What I Learned About Homelessness

Back in February, Fourth Church Rising participated in a great homelessness immersion experience with the Interfaith Council for the Homeless. You can read about it here.

When I was cleaning off my desk last week, I found and filed the notes I took during our learnings and conversations that weekend. I thought I would share some of the more interesting facts and figures.

There are approximately 75,000 people who are homeless in Chicago every year. This covers the entire year. On a given night, there will be about 20,000 homeless people in the city. 10% of these people are between the ages of 12 and 18. That's 2,000 homeless teens in Chicago every night.

Across the country, 28% of Americans have been concerned about homelessness at some point in their lives.

It is often assumed that homeless people have become that way because of drugs, mental health, or because they just don't want to work. These are not the main causes of homelessness. The top four reasons for homelessness are:

1. People who are employed and do not make enough money. There are 168 hours in a week. You would have to work 100 hours at minimum wage to earn enough to afford a one bedroom apartment in Chicago.
2. No affordable housing. Public housing really doesn't exist in Chicago anymore. There are ten times as many people on the public housing waiting list than are actually in what's left of public housing. The minimum wait is about eight and a half years.
3. Unexpected expenses caused by health issues or other emergencies. 70% of low income people do not have health care.
4. Other causes: drug abuse, domestic violence, recently released from prison, mental health.

Some thoughts on how to solve these problems:

1. Raise minimum wages to a living wage. It has been demonstrated that the common assumption that raising wages will cause expenses to go up is not true.
2. Build affordable housing.
3. Universal health care and emergency funds.
4. Provide social services that can help people with these needs.

Beyond these statistics, though, the thing that surprised me the most and has haunted me since, is the information I learned about teen homelessness. Here are the top causes of teen homelessness:

1. Youth that come out about their sexuality to their parents and are kicked out of the house.
2. Pregnancy.
3. Drugs.
4. Domestic violence.

The first of these, teens coming out and being disowned by their parents, blew me away. It never occurred to me that this could happen in such a widespread and common way.

Teen homelessness and this particular issue of gay teens coming out to their parents is something that I think we need to get involved in. Religion has often been used to create atmospheres of suspicion and prejudice that result in these types of situations.

We need to work toward creating a societal change such that teens are not afraid to accept their sexuality and feel free and supported when bringing this up with their parents. This won't be easy, but I truly believe that we are being called to this important work.

John Buchanan on Jeremiah Wright

This past Sunday, our senior pastor, John Buchanan, delivered a profound and eloquent statement about the controversies surrounding Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ. I posted about this issue here.

Follow this link to read John's statement, which is wise, discerning, and right on target.

Life from Death

At one point in his Easter sermon, our senior pastor John Buchanan waded into difficult waters and connected the Easter message about death to the realities of death in our world today.

"We think we know all there is to know about death. Barbara Brown Taylor says you go to the funeral home, view the body, go home and eat fried chicken and green bean casserole with your neighbors, and get on with your life (Journal for Preachers, Easter 2008). Will Willimon says we live in a world that thinks death has the last word, a world in which we can be convinced easily that the way to deal with death is more death: lose 3,000 civilians in a terrorist attack—invade a country that had nothing to do with it, kill tens of thousands. Deal with death with more death (Thank God It’s Friday)."

I imagine that this statement might have made some people in the congregation uncomfortable. I'm glad he said it, though, because it boldly spoke of the reality of the Iraq War.

Holy Week was unique this year because it came so early in the calendar, as early as it will come for over two centuries. In Chicago, this meant that we had some snow on the ground on Easter Sunday.

Holy Week was also unique this year because it coincided with the five year anniversary of the current war in Iraq. It also marked the 4000th American death in this war. And while we spend most of our time focusing on American and Coalition casualties, the death toll for Iraqis is staggering. Just think about the almost 90,000 people who have died in Iraq during the past five years.

Dealing with death with more death.

The story of Jesus' resurrection tells us that God is in the business of bringing life from death. In the resurrection, and in the return of exiled Jews from Babylonia before that, and in the liberation of Israel from Egyptian slavery before that, we discover a powerful truth about our God: nothing is beyond God's redemption.

This is a truth that I cling to time and time again in the face of the many tragedies we face in this life.

As we look to Iraq at the beginning of year six, after celebrating the hope of Easter, we must ask ourselves: will there be life from death there too?

And if so, what role do we play in bringing it about?

(For a collection of blog posts marking the fifth anniversary of the war, see the special series on God's Politics, The Cost of War.)

Green Bay's Saint Job

Even though I'm a Bears fan, I can't help liking recently retired Brett Favre. I mean, really, who doesn't like Favre? He's hard working, down to earth, fun to watch, and simply one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game of football.

I was interested to discover today that he's also a devout Christian. Check out this great essay from Sightings: Brett Favre, Catholic Hero.

Usually, when high profile athletes are involved in Christianity, you know all about it. They make a big deal about it. They make a show of praying on the field. They thank Jesus all the time. Sometimes they go evangelical and start speaking at churches and Christian gatherings.

But not Favre. That's just not his style.

What I really like about the essay, written by Joseph Kip Kosek, is that it points out that so much of Favre's life and career have been marked by tragedy and pain: his own addictions, the death of his father and brother, his wife's cancer, the destruction of his mother's home by hurricane Katrina. Kosek argues, therefore, that Favre's faith is akin to that of Job, a constant faith in spite of, or perhaps because of, suffering.

If you think anything of Brett Favre, you should really read this fascinating essay.

Maundy Thursday Reflection

Now that Holy Week has come and passed, I'm able to catch my breath a little bit and catch up on the things that didn't get done last week.

But before this Holy Week is a too distant memory, I also want to make sure I write about some of the things I (and we) experienced.

The first experience of the week that really caught my attention happened during the sharing of Communion at our Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service on Thursday evening. In case you don't know, Maundy Thursday is the day when we remember and celebrate Jesus' last meal with his disciples. This is the meal that we remember when we share in the Lord's Supper. At Fourth Church, Maundy Thursday is also when we observe the traditional Tenebrae service, which involves the gradual extinguishing of candles until the sanctuary is left in darkness. Both elements--the last meal and the darkness--make this quite a powerful service. (Some churches also participate in the washing of feet, an even that also happened at Jesus' last meal with his disciples.)

A funny thing happened this year as I took the bread and juice of our Communion. Instead of just thinking about the original meal that our observance commemorates, my mind was swept away into a series of memories of all the Communions I've shared in over my years.

My first thought was of the Southern Baptist Church that I attended when I was in high school. Though I have changed a lot since those days and I currently disagree with much of what that church believes and how it practices its faith, it was very influential for me as a teenager. It was there that Christian faith first began to mean something real to me. It was there that I began to feel the call to ministry. It was there that I shared the Lord's Supper with friends and family.

I then thought of a Communion of tortillas and real wine at a small Baptist church in Cancun, Mexico. I had naively led my senior class on a trip to Cancun, which turned out to be quite an experience. On the Sunday we were there I found my way to a Baptist church in the central part of the city, not the tourist area. They graciously welcomed me in. I didn't speak a bit of Spanish, but I felt the Spirit move in that service. It was an eye opener for me in many respects, my first religious experience in an environment very different from the comfort of my home.

My next thought was of the Communions of pita bread and wine at the Narkis Street Congregation, the church I worshiped at when I lived in Jerusalem. That, too, was an incredibly formative time in my life and that church was truly a sanctuary for me as I grew in new directions, both spiritually and academically.

There are many more I could mention and describe, but you get the picture.

What was powerful for me on Thursday night was that this was much more than just a trip down memory lane. This rush of memories and emotions and tastes reminded me that all of these faith communities, as different as they are, are all bound together by love--God's love for us, our love for God, and our love for each other.

This is a big part of what Communion is all about. We may differ about many things, but our common calling in faith binds us together as one.

As I write this, my Eastertide prayer is that the church throughout the world might truly act as if this mysterious unity of Communion were real in their hearts. And in doing so, we might show the world what humans can do when inspired by love for God and love for each other.

"Doubting" Thomas

Here is a devotion I wrote for Fourth Church's Daily Devotions.

Scripture Reading: John 20:24–31

Reflection
More so than the other canonical gospels, the Gospel of John is deeply concerned with the notion of correct belief. The cluster of Greek words from the root pistis, which is usually translated as both “faith” and “belief,” appear more times in this gospel than in the other three combined.

It therefore makes perfect sense that scholars think that today’s passage was the original ending to the gospel. For one last time, our story returns to the question of belief, personified in the figure of “doubting” Thomas, with whom we as readers are surely intended to identify.

In the end, Thomas is transformed into a paradigm of faith as conceived by the author of the gospel. The implication, it seems, is that we are to surpass the faith of Thomas and believe without the luxury of seeing Jesus firsthand, a situation in which the vast majority of Christians, both ancient and modern, find themselves.

But I always wonder if the lesson of Thomas is really about finding faith through blind trust. It seems to me that Thomas is a paradigm of faith at least as much for his honest questions as for the belief he ultimately discovers. Christianity is at its best when we allow people the freedom to ask questions and encourage them to do so. This, it seems to me, must be the starting point of faithful discipleship.

Prayer
Patient and gentle God, thank you for listening to my questions and being with me as I search for truth and seek to follow the ways of living to which you call me. Amen.

Summer WorkCamps

This isn't too fancy, but check out this video with information about our three WorkCamps this summer. I'm getting excited already!



Check out these links for more information and registration:

• Elevation WorkCamp
• Senior High WorkCamps
  

This is a Religious Issue

Here's one more post to read: For Whites Only: Things to Consider When Entering the Race Conversation (by Sondra Shepley).

Now, don't think that I'm just trying to promote God's Politics by offering links to all these posts (though I certainly do support Jim Wallis and Sojourners). I'm just really excited about this moment in American history.

But this is not a political thing either. I'm not trying to promote Barack Obama on our Fourth Church Youth blog.

Don't be mistaken: this question of race relations in America (and across the world) is most definitely a religious issue.

This point is clearly made in Shepley's post, which is why I wanted to highlight it as well. In fact, her argument reminds me of one of my favorite theological writings of all time, Martin Luther King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail (read an earlier post about this here).

What always moves me about King's letter is that he takes white Christian leaders to task for not realizing that his civil rights movement was (and is) deeply rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. White pastors made the mistake of assuming that this was a political issue with which the gospel is not concerned. King took this fallacy head on and made a strong case for why white Christians should be joining him instead of condemning him.

The same is true today. I don't care what your politics are. You can support Obama or Clinton or McCain or Nader or whomever you want. But to not recognize that racism is a gospel issue is to miss the point of Jesus' life and teaching...and since we are in the middle of Holy Week, his death and resurrection too.

When early Christians would baptize each other, they recited the following creed: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

This short little statement sums up a major part of the Christian message. We are all equal in God's eyes. We are one people, with one common fate, one common responsibility for each other. Anything less than this is a failure to live up to what God wants for God's children...all of God's children.

McLaren on Obama's Speech

Here's another great post about Obama's speech: Engaging with "A More Perfect Union" by Brian McLaren. McLaren is an early and leading figure in the emergent church movement, which I have become quite interested in.

In his post, McLaren suggests that we should use this as an opportunity to truly engage with each other about this important issue and he offers a great discussion guide toward this end. This type of engagement is how transformation (social, political, theological) actually happens. Maybe this speech can indeed be a catalyst for such change.

Pastors, Prophets, and Politicians

The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright has been in the news quite a bit lately. He is the retired pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's south side, which happens to be the church of presidential candidate Barack Obama. For 2o years Pastor Wright has been a spiritual shepherd for Obama. He officiated the Obamas' wedding. He baptized their two children.

But he caused quite a controversy in the past week when clips from some of his sermons surfaced that included heated comments about Hillary Clinton and comments very critical of the United States immediately after 9/11. Here is one of the early news articles about the controversy. And here is an article about Obama removing Wright from his campaign team.

Yesterday, Obama delivered an incredible speech about race in America, a speech that I can only describe as prophetic, in the sense that he spoke directly and honestly about the realities of racism in our society. He spoke as a man of mixed race, a unique position of having immediate experiences of both white and black communities. He acknowledged that there is enough bitterness and resentment to go around on all sides and spoke sincere words of hope for a better future that actually lives up to the ideals on which our country is founded. Obama's underlying values, it should be noted, are in my opinion decidedly theological ones, founded on faith in the equality of human beings created in the image of God.

If you haven't heard it already, listen to this speech. It may be long, but it is worth the investment. This will go down as one of the great speeches in American history.



In this speech, Obama also distances himself from Wright's most offensive statements, while maintaining his relationship to his pastor. I feel compelled to note that Fourth Church Rising visited Trinity earlier this year, as I wrote about in this post. I've been to Trinity before and both times I found it to be a deeply moving spiritual experience. The preaching and the praise at this church is energetic and phenomenal.

During Obama's campaign, claims have been made that Trinity is racist and prejudiced against white people because it takes such pride in its African heritage. I can honestly say that when I was there, both times with a group of out of place white kids, we never once felt unwelcome. Quite to the contrary, our hosts were most gracious and hospitable. To be sure, there was a distinctly African and African-American flavor to the worship, but not to the point that we in any way felt excluded or marginalized.

I was very impressed by Trinity UCC and will certainly bring youth groups back in the future.

For some good blog posts that have come out today on the controversy and Obama's speech, check out these three from God's Politics, a blog maintained by Jim Wallis of Sojourners:

• It’s Not About Him Now—It’s About Us
• Exorcising Racial Demons: Part I
• How Wrong Was Rev. Wright? I especially like this post because the author points out that Wright is indeed a prophet in the biblical sense, and that biblical prophets were often considered offensive, and that biblical prophets were typically at odds with political leaders and did not mix with them particularly well. Perhaps, then, it is a good thing for Wright to be off Obama's campaign--now he can be free to speak his understanding of God's truth without fear of bringing down a political leader.
  

Coexistence

On Sunday, March 9 Fourth Church Rising took a field trip to the Muslim Education Center in Morton Grove.

Like most pastors and youth workers who lead confirmation classes, I've been making trips like this for many years. I've taken groups to Jewish synagogues, Hindu and Buddhist temples, and Muslim mosques.

As a religious leader passionate about inter-religious education and dialog, these trips are often a highlight of the year for me. I love seeing young people step outside of their comfort zones and realms of familiar experience to encounter people that are very different from themselves yet very similar at the same time. I love seeing prejudices and false presuppositions dissipate through direct interaction with those who act and think differently from ourselves.

As expected, this trip had many of those elements. But what made this trip different, and what got me even more excited about it, is that our young people had a chance to speak with Muslim young people their own age. These trips usually involve hearing a presentation from an adult, which is often good, but not nearly as effective as speaking with peers.

We spent most of our time in small groups, two or three of our students and two or three of theirs. Some of the groups talked about substantive religious issues. Most of them talked more about school and video games and other realities of being teenagers. This was probably the most valuable thing, a real opportunity to see that Muslim teens aren't really that different from Christian teens when it comes right down to it. This is what trips like this are all about, and we were blessed to share such an experience together.

When I sat down to write this blog post, I searched the internet to find a website for the Muslim Education Center to link to. I didn't find one (they should really get on this), but I did find several news stories that reminded me that the mosque attached to this school was recently the center of controversy. It seems that some residents of Morton Grove were very much opposed to the construction of this mosque, an all too common trend in the post-9/11 world of fear and prejudice against Islam. You can read about it in this USA TODAY article.

Being reminded of this sad controversy made me even more glad that we visited this particular Muslim community. I hope that our small acts of inter-religious partnership might be a sign of hope for even greater cooperation and coexistence among the various peoples and religions of our communities and country and world.

I believe with all of my heart that this is what God is calling us to do. And I'll keep looking for opportunities like this one to live out this call.

Visits to the Creation Museum

For your consideration, check out these two articles about visits to the Creation Museum, one from The Christian Century and the other from Sightings:

• "Dinosaurs in the Garden" by Jason Byassee
• "The Creation Museum" by Joseph Laycock

If you haven't heard about the Creation Museum, it's a $27 million museum in Kentucky built by a "creation science" group called Answers in Genesis. These are "young earth" creationists who believe that the universe was created in six 24-hour days about 6,000 years ago. Creationists who think it is possible that the "days" in Genesis 1 could represent longer periods of astronomic and geologic time and the newer waves of apologists defending "intelligent design" don't have anything on this group, who take the Bible about as literally as possible.

This approach to the Bible leads, of course, to some interesting theories. Dinosaurs lived with humans and ate only vegetables before the flood. The biblical flood is suggested as the cause of much of the geological and biological anomalies typically explained through evolutionary biology and geology.

I must admit that this sounds like a fascinating place to visit, though it seems that one stands to learn more about the people who believe in theories such as this than anything actually scientific. But that alone is probably worth the price of admission.

More Wimpy Kid

I plowed through the second book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, Roderick Rules, and pretty much enjoyed it as much as the first one. It was a little less engaging because Kinney attempted to work in some bigger story arcs, but it still managed to tell an interesting story of adolescence with the same wit and humor as the first go around.

I'm still not sure if these will be all that useful for youth ministry, but they'll be fun to read regardless. But who knows, maybe I could squeeze a "Gospel According to the Wimpy Kid" out of it...

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Last month I heard an interview on NPR with a cartoonist and writer named Jeff Kinney. He has published two books in a projected series of five called Diary of a Wimpy Kid, about a middle school kid named Greg Heffley. The book is set up to look like the handwritten diary of Greg, peppered with stick figure illustrations that go along with the stories.

The interview led me to believe that the books might provide some comical insight into the lives of middle school kids, so I ordered a copy of each, just for fun.

I read the first book this week, and I thought it was hilarious. Much like the beloved Calvin and Hobbes of my youth, the stories are ridiculous, but not so ridiculous that you can't imagine a kid actually finding his way into such situations. Plus, like Calvin and Hobbes, the "diary" entries of Greg are really written with the dry wit and perspective of an adult in mind, which provides some great commentary on the parallel and intersecting worlds of both youth and adults.

I don't know how much of this will preach, but it is definitely worth reading and I highly recommend it to readers of all ages.