Poverty in Suburbia

We usually associate poverty with the inner city, and affluence with suburbia. Indeed, they often go hand in hand. However, a new phenomenon has surfaced in the last couple of years--poverty in suburbia.

In December of 2006, The Brookings Institute reported that “by 2005 the suburban poor outnumbered their city counterparts by at least 1 million,” and that the poverty rate in the suburbs was 9.4 percent. This poverty rate held steady in the West and Northeast, while increasing in the Midwest and South.[1]

One surprising example of suburban poverty is found in Rockford County, New Hampshire. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in Rockford County, was identified by Money Magazine as the fifth place to live in the United States. And yet, the Red Cross in Rockford County had nearly 7000 people visit its food pantry last in 2006, up nearly sevenfold since 2000. Many of those seeking help do not have cars, and with the high price of gas and the lack of public transportation in the suburbs, it is difficult for those needing help to receive it. Many suburban areas do not even have organizations in the area that provide assistance for poverty-stricken families.

One Red Cross worker said, "Public hospitals, nutrition assistance programs--most of these things are still overwhelmingly urban. You see small-scale operations in suburbs getting inundated. They just can't deal with the demand."[2] Affordable housing for the low-income workers who provide the service jobs in suburban areas is difficult to find, and foreclosures in suburban areas are increasing dramatically.

This shows that despite Liberty's affluence, we have great opportunities to reach those who are poor among us. Our "Children's Outreach Ministry" has been attempting to do just this, as we seek to provide school supplies for needy children and help them financially throughout the year--at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and VBS.

Do you find suburban poverty surprising?

[1] Alan Berube and Elizabeth Kneebone, Two Steps Back: City and Suburban Poverty Trends 1999-2005(Brookings Institute, December 2006, accessed 6-03-07 2007); available from http://www.brook.edu/metro/pubs/20061205_citysuburban.htm.

[2] Eyal Press, The New Suburban Poverty(The Nation, April 13, 2007, accessed 6-03-07); available from http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070423/press.

Do we have a responsibility to the inner city?

Here is an interesting piece from my research on suburbia. As the suburbs grew, businesses and homeowners moved out from the inner city. The inner city, devoid of high paying jobs, began to deteriorate dramatically.

In 1986 an angry resident from a Philadelphia suburb disavowed any responsibility for the problems of the inner city, stating: “It is ridiculous to suppose that those of us in the suburbs have any responsibility to help in the current Philadelphia school crisis. We did not create the problems of the inner city and we are not obligated to help in their solution." See Crabgrass Frontier by Kenneth T. Jackson. http://www.amazon.com/Crabgrass-Frontier-Suburbanization-United-States/dp/0195049837/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-5518143-5243312?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180894371&sr=8-2


Sadly, the sentiments expressed in this letter are too often found in suburban Christians—if the plight of the inner city is even noticed by them.

Do surburban Christians have a responsibility to help the inner city? How can we do this?

Quest, Taking the church to a little girl

Today I helped facillitate the Missional Church sessions at Quest, and spoke on a panel with Grady King and Poncho Hobbes. Grady is at the South MacArthur Church of Christ in Irving, Texas. Back in the 1970s it constructed a 3500 seat auditorium, the largest in our fellowship. At that time, Irving was a thriving suburb, and the congregation was almost all white.

Today the neighborhood around the church is very much Hispanic and African-American and poor, while the church membership has stayed Caucasian (people drive in to worship) and wealthy. The minority groups will not come to worship at their building, because of socio-economic differences. They do not feel comfortable there.

So the church rented an apartment which the neighborhood people would feel comfortable going to. And on Wednesday night many Christians go over to the apartment and play with the kids, loving on them and telling them about God. And guess what? One little Hispanic girl said, I love Wednesday night. When asked why, she said, because this is our church!

Isn't this a great story? Rather than insisting that people come to them, this church went to the people--on their terms, and to bless their lives. Isn't that a great story?

How could we apply this in our local context?

I'm off to Quest and West Texas

Hey guys. I'm leaving today to go to Oklahoma. I'll be a facillitator and discussion leader for Oklahoma Christian's "Quest" program, a specialized lectureship on missional church and evangelism issues.

Then I'll be heading to West Texas--Midland--to see my aunt and uncle and one of my cousins. I have not been able to visit them in years, so it will be good to get together with them.

See you guys later, and I'll try to keep posting during the trip. Later.

The Dream of Suburbia: Is our home our god?

Hope you guys had a good Memorial day. We went to a neighborhood block party and met some new neighbors, and in the evening we went to a Royals game--courtesy of Marc Vasquez, who gave us free tickets. Thanks, Marc! The girls loved it. Gina is a big baseball fan. She asked, can we do this every night? :)

I wanted to share with you some of the research I'm doing on suburbia. Suburbia, in turns out, has always been promoted as a sort of fantasy way of living--closer to nature than the inner city, with technology that makes life easier, and close to, guess what--shopping. Materialistic dreams and suburbia go hand in hand.

Note the following from Dolores Hayden's book, Building Suburbia:
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Suburbia-Fields-Growth-1820-2000/dp/0375727213/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5518143-5243312?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1180471059&sr=8-1

• In 1869, Catharine Beecher urgered women to take charge of the suburban house and family, which she called the "church of Jesus Christ." (p.34)



• In 1921, an editorial writer in the National Real Estate Journal actually told readers that the Garden of Eden was the first subdivision!



• In the 1940s, ad writers for GE promoted purchasing a home as "an adventure in happiness."

This shows that materialism really has been an idol for Americans, with spiritual and biblical imagery being used explicitly at times to promote it. Why do we "buy" into these liese that homes and things can bring us happiness?

Funny Quotes on Marriage From Sunday's Sermon

Sunday's sermon on Desperate Marriages seemed to be a hit. I talked about five myths that we believe that can cause desperation in a marriage. These myths are:

1. Love is all about sex and romance.
2. My spouse should meet all my needs.
3. The grass is greener on the other side.
4. Marriage should be easy.
5. There is no hope.

Here are two of the funniest quotes/stories on marriage from the sermon.

“Some people ask the secret of our long marriage. We take time to go to a restaurant two times a week. A little candlelight, dinner, soft music and dancing. She goes Tuesdays, I go Fridays." --Henry Youngman

-------------------------------------------------------------

While attending a marriage seminar on communication, David and his wife listened to the instructor declare, "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other." He addressed the man, "Can you describe your wife's favorite flower?"

David leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "Pillsbury All-Purpose, isn't it?”

Did you like these?

Desperate Marriages

On Sunday, we'll continue our Desperate Households series, and I'll be speaking on Desperate Marriages. I have held off having a whole sermon in this series on marriage, because I didn't want the series to be perceived as applying only to married people. But having established that fact, I will speak about marriage on Sunday.

There is no doubt that many struggle in their marriages. We need to help people through their problems, offering practical, "how-to" points, biblical teaching, love, prayer and support. See many of you guys on Sunday.

James

My daughter's last day of school, Memorial Day

Well, it is Gina's last day of school today. She has "graduated" from kindergarten. She gets out at 11:15 AM, so I am going to take the afternoon off and spend it with her. I'll work later tonight instead. So if I don't catch you later today, I hope that you have a great Memorial day weekend!

One of my friends, Marc, is giving us four Royals tickets and a parking pass from his company to see the Royals on Monday. Gina has been begging us to go see a baseball game, so this is great timing. The Lord provides!

Finding Purpose in Life

On Wednesday I was talking with one of my friends, and she shared with me how she had struggled to find her nitch in the church for some time. But then she got involved in our Starbucks group, and has really found meaning in inviting others, sharing her faith, and encouraging those who are coming.

I met with another member on Thursday, a new convert, and went through her Strengths and Spiritual gifts with her. This woman has great gifts in mercy, faith, and evangelism. As we talked about her gifts, she felt affirmed in what God created her to do and encouraged to practice these gifts even more.

I feel blessed to be able to use my gifts, and I love helping others see their place in the kingdom as well.

How has using or discovering your gifts helped you in finding purpose in life?

A Horrible Story of Modern Day Slavery

Here is a horrible story of modern day slavery. A millionaire couple confiscated the visas of two immigrants and forced them to work as slaves in their home. They abused them, and despite having millions of dollars, refused to pay them.

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/wealthy-couple-charged-with-slavery/20070523190809990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

This is true evil at work. I really am amazed at how anyone could so despise another human being and be so callous as to do this type of thing.

The two women are now being taken care of by Catholic Charities, thankfully.

It must pain God to have his children treat one another like this. I just talked with a member today, and she was very upset at the fact that her adult children did not get along with one another. I know my parents felt the same way when my brother, sisters, and I did not get along. Think how God--who created us out of love and in his image--must feel about humanity's inhumanity towards one another. Sad.

If there were ever a call for the church to be missional, to go out and proclaim the reign of God and transform society, it is now.

Do you think things like this happen more frequently now, or less? Why?

The Limited Power of Preaching: Can you remember last week's sermon?

It may be strange to hear from a preacher, but preaching has a limited power. Note what George Barna, researcher, says:

"We know that within two hours after leaving a church service, the typical individual cannot recall the theme of the sermon they heard. But if they have a discussion about a principle and its application to their life, or if they have a multi-sensory experience with those principles, they retain the information much longer and the probability that they will act on that information rises dramatically."

http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=194

Note that I did not say that preaching was a waste of time or that it did not have power or that it ought to be done away with. It does have power, and Paul confirmed this, stating that God had chosen the foolishness of preaching.

However, preaching ought to be one of several ways that we communicate truth in the assembly. Video, discussion, sharing of stories, art, and multiple voices help in communication and understanding the biblical message. And preaching itself ought to be more interactive. Alas, our physical arrangement and expectations of what constitutes an assembly limits us.

How do you suggest making the worship assembly more interactive and multi-sensory?

I'll Be Helping with OC's Lectures (Quest) May 31-June 2

Just a brief note to let you know that I'll be helping lead some of the "break out" discussion sections on missional church at Oklahoma Christian University's lectures (Quest), May 31-June 2. We'll also have a chance to see my sister and brother-in-law and their new baby. It will be a full time, because I have my paper on Missional Engagement in Suburbia to finish before going out to Fuller for another D.Min. class on June 18.

It is great to see OC putting missional church on the schedule. Many movements begin in our Christian colleges, and I am happy to help with this in any way that I can.

The Celtic Way of Evangelism

In his book, The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter tells the story of (Saint) Patrick and how he evangelized Ireland. Growing up in England, he was captured by Celts and lived in slavery for many years. He finally escaped and went back to England. However, in a dream, he heard a "Macedonian call" to go back to Ireland and share the gospel with these "barbaric tribes."

Patrick's method for evangelism was to form an apostolic or missionary team, who would spend weeks ministering to a local tribe. They would live within this tribe, bless them, and share the gospel in creative ways--song, dance, and the like. This fit with the creative Celts. During his lifetime, 30-40 of Ireland's 150 fiercely independent and pagan tribes became Christian.

You would think that the church in England, which had commissioned Patrick to go to Ireland, would be thrilled at this. However, they were not. They saw the role of a bishop as only having to do with two things: administration and chaplain duties. In other words, caring for faithful Christians. They were offended and angered that Patrick was spending the majority of his time with "pagans," "sinners," and "barbarians."

Sad, isn't it? But is that not the attitude of most churches today? Ministers should be the chaplains of the church, giving a peppy sermon on Sunday and spending the week hanging out with Christians, visiting hospitals, and the like. In other words, pastoral care and an internal focus. It is not that these things are bad, but that they are the overwhelming focus.

What if ministers acoss the nation spent the majority of their time with non-Christians--Wednesday night service at a local school function, Sunday night neighborhood fellowship groups, and the like. Which would reach more people for Christ? For that matter, what if the whole church--which is made up of ministers--did the same thing? We learn a powerful lesson from Patrick on how to reach the world today. We must go out, live incarnationally, and bless others' lives. And we need ministers who will take the lead in doing this.

What do you think most people's expectations for a minister is?

John and Ric shared a powerful story in our worship gathering

On Sunday during our worship gathering, John and Ric shared a powerful story of how they became friends and the value of friendship. Through this sharing, mulitple voices were heard, making this more of a communal event.

Younger generations are moving towards a worship gathering that is more participatory, and less of a spectator event. This is a challenge in larger churches, but can be done through video, through multiple speakers, and by having a worship space that allows for phyiscal interation (tables, empty spaces, and the like).

For a look at some of these concepts, check out Dan Kimball's Emerging Worship.
http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Worship-Creating-Gatherings-Generations/dp/0310256445/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5518143-5243312?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179766134&sr=8-1

There are elements of emerging worship that are very good and biblical. 1 Cor. 14:26 says,
"What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church." Preachers like Timothy still had a central preaching role, but clearly many people were involved in the assembly. Recovering this practice not only is biblical, but it can really help younger people connect as they hear many different people's stories. Remember, truth is intensely personal today.

There are some elements of emerging worship that are being done without much theological reflection. Theological reflection needs to occur on worship issues, otherwise emerging worship can become the new pragmatism--doing whatever works. As with all things, we should take the good and leave the bad.

What do you think of hearing more stories and more people participating in worship gatherings? Does hearing stories of people like Ric and John help your faith and worship experience?

New Book for Our Starbucks Group--Velvet Elvis

We have started a new book in our Starbucks group, Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. Rob Bell is a Gen-X preacher, and is very popular with Young Adults.

Bell combines a postmodern style with some deep and interesting biblical gems. He has done a lot of study on Judaism, which gives a lot of insight to some biblical texts on Jesus.

http://www.amazon.com/Velvet-Elvis-Repainting-Christian-Faith/dp/0310273080/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5518143-5243312?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179759480&sr=8-1

Our Starbucks group continues to be a great gathering place for young adults, who love the atmosphere, the music, and the interactive setting. I also see in Starbucks some Boomers. People my age, Gen Xers, like Starbucks, but often have young kids and aren't able to go hang out a lot, though they enjoy it when they do. It is a good "third place."

A good friend of mine is coming in town today

A good friend of mine, Chuck Monan, is coming into town today to lead our men's retreat. Chuck is the pulpit minister at the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock, Arkansas. He and I used to work together at the Wilshire Church of Christ in Oklahoma City.

I owe a lot to Chuck. He took me down to the jail to do Bible studies with inmates when I was a college student. This raised up in me a love for sharing my faith and leading others to Christ. I dropped out of medical school, and decided to go into ministry. The Wilshire congregation hired me full-time, and Chuck and I worked together for about four years.

This impressed upon me the importance of befriending, encouraging, and mentoring those around us. If you have a younger person in your life, seek to call them alongside you and help them grow in the Christian walk. You will enjoy this, and it will have a powerful affect on his or her life.

Better Together: Restoring the American Community

I just started reading "Better Together: Restoring the American Community." http://www.amazon.com/Better-Together-Restoring-American-Community/dp/0743235460

It is written by Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone. I can tell you already it looks to be a great book. Putnam opens up the book talking about a group named Valley Interfaith, which worked with the community to improve the local schools. 86% of the students were economically disadvangeted, and 58% had limited proficiency in English.

Note these significant actions by Valley Interfaith:

1) Putnam states that "the teachers did not ask parents to come in to the school, but made visits to students' homes, asking parents about theirt hopes and worries regarding the school and their children. For many parents, it was the first real connection with the school, the first time anyone had bothered to ask their opinion." p.11

2) The workers in Valley Interfaith seek out community leaders whom they can train in leading ministries that help their community. Reformer Saul Alinsky believed that "reform could best be achieved when the citizens of poor and neglected communities organized and exertted power on their own behalf." Their motto is, never do anything for anybody that they can do for themselves. p.12

3) Their ministries were based around local support and ideas. "Unlike activist organizations that develop a public agenda first and then try to attract people who support it, the IAF encourages the emergence of local agendas from these congregations." p.12

4) Assessing community needs was done through "hundreds of one-on-one conversations."

It seems to me that this is a missional approach to serving the community--going to where people are, finding their needs, listening to them, and helping them be a part of improving their community.

These one-on-one interviews sort of reminds me of what Rick Warren did, but with a missional emphasis.

What if we took this approach to helping our community?

Books that I have read in the last year

I was recently asked what books I have read in the past year. I thought about this, going through my books, and I came up with the following list. It mainly covers missional church, postmodernism and culture, and evangelism.

It came to 41 books, nearly a book a week. That was a little higher than I thought it would be, but I do like to keep up with what is most current. On the other hand, my wife reminds me that my pleasure reading has taken a big dip, and she is right.

Anyway, here is the list. I'll try to go back and add links later. I have highlighted the top five I enjoyed for various reasons. If you have a question about one, let me know. I also have book reviews of many of these on my website, www.storyofredemption.com

1. God's Missionary People: Rethinking the Purpose of the Local Church by Charles Van Engan
2. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission by David Bosch
3. Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens by Neil Cole
4. The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World by Alan Roxburgh, Fred Romanuck, and Eddie Gibbs
5. The Present-Future by Reggie McNeal
6. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church: And the Causes Which Hinder It by Roland Allen
7. Liquid Church by Pete Ward
8. The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
9. Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders by Earl Creps
10. Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture by Michael Frost
11. The Way of Jesus: A Journey of Freedom for Pilgrims and Wanderers by Jonathon S. Campbell with Jennifer Campbell
12. Emerging Churches: Creating Authentic Community in a Postmodern Context by Eddie Gibbs and Ryan Bolger
13. An Emergent Theology for Emerging Churches by Ray S. Anderson
14. Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World
15. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
16. Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller
17. A New Kind of Christian by Brian McLaren
18. The Gospel According to Starbucks by Leonard Sweet
19. Sprawl: A Compact History by Robert Bruegmann (on surbanization)
20. The Blogging Church by Brian Bailey
21. The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
22. Seeking a Lasting City: The Church’s Journey in the Story of God by Randy Harris, Richard Foster, and Mark Love
23. Missional Church Planting by Ed Stetzer
24. Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples by Thom S. Rainer
25. Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer
26. Death by Suburb by David L. Goetz
27. The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom
28. Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church by Mark Driscoll
29. Everyday Theology: How to Read Cultural Texts and Interpret Trends edited by Kevin Vanhoozer
30. The Big Idea: Focus the Message—Multiply the Impact by Dave Ferguson, Eric Bramlett, and Jon Ferguson
31. Revolution by George Barna
32. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages
33. Preaching that Speaks to Women
34. Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon
35. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell
36. CrazyBusy: Overbooked, Overstretched, and About to Snap
37. Culture Shift: Transforming Your Church from the Inside Out
38. Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill
39. Mission in the New Testament, edited by William J. Larkin Jr. and Joel F. Williams
40. Exploring the Worship Spectrum: 6 Views Paul E. Engle, series editor
41. Contextualization and Syncretism: Navigating Cultural Currents by Gailyn Van Rheenen

How big is your house?

Here is an interesting stat:

The average size of a new home from approximately 1000 square feet at the end of World War II to nearly 2500 square feet by the end of the 20th century.[1] Meanwhile, the number of people per household has shrunk dramatically, from 3.14 persons per household in 1970 to 2.63 person per household in 1990.[2]

Isn't it ironic that our homes have exploded in size, while our families have decreased in number. We talk about needing to work longer today. But what we are actually working longer for is a perceived middle class lifestyle--which is vastly inflated from past years. If people 50 years ago saw most of our homes, they would think that we are all rich. And most us us are.

We are finishing out our basement--most of it ourselves--because it adds value to our home, is a big tax shelter for ministers, and can be used for fellowship. We are looking forward to this being done in the next month, and we believe we can really use this as a gathering place for both churched and unchurched Christians. But we can hardly make the argument that we "need" a bigger home.

What is up with the bigger houses today all across America? Hmm . . .

[1] Robert Bruegmann, Sprawl: A Compact History (Chicago: University of Chicago, 2005), 58.

[2] Ibid., 60.

http://www.amazon.com/Sprawl-Compact-History-Robert-Bruegmann/dp/0226076911/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5518143-5243312?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179345705&sr=8-1

Your Kids--Part of the Next Great Generation

I tell you, I am excited about the upcoming generation--the Millennials, or those born 1982 or later. Sure they do not know anything much about the Bible, but I believe that God is going to use them for something truly great.

Check out Millennials Rising, the next Great Generation by Neil Howe and William Strauss. http://www.amazon.com/Millennials-Rising-Next-Great-Generation/dp/0375707190/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-5518143-5243312?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179333663&sr=8-1

I am really amazed at this group of young people. They are polite, well-behaved, and well-adjusted. Unlike my generation, which grew up with parents constantly gone, they have had much parental involvement, a ton of coaching, and a lot of other adult involvement.

They also:

• Are racially diverse and accepting. They grew up with Tiger Woods and Halle Berry.
• They are team players.
• They are the most watched over generation in recent memory. They have had very little unsupervised time.
• They believe in the future and in themselves.
• They have high self-esteem.
• Well educated.
• High achievers.
• Techno wizards
• Look up to their parents

There are challenges with this generation, of course. But they are poised to truly be great. I sense an openness to authentic following of Jesus. And this is a good thing.

What positives do you see in Millennials?