Immanuel, again

While visiting my mother just before Christmas this year I had an epiphany. A little background is needed before I reveal my revelation.  Mom lives in Macon, a struggling middle Georgia city that in July was named the 3rd worst place in the United States for property crime. Sirens can be heard almost hourly from her home, even though it is nestled in an established, wooded neighborhood on the outskirts of town. My nephew used to work in the DA's office in Macon and often warned us of areas of town and routes through town that should be avoided.

On the Sunday before Christmas we attended Mom's uptown church where she sings in the choir and teaches Sunday School. It is a very traditional, if not liturgical, style of worship for a Baptist congregation. As in most Christian congregations music is an essential aspect of the Advent and Christmas season here. The older I get the more I find music to be the most meaningful part of the season. As the brass quintet played "What child is This?" I closed my eyes and let the music wash over, through me. I tried to capture the peace and holiness of the moment. In the midst of shopping, traveling and juggling the many demands of celebrating the holiday properly I needed a respite, a glimpse of that seemingly forgone silent night, holy night. Just as I was beginning to capture the sought after feeling a siren sounded in the distance. As the music crescendoed, the refrain was drowned out by the harsh wailing of the passing emergency vehicle. Self righteously, I found my anger rising. However, just as quickly, as the siren faded, slowly replaced by the sweet tunes in the sanctuary, the meaning of the music - and the season - dawned on me. The "Silent Night" of my Christmas fantasies is but a myth. The Christ child did not come on a perfect night devoid of the interruptions of normal of life. No, Jesus was was born on a normal night, in an overcrowded town filled with families and noisy animals.  As the story is told, the baby Jesus, the Emmanuel - literally "God with us" - entered this life the stablemate of farm animals.  It was not a pure, holy, quiet, peaceful event.

"What child is this," the beloved Christmas hymn inquires? It is the God who dared and dares to enter into our own mundane or hectic lives bring the divine presence where we are. Jesus does not wait for us to achieve perfection to come. Jesus does not wait for all to be stress free. Jesus does not wait for us to get it all together. No, Jesus comes everyday, at every moment, in every place, sirens and all.

In her recent book Pastorix, Nadia Bolz-Weber shared the story of when she served as a hospital chaplain. New to the job she was called to the ER where all in attendance were working to save an unconscious man stretched out on the gurney. She felt out of place and didn't know what her job was supposed to be. She asked a passing nurse who responded, "Your job is to seek and acknowledge the presence of God in this place." Belz-Weber reflected that the nurse's statement has become one of her guiding visions for her life and her ministry. It is also a fitting reminder to me this Christmas.

So this season, forget the silent night. It probably doesn't exist where you live. I know I've not seen or experienced such in a long time! Instead, in the midst of your "everyday, ordinary life -- your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life" (Romans 12:1, The Message), in the midst of your celebrating or grieving or longing or hoping, look for and welcome the very presence of God in you and all around you. Such is reason to celebrate! Emmanuel! God IS with us!

Reflection on NoLa Team #1

"For we see in a reflection darkly...."

It was after 11 pm last night when I finally got home from returning the bus to the BCM, officially ending the Send Me Now NoLa #1mission trip. I stopped by our house on the way back into Athens to unpack our suitcases and stick a few things in the wash. We leave in a few short hours to drive to Hilton Head for the week. Nick was also falling asleep in the bus. By the time I returned he was long asleep in his bed with his dog. It's good to be home if only for tonight. 

As we were packing the bus to leave Canal Street Church yesterday Michael and Julie Hitch drove up to say goodbye. Kyle Todd texted him the night before to see if they would come by so we could take a group picture with them. It was a bittersweet parting. In the short time we worked together we grew to love each other and this wonderful couple. The ministry of The RICC, the non-profit started by the church leadership, is in an incredible position to help change the community over the next few years. The students on this trip got but a glimpse of the possibilities of ministry in this ancient city. 

On the way out of town we began the process of debriefing the experience. I asked questions to prompt reflection and each person shared their insights, struggles, and views from the trip. We dropped Shari at the airport for her flight home to Barbados for the summer and continued to debrief as we drove toward Mobile, Alabama. Marcus took notes and I will share them in a later post. 

The last question I asked was, "What Now?" After each student shares they asked me what I had learned. It took a few minutes for me to explain my thoughts. I've been to New Orleans several times on mission trips over the past few years. I was impressed at the initial response to the needs in NoLa after Katrina. Volunteers flooded the area with resources, volunteer hours, and prayers. Much good was done by the crews of volunteers. Workers through the Baptist Disaster Relief ministries were consistently at work, thousands of college students among them, repairing homes and lifting spirits of the citizens. Volunteers returned home recruiting others to the cause. Even Government officials proclaimed that New Orleans would not be forgotten and enough resources would be contributed to rebuild the city and area better than it was before. 

But the hurricane and resulting flood were a long, long time ago. While a few teams are still at work, most people have moved on to help with new disasters. Instead of returning to NoLa, groups now go to New York or to Oklahoma. Don't get me wrong, there are needs there too from storms this past year. The problem is that New Orleans has all but been forgotten except for a few who have remained focused. Money that was donated for Katrina relief has mostly been spent. It is difficult to keep sending teams back when so many other needs are constantly before us in the media. It is more flashly to respond to critical needs that can be followed on the news. 

What I learned from this week is to stay focused on the dreams God has given me, to remain true, not to chase after whatever is new, whatever seems most immediate, or even what seems essential. Yes, as Christians we need to be open to God's leading in all kinds of ways. That's easy for me. I'm very adaptable, creative, and flexible. Sometimes, however, I tend not to stick with things and to change just for the sake of changing. This week has shown me to stay on task until the job is done and to remind the students with whom I work to do the same thing. Each time I close my eyes to sleep I return to the streets of NoLa. I see the many boarded up and decaying homes that were never rebuilt. I see the neighborhoods that are in ruin and the side streets throughout the city that are almost impassible because of the potholes. Volunteers are still needed. Homes still need to be repaired. groups like the RICC are still making a difference and are partnering with other groups to do even more. 

Often we are blinded by what is shiny and new. but even in the best of times our clouded vision has never been very good. We see "in a glass darkly." God, however sees the big picture. We need to stay focused. God is calling others to respond to the many new tragedies that seem to arise daily. Of course, if God calls you you should go. But don't just respond because everyone else is doing it or because it is the new thing. 

Stay focused. Don't forget NoLa and the entire gulf region. They still need us! 

What dream has God given to you that you are tempted to abandon for something new or fresh? Ask God to renew your dreams, to dream again in you, to give you joy in the work at hand. And let's get back to work!

NoLa #6

As we prepare to leave NoLa early in the morning for the long drive back to Georgia today has been the perfect way to end our trip. Today was moving day for Michael and Julie Hitch (their three precious children went home with their grandmother yesterday). We began earlier today than on other mornings this week. We had to drive to St. Barnard Parish - about 30 minutes away from the church - to pack a moving truck, both of the Hitch's vehicles, and our bus with furniture, clothing, and years of memories. After another round of incredible confections from The Blue Dot for breakfast we loaded up for the drive, retracing some of our tour from yesterday. 

The team worked quickly, loading all vehicles in less than three hours. The truck had to be turned in by 1, so we knew we were on a time crunch. After loading up with all we could safely fit into the vehicles we drove a long, though less bumpy route back to the new house. We unloaded the truck and Hitch's jeep so it could be returned to U-Haul by the deadline. While he and Kyle took the truck back and picked up lunch on their return we finished unloading and began to organize the boxes and stacks of furniture into the appropriate rooms. 

After an amazing pizza lunch, devoured while sitting on the front porch, we divided into two different work teams. One group took the vehicles back to the house to meet Julie (who had to work half a day for post-planning at school) and to bring back as much of the remaining small furniture and other items as possible in the bus and in their two cars. The rest of the group continued to organize the house. When we finally got the returning vehicles unloaded and the boys beds assembled we came back to the church to get cleaned up for dinner then souvenir shopping. The showers sure felt great after so much hot work!

Michael and Julie made us a wonderful dinner of Spaghetti, Caesar Salad, and pound cake (with sweet tea, of course) before most of the crew headed back into town via the trolleys for some last minute gift & souvenir shopping (and goofing off). While waiting on the trolley we saw a man (the owner we supposed) open Blue Dot Donuts, the donut shop across the street from the church where we have bought breakfast two mornings. Shari shouted across the street, "We Love You!" The team added, "and your donuts!" After a few minutes the door opened and the man emerged a carrying a sack. He walked across the street to us and said, "Here are some donut holes, enjoy!" Shari advised the group, "see what happens when you are nice to people, when you share the love!" The donut holes were incredible! We will be making a final trip over before heading out of town in the morning. The red velvet donuts are the best donuts I've ever had! 

  

It's been a wonderful trip. We have done lots of different things to help the church get ready for the summer. We made a contact for the summer children's camp while playing in the park yesterday. The grandmother we met is supposed to call Michael next week to sign her grand children up. We learned a lot about this great city and the needs that still exist as a result of Katrina, but we also learned about the great ministries that are occurring here and the great needs that churches are meeting in the wake of the tragedy. Best of all, we moved Michael and Julie into their new place only a few blocks from the church. No more 30 minute commutes! God has also been at work in the lives of our team members. Thanks for your prayers. It will be fun to see and hear how God uses the lessons learned in NoLa in the lives of these amazing young adults over the next few years!

NoLa #5

Morning came too early today! While yesterday was a "down day" for our team with less strenuous activity, we were all exhausted by bedtime. 

We began with a final walk through of the building, somehow discovering more clutter that needed to be tossed or placed where it belonged. Then our very own tour guide, Michael Hitch directed our bus through the narrow lanes of the city as I dodged pot holes, parked cars and road debris. We went through some of the areas still suffering from Katrina damage. We drove along streets where one house had been meticulously restored, the next razed and replaced by a modern energy efficient home, and the next empty, abandoned, and crumbling. We watched and heard a New Orleans double line funeral procession. 

Then we drove to the 9th Ward. Hitch's description of the Katrina flood as we drove through the most damaged area was riveting. Crossing the bridge he pointed out the levy and flood wall. He described how poorly anchored barges broke loose and crashed into the flood wall, creating a breech that immediately washed away both wall and levy allowing a 20 foot high wall of water to bury the Lower 9th Ward in mere seconds. When it all settled the sea water was 8 feet high across the parish. Ultimately, 1836 people lost their lives during and after the storm.

As we drove along Hitch pointed out walls of businesses and homes with dark horizontal lines 15 feet above the ground - the water line. He pointed out vacant lots where the city came in and bulldozed away any homes seemingly abandoned, leaving no remnant of a structure, all without owner's permission. 

Hitch described the various ministries that are attempting to make a difference in the area. He talked about the lack of churches in the community. Most churches were washed away with the homes and have not returned. In many ways it is a community truffling to make it with fewer resources, fewer people, and no support. Promised government support was wasted on trivial infrastructure or was given to investors as "buy backs" of their worthless damaged rental properties, sometimes at double market value. Additional promised funds dried up as newer natural disasters took precedence in the news, and thus, in the public and political eye. 

After the tour we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the historical Chelmette battlefield, climbed trees, learned a bit about the history if the city, and talked about the city, the recovery efforts, and the ways various on-profits are working together to meet the ongoing needs of the communities. We dropped a few team members at Hitch's house so they could he Julie pack up some more things for the big move tomorrow. The rest of us when to the park to play with anyone who might come out to play. 

 

At Cominsky Park we tossed a frisbee and kicked a few soccer balls, showing off our lack of skills. It did not take long to be joined by a few children who were in town staying with their grandmother for a few days since school was out for the summer. Two little girls and a boy joined in the fray. The good thing was they didn't know anything about soccer or frisbee so we looked like pros to them. 

We talked to the grandmother a while and heard from her heat it was like to ride out a storm like Katrina. She said while she sought shelter in their home they watched the house next door literally split in half when the waters hit. Her home was flooded but spared any structural damage. When she dared to walk outside 7 days later the water was chin high. They were rescued from the standing flood water a few days later. She thanked God that her family made it through without any permanent scars. 

After a quick shower back at the church Hitch treated us to "pancakes as big as a pizza" at City Diner. We had tried to go on Sunday evening, but the diner was short staffed. It was worth the wait! We had such a good time talking through the week, getting to know each other better, eating too many slices of pancakes (served on pizza pans - blueberry, strawberry, banana, pecan, and plain), and being entertained by Nick's magic tricks. It was a very fun evening and the perfect ending to the day.

NoLa, #4

Small group mission trips have a unique way of creating lasting relationships among team members. Groups that know each other before the trip grow ever closer as the trip progresses. Groups, like this one (an amalgam of people from different places who know each other in varying degrees) also form close ties, yet the process is a bit slower. It has been a joy to observe the growing unity of our group of ten students. Of course there are those who naturally pair up each day to work on individual projects. Sometimes this occurs because of the type of work chosen, but it is usually the result of personalities. Some folks simply work best with specific people. Every team has a floater or two who wants to make sure that equal time is spent with each team member. Floaters want to know everyone on the team as well as possible. Most teams also have strong introverts who work well with one or two others, but then must disappear at times to recharge. Often the introverts go to bed early or rise before anyone else in order to have solitude to process, write, read, pray, and prepare for time spent with the rest of the team. 

Toward the middle of trips like this there are lots of late night conversations occurring. Pairs or trios will find a quiet corner or table in another room to talk about life, about faith, about the trip so far. These are the moments where life change happens. Such are the times when disorienting experiences from the trip begin to coalesce. Disorientation is the result of being out of the proverbial "comfort zone" of home and school and seeing and experiencing things that challenge norms. Team members can help each other wrestle with the new experiences and find new meanings within. 

The team continued cleaning, organizing, and painting in the church yesterday. We made great headway and finished most projects. We reclaimed several spaces that had been sealed off as storage rooms and are now great work or meeting areas. Moat of the closets in the church are now free of clutter and organized! Tools are all back in their places in the basement. Two trips have been made to donate unused items to thrift shops. Floors have been mopped and empty boxes tossed. Broken toys, furniture, crayons, and other items have been thrown away. The church is ready for a summer of community ministry! It was a good, profitable day!

Two days left! Pray for the team members who:

   Have begun dealing with things they have experienced here, or 

   Who are working through issues of calling, or 

   Who are tired and need to find some rest.

Two more days of work before we head home on Saturday!

NoLa, #2

The bright sunshine awakened me again this morning. After stumbling down the hall to brush my teeth I found the kitchen and brewed a pump-pot of Community Coffee-dark. As the warm elixir slowly revives me, body and soul, I begin to realize how stiff and sore my body became overnight. It might be an Advil kind of day. However, as I reflect on our Memorial Day activities in NoLa a smile comes to my face. We accomplished much and had a great deal of fun in the process. This is a great team of which to be a part!

After a leisurely breakfast at the church we loaded up the bus with people and supplies for cleaning and painting. After traveling only a few blocks we stopped on a quiet street with classic shotgun duplexes on one side of the block and larger single family homes on the other. All had large porches or verandas, with wicker furniture for sitting under the shaded porch and people watching. We carried our supplies to one of the duplexes. This was the place Michael Hitch and his family would be moving this week to be in the midst of the community where the church is located. We quickly discovered that much work needed to be done before it was ready for this sweet family - furniture, rugs, tools and dust covered every floor. Starting upstairs, our group cleaned and painted the two children's bedrooms and cleaned the floors, baseboards, and fixtures in all of the rooms. Painting the 12 foot high plaster walls was a chore - one gray wall in each room, then pink for the little girl's room and blue for the boy's room. I put my long honed skills to work and replaced a toilet seat before jumping into the painting mix cutting in the rooms. By lunchtime all that was left was a few touch-ups.

For lunch we took our sack lunches to City Park and ate while watching geese play on a small island in the pond. As they finished eating the boys in our group taught the girls to skip rocks. We were entertained by the small gauge train that circumvented the park, waving at children and tourists joyfully riding around the park. After the hour we made our way back to the house. Before beginning work a few of us walked down the street in search of a bottle of water. Instead we discovered a snowball shop. Snowballs are similar to snowcones, but so much better! The concept is the same, but the shaved ice results in a texture more like and extra thick slushy. The praline-cream syrup was amazing!

After a quick strategy meeting the team tackled the first floor. One crew hauled some unneeded furniture away while the rest of us - experienced painters now - quickly painted and cleaned the downstairs and the steps. The refreshing sent of pine sol now replaced the stale odor of a long empty, older home. The bright walls and shining, mahogany stained heart pine floors were now ready to welcome the Hitch family later this week. It was a good day of work!

After dinner Micheal took us to the sanctuary for worship and bible study. He discussed the ministry here at Canal Street and in the city as being one modeled after Philippians 2. It is an incarnation all ministry that seeks to meet people where they are with the Gospel. 

Hitch noted that God has been calling his followers to a deeper faith for generations. The more liberal among us have been pushing for change for 30+ years. Yet these prophetic voices have been pushed to the background by those in charge in denominations. However, beginning with Anthony Campolo, moving to his student and mentee Shane Claibourne a new generation of radicals has emerge. David Platt & Francis Chan have joined the growing chorus of those who believe that membership in the church is not a salvation reserved for the elite, but is for all people and which calls us to a faith that is concerned about "the least of these." Platt and Chan have a platform that cannot be silenced by those who would attempt to quell their cries for a faith that is uncomfortable with the American status quo. People are hearing them now and are responding with a desire for a deeper faith. Hitch does not like to call the movement radical, because it should be the norm for all people who choose to follow Jesus.

Hitch challenged the students to pay attention to the dreams that God gives to them now because they are at a time in their lives when their dreams will be more vivid and they will be able to hear God in ways that will never be so clear again. He advised the, to listen and to act on the dreams and visions that God gives them. 

On missions it is easy to be incarnational for a week or a bit more. on trips such as this we are in solidarity with our teammates about focusing on Jesus in all of what we ate charged with doing. However, Hitch advised we need to be that way always! We should allow Christ to live in and through us at all times and in all things. We should have the mind of Christ that Paul presented in Philippians 2, one marked by humility and putting others above our needs and desires.

On missions we should do our work as Christ did, incarnationally. But we should also live that way when we get back home and when we go back to school. We should not only focus on begin the proverbial "hands and feet" of Christ, but on allowing Jesus to live in and through us at all times, in all places, responding to every situation in which we find ourselves through our whole selves, not just through various body parts. 

As we headed off to an evening of fun activities around the church Hitch challenged the team to ponder ways Jesus might want to be more incarnational in our lives, and to identify ways we were each resistant to such living. 

NoLa Time

Up way too early this morning, awakened at 6am by the sun and excitement to begin the projects for the week, I was joined in the fellowship hall of this grand church by two of our team members. They were similarly awake, probably due to the central time change and unfamiliar beds as much as excitement. Situated on the upper end of Canal Street near City Park, the small yet stately brick church lies nestled between quaint homes, small businesses, and nonprofits. Families walk to the nearby cafes and shops on the wide sidewalks. The trolleys traverse the median between the tree lined street in front of the church. Many young families live in this area. This summer members of Canal Street church will be assisted by mission teams from across the country as they seek to minister to and reach people of this community. 

When the church was reborn a few years ago, the new staff decided to also simultaneously begin a nonprofit for community service and outreach. Thus, the church building houses both the church community and RICC (Restoration Initiative for Culture and Community - www.thericc.org). Their byline is Restoring Communities and Reconciling Relationships. The purpose of the nonprofit is reconciliation in many iterations. They seek to to rebuild homes - many in the area are still empty from the ravages of Katrina. They seek to build strong families through family and children's ministries, assisting with counseling needs, providing a community preschool, hosting summer block parties and day camps, and lots of other events and activities. They seek to network within the community, assisting and partnering with other groups to meet needs and to make the community a more wholesome place to live and work. 

This morning our diverse team from campuses across Georgia will begin to help the church get ready for the many summer events that are scheduled. We are the first of many teams who will be living and working here this summer. We will do some cleaning, organizing, and painting of the church facilities. We will prayer walk areas where the church hopes to minister this summer as well as some of the other, more famous parts of the city. Later in the week we will assist some staff members and volunteers move into the church community. Living close to the church is essential to most effectively minister to the community. Budgets are tight. Staff is not paid much. Our team will be able to provide much needed assistance to three church families that are moving into the church community. It should be a good week. We are all excited and ready to begin! 

Let's do this for the glory of God!

NoLa Team #1

Clarke Bradley, Georgia Southern University

Nathan Byrd, campus minister@UGA, team leader

Nick Byrd, North Oconee High School

Alisa Curtwright, Georgia Perimeter College

Chris Davisson, Georgia State University

Walter DeGuire, Georgia Southern University 

Jennifer Hightower, University of North Georgia

Marcus Ross, Southern Polytechnic 

Kyle Todd, Georgia Tech

Shari Watson, University of Georgia

Natasha Wood, Georgia Southwestern College

NoLa, #3

Hitch cooked bacon and eggs for the team this morning. It was the perfect complement for the Community Coffee that is served at every locale in he city. This, when we began working on various projects around the church we did so with full bellys. Hitch gave us several projects ideas before joining the rest of the church staff for a planning meeting. He concluded his charge with, "If you run out of things to do just look around and find a project." Needless to say, we stayed busy all day cleaning, organizing, moving, and prepping: 

We moved the pool table and fooseball table to the room we cleaned the day before. It was an ordeal involving wrenches, a quilt, and lots of heavy lifting. 

We cleaned and organized the children's area, tossing lots of trash, sharpening pencils, and removing lots of stray materials and equipment that had accumulated over the past two years. 

We organized the basement where all of the paint and tools are stored. 

We organized and cleaned closets, scraped a wall to remove falling paint & plaster. 

We organized a small closet into a food pantry, moving and assembling shelving, finding, sorting, and organizing donated foodstuffs into the space. 

We moved the art studio from one room to a new, larger space. Tomorrow we will paint the old studio to create a youth Sunday School room. 

Possibly the most fun job was breaking down old pews that a member will turn into a new conference table for the church. 

After all of the work was finished we showered and prepped for an adventurous evening. The fun began with a dinner of jambalaya and freshly baked French bread! After dinner Hitch briefed the team about our evening activities - a prayer walk in the French Quarter. Though we walked through the Quarter the day we arrived, it was during the day and we did not go on Bourbon Street. The prayer walk route, distributed to our team on maps, wove across the most infamous street at intersections, giving a glimpse of the people, businesses, and revelry without leading the team directly through the debauchary. Hitch gave the option for the team to stray from the route it they wanted to walk down the street to experience more of what is there or to abandon the map completely to go to Jackson Square or the river front to pray if walking the route was too difficult. He summed up he presentation with a description of the area as "The Walt Disney World of Sin." 

We boarded the trolley in front of the church and headed downtown. Most of the team had never ridden a streetcar before. We were good tourists and took lots of pictures. After we reached our destination the group decided into two teams, whereupon I gave them a surprise - they would be venturing into the Quarter on their own. I felt they needed to rely on their own faith and on each other instead of looking to me for answers and support. They all had their cell phones. I would only be a few blocks away. After delivering the news that i would meet them at Cafe du Monde when they were finished, I quickly turned and walked away. 

When the two groups later converged at the cafe they were deep in conversation. One group arrived fairly quickly, spending about 45 minutes on the prayer walk. They huddled around their tables, tucking in to Beignets and cafe au lait talking in quiet tones about the evening. The second group arrived much later with more somber expressions. They had stopped midway through their trek to pray in depth about what they were seeing. They took a detour and walked down the middle of Bourbon street. Afterwards they went to the park adjacent to Jackson Square to pray again. I have not talked in detail to any of them about it, they needed time to process. Jennifer told me that it was very, very difficult and that she did not know what to think yet. 

If you have never been to the French Quarter and walked along Rue de Bourbon it will be difficult to sufficiently describe the scene. While Bourbon Street looks much like all of the others in the Quarter, their are fewer stores seeking trinkets, t-shirts, and other tourist junk. In their places are dingy bars open to the street next to colorful joints boasting 24 frozen drinks! the bars are interspersed with glass-front "stores" plastered with huge posters featuring picture-"menus" of the girls that work within. the girls are nude and most are in provocative poses. Music blares from each bar and storefront. Most of the bars and strip clubs are fronted with greasy carnival-barkers calling to passersby to come inside. Many of these barkers taunt and bait the obvious tourists and church groups (usually wearing matching Jesus shirts). And then there are the crowds. Scantily clad party-loving tourists with sun-burned shoulders and faces stumble along the street, plastic commemorative "hurricane" cups in hand, seeking the next adventure. Street performers are scattered along the route, juggling, reading fortunes, playing music for tips. There are the lots of characters in odd attire - solid silver clothing and paint, dancing like a robot - western garb with a huge boa constrictor slithering across his shoulders - black wedding dress with vampire make-up - all posing for pictures with tourists for a fee. Homeless men and women wander down the street hoping to beg some change from drunken revelers. The street assaults the senses. The bright lights, the loud music, the diversity of people types and attire, all combine with the smells of stale beer, wafts of rotting food in the gutters and in and around garbage cans, body odor, and the various colognes of the barkers is overwhelming. 

In the attempt to make money, Bourbon street sells watered down booze and cheap-kinky sex. It is a center of prostitution and sex trafficking. As a result New Orleans is a favored destination for sex tourism. Road-tripping college students, rebellious teens, and wayward business men and woman find after-hour distractions 

MNYBA & BCM@UGA - a great partnership in the making

Sitting at the gate in LaGuardia waiting for my flight back to Atlanta I am reflecting on the conversations, meetings, and tours of the past few days. I am so excited to be a part of introducing more UGA students to this great city and the vast diversity of peoples, faith expressions, and ministry opportunities here. I have already sent texts and Facebook messages to students back home presenting seeds of wonder about some of the possibilities I've discovered. Basically, almost anyone who has pondered almost any type of ministry with any people or people group can find a place here!

Why serve overseas when the same people groups can be found here?
Why work in a secular job and attend an over packed church "back home" when the same type of job can be found here and where every church needs your help?
Interested in Urban ministry? This is the place.
Want to fight sex trafficking? Ministries in churches are just getting started, the front lines are here.
Want to do ministry to a specific Ethnic group? The association has churches in many, many languages other than English. They all need willing workers.
Want to feel like a minority? Come to Flushing (Chinese), Corona (Spanish speaking), Astoria (Indian), or Long Island (a vast mix of many nations), and the list goes on.
Want to learn to do ministry for the world that is just around the corner? Studies suggest that by the middle of this century our cities will experience exponential growth. Atlanta is destined to be one of the largest cities in the world by then end of the century. Churches are going to have to adapt, to learn how to respond to urban needs. Come to NYC and see how it is being done with great success.
Interested in church planting? That is the main strategy here and where the most students and alumni are needed.

Come meet NYC. Then ask yourself and God the question, "Why not here?"

Tour of the world on the 7 train

A bit after 8 this morning John Ramirez arrived to begin my grand tour of the world, that is the world that has come to America and consolidated in the borough of Queens. John explained that at least four distinct cultures could easily be explored at four stops along the tracks traversed by the 7 train. After a quick cup of coffee and a bagel we began our jaunt traveling just across the river from Manhattan and meeting fellow Georgian and former Georgia Baptist Convention State Missionary Patrick Thompson at a local diner. While Patrick ate breakfast and we nibbled on some sausage and a croissant and drank another cup of coffee he told us about his work beginning to plant New City Church in this rapidly growing area. He has been there three months and has only found one church in this, the fastest growing area of New York. He talked about his dream of hosting sports camps over the summers and of having visiting collegians mingle with area residents, mostly young families of diverse ethnicity, in the park by the river so he and his wife could begin to meet them in a non-threatening place. He talked about the need for more teams of students to come help to conduct spiritual surveys and prayer walks of the area before he could even make solid plans to begin hosting services of worship. He talked about the need to have a ministry center so they would have a home base for mission groups to stay, for ongoing ministry to occur, and for the planned for church to meet for weekly worship. We even looked at a few vacant buildings that might be possibilities for such a center as we walked the neighborhood after leaving the diner. As Patrick and I walked and talked and dreamed I shared with him the names of a few students and alumni who came to mind whom I thought might be perfect to minister here. Perhaps I can bring them up soon!

After leaving Patrick we traveled farther along the 7 line and stopped in little Chinatown. Like its namesake in Manhattan all of the signage and people were Asian - in fact, there were few English words visibly or audibly evident. Even the smells reminded me of my journeys to China and Korea. This place was much less touristy than the larger and more famous version across the river. John took me to a huge food court so I could try an novel import - "bubble tea." Of the appearance of iced chai with milk, the drink had blue pea-sized beads on the bottom of the glass mingling with the ice cubes. Using a large 1/2 inch diameter straw inserted through cellophane seal on top, I followed John's example of stirring the drink, then slurping up drink and beads. The drink was much like iced chai - slightly sweet and refreshing. The beads were a textual surprise - similar to very soft, yet chewy gummies. John informed me they were actually tapioca.

As we left he food court enjoying our bubble tea, John told me that a church was being planted in this area and that students were needed to assist with the early work. He and I begin to discuss how so many students are called to foreign missions and falsely believe they have to leave the United States to work with people groups from other parts of the world. As we walked and talked we were in a place in almost identical to those I have visited in Asia, but yet only a few subway stops away from the largest American city center. Just like overseas, in this vast area of Asian culture here on American soil there are few Christian influences.

Our next stop was in "little India." Again, the smells were other worldly, heavy with curry and garlic and cumin, and the sights of men with the long beards worn by Hindu mystics and of women wearing saris. Shops along the streets sold goods imported directly from India while Patel's Market displayed fruits and vegetables that I have never even seen on the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods or at the Dekalb Farmers Market in Atlanta. I felt oddly out of place as the only white person on the street. John explained that there was one church plant in the area and another one was in the planning stages. As with the previous spots visited, students who feel called to missions or who want to make a difference in another culture are needed to come and spend time getting to know the people groups living here and helping with much of the ground work required to start a church.

Back on the train I was still the lone Gringo as we headed to an area known as Corona. As we exited the raised subway platform the sights and smells of Latin and South America greeted my senses. Our first stop was Iglesias Canaan, a church that was in the middle of a noontime service. We said hello to those at the door and in the office. John waved to the pastor who waved back mid-sentence. As we excited John explained that each church in this area catered to specific groups of Spanish speakers. I ignorantly assumed that any Spanish speaking church would be a place any Spanish speaker would attend. Just like churches back home, culture is just as important as language. While one church might house primarily Peruvians another might be comprised of Dominicans or Mexicans. I naturally began to think of all of our students at UGA who have taken many years of Spanish classes, many of whom have also studied abroad in Spain or South or Central America. How might they use their language skills, their energy, and their passion for Jesus in this area? As we went in search for an Empanada to snack on we talked about ways to begin to introduce students from UGA to the many worlds just across the river from Manhattan.

As we travelled back along the tracks on the 7 train John told me that tomorrow morning I would join the staff for their weekly meeting and we would all begin to talk about how we could possibly implement some of the ideas we discussed today. How can the MNYBA and the BCM at UGA partner together over the next 3-5 years to be a conduit for students to come to Queens NYC and to engage the world with the gospel by assisting the four areas I visited today along with ConnectionNYC?

I continued to ponder that question as Kyle Herring and I traversed the city this afternoon and evening. As an alumnus he too is vitally interested in having his more of his fellow Georgia Bulldogs join him in spreading the love of Christ across the city and potentially around the world through the new churches being planted here.

ConnectionNYC

Experiencing worship at ConnectionNYC in Astoria yesterday was the culmination of over a year's worth of prayers. On Spring break 2012 a team from UGA BCM joined other students from Georgia and Alabama to cover the city in prayer and ministry. Much of what we did was prayer walking areas where church planters had begun work to start new congregations. One group of UGA students was teamed up with Daniel and Larry in Astoria. On the day I visited the group they were getting a tour of the target area and praying for specific needs the two pastors had encountered in the process of working to get the church off the ground. One stop was outside of a Lutheran church where they had contracted to rent space for a Sunday Afternoon service beginning just a few months away. I took a picture of Larry in front of the church gates telling about the plans for weekly worship. Little did I know that I would be sitting in the church a little over a year later worshipping with the new congregation while one of my former students, Season Helms, led music. Little did I know that another of my students, one who was in that picture, Kyle Herring, would feel God calling him to the city, to this church, to work with Larry and Daniel, to invest his life in getting this church started.

As Season and I walked back from dinner last night after worship (and after an amazing meatball mozzarella grilled cheese at The Melt in Chelsea), she told me that she could see herself moving back to NYC at some point in the future. "I was made for a place with public transportation," she said. Season will be leaving the city in August after more than a year of living here and working with the Metro New York Baptist Association (MNYBA). When she was appointed as a summer missionary last spring she cried! She didn't want to come to New York! She didn't believe it when Kyle and I told her what a great time she would have. However, after being here for the summer Season was asked to stay on by the folks at the association. She called me again in November and told me she had decided to stay another semester. Not too far into 2013 she decided to stay even longer, at least until August before returning to the Atlanta area to go to grad school (at Georgia State or Kennesaw) to earn a degree in Counseling.

Season has made quite an impact on the city, not only working in the Associational office, but also helping to lead worship in various churches. Each week she typically leads worship in the Bronx at Graffiti 2 in the morning and often in another new church in the afternoon or evening. This small town girl from Trion, a suburb of Dalton in northwest Georgia, has become a true up-town girl with a heart for the Big Apple!

A New York Frame of Mind

I am always amazed how threads of experience keep reappearing in my life. Perhaps when in the midst of an endeavor I simply look back for connections with the past. Perhaps I want, no, need to see that life is more than a collection of disconnected experiences of happenstance. Perhaps as a student of and believer in Narrative Identity Theory I am constantly seeing plot and character connections across my life story, constantly remembering, re-telling, and even editing my memories to make meaning of the present. Perhaps any of those could be true, but I also believe that life is not mere happenstance, that somehow there is a mystical connection between all humans, that somehow God is working in small and big ways through the choices we make, experiences we have, and things we recall to bring about an ultimately good ending.

As a collegiate minister who works with incredibly intelligent and gifted students who are "working out their salvation with fear and trembling" while negotiating the expectations of professors, parents, and peers, I get a chance to see and hear amazing faith stories. Wan alumni come back to visit or when I run into them by chance at a wedding, a sporting event, a mall, or while rushing through an airport I get to hear "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey would conclude. Today I'm bound for New York City to continue to build upon several seemingly disconnected story lines and relationships that have converged in this metropolis.

A few months ago I received a call from John Ramirez, an associational missionary with the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association (affectionately known as MNYBA). I first remember meeting John in the early 1990s soon after I had moved from being the campus minister for the Middle Georgia area to work as the Collegiate Missions Coordinator for the Georgia Baptist Convention. My boss and I traveled to New York and New England to plan some mission trips and John was one of the folks we met. At the time he was working in New England. Over the years I would send missionaries to work in the New England area and would communicate with John to set up those projects. When I moved back to the campus in 2000 i lost touch with John since i no longer sent missionaries there to work. we would occasionally see each other at national gatherings of campus ministers, but those are rare. Then two years ago I accompanied a team of students to New York for a spring break mission trip. Under John's direction, we worked through the association to help with a variety of mission sites and new church starts in all 5 boroughs. Several student on our team began to develop a love for the city and the ministries occurring there. It was fun to watch them begin to wrestle with a calling to move to NYC to work. Kyle Herring was one of the students on that trip. I wrote about him and his move to NYC in an earlier post. But Kyle is not the only alumni from UGA currently working in ministry in New York. When we returned from that mission trip we quickly found Season Helms, a student destined for a summer mission experience in the city over that next summer. Season not only worked over the summer, but extended her employ and stayed a whole year. She and Kyle live in the MNYBA complex.

John Ramirez's call from New York was prompted after he met two additional Georgians who were also in our campus ministry. Aaron Hursey, a current UGA student graduating this semester, contacted John about working with Kyle at Connection Church in Queens as a summer intern. He knew Kyle & Season from college and was excited about the possibility of working with them in ministry. Aaron will be moving to NYC for the summer at the end of May. Just as the details for Aaron's adventure were coming together, John and Kyle attended a meeting of folks who were working with new church starts in the city. Both were surprised to meet Trey Eitel, another grad from UGA who had moved to NYC with his wife Kaitlyn and their new baby to help with a new church in Brooklyn. Trey and Kaitlyn met at the UGA BCM while practicing for our annual dinner theater. They developed a love for NYC while on a college mission trip for senior students led by Franklin Scott. Over the past few years we have also had several other connections with churches and ministries in the city. A few years back our intern, Vaughn Calquitt planned a mission trip for us to NYC to work with her brother-in-law at Gallery, a new church in the Flat Iron district of Manhattan. We were surprised to discover that some of our alumni who lived in NYC were members there! Several students have gone back to Gallery to serve as interns since that trip.

After meeting so many UGA BCM alumni working in his city, John and the other staff marveled that God must be up to something. He called me to inquire about the possibility of formalizing some sort of partnership that could serve as a pipeline for our students to learn about the city and make connections to help with the vital church planting strategy the association has developed over the past few years. Kyle and Season knew about and encouraged the idea before John ever called me.

I am excited about this trip for lots of reasons. First, I feel like I am a part of something much bigger than myself, something that God has initiated and with which we have the privilege of being a part. Second, I get to see two of my favorite students (OK, they are all my faves) actively involved in ministry as young adults. This evening I will attend worship at Connection where Season will be leading the music while Kyle has a night off to celebrate his birthday. Third, I get to see the continuation of story lines with each of these alumni, stories that began long ago, continued while in college, were honed through leadership experiences in BCM, and which will continue to be written long into the future. I have asked each of them to take me to some of their favorite places while I'm there. Fourth, I get to be apart of setting the stage for current and future collegians from UGA to meet NYC and to possibly find a future of ministry there. Fifth, I get to be involved in God's kingdom work of salvation, healing, and redemption even if I am not the one living in NYC and doing hands on ministry there. I love helping students make connections by practicing what Wayne Oates, a former seminary professor of mine called "the ministry of introduction." Sixth, I have gotten that incredible feeling of expectation that "God is up to something" in my own life and ministry, something that I know will only come into focus for me in the future. In the past when I have had this feeling a new chapter of life has begun for me soon after - adopting our first two children, embarking on a PhD program, moving to Athens, Karlie being born, just to name a few. Seventh, I get to help with the Send Me Now collegiate summer missions program, a program I coordinated for 10 summers. Some of what I will discuss with the MNYBA staff and local church leaders is how student missionaries from Georgia can be involved with summer missions through the partnerships we form. As a summer missions venture, any students who serve in the city during May through August will do so funded and sent by Send Me Now. Eighth, I will restart the tradition of senior spring break mission trips to NYC as we make plans for next year. Ninth, (perhaps the most obvious reason) I'm going to NYC, one of the coolest places I've ever visited!

Headlines, lyrics, & scriptures: Today there's a kaleidoscope in my head

Sometimes the cacophony in my head is too much....

Sometimes there are so many images, sounds, phrases, and memories swirling around like a tornado, each layered atop the other, moving in and out of focus and back again, yet from a different angle, creating a kaleidoscopic experience that is both irritating and fascinating. Yes, sometimes I fear I'm going stark raving mad. In order to maintain a semblance of sanity I have to find a distraction or I have to write. Usually when trying to distract myself I only add fodder to the mix....

Today I choose to write - or to "toss my [mental] cookies" - in an attempt to give some order to the chaos and perhaps find some themes to my ensuing madness.

All aboard! Hahahahahaha

AyeAyeAyeAyeAye 

Crazy, but that's how it goes

Millions of people living as foes

Maybe it's not too late

To learn how to love and forget how to hate. 

Mental wounds not healing

Life's a bitter shame

I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train

I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train 

I've listened to preachers,

I've listened to fools

I've watched all the dropouts

Who make their own rules

One person conditioned to rule and control

The media sells it and you live the role 

Mental wounds still screaming

Driving me insane

I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train

I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train 

I know that things are going wrong for me

You gotta listen to my words, yeah, yeah 

Heirs of a cold war,

that's what we've become

Inheriting troubles,

I'm mentally numb

Crazy, I just cannot bear

I'm living with something that just isn't fair 

Mental wounds not healing

Who and what's to blame

I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train

I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train 

(Crazy Train, by Ozzy Osborne)

Welcome to the Powderkeg: Obama arrives in Israel as Middle East conflict boils (Huffington Post headline) 

"Blessed are the peacemakers...." (Jesus, Matthew 5:9)  

Could you ever love a pot of gold?

Could you ever love another lonely soul?

And could you ever find a love that was oceans wide?

Could you ever find love in another stranger's eyes? 

Give a little tolerance, tolerance

We need you more and more

So lend a hand or simply hold a friend

That’s in need of a life support 

Draw a picture, share a whisper

Anyway that you can rise above

And when the end is near, who is gonna volunteer?

To be the last one to die for love 

Tolerance or violence

And the whole world goes to war

Is one enough or is one too many?

Before we say, "No more"

No more, no more

No more, no more

(Tolerance, by Michael Franti)

"He did not study God; he was dazzled by him." (said of Bishop Welcome, by Victor Hugo, Les Miserables)

When Slavery Begins at 3 Years Old (Video on CNN.com)

"What is this history of Fantine? It is society purchasing a slave. From whom? From misery. From hunger, cold, isolation, destitution. A dolorous bargain. A soul for a morsel of bread. Misery offers; society accepts. The sacred law of Jesus Christ governs our civilization, but it does not, as yet, permeate it; it is said that slavery has disappeared from European civilization. This is a mistake. It still exists; but it weighs only upon the woman, and it is called prostitution. It weighs upon the woman, that is to say, upon grace, weakness, beauty, maternity. This is not one of the least of man's disgraces." (Victor Hugo, Les Miserables) 

No Bullets, No Bombs...North Korea Launches CYBER WAR (Fox News top story)

"God never forces himself on us or coerces you toward life or love by any threats whatsoever. God seduces you, yes; coerces you, no (Jeremiah 20:7; Matthew 11:28-30). ...God...is utterly free and utterly respects our own human freedom. Love cannot happen in any other way. Love flourishes inside freedom and then increases that freedom even more. 'For freedom Christ has set us free!' shouts St. Paul in his critique of all legalistic religion (Galatians 5:1)." (Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamonds, p. 177)

Rainbow House Get's Revenge on [Westboro Baptist] Church (CNN feature and Huffpost "most shared" story)

"...Love your neighbor as yourself." (Jesus, Matthew 22:39)

"You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do." (Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird, p. 22)

 "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." (The Apostle Paul, Romans 12:14)  

"I will undertake the care of your child and yourself. You shall not work any longer if you do not like. I will give all the money you require. You shall be honest and happy once more. And listen! I declare to you that...you have never ceased to be virtuous and holy in the sight of God. Oh poor woman!" (Jean Valjean to Fantine, who had turned to prostitution to earn money to care for her child, by Victor Hugo, Les Miserables)

Ohio teen wears "killer" shirt, curses at victims' families (USA Today story)

Mental wounds not healing

Who and what's to blame

I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train

I'm goin' off the rails on a crazy train 

(Crazy Train, by Ozzy Osborne)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?" (Jesus, Matthew 5:38-47)

Fumbling his confidence

And wondering why

The world has passed him by

Hoping that he's bent for more than arguments

And failed attempts to fly, to fly 

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside

Somewhere we live inside

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside 

Dreaming about providence

And whether mice and men have second tries

Maybe we've been livin' with our eyes half open

Maybe we're bent and broken, broken 

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside

Somewhere we live inside

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

Somewhere we live inside

We want more than this world's got to offer

We want more than this world's got to offer

We want more than the wars of our fathers

And everything inside screams for second life 

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live for so much more

Have we lost ourselves?

We were meant to live

We were meant to live (Meant to Live, Switchfoot)

And so I ponder. 

And so I struggle. 

And so my mind swirls with ideas & thoughts of the dark and decaying realities of our world. 

And I realize....

You're God of this city, You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation, You are
You're the light in this darkness, You're the hope to the hopeless
You're the peace to the restless, You are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like You God

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

You're the Lord of creation, the creator of all things
You're the King above all kings, You are
You're the strength in the weakness, You are love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness, You are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like You God (by Bluetree, God of this City)

And so I pray, with Bono as my Cantor leading me to the throne of God, to the foot of the Cross of Jesus:

Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere 
Take this shirt 
And make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul 
And make it sing

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Take these hands 
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don't make a fist
Take this mouth 
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahewh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Still waiting for the dawn, the sun is coming up
The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, tell me now
Why the dark before the dawn?

Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart 

And make it break  

(by U2, Yahweh)