"Let me ask you something," the gruff older man asked assertively, "What does the ghetto need?"
I have recently been trying to get to know one of my neighbors. He is a large man of about 60 years old, who runs a neighborhood snow-cone stand. This was the introduction to our first real conversation.
"That's a big question," I stammered.
"No its not, its simple, what does the ghetto need?"
I tried to collect myself, here I am a new neighbor, living intentionally in a neighborhood that is marginalized from the rest of the city. I of course have thoughts, it's been the subject of many hours of thoughts, readings, and conversation for Ashley and I. However, when asked that directly, I wasn't sure what to say.
What would you say?
"Leadership," I said, "leaders from the neighborhood who come back to influence the youth". Actually, I don't think it sounded that good when I said it, and I'm pretty sure my voice cracked like it did when I first started puberty.
"Education," he said, "the ghetto needs re-education...the problem is that anyone that has ever tried to tell that to the people has gotten killed, all the way back to ghandi."
We talked for a little while longer. Actually he talked and I listened. I left the conversation with a snow cone, and many thoughts. Too many to share here.
But here's the question, "what does the 'ghetto' need? Is it simple/complex? Let me know what you think.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
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19 comments:
the ghetto needs reorganization and redistribution-- of wealth, of education, of life chances, of opportunities.
The ghetto needs a second chance.
It needs reordering, like a reboot.
Its like this game of catch up, but its never ending.
trouble is in the ghetto, but its the ghetto because its troublesome.
one thing it doesnt need is gentrification.
That is not anything for the ghetto.
That is just displacement or relocation of the ghetto.
Nothing is solved.
Jesus.
I know, I know, I sound like the little kid in Sunday School. Jesus is always the right answer.
But seriously, the ghetto, the suburbs, the north, the south, Africa, Asia, and Antarctica all need Jesus first and foremost. That is the greatest need of mankind.
Give the ghetto education and not Jesus and you have left people educated on the path to destruction. Give the ghetto redistribution and not Jesus and you leave people wealthier and doomed. Give people good health care, nice parks, safe streets, and even justice and not Jesus and they still are missing the key ingredient.
All solutions should be Gospel centered. All programs should include Christ. The issues should be dealt with, but only in context of mankinds greatest issue- separation from God.
Jesus.
What does the ghetto need?? I have no idea but I commend you for answering this man and listening to what he thinks.
I have no idea, but it's not simple.
But seriously, the ghetto, the suburbs, the north, the south, Africa, Asia, and Antarctica all need Jesus first and foremost. That is the greatest need of mankind.
Ditto.
When I first moved to Chicago, 6 years ago, this is what I thought of my neighborhood:
"Everything I have heard about the city, all that is bad, is caused by people's bad choices. Therefore, if everyone in the city knows Jesus, the 'ghettos' wouldn't be 'ghettos' anymore. In fact, because the 'ghetto' is so bad, its obvious that Jesus is not being represented there. Therefore, I must bring Jesus to the 'ghetto' "
After a few months, my thoughts began to change. Jesus was represented in the neighborhood. Many of the local churches, and my neighbors who lived next to me were living a life dedicated to spreading the good news of the Gospel. I came first as one who thought I had the answers, but realized that I had a great deal to learn....about God, about race, about our society...
Here's my point, I don't think that if everyone in my neighborhood simply accepted Christ as their personal savior, that the ghetto would change completely. I recognized that God's greatest desire is for His glory, and that comes through man being reconciled to Him, but it also comes from man being reconziled to each other.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength...love your neighbor as your self."
Just one of the reasons "ghettos" are formed are because of racial, or economic separation. And one of the most separated part of our society is our Churches, (read Divided by Faith for a reference)
Do we as Christians have a responsibility, not just to the spiritual lives of our neighbors but their physical and social lives as well. Are the two inseparable anyways?
Thoughts?
I suppose they are inseparable.
As Christians, we're supposed to do both, right? I mean, we're to plant "seeds" (as it is the Lord who saves, not us) and encourage and exort one another. But we're to care for one another's physical needs, and we're physical beings so we should be able to do that, right? :D
Just stream of consciousness thoughts....
The Ghetto needs indigenous leadership development, infused with a wholistic Gospel message (evangelism, housing, employment, etc.).
The ghetto also needs advocacy from places like Wheaton and Barrington...
i only wish that our lives crossed more often so we could dialog about these things in person. you are living a reality so very different from my own...we could teach each other, no?
i've though about this some...i don't know what to offer anyone if not Jesus. Does that sound trite? It's only cliche to me if i don't examine the depth of what Jesus has freed me from...the weight of my past and my failures. i know the ghetto and the suburbs are different...but i see dispair, loss, loneliness, pain and sin in the suburbs too. simply becoming a Christian doesn't automatically right our ships...but becoming impassioned for our savior? is there a difference?
I agree Alli, I do think that a relationship with Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit truly changes us. Really. I know this because of what He has done and continues to do in my life. I believe that I as a disciple of Christ am primarily responsible to "make disciples".
I love this statement:
"i know the ghetto and the suburbs are different...but i see despair, loss, loneliness, pain and sin in the suburbs too. simply becoming a Christian doesn't automatically right our ships...but becoming impassioned for our savior? is there a difference?"
I do think there is a difference. I think that faith is more than a decision but a call to "follow me" living lives impassioned for our savior.
In doing so, I believe that my heart and my work should be where Jesus heart is. I think that His heart is for oppressive situations. And sometimes we as Christians need to address systematic sissues as well a spiritual
An individuals relationship with Jesus doesn't change an educational system where "Despite the fact
that nearly 80 percent of seniors state that they expect to graduate from a four-year college, only about one-third enroll in a four-year college within a year of high school graduation, and only 35 percent of those who enroll received a bachelor’s degree within six years." (The University of Chicago CPS College Study)
You see a relationship with Jesus doesn't automatically give you self-discipline, and it doesn't reverse 12 years of bad schooling. In my short time here, I have seen youth who for a number of years have expressed a deep relationship with Jesus, who have "fallen off the deep end" partly because they have no hope for a job, home or family.
You see the "ghetto" does need Jesus. And He is here changing lives...but it also needs followers of Jesus who express His love in action as well as words.
Noel, you said: I think that faith is more than a decision but a call to "follow me" living lives impassioned for our savior.
You're so right. But, not everyone is gifted to do what you do. Other people have other gifts that are also Christ glorifying. We are all parts of the body, but with different gifts, tasks, etc. :D
Perhaps I will join in this fun too! Everyone here is so brave to even consider discussing such a topic, especially on a blog!
All of this makes me think of things both individually and corporately. To what Alli, said, oh yes. I agree. I was just thinking about forms of brokeness yesterday ( after blogging about Merrilyn) , and thinking about how I have seen devestating forms of oppression and pain in my rural growing up place. Could God acknowledge one individual's pain more than anothers?-- Oh, I don't think so. I think He is infinately aware and present. Especially like you said, when I think about the hight and depth of my own life pain, even from birth.
And then on the corporate side: I don't think it sounds trite at all Ali to speak of Jesus as an answer. I think your and Noel's answers overlap greatly. Which is why learning from one another and dialoguing is so good for us. I think its precicely because of Jesus and His teachings that believers and be compelled to care about both individual needs and group needs. That we can and should care about systems which oppress whole peoples. The very fact that we believe Jesus is the answer causes us to care about certain group themes, wherever we see them in the world. Here are a few I think of:
--reconciliation: because Christ reconciled us to Himself and we (body of believers) can now demonstrate this breaking of barriers as a manifestation of Him in this world ( romans 5)
--poverty: the most mentioned moral issue in the bible where God actually asks his believers to act strategically, we also can work against whatever perpetuates this plague
-- and of course, there are so many, but this is a blog!
So that's why I feel that living in the city places us in this constant paradox of discerning what it really means to love someone here, while also causing me to continually acknowlege that this is not the only place that God seeks to work or is working.
I think this is a deeply thelogical issue we're all dealing with here. Good job everyone, I have no idea how to answer this one either.
Noel, maybe your next post can ask...what is good about "the ghetto" -- I would know where to start more with that!:)
by the way husband, love you, thanks for being so genuine and open to ask vulnerable questions
Ash clued me in to the comments bouncing around on here and after thinking about it for a chunk of the afternoon I thought I'd leave my two cents.
What came to mind after reading your post Noel and everyone elses comments was a passage in James. Sometimes James is very forthright (or "candid" as was one of my GRE vocab study words this morning said :) and I like that about James. He can put us in our place!
But anyways, he talks about how faith without deeds is dead. He even asks the question, "What good is it my brothers if a man claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes or daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?"
Further on he uses very strong examples of Abraham and Rahab (the prostitute!) who combined their faith and their deeds. In fact, Abraham is so faithful and carries through with the deed God asked him to do (sacrifice his ONLY son -- the promised heir -- on the altar) that James says his faith and his actions were working TOGETHER and his faith was "made complete" by what he did. He was considered righteous and called "a friend of God." Wow -- I want to be so faithful like that to written of as a friend of God.
And then I love that James uses the example of Rahab who was a prostitute -- an outcast of society -- to say that she was righteous for what she did when she hid the spies and sent them in a different direction -- a combination of deeds and actions.
Then finally James ends that section with, "As the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." Whoa. That's strong.
So to sum up my thoughts (these little blocks make me think I'm writing less than I am!) I think that yes, the ghetto needs Jesus. Absolutely. It needs the people who live there like you and Ashley who have such good news of Jesus. It needs the churches and the organizations and the communities that have these deep traditions of faith and hope for their neighbors. But it needs action too. It needs deeds of feeding and clothing and educating people.
It's like holding hands -- faith on one side and deeds on the other. And think about it, you hold hands with the one you love the most. So joining those two -- faith and deeds -- is love. Love through faith in Jesus and love through deeds too.
Ok -- I'm done now and Ash is gchatting me to see if she can read my post so adios as my husband would say. :)
gotta love g-chat...
and fun metaphors that talk about holding hands and love:) You newly wed! I love it! I'm one too sort of.
An individuals relationship with Jesus doesn't change an educational system where "Despite the fact
that nearly 80 percent of seniors state that they expect to graduate from a four-year college, only about one-third enroll in a four-year college within a year of high school graduation, and only 35 percent of those who enroll received a bachelor’s degree within six years." (The University of Chicago CPS College Study)
how much of this is the school system breakdown? how much of this is individual responsibility?
i've never lived it...so i'm asking in humility and some confusion
when it comes right down to it...i don't really even know what's wrong with the ghetto. how's that for ignorance?
Hey Alli and all readers
You know, I don't know either. The issues in my neighborhood are very complex, very painful, and sometimes confusing. I hope I don't come across like I have all the answers. I certainly don't. I do appreciate all of your thoughts, questions. Thanks for the dialogue.
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