“ LET'S FIGHT WHAT FOSTERS YOUNG TOUGHS”
“You can't have a discussion about race without taking stock of the hell that some young black and Hispanic men are putting their communities through. This weekend, a rash of violence has put beset communities further on edge.
Harold Davis understands this far better than I do. He runs Amer-I-Can Enterprises II, which gives teens the opportunity to learn carpentry while they earn money. He sees how hard these youths are working. Some work to stay out of harm's way, others to change their lives.
Davis also sees how futile it often feels to his young charges when navigating in the line of gunfire.
'They're not planning for their futures anymore,' he said. 'They're planning for their funerals.'
I wrote about Davis and his students last May after Blair Holt, 16, was killed on a CTA bus. None of Davis' young workers knew Blair personally, but each understood the pain of having a young relative or friend gunned down in gang violence.
This year is different. Several of Davis' workers have been directly affected by the killings. Some either are related to the 24 Chicago Public Schools students who have been killed since the beginning of the school year, or they're related to the countless other teens—some dropouts—whose slayings have gone virtually unreported."
-Dawn Turner Trice 9:08 PM CDT, April 20, 2008
Everything aforementioned is from Trice's article, my personal contribution is below.
In diverse circles of engagement, I have come across people who share the sentiment that "The Church" has no power. We can sit back and quibble about the ambiguity of the nomenclature-"The Church," and request further clarification of what is meant by this term; or we can take this as a personal attack of our character and wake up to the fact that this argument may have some relevance. The senseless violence that is pervasive in many of Chicago's urban neighborhoods is typical of urban centers across America. According to Eddie Gibbs in Church Next, we live in a world that is growing increasingly non-Christian. He continues by implying, one major argument of post-modern adherents is that we Christians legalistically assert Orthodoxy with inconsistent Orthopraxis.
My question is- How is "The Church" planning on responding to this violence that is taking place in our nation? If we see all humans as being made in the image of God (Imago Dei), we should quickly become aware that WE MUST DO SOMETHING to work towards the preservation of people from these distressed environments (The Sanctity of Life Argument). I believe, in the vein of Dr. Martin Luther King, that NOW is the time- not just for strategic planning, but more importantly, strategic action!
I pray that the two criticisms that are mentioned in this submission, against the church, are not true. I pray that we don't lack power- I don't see how this could even be possible if our bodies are truly the temples of the God’s Spirit. And, if in fact, our bodies are vessels of the Holy Spirit, this should denote a "Christ-likeness" that imperatively calls us to action when confronted with the reality of heinous misdeeds and callous injustices. As I pray, I also hope that we won’t take our gift of the Holy Spirit for granted. If God has given us power to effect change in societies through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, it is an utter disservice to our Father if we just "sit on" his gift to us.
What are you going to do with your talent(s)?
Call to Action- As a community, lets stimulate substantive conversation of what we can do to combat the violence taking place in our nation's urban centers and also elsewhere (from the perspective of theologians, activist, or concerned Christian citizens).
What I am Interested to know- Is this reckless violence something that we, as Christians, should be talking about and working to change? I am really interested to know what you think because I rarely hear these concerns conversed in areas where these problems are less prevalent.”
A link to the article commented on can be found at [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-trice-21-apr21,0,454035.column]
Damien Howard is a first year masters of divinity student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
“You can't have a discussion about race without taking stock of the hell that some young black and Hispanic men are putting their communities through. This weekend, a rash of violence has put beset communities further on edge.
Harold Davis understands this far better than I do. He runs Amer-I-Can Enterprises II, which gives teens the opportunity to learn carpentry while they earn money. He sees how hard these youths are working. Some work to stay out of harm's way, others to change their lives.
Davis also sees how futile it often feels to his young charges when navigating in the line of gunfire.
'They're not planning for their futures anymore,' he said. 'They're planning for their funerals.'
I wrote about Davis and his students last May after Blair Holt, 16, was killed on a CTA bus. None of Davis' young workers knew Blair personally, but each understood the pain of having a young relative or friend gunned down in gang violence.
This year is different. Several of Davis' workers have been directly affected by the killings. Some either are related to the 24 Chicago Public Schools students who have been killed since the beginning of the school year, or they're related to the countless other teens—some dropouts—whose slayings have gone virtually unreported."
-Dawn Turner Trice 9:08 PM CDT, April 20, 2008
Everything aforementioned is from Trice's article, my personal contribution is below.
In diverse circles of engagement, I have come across people who share the sentiment that "The Church" has no power. We can sit back and quibble about the ambiguity of the nomenclature-"The Church," and request further clarification of what is meant by this term; or we can take this as a personal attack of our character and wake up to the fact that this argument may have some relevance. The senseless violence that is pervasive in many of Chicago's urban neighborhoods is typical of urban centers across America. According to Eddie Gibbs in Church Next, we live in a world that is growing increasingly non-Christian. He continues by implying, one major argument of post-modern adherents is that we Christians legalistically assert Orthodoxy with inconsistent Orthopraxis.
My question is- How is "The Church" planning on responding to this violence that is taking place in our nation? If we see all humans as being made in the image of God (Imago Dei), we should quickly become aware that WE MUST DO SOMETHING to work towards the preservation of people from these distressed environments (The Sanctity of Life Argument). I believe, in the vein of Dr. Martin Luther King, that NOW is the time- not just for strategic planning, but more importantly, strategic action!
I pray that the two criticisms that are mentioned in this submission, against the church, are not true. I pray that we don't lack power- I don't see how this could even be possible if our bodies are truly the temples of the God’s Spirit. And, if in fact, our bodies are vessels of the Holy Spirit, this should denote a "Christ-likeness" that imperatively calls us to action when confronted with the reality of heinous misdeeds and callous injustices. As I pray, I also hope that we won’t take our gift of the Holy Spirit for granted. If God has given us power to effect change in societies through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, it is an utter disservice to our Father if we just "sit on" his gift to us.
What are you going to do with your talent(s)?
Call to Action- As a community, lets stimulate substantive conversation of what we can do to combat the violence taking place in our nation's urban centers and also elsewhere (from the perspective of theologians, activist, or concerned Christian citizens).
What I am Interested to know- Is this reckless violence something that we, as Christians, should be talking about and working to change? I am really interested to know what you think because I rarely hear these concerns conversed in areas where these problems are less prevalent.”
A link to the article commented on can be found at [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-trice-21-apr21,0,454035.column]
Damien Howard is a first year masters of divinity student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
2 comments:
Damien, great post. Thank you!
Yes, I believe Christians need to address reckless violence and yes I believe that it is something that we should be working to change. I found Rev. Stan Archie’s insight particularly helpful for ways that churches can gather together to be salt and light within their own community. He focused on the educational system and worked strategically during the summer months by offering programs which provide healthy and productive alternatives during high violence times. This seemed powerful and I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
I also liked your point that we can’t lack power if we are born of God, because the Spirit dwells within us.
For me, Damien, I don’t have answers, but I feel the urgency of your challenge and call. What do you think is the best way to begin? I pray for revival and renewal for chicago
Watson and I were going to attempt a “Saturate the City in Prayer” day in Chicago. Our envisioned focus was to get pastors from around Chicago to prayer through their neighborhood on one day. The goal was to get pastors from all neighborhoods on board so that this effort could take place at one time throughout the entire city.
When I asked Pastor Archie about this, he checked me. These weren’t his words, but he basically said, “this is cute…but then what?” Me being the man that I am; I have a problem with thinking about things associated with me as “cute,” so my ego was a little battered by his rebut. I guess this was God’s way of breaking me, because what Pastor Archie was trying to get across to me, was actually what I needed to hear. In short, Pastor Archie challenged me (through analogy of a football scenario) to run to the coach for a game-plan, review the play book for clarification of the plan, and take that plan to the huddle.
So then, I responded “well Pastor Archie, I am only a rookie quarterback and my entire team is full of veteran players, will they be willing to listen to me?”
Conclusively, Pastor Archie told me to not worry about who receives the credit for the initiative, and that I should approach these pastors with questions, with an answer to my question already in my mind. This method of inquiry comes across less abrasive than telling others what they need to or should do. If we can see in scripture that God compels us to act a certain way, there should be a since of conviction when we are enlightened of areas where we have dropped the ball. [We have fumbled, and I’m waiting for a day when we will build up the fortitude to chase down the opponent, strip the ball out of his hand and start progressing again towards our touchdown zone.]
So Danny, to answer your question, I am on my knees praying that the coach gives me a gameplan so that I can then consult the playbook to get clarification of the particulars. With that information, my hope is to then talk to Chicago youth-pastors, hoping that they can look beyond me and recognize that we are mandated to do what the coach says when and how he says it should be done.
“The coach has given us this play that has proven successful in the past, this is the one we should run team- BREAK!” So help me God…
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