BOOM Shaka-Laka!!!!

Suburban Myths Part 1

Just lookin' out of the window
Watchin' the asphalt glow
Thinkin' how it all looks 'hand-me-down'

Recently, Justin Taylor over at Between Two Worlds posted a link to an article that touched the age old (okay maybe it's not that old) suburban vs. urban debate. Part of the article states that for some it's cool to love the city and loathe the suburbs. As one who was born and grew up in the city, went to live in the burbs for a bit and have since returned to the city I thought I'd chime in on the subject. Some of you probably recognized the lyrics above from the closing song of the 70's show 'Good Times'. Many of us who were raised in poor black areas of America's large cities can readily identify with that song. Growing up in these areas I never met anyone from my family, friends, classmates, or anybody else who actually wanted to live in the city. As far as the city went the mantra of my parents, relatives and other adults in my life was 'get an education, get a good job and get out. My wife was the first black person I'd ever met who was raised in the city and still had a strong desire and determination to live in the city.

Over the last couple of decades much has been said about the mandate for Christians to move from the suburbs back into the city to bring the gospel to bear on the many challenges faced by those who live in the city. There has been however a fair amount of mythology that has also grown up around this subject. With that in mind then I'd like to do a short series of posts to expose and challenge some of these suburban myths.

Myth #1 - It is the church's responsibility to provide complete and comprehensive care for the poor. I call that a myth because while the church can and should certainly offer ministries of mercy toward the poor the entire problem of entrenched, generational poverty is not something we can or should try to solve on our own.

Myth #2 - White suburban evangelicals are indispensable to the recovery of our major cities, especially the poor black and Latino neighborhoods within those cities. I say this for three reasons. First, I don't want to ignore the ethnic dynamics of this discussion because it is still the elephant in the room. Second, I'm certainly not saying that suburbanites aren't welcome because they are (see next myth). Third I want to caution suburbanites against embracing a messiah complex with respect to the city.

Myth #3 - Moving into the city is the only way suburbanites can engage in effective ministry within the city. As Col. Sherman Potter would say 'that's horse hockey'.

Myth #4 - Ministry among poor blacks or Latinos is the only way suburbanites can participate in meaningful ministry. Trust me, having lived in the burbs I can tell you first hand that there are plenty of opportunities to serve the gospel among middle to high income suburbanites.

Myth #5 - The church can serve the poor most effectively by giving practical biblical advice and setting up practical anti-poverty programs.

In my view these are some of the myths that have grown up around the the urban vs. suburban ministry debate and thus must be addressed if we are to continue to work together to serve faithfully wherever our Lord has called us to serve.

To Him Who Loves Us...
pastor lance

Star Trek: Back To the Past

The Trek is back and you can bet your bottom dollar that this ain't yo daddy's Star Trek. The names remain the same but the feel you get from Star Trek: The Future Begins is most definitely different than the previous versions. As a life long Trekkie I considered it my obligation to see the latest incarnation of one of entertainments longest running series. So early this morning me and seven other Trekkies boldly went to a local IMAX theater to see if the wait was worth it.

And by and large it was. I'm not a movie critic and won't pretend to be one here. I can tell you that this Trek is good, well paced fare that will please Trekkie and non-Trekkie alike. You really don't need to know a whole lot about the original series (especially since more than enough ST lore is in our pop culture) to get a firm grasp of the film's plot. That said being familiar with ST will help with a number of the lines and subplots. One of the things I liked about this movie that was absent from all other TOS movies (TOS stands for The Original Series) is how the bridge crew (Uhurah, Chekov, Sulu and Scotty) actually did something other than sit there and say 'warp factor four captain'.
Kirk and Spock were portrayed with relish and in my view exactly the way an old Trekkie would have thought they'd be at the start of their five year mission.

One of the holdovers from the last few Trek films is the realization of actual, real evil. Star Trek was born with a belief in the basic goodness in humanity and by extension all sentient beings. The basic premise of the Trek is that eventually humanity and other sentient beings will evolve to a point where we will all live to explore the galaxy, cooperate with others and better ourselves. The first Trek was groundbreaking in that it featured an international crew that consisted of a Russian (remember this was in 67, the height of the Cold War) an African, Asian, Scotsman and others. TOS dealt with issues like war, racism and the existence of a supreme being. Though the Federation had enemies (the Romulans and Klingons) they were usually cast in a light that reminded humanity of what it once was. The idea seemed to be that even these folks would grow up, join the Feds and enjoy a peaceful, prosperous galaxy.

Apart from a few good episodes on other ventures within the franchise TNG, DS9, Voyager and Enterprise usually stuck with the good guys vs. bad guys theme. The movies followed the same path. After a disastrous first try (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) the folks at Trek got with the program and gave into the all too human reality that there are real bad dudes who do evil things because they are evil. I'm sure Gene Roddenberry would have loved to make shows and movies that highlighted space exploration that featured the discovery of new life and how that facilitated the exploration of our own humanity. But that don't sell tickets which is why Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek VIII: First Contact are still the most popular movies. (that Borg chica was creeeeepy)

The caretakers of the Trek either have realized or just given in to the fact that evil will be present even in the 24th century. With all of our supposed evolution, technological advances and history of our past mistakes in the end we cannot breed, education or reason our way to an existence that's devoid of real, actual evil. The villains Trek portrays may be from other 'races' but that may only be due to an unwillingness to admit that forty years after we boldly went where no man had gone before humanity is just as selfish, greedy and evil as it ever was. 1960's science fiction may have given us reason to put hope in the moral progression of humanity but 21st century science fact reveals a far different story.

So the future for Star Trek's continuing presence on the movie screen may have indeed begun. But one thing is for sure: we can boldly go as far as our warp powered ships will take us, but we will still not outrun evil. So take and escape and catch the Trek, but put your hope in Jesus.

Live Long And Prosper
LL

God's Dr. Phil

Say what? You didn't get your fill of Dr. Phil? Couldn't make it to Chi-town and the video of his excellent message just whet your appetite? No worries matey. The good doctor will bless the good folks at CLF twice this coming Sunday, April 26th. That's right twice! He will speak in our regular morning worship which begins at 9 a.m. (yes, 9 a.m.) and then at CLF's service of organization (it's a PCA thing and trust me, I don't even understand) at 6 p.m. So if you're in the Philly area and want to hear Spirit-filled, anointed, humble and insightful preaching stop by CLF (801 N. 65th St. Philly 19151) at one or both of these service to get your fill of God's Dr. Phil.

always joyful
pastor lance

We... Are The Champions!!!

That's right ya'll. The Red & White got their bling and then did their thing.

Go Phitins!!!
LL

A Tale of Two Peoples

Hey ya'll what's up? It's been a long, long time. I'm chiming in now because though things are still going full steam ahead I thought I'd relay an interesting conversation I observed yesterday.

It happened during a meeting of Fruit of the Vine Ministries. FVI is a missions ministry began by a member of CLF which seeks to partner with orphanages in Kenya. What fascinated me about the conversation was how similar it was to some things I had said when teaching a new members class just a few hours before.

It began when one of our Kenyan brothers explained why some of the Maasai people who live in Kenya called him a white man. At first he didn’t understand but then they explained that black Christians don’t come out to the bush and do mission work. In fact some of the Maasai used to say that come Sunday if there wasn’t a missionary available there would be no church, this despite the fact that there are millions of bible believing Christians just four hours away in Nairobi.
A second Kenyan brother echoed and further explained this phenomena. He dropped the knowledge that despite millions of Kenyan Christians and thousands of churches there is little mission mindset. He even jokes with his Kenyan friends who’ve been trained as doctors and nurses but lament the lack of work in Nairobi by telling them that there’s plenty of work, but not if you want a great paycheck.

To sum it up it appears that many Kenyan believers lack a mission focused mindset and Christianity. This is where our new members class ties in. This week we spent time working through our mission and vision. To set this up I do my usual spiel about growing up in West Philly. In short I explain how the local news helped to shape my view of my community and fuel my desire to get an education, get out of the city and get into the suburbs as fast as my little brown legs could carry me. I go on to say how everyone in my extended family stoked this mindset. I cap this little commentary by noting how in my humble opinion far too many black folk long to live in a community built up by someone else. We seem to believe that it’s either impossible or just do hard to create the kind of community we’d like to live in and then feign righteous indignation when another group gentrifies it and we have to move onto to somewhere else. From there I explain CLF’s vision to participate in building a beautiful Christ-centered community in which we, our children and our grandchildren can live, thrive and serve.

What does this have to do with the price of tea in Chinatown? Perhaps nothing. But one thing I noticed is how important theology is. (That’s right the dreaded ‘T’ word). If you feed a community of believers a steady diet of theology that focuses on their problems, success, prosperity and comfort you will produce a community of believers who actually think that mission is for those white people. Thus when it comes to building up their own communities so that in time those same communities become places of mission they either wait for the government or business or some other group. Remember folks everyone has a theology, especially those who proudly proclaim they do not. Everyone has a set of beliefs about God, scripture, Jesus, salvation, sin etc. These beliefs that shape how they live out the faith they profess.
And judging by the state of things among black folks in Africa and America we’ve got some work to do.

Always Joyful
Pastor lance

GET OUTTA MY FACE!

No I'm not talking about you. That the title of a new work from Dr. Rick Horne written for Christian parents, teachers and youth workers on the subject of reaching angry, unmotivated and disinterested teens with biblical counsel.
I'm recommending this book for a couple of reasons. First, I'm convinced that this book will prove a valuable tool as the church seeks to connect with a generation of young people who for a good many reasons are angry, unmotivated and disinterested. You can read more about the book here.

Second, I know the author. Dr. Horne has been a faithful member of CLF for several years. I've observed his humility and godliness up close and personal as well as his genuine love and care for young people. Everyone at CLF values the good doctor's counsel and we look forward to his weekly exhortation during the responsive reading of the Psalms. He also leads our adult Sunday school class and is doing a marvelous job taking us through the book of Revelation.

And it doesn't stop there. The good doc has also made a couple of guest appearances on holy, hip -hop projects.

So pick up the book and make good use of it in ministry and if you're ever in Philly on a Sunday please consider dropping by CLF to give a shout out to our dear brother Horne.

To Him Who Loves Us...
pastor lance