

Tony Escobar and the Breakthrough Christmas Store

I posted a new audio on the Breakthrough Stories Podcast in which I interview Tony Escobar, Breakthrough's Volunteer Coordinator, about the Breakthrough Christmas Store that will be held tomorrow at 402 N. St. Louis in Chicago. There is still time to contribute to the store and to join us tomorrow. You can click here to listen to the podcast and click here to learn more about the store.

Midday Connection and Irving Wasserman

Yesterday, my good friend, Anita Lustrea, interviewed me on Midday Connection. She asked me about the affect of the cold weather on the homeless and about Irving Wasserman, whom I had written about in one of the devotionals in her new book, Daily Seeds, which she co-authored with her associates, Lori Neff and Melinda Schmidt. You can listen to the program at this link.

Irving Wasserman taught me how powerfully God can use people who seem to the world to be "weak and foolish" (1 Corinthians 1:27). Irving came to Breakthrough shortly after it opened in 1992. Peering curiously into the Center’s storefront window, he seemed pleased when I invited him into the center for a cup of coffee. Soon he came regularly for a hot lunch at noon.

Living on disability support, Irving had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young man. He had been institutionalized and given shock treatments, and he spoke of being sexually assaulted in the state hospital and out on the street after he was released. He was odd-looking, with the top of his pants lifted high above his waste and the bottoms high above his ankles. He was the object of frequent torment from neighborhood children.

Clearly, Irving was very alone, and Breakthrough became a sort of family for him. He enjoyed talking about current events and the world economy. Sometimes he would make perfect sense; other times he would release a string of profanity for no apparent reason, or become enraged over things that seemed insignificant. Conversations were unpredictable, but always interesting.

Irving’s overarching concern in life was the national debt. He had a great mind for numbers and watched the interest rates and markets closely. He was sure that with wise economic policies and habits, he could personally make a difference. He wanted to eradicate the national debt “for his own self respect”.

In fact, Irving was very particular about how he spent and saved his money. He washed his dirty laundry about once a year, bringing it to Breakthrough in a worn potato bag. He stuffed his pockets with used paper towels from the bathroom garbage to use for toilet paper. Irving’s apartment had plain plywood floors It hadn’t been painted or renovated in years. Irving wanted it that way because he didn’t want the landlord to raise the rent. He even asked us to help him move his stove out to the alley for the garbage men to pick up, because he didn’t want to pay the monthly gas bill to keep the pilot light lit. He picked up loose change he’d find on the sidewalk and immediately deposit it at the local bank, even if it were only five or six cents at a time. “I can’t trust myself with money,” he’d say.

I was surprised when one day, Irving asked me to help him to find a lawyer who would set up a living revocable trust for his estate. He said he knew he didn’t have long to live and that he had decided he wanted to give his savings to Breakthrough to be used for job training for the homeless and mentally ill. By living frugally and saving nearly $700 per month from his disability checks, Irving had bought government bonds every quarter for 50 years. With $500,000, this eccentric man, who had been forgotten by many, became Breakthrough’s biggest donor!

A year later, Irving was hospitalized with terminal cancer and hepatitis C, and he died shortly thereafter. He never wanted fame or a building named after him, yet Irving’s legacy will live on for many years to come through the changed lives of people who have been trained and have earned jobs because of his gift.

Have a meaningful Christmas this year...

Getting out of debt

As we head into the holiday shopping season I appreciate this great video clip from Dave Ramsey about basic money management. He says we should sell so much stuff the kids think they're next and name our dogs "Ebay".

1) Live on less than you make.
2) Get out of debt. (Attack smallest to largest debt.)
3) Create a budget.
4) Save money for a rainy day. (Emergency money.)
5) Give, Give, Give (Be a blessing to others.)

An Amazing Story of God's Presence in Prison

Misrepresented in the justice system, Geraldine Smith became the first woman sentenced to death in Illinois when the state's death penalty law was re-enacted in 1977. The Illinois Supreme Court vacated her sentence in 1997. This podcast is a story in Geraldine's own words about how God ministered to her while she was in solitary confinement on death row. You can also download the interview at the Breakthrough Stories Podcast on iTunes. Geraldine is the sister of Martin Coffer who works with us at Breakthrough.

What would you do if you lost everything?

Thanks to Ryan Westrom for this link to the Freakonomics Blog that asks the questions, "What would you do if you lost everything?"

Imagine you just lost all your possessions and money, and you were suddenly living in the streets.

1. What’s the first move you would make?

2. What’s the first organization you would turn to?

3. What would your extended plan look like?

So here are my answers.

My first move...

Of course, I would make a beeline straight to Breakthrough. Before I would need to turn to a shelter, though, I have multiple friends and family that I am quite sure would take me in, at least for awhile. I would try to find someone who would let me stay with them in return for me doing housework or childcare.

The first organization I would turn to...

Breakthrough. But since the women's interim housing facility is always full, I would have to get on the list and sleep at the DHS office at 10 S. Kedzie or under a bridge somewhere until a bed opened up for me. I would ask people on the street where to find free meals.

My extended plan...

I am privileged. I'm educated and white. I know people who would help me. I would probably have to beg one of my friends to help me print flyers offering interior house painting services or carpet shampooing services real cheap. Then I would borrow the supplies and rent the carpet cleaning machine until I could afford to buy my own.

It is really hard for me to imagine being totally out there alone, because I have such a strong network of friends. It's the absence of that network that is most devastating for our guests at Breakthrough.

What would you do?

Breaking Down the Barriers of Race

My friend, Mike Ivers, was featured on Chicago Public Television's 30 Good Minutes on November 2nd. The title of his message was "Breaking Down the Barriers of Race". Mike has been in ministry for 34 years, most of the time in African American communities. He is now the Executive Director of Goodcity, a Chicago Leadership Foundation. Mike always uses creative objects in his message. This one is a bucket of water with a sponge and a mirror. Here's the link.

Walking Through the Darkness

Dr. George Beukema is a friend and comrade in ministry who supervised my Doctorate of Ministry dissertation. He and his wife, Lila, have been in urban ministry for many years. Dr. Beukema provides supportive counseling and psychotherapy services to Breakthrough's interim housing guests as well as to men, women and couples on Chicago’s north side. If you need someone to walk through the darkness with you right now, you should definitely give him a call. He wrote the article below about depression, which, of course, is a condition that often rears its ugly head this time of the year.

For the thing which
I greatly feared is come upon me,
and that which I was afraid of
Is come unto me.
I was not in safety, neither
had I rest, neither was I quiet;
yet trouble came.
--Job

Depression is hard to grab hold of. In “Darkness Visible,” renowned author William Styron chronicles his life-long struggle with depression. In the introduction Styron states, “Depression is a disorder of mood, so mysteriously painful and elusive in the way it becomes known to the self…as to verge close to being beyond description.” Styron, like so many other men and women throughout the ages, suffered deeply with this mysterious yet ever present malady. There was Abraham Lincoln and his “melancholy” which troubled him throughout his life. There was Winston Churchill and his “Black Dog”—an interesting metaphor, perhaps chosen for the way depression seems to forever be on your heels. And we needn’t look to the past for examples of people who suffer from depression. They surround us. Simply Google “famous people with depression” and you will find more names than you might imagine such as Hugh Laurie, Heath Ledger, Terry Bradshaw, Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, Amy Tan, Drew Carrey, Jim Carey to name just a few.

In my practice I work with men and women—young and old—who suffer from depression. Its faces are many. For example, men, a bit more than women, are likely to experience depression in ways more behavioral than emotional. Men tend to “do” depression more than feel it. Some common ways of “doing depression” are expressing anger in sudden or intense ways; brooding incessantly; spending significant amounts of time and energy engaged in particular tasks like work, sports, or hobbies; engaging in behaviors that are reckless or dangerous; feeling driven (addiction-like) to certain behaviors which provide some sort of temporary relief or calm. Other symptoms of depression common to men and women alike are eating too little or too much, sleeping too little or too much, having difficulty feeling pleasure, or being consumed with negative thoughts. And sometimes depression is experienced simply as a pervasive sadness.

We’ve come a long way since the days of Lincoln’s melancholy and Churchill’s “black dog” in understanding depression. We know the location in the brain where it seems to reside; we know that in some circumstances medication can be very helpful. And we’ve learned that talk therapy provides significant relief for many. This last part shouldn’t come as a surprise to those of us who know the healing power that comes “where two or more are gathered.” It is this power that led me into the field of psychotherapy and it is this power that leads many to the church. I believe it is also this power of which the Psalmist speaks when he says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil, for you are with me.” It’s a good thing to have someone walk with you in the darkness.

Dr. George Beukema can be reached at 773.350.2953 or gdbeukema@ameritech.net.

Carl Ellis on the Breakthrough Stories Podcast

After a one year break I have resurrected the Breakthrough Stories Podcast on iTunes. I wanted to podcast a message by Carl Ellis entitled, "Bridging the Racial Divide". I learned so much from this message about the theological basis for social justice. It has influenced much of my understanding and teaching. I called Carl and got permission to put it on our podcast and I invited him to come to do a similar teaching live and in person on January 17th at Breakthrough. So put it on your calendar. It will most likely be in the morning from 9:00 until noon on January 17th. I'll keep you posted.

Teaching kids not to be self absorbed

Here's a link to a very nice article written by Abbey Cramton and published in the Oak Park and River Forest Journal about some great Breakthrough volunteers who serve together as families, the Russos and the Birkeys. This is what Debbie Birkey had to say about the importance she places on leading her children into volunteering.

"That my kids will grow up completely self-absorbed is a greater fear than our personal safety," Birkey said firmly, noting that she has seen the benefits outweigh the risks time and again as her children move into their own roles of servant leadership in adulthood. In fact, her son Noel, 23, goes to work early twice a week so he can tutor with his family on Tuesday.

That would be all of us

Marcie said it beautifully at Breakthrough's Staff Development Day, "We are all undeserving poor". We "love people out the door" when it is clear they are not ready to take advantage of the many opportunities available at Breakthrough, but we are always ready for people to come back when they are ready. We provide a presence on the street late into the night on weekends to let people know there is somewhere to turn when they want to receive the love of Christ through the community of faith. But we never give up on people, because God hasn't given up on us. None of us deserve what we've been given. It is the grace of God.

The Undeserving Poor?

I have been struggling lately with the notion that I hear from some Christians that there is a group of people who could be categorized as "the undeserving poor". Who are they? The able bodied who don't work? What if they want to work and can't find a job? What if the manufacturing jobs have been replaced by white collar jobs that necessitate a good education in a community where schools are failing? Are they the "undeserving poor"?

Of course there are people who don't take advantage of opportunity, but in our community it seems it is more the opportunities that are missing. Many, after being rejected again and again, just give up, assuming the notion that they will never be able to draw a legitimate income. I don't think I have ever met one of those "undeserving poor" and I know a lot of very poor people.

Here's a link to a New York Times article in which Jonathan Kozul is quoted as saying,

"The ultimate question is a theological one: What does any human being deserve? The Bible tells us that a person's humanity is enough for our compassion."

Amen Jonathan!

Wide Awake

"What would happen if all of us began to discover our God given dreams? What would happen if all of us began to live wide awake and began to live our lives in such a way that everything we did, every choice, every act, all of it was used to fulfill those dreams and make the world a different place?"

              --Erwin McManus at the Breakthrough Benefit

The Upside Down Truth

Nick Vujicic - The Strength to Get Back Up

I'm an idealist!

Here's another one of those fun online tests that is supposed to reveal your world view. What's yours?

Idealist 81%
Cultural Creative 75%
Postmodernist 56%
Modernist 44%
Existentialist 44%
Romanticist 44%
Fundamentalist 38%
Materialist 13%

You can vote however you like!

This makes me smile...

Being Poor

I got this from my friend Tracy Turner...

Being poor is getting angry at your kids for asking for all the crap they see on TV.

Being poor is having to keep buying $800 cars because they're what you can afford, and then having the cars break down on you, because there's not an $800 car in America that's worth a damn.

Being poor is hoping the toothache goes away.

Being poor is knowing your kid goes to friends' houses but never has friends over to yours.

Being poor is going to the restroom before you get in the school lunch line so your friends will be ahead of you and won't hear you say "I get free lunch" when you get to the cashier.

Being poor is living next to the freeway.

Being poor is coming back to the car with your children in the back seat, clutching that box of Raisin Bran you just bought and trying to think of a way to make the kids understand that the box has to last.

Being poor is wondering if your well-off sibling is lying when he says he doesn't mind when you ask for help.

Being poor is off-brand toys.

Being poor is a heater in only one room of the house.

Being poor is knowing you can't leave $5 on the coffee table when your friends are around.

Being poor is hoping your kids don't have a growth spurt.

Being poor is stealing meat from the store, frying it up before your mom gets home and then telling her she doesn't have make dinner tonight because you're not hungry anyway.

Being poor is Goodwill underwear.

Being poor is not enough space for everyone who lives with you.

Being poor is feeling the glued soles tear off your supermarket shoes when you run around the playground.

Being poor is your kid's school being the one with the 15-year-old textbooks and no air conditioning.

Being poor is thinking $8 an hour is a really good deal.

Being poor is relying on people who don't give a damn about you.

Being poor is an overnight shift under florescent lights.

Being poor is finding the letter your mom wrote to your dad, begging him for the child support.

Being poor is a bathtub you have to empty into the toilet.

Being poor is stopping the car to take a lamp from a stranger's trash.

Being poor is making lunch for your kid when a cockroach skitters over the bread, and you looking over to see if your kid saw.

Being poor is believing a GED actually makes a difference.

Being poor is people angry at you just for walking around in the mall.

Being poor is not taking the job because you can't find someone you trust to watch your kids.

Being poor is the police busting into the apartment right next to yours.

Being poor is not talking to that girl because she'll probably just laugh at your clothes.

Being poor is hoping you'll be invited for dinner.

Being poor is a sidewalk with lots of brown glass on it.

Being poor is people thinking they know something about you by the way you talk.

Being poor is needing that 35-cent raise.

Being poor is your kid's teacher assuming you don't have any books in your home.

Being poor is six dollars short on the utility bill and no way to close the gap.

Being poor is crying when you drop the mac and cheese on the floor.

Being poor is knowing you work as hard as anyone, anywhere.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you're not actually stupid.

Being poor is people surprised to discover you're not actually lazy.

Being poor is a six-hour wait in an emergency room with a sick child asleep on your lap.

Being poor is never buying anything someone else hasn't bought first.

Being poor is picking the 10 cent ramen instead of the 12 cent ramen because that's two extra packages for every dollar.

Being poor is having to live with choices you didn't know you made when you were 14 years old.

Being poor is getting tired of people wanting you to be grateful.

Being poor is knowing you're being judged.

Being poor is a box of crayons and a $1 coloring book from a community center Santa.

Being poor is checking the coin return slot of every soda machine you go by.

Being poor is deciding that it's all right to base a relationship on shelter.

Being poor is knowing you really shouldn't spend that buck on a Lotto ticket.

Being poor is hoping the register lady will spot you the dime.

Being poor is feeling helpless when your child makes the same mistakes you did, and won't listen to you beg them against doing so.

Being poor is a cough that doesn't go away.

Being poor is making sure you don't spill on the couch, just in case you have to give it back before the lease is up.

Being poor is a $200 paycheck advance from a company that takes $250 when the paycheck comes in.

Being poor is four years of night classes for an Associates of Art degree.

Being poor is a lumpy futon bed.

Being poor is knowing where the shelter is.

Being poor is people who have never been poor wondering why you choose to be so.

Being poor is knowing how hard it is to stop being poor.

Being poor is seeing how few options you have.

Being poor is running in place.

Being poor is people wondering why you didn't leave.

Finally, Justification for Buying Starbucks?

I confess. I have an addiction. I love coffee, especially Starbucks coffee. I feel guilty spending so much money on it. I rarely buy the drinks in the coffee shops (unless I'm meeting friends). But I buy it by the pound for my morning coffee maker at home. I carry it with me backpacking and everywhere I travel. So, I was pleased to learn that Starbucks is teaming up with my hero, Bono, on a new initiative to combat AIDs in Africa.

"Here we are, talking about the economy tanking. People are saying, 'Maybe the world doesn't need more coffee houses.' And what do you do? What does Starbucks do? You decide to give your money away," said Bono to his star-struck audience. "This is not charity. This is commerce."

In a press statement, Starbucks discussed the new initiative as framing "our commitment to doing business responsibly, our ability to use our scale as a catalyst of doing good, for our framers, our customers, our planet at large."

"If every single Starbucks customer bought one (RED) Holiday Exclusive (beverage) for a week, we would save 15,000 lives for a year in Africa," said Starbucks Senior Vice President Michelle Gass.

The world would probably be an even better place if I just quit drinking coffee and gave the money to charity. But since that isn't likely to happen soon, I'm at least encouraged that Starbucks is committed to doing good. It's a step in the right direction

The American Way

I found this picture on Paul Luikart's blog.

A Cold Winter for the Homeless in Edgewater

In March of this year Breakthrough moved our men's services from the Edgewater community on the north side of Chicago to the East Garfield Park community on Chicago's west side. While we enjoyed a wonderful 16 year stay within the facilites of the First Evangelical Free Church, we were growing and needed more space that was better designed for the dignity of our homeless guests. We are very happy to be in our new building.

Unfortunately, our exit from the Edgewater community, along with the closing of several other shelters there, is causing a bit of a crisis for the homeless that want to remain on the north side. Here's an article about it. I have gotten several calls from journalists asking why we left.

It made sense for us organizationally to move all of our services into one community. We were serving women at our Breakthrough Joshua Center in East Garfield Park and it was challenging to build staff camaraderie when we were in two very different communities.

Beyond that though, we did try to find space in Edgewater both when we opened our women's center in 2000 and when we knew we needed to relocate our facility to serve men in 2004. On both occasions we faced two obstacles - the high cost of securing a site in a neighborhood where property values had appreciated beyond what we thought we could afford, and NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard) from the community. Aldermen in the community let us know that they would have a difficult time convincing neighbors to accept a homeless service center in the areas we targeted. Eventually we found space on the west side that we could afford and Alderman Burnett supported us at a community meeting saying, "Other communities don't want homeless services in their neighborhoods. If we don't help our people who will?" The neighbors accepted us because they recognized the need for the services we offer.

I'm concerned that communities like Andersonville, Edgewater and Uptown are trying to make the homeless problem go away by edging out services. The result? Many who could be assisted into stable housing will continue to roam the streets and sleep under bridges and along the lake front. This will be a very cold winter for the homeless if they continue to get the cold shoulder from those communities.

CCDA Conference This Week

I look forward to seeing many of you at the Christian Community Development Conference in Miami this week. I am doing a plenary message and a workshop. Please pray for me!

Community Ministry Resources

Dr. Amy Sherman, who has written several great books and articles about urban ministry, sent me a couple of links that provide resources for urban practitioners. The first is FASTEN (Faith and Service Technical Education Network). The second is a link to Amy's web site entitled, the Center on Faith in Communities. I highly recommend her devotional guide entitled, Sharing God's Heart for the Poor. We have used the book as gifts for our donors. It is beautifully written.

With my Grandkids at the Pumpkin Farm

Race Relations -- Better or Worse?

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Metropolitan Chicago Synod Antiracism Team is hosting an Antiracism Town Hall Event and Worship of Healing & Reconciliation

Sunday, November 2, 2008
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
1100 East 55th Street, Chicago, Illinois

Click here to learn more about the event. All are invited.

Donna Brazile Is Not Going To The Back Of The Bus

Aversive Racism

Here's a link to an interesting article in the New York Times entitled, Racism Without Racists by columnist Nicholas Kristoff. He writes, "a careful survey completed last month by Stanford University, with The Associated Press and Yahoo, suggested that Mr. Obama’s support would be about six percentage points higher if he were white." Many whites and even blacks would not consider themselves to be racist, yet they discriminate unconsciously. This is called "aversive racism".

“In the U.S., there’s a small percentage of people who in nationwide surveys say they won’t vote for a qualified black presidential candidate,” Professor Dovidio said. “But a bigger factor is the aversive racists, those who don’t think that they’re racist.”

Faced with a complex decision, he said, aversive racists feel doubts about a black person that they don’t feel about an identical white. “These doubts tend to be attributed not to the person’s race — because that would be racism — but deflected to other areas that can be talked about, such as lack of experience,” he added.

The Uncertainty of Riches

Here's what the apostle Paul told young Timothy, "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy." (1 Timothy 6:17) Great words for us today!

A Creative Idea for a Birthday Party

Here's a link to a heartwarming article about a woman from Naperville, Sherilyn Sheets, who threw a party for the homeless for her birthday.

Westbrook Christian Church

I enjoyed dinner tonight at the home of Gordon and Resa Venturella. Gordon is the Vice President of Stewardship Development at Lincoln Christian College and Seminary from which I received my MA in Urban Mission. Gordon introduced me to Mont Mitchell, the pastor of Westbrook Christian Church and his wife Christie, and their executive pastor, Rob Daniels, and his wife, Ruthie. Mont and Christie planted Westbrook Christian Church in 1996. It is a thriving multi-ethnic church in Bolingbrook, southwest of Chicago. They are great partners with Breakthrough. Their church serves meals at both of our shelters each month.

Bono on the Bail Out

“It is extraordinary to me that you can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion to save 25,000 children who die every day of preventable treatable disease and hunger,” the U2 lead singer told Clinton’s fourth annual philanthropic summit in New York. “That’s mad, that is mad. Bankruptcy is a serious business and we all know people who have lost their jobs,” Bono said, "but this is moral bankruptcy.”

A Letter to the Church in the US: "We have this against you"

Here's a link to a challenging letter to the church in the US from Christian leaders from around the world. We are being asked to speak up on behalf of the poor and to call our people to action on their behalf.

We have this against you, brothers and sisters, that along with this powerful announcing of the Gospel, the Church from the United States has not also raised its voice in protest against the injustices that powerful governments and institutions are inflicting on the global South.

The Church in the United States has the opportunity today to be faithful to the Hope that it preaches. We urge you to remember that the Hope to which you were called as a messenger demands that you seek first the Kingdom of God and God's justice.

Out of love for us, the global Church, in holiness, use your citizenship responsibly for the benefit of the entire world; it is for this very reason that the Lord poured out His life on the Cross.

The Big Red Shoe Motorcycle

This was parked out in front of our ministry center today. Only in Chicago!!

Let Justice Roll

Will I see you Saturday at the "Let Justice Roll" event?

September 20, 2008
Park Community Church
1001 N Crosby Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610

Here's my estamp! Give it a click!!

Click this e-stamp, and $0.42 will be donated to Breakthrough Urban Ministries in Chicago.

Positive Images in Harlem

A Thousand Questions

Obama and the African American Experience

Here's a link to an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal, Black in a New Light, about Obama's presidency bid and how it is generating discussion about what it means to be Black in the US.

The Washington Post Highlights School Funding Disparities in Illinois

Here's a link to an article from yesterday's Washington Post about the school boycott and the disparities in funding for schools.

"The nonprofit Education Trust calculates that although the average gap in per-pupil spending across the country between high-income districts and low-income ones was $938 in 2005, the gap was $2,235 in Illinois. Only New York had a larger gap that year."

School Funding

This is the first week of classes for the Chicago Public Schools. Rev. James Meeks, Illinois State Senator and Pastor of the Salem Baptist Church on the south side of Chicago has asked students from the south and west sides of Chicago to boycott classes to draw attention to inadequate state funding for education in our communities. While some of us may disagree with the method, most of us would agree that the quality of government funded education should not depend upon where our children live. While money is not entirely the answer, there is something wrong when children in impoverished Chicago communities attend schools that do not have the resources to provide a rich diverse curriculum with well equipped science labs, libraries and books.

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that funding for education in Illinois is dependent upon revenue from real estate taxes. In East Garfield Park, where one out of every three lots is vacant and real estate values remain low, the funding is not adequate to provide quality education for our children. Many of the schools are failing and closing.

Ironically, residents from one zip code community on the west side of Chicago spend 28 million dollars a year on the state lottery just for the hope of winning a windfall that will set them free from the bondage of poverty. It makes sense to me that lottery revenue that tends to tax the poor should stay in our communities to fund education. Instead, unlike real estate taxes, lottery income is spread throughout the state.

As Christians, we will continue to do all we can to supplement the education of the children in our community with academic support and caring networks of relationships. We are also called to take a stand for justice and give voice to the oppressed. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, but we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.”

Can't Pay, Don't Know, Don't Belong

Something happens to a society when its wealth is reckoned in commodities, and it is stashed away for some to have and some not to have. Some can pay and some can’t.

Something happens to a society when its ‘know how’ becomes sophisticated and mystifying and technical, and it is possessed by some and not possessed by others. Some know and some don’t.

Something happens to a society when a sense of solidarity among persons yields to a kind of individuality, when a sense of belonging with each other is diminished and a sense of being apart from each other takes its place. Some belong and some don’t.

Whatever it is that happens is happening to us. And there is the new, powerful emergence of those who can pay and those who know and those who belong. Very often the paying ones and the knowing ones and the belonging ones are the same ones—or at least they talk only with one another and trust one another. They are content to be left to their own resources, which are ample. And so the others—the ones who can’t pay and don’t know and don’t belong—are left to their own resourcelessness.

                 -             — Walter Brueggemann

West Side Students take on the Olympics Video Challenge

Students from North Lawndale College Prep in Collins High School on the west side explain how the Olympics would benefit the community in this video produced by Free Spirit Media in response to the Chicago 2016 video challenge.

Inspired by the Willow Summit

Lake County Sheriff, Mark Curan, was evidently inspired by Catherine Rohr at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit to sentence himself to a week in the Lake County Jail so he could better understand jail operations from the perspective of an inmate. It was the first thing mentioned on the channel 2 news this evening. Here's what the SunTimes had to say.

"In Lake County, we have embraced the scriptural mandate to love our neighbor. Your neighbor must be everyone if we are truly going to see peace on Earth," he said. "In the eyes of society, I may be sheriff, but in God’s eyes, I am no better than anyone else."

Sprinkling his explanation with religious references, Curran said the idea came to him while he was visiting a northwest suburban church earlier this month for a leadership meeting focusing on prison and correctional issues.

"I believe that because the idea came to me in church that it may have been divinely inspired," said Curran. He said he hopes his time in the jail will call attention to the need to have rehabilitation and job programs for inmates — most of whom ultimately will be released back into society.

Gang Warfare

Steven Levitt, University of Chicago Economics Professor and author of Freakonomics, visited our center today to look in on the research his students are doing at Breakthrough. Freakonomics was on the NY Times best seller list for two years. All of our staff were meeting for Staff Development Day, so he came in and interacted with us for awhile. It was a real treat for our staff to be able to ask him questions. Much of Levitt's research is very relavant to what we do at Breakthrough, especially in the area of prostitution, drug trafficking and gangs. He said that in a study they conducted with gang members they found that 7% of them died over a three year period. He compared it to soldiers in Iraq who die at a rate of 1% over the same time period. Gang members are seven times more likely to die in the city than they would be serving in Iraq. There is a literal war going on in our neighborhoods with huge casualties.

Anointed Preaching

My daughter, Monica, went to Calvary Church in Naperville on Sunday and heard what she said was the best sermon she's ever heard in her life! They had a guest speaker, a guy in his twenties named Robert Madu. Here's the podcast.

The Education Challenge

"How many effective schools would you have to see to be persuaded of the educability of poor children?...We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us. We already know more than we need to do that. Whether or not we do it must finally depend on how we feel about the fact that we haven't so far."
                 - Ronald Edmonds, Harvard University

Chicago Public School Facts

• Only 6 of 100 African American and Latino high school freshmen males will graduate from a 4-year college (Chicago Sun-Times, Oct. 31, 2007)
  
• Only 9% of African American 4th graders ranked proficient or above in reading, ranking Illinois 38 out of 41 states (Chicago Sun-Times, Nov. 2nd 2006)
  
• Illinois ranks 49 out of 50 states when it comes to funding education from state funds. The education funding gap between the wealthiest district and poorest district is the largest in the nation. (Source: Education Trust)
  
• 2005-2006 School Year Graduation Rates in Chicago
  Black males - 37%
  White males - 62%
  (Source: Schott Foundation)

Go to: www.saveourschoolsnow.com for more information.

Wow! China knows how to throw a party!

I just finished watching the highlights of the opening ceremony at this link. Check out these pictures. Amazing!! Can Chicago top that in 2016?

I love this picture!