in the continuing saga on the recent actions by my church’s conference level clergy leadership i cant help reading
- emily has posted some of her reactions and thoughts about termination
- josh, in a much easier to read version, shares the same thoughts as me in the breakdown of leadership in the church
- david has a stemmed thought from josh’s posting
i can’t help either of thinking. warning, i have been introduced to this site on what stuff white people like.. and it has got me wondering and typing like a white person.
i get upset with the romanticism of urban mission, a snippet of my thoughts.
now i might sound heretical in this, but when i hear "at-risk" i think
low income, ethnic youth, from a housing project.. from here-say
conversations, i believe this is the concept of the bishop as well. the
problem, "at-risk" kids come in all ways & we are throwing away two
effective sustainable ministries for a heart-string romanticized view
of the mission field. my youth at hfumc
might not need food on their table, but they have a poverty out of
their affluence that is equally damaging to the shaping of identity
& self-concept. if this vision is such a heartstring then just hire
a new staff person, part time, or maybe petition some of the affluent
churches who have missions or evangelism people to collaborate for the
purposes of educating the conference.
this said, it isn’t just me that is finding out white people feel inclined to move back into the urban environment as part of their coolness. the good white Christian reasons for moving into these area done out of good hearts and a good minds of what is needed in the folks in that area. us white folks are experts on all cultures so we know what is needed. we have become white aware and thus we can get out there and save lives. our black friends have illumined our white selves with all that is needed. maybe i am just over thinking this whole thing, or maybe i just want my white person resolution.
i should just stop now and go watch my white person news, grab something to drink, and hope for a white person sporting event to come on.
Sorry, but you are wrong on this, and it has nothing to do with white people delusions nor romanticizing mission.
Yes, your kids in Hendersonville need Christ just as much as poor kids. Yes, there is poverty in affluence.
But your kids generally have a voice in society that “at-risk” kids don’t. Your kids generally have parents that know how to work societal systems to their advantage. Your kids benefit from the continuing systemic racism that is part of our world.
Do we need to throw out effective structures for the sake of a broader mission? Probably not, but the rich young ruler was amazingly effective in what he did when Jesus called him to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and follow him.
Sorry, but you are wrong on this, and it has nothing to do with white people delusions nor romanticizing mission.
Yes, your kids in Hendersonville need Christ just as much as poor kids. Yes, there is poverty in affluence.
But your kids generally have a voice in society that “at-risk” kids don’t. Your kids generally have parents that know how to work societal systems to their advantage. Your kids benefit from the continuing systemic racism that is part of our world.
Do we need to throw out effective structures for the sake of a broader mission? Probably not, but the rich young ruler was amazingly effective in what he did when Jesus called him to sell all he had, give it to the poor, and follow him.
hey jay,
in the absence of information we seek out whatever it is we can find to give us some understanding. i appreciate the conversations you have had with the bishop, but when it comes to the why or how? it is still not meeting my needs. so i am in this limbo land.
i wrote my quoted text yesterday and you didn’t jump on me until i, for that sake of dealing & probably not my best framework for of humility but my more normal sarcasm, bridged many stereotypes of white culture.
poor taste? pretty much.. completely true? not at all. i tried to go over the top in beating up the image thing, throwing in love for soccer & the daily show as balance to the other ideas.
other than that.. i am not sure where i might be off. people do have romanticized views of this type of evangelism and mission field. in the same prior post i shared a story of doug, a mid-30’s white man with a bald head steady work but didn’t know Christ and he comes to find his way to Christ & back into college at martin methodist through the actions of the youth ministry of his wife’s church & the conference ministry. do you see any books about that? no.. there isn’t a market for it, that doesn’t tug at heartstrings, it isn’t sexy mission to tell people, i hung out with a bunch of balding white fellows. just like it isn’t sexy to say, we spent a week working on picking up trash around our town all week as part of our mission trip and took the money we would have spent to go to mexico, appalachia, etc & gave it to darfur relief.. no, our youth ministries go to where it is sexy..
it might not be exact truth jay, but there is truth in it.
and when i hear vision for this that has been dreamed up over a 6 month period, and knowing that i have worked & lived in transitional neighborhoods where local churches have taken years to figure out how to reshape ministries or even act around the changing mission field. how long is your church going to take to accept a vision you have for your changing neighborhood dynamics? 6 months? i’ve been in some of these neighborhoods, and not just as a church person, i’ve asked, “what do you need?” & “how can we help?” and it is nothing like, “we need your churches to bring Jesus.” or “come pick us up & take us to your kicking programming.” it is “come hang out in the neighborhood” “meet the people” “come to our turf to do things” “give us a ride to the ymca” “do you know who can come fix our bathrooms?” “want to provide a dinner for the community evening?”
those are the things, and maybe i am off in assuming, but i stated my assumption and i really don’t think i am that off. it might not be complete, but i bet there is some truthiness to it. &:~D
hey jay,
in the absence of information we seek out whatever it is we can find to give us some understanding. i appreciate the conversations you have had with the bishop, but when it comes to the why or how? it is still not meeting my needs. so i am in this limbo land.
i wrote my quoted text yesterday and you didn’t jump on me until i, for that sake of dealing & probably not my best framework for of humility but my more normal sarcasm, bridged many stereotypes of white culture.
poor taste? pretty much.. completely true? not at all. i tried to go over the top in beating up the image thing, throwing in love for soccer & the daily show as balance to the other ideas.
other than that.. i am not sure where i might be off. people do have romanticized views of this type of evangelism and mission field. in the same prior post i shared a story of doug, a mid-30’s white man with a bald head steady work but didn’t know Christ and he comes to find his way to Christ & back into college at martin methodist through the actions of the youth ministry of his wife’s church & the conference ministry. do you see any books about that? no.. there isn’t a market for it, that doesn’t tug at heartstrings, it isn’t sexy mission to tell people, i hung out with a bunch of balding white fellows. just like it isn’t sexy to say, we spent a week working on picking up trash around our town all week as part of our mission trip and took the money we would have spent to go to mexico, appalachia, etc & gave it to darfur relief.. no, our youth ministries go to where it is sexy..
it might not be exact truth jay, but there is truth in it.
and when i hear vision for this that has been dreamed up over a 6 month period, and knowing that i have worked & lived in transitional neighborhoods where local churches have taken years to figure out how to reshape ministries or even act around the changing mission field. how long is your church going to take to accept a vision you have for your changing neighborhood dynamics? 6 months? i’ve been in some of these neighborhoods, and not just as a church person, i’ve asked, “what do you need?” & “how can we help?” and it is nothing like, “we need your churches to bring Jesus.” or “come pick us up & take us to your kicking programming.” it is “come hang out in the neighborhood” “meet the people” “come to our turf to do things” “give us a ride to the ymca” “do you know who can come fix our bathrooms?” “want to provide a dinner for the community evening?”
those are the things, and maybe i am off in assuming, but i stated my assumption and i really don’t think i am that off. it might not be complete, but i bet there is some truthiness to it. &:~D
I’m glad you’ve discovered and are enjoying that blog.
I think your right on some things, but I’d also be careful to simplify things too much. The What White People Like blog is funny because it simplifies things, but that doesn’t make it a good point of reference for addressing issues and the complexity of church, youth, life, justice, etc.
I’m glad you’ve discovered and are enjoying that blog.
I think your right on some things, but I’d also be careful to simplify things too much. The What White People Like blog is funny because it simplifies things, but that doesn’t make it a good point of reference for addressing issues and the complexity of church, youth, life, justice, etc.