Last night I went to Park Street Church to hear Jim Wallis talk and promote his new book "The Great Awakening" Over all it is a pleasure to hear Jim speak, and I went away encouraged. Feeling that what I am doing in my community matters and is at the heart of God.
I also went away a little disappointed. During a time of question and answer some one asked the question "Ok I believe you, now what?" Jim's answer was to join an organization, suggesting one of the few that were at the meeting.
Join an organization?!? I do feel that finding like minded people is important but this feels like it's not enough. Jim noted in his talk that churches often only ask for the perimeters of our lives. Telling people to join an organization feels like the same.
Here are a few suggestion that I would have liked to have heard:
Sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. (Your big screen TV, your Xbox. The books you don't read, then you can sell your book shelf too!)
Leave your comfortable apartment and move to Roxbury, Dorchester, or East Boston and live among the poor.
Take a serious look at your finances. Try to give more that 10%, try to live on a graduated tithe.
I don't understand why these suggestions weren't given as next steps also.
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2 comments:
Unfortunately, lower income communities are increasingly being populated by higher income people, bringing nothing but gentrification that forces lower income people out of the community. :(
True, gentrification is an issue. The area that I am currently living in is becoming gentrified. But I have a few thoughts on this.
1) First I think very few people there would have actually taken him seriously if he had made the suggestion to move to a poor neighborhood. I think it is something that Jesus might have suggested but few would follow through on.
2) Once a prominent member of the Black church in Boston told me that my time would have be better spend convincing white churches to help give money to the inner city. Although I value his opinion I don't agree with him. I think Jesus wants us to live in unity and together.
3) I think gentrification go's bad when the whites start changing things in the community for their betterment. For instance I hear a lot that my neighborhood would benefit from a coffee shop, like Starbucks. To me that's really just a desire of white people to not have to go out of the neighborhood to get there coffee.
Just some random thoughts. I don't know how to deal with gentrification in a good way. Although What I would like to see for my neighborhood is something like the Dudley St Initiative that took place in the 70's & 80's
Thanks for the comment.
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