Community 4:12

Connecting at the River's Edge

 Over the past few weeks, I have had a variety of meetings at the River's Edge Cafe in downtown Aurora.  Everytime I come in, whether it is mid-morning, lunch time, or mid-afternoon, the place is a buzz of people.  I have connected, or re-connected, with more people by running into them at the cafe---sure beats having to set up an official "coffee date."  It reminds me of what I always pictured a neighborhood "hang-out" joint would be like.  I am so grateful to Jeff and Cathy Jones for this missional venture they have started in an area where many businesses refuse to take up roots.  The environment is terrific, there's free wi-fi and Cathy is a phenomenal cook.  I'd say it beats Starbucks any day, so come check it out.  Maybe I'll run into you . . . 

God is on the Move

Tonight we unveiled this beautiful mural, designed by Angela Malloy and painted by Angela and Obe and Jack Arellano, at the Lighthouse at our Neighborhood Team dinner.  The evening was designed to give CCC attenders an opportunity to hear more about the vision and dreams we have for our work in East Aurora.  About 160 people gathered in our new downtown space.  We ate, we sang worship songs in Spanish and English, we prayed, we talked about our dreams, and then we gave people an opportunity to make a "pre-commitment"--letting us know what they anticipate giving during our annual Celebration Generosity offering that will take place March 14th & 15th.  Last year, through that offering, Community 4:12 raised a little over $75,000.  Tonight, 38 families pledged almost $40,000.  By all objective and worldly standards, our country is in an economic crisis.  But, clearly, God's economy is not measured by worldly standards.  All I can say is, "God is on the move!"  I am so glad I am along for the ride, and especially glad that so many of you are on the ride, too!  And if you aren't, come on and join us---you might find that it's even more fun than Disney World!

Being Intentional

It always sounds like it should be so easy to build relationships with people of different cultures and economic backgrounds.  But even with us living here in East Aurora, it hasn't been so easy---at least with adults.  So, we decided it was time to get more intentional.  We gathered 3 families from CCC and 3 from Aurora tonight at the Lighthouse for our first cross-cultural dinner.  To be honest, I really didn't know if the Aurora families (all single moms with kids) would show up.  But they did.  And we all had a terrific time!  And everyone eagerly agreed they want to do it again next month.  Real relationships won't develop quickly, but you have to start somewhere and you have to be intentional.  It may feel weird and forced at first, but I am convinced the pay-off in the end will be so worth it.  

Discovering a Hidden Talent

Yesterday was the East Aurora 5th grade Girls' Basketball Tournament sponsored by Triple Threat Mentoring.  Each of the 12 elementary schools had a team of girls that played in the tournament.  I've written about our friend, Frances, before whom we've come to love like our own daughter.  She's in 5th grade this year and played on the Bardwell team.  When the team started practicing in January, it was pretty obvious that basketball was a new sport for most of the girls, Frances included.  Well, just 6 weeks later, Frances helped lead the team to a 2nd place finish.  They played 4 terrific games, and Frances was a star in each of them---on offense and defense.  She was awesome.  Last night we took her to church with us, and when she got in the car, she was carrying the new Nike basketball that Triple Threat gave all the girls.  And she was on cloud 9--no, cloud 15.  Frances is typically pretty quiet, but she talked non-stop all the way to church and back.  She even said, "Maybe I can get a basketball scholarship to go to college!" 

Who knows if Frances will even go on to play basketball in middle school, but the joy and confidence I saw in her yesterday proved again how important it is to provide opportunities like this for the kids in East Aurora.  Without an experience like this, provided by an organization like Triple Threat and a couple of deeply devoted principals and teachers from the district, a girl like Frances might never discover a God-given talent.  

United Effort to "Love Fox Valley"

It's been a long time since I've been in a room with as much energy as I felt at this morning's Love Fox Valley Synergy Meeting!  There must have been 60 people of many races & cultures representing all kinds of churches, city government, state government, and non-profit and social service agencies.  And every person in that room is passionate about Aurora and the Fox Valley.  I wrote about Pastor Randy Schoof a couple weeks ago, and he was one of the driving forces behind this gathering, and the Love Fox Valley movement in general.  I love how he described with that group is about . . . "It's God showing up in our cities, as we come together - it's life and community transformation. It's being the church that Jesus prayed for!" 

I think the overwhelming response to the invitation to come to this meeting demonstrates the intense drive many people are feeling to transform this city.  And we all know none of us are going to do it by ourselves.  And synergy is a great word to describe what Love Fox Valley is all about:  "The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects."

I can't help but think of the parallels with the vision behind Community 4:12.  4:12 comes from Ecclesiastes 4:12 "A cord of three strands is not easily broken."  God is the "third strand" that creates synergy when two or more come together in His name. 

Watch out, Aurora, the Church is coming!   

"Student Success Should Not Depend on a Zipcode"

This article wasn't surprising . ..  it's the reason we are doing what we are doing.  But it is sobering nonetheless.  It cites an Illinois study that "found that the difference in resources between property-poor and property-wealthy districts is immense and has led to disparities in eventual student outcomes . . .Illinois relies on property taxes to fund public education more than any other state in the nation. Local officials said this must change."

America the Empire?

Our small group is discussing Rob Bell's book, Jesus Wants to Save Christians and what a tough and passionate talk we had tonight.  I'll leave the commentary out, and let a few lines from chapter 5 speak for themselves . . .

America is an empire.  And the Bible has a lot to say about empires.  Most of the Bible is a history told by people living in lands occupied by conquering superpowers...This can make the Bible a very difficult book to understand if you are reading it as a citizen of the most powerful empire the world has ever seen.

In an empire of entitlement . . .luxuries can begin to seem like necessities.  Excess can become normal.  And it can be very easy to lose perspective on just how much we have.

The US accounts for 48 percent of global military spending . . .In 2008, the US spent more on defense than the next forty-five countries combined. 

If you have the power, it can be hard to understand the voice of those who have no power.

How do kids who are surrounded by more abundance than in any other generation in the history of humanity take seriously a Messiah who said, "I have been anointed to preach good news to the poor?"  How do they fathom that half the world is too poor to feed its kids when their church just spent two years raising money to build an addition to their building? . . .This is the revolution?  This is what Jesus had in mind?

What do you think?  Is America an empire?  If so, what does that mean for those of us living in the empire who call ourselves Christ-followers?

Fans or Numbers?

I'm reading this book, and it's giving me some good things to think about regarding leading groups of people.  But my favorite take-away so far can be found not far into the book on page 33, where Godin writes, "Too many organizations care about numbers, not fans . . .What they're missing is the depth of commitment and interconnection that true fans deliver.  Instead of always being on the hunt for one more set of eyeballs, true leaders have figured out that the real win is in turning a casual fan into a true one."

In my last post, I commented on the large number of people who have "signed on" to the Neighborhood Team.  I wonder how many of those are currently merely "eyeballs" and how many are truly "fans."  My challenge as a leader is to move every single one of them into being fans who are passionate and sold-out to the mission of "Uniting People to Restore Communities," so that we have a prayer of truly fighting poverty and injustice.