Class 3

Today something was mentioned that struck a chord within me: there is a tension between truth and love. That is somewhat profound. All sorts of problems within the city could be resolved with the truth about God. But we all (hopefully) recognize that that will not cut it these days. Instead, we need approach the problem with love. And yet we cannot ignore the truth. So what do we do with that line?

We certainly cannot ignore the line and take one approach or the other. But I seem to think that we as Christians do that. We approach the topic of human sexuality by either saying "love whomever you want, whenever you want, however you want" or "God will bring down his wrath on you if you do not do _______". Do people listen to that jargon? We cannot reach the people of the city that way, although it is not effective (or our calling) to do the opposite.

Another thing that was mentioned was the idea that implementing a bunch of programs do not heal everything. Rather, the relationships that are formed are what make the difference. This is another line that needs to be approached and embraced. Effective programs, I believe, can make a huge difference, as do relationships. Again, the two extremes are no good. I think the two need to be entertwined in order to have the biggest effect on the cities.

Class 2

We talked about the different fallacies that are prevalent today. I see so many of them EVERYWHERE! Dualism, pietism, materialism....the list goes on. And it makes me sad that so many well meaning Christians are confused.

Spiritual warfare was also discussed. I love talking about it. It scares me mainly because I don't know how to counter it. Sometimes prayer isn't enough and then... There are interesting discussions about the topic, like can Christians be demon possessed? I don't know. It's interesting.

Part of the class is also doing service learning and I'm working at Sabaoth Ministries. I basically get to hang out with inner city kids. Most of them are Hispanic which is pretty cool. I sat and did some girls' nails and just talked. :) I love little kids.

Day 1

Today was the first day of Urban Ministries and I'm very excited for what I'm going to learn. I know little about the city other than my shopping trips downtown Chicago, going to work with my dad, and hearing about all of the "bad" things. I'm not scared of the city, although the "scary" people there do frighten me a tad. I want to live there someday...and help the people who live there too.

It seems like it's going to be a very down-to-earth class. No gimics, no facades. Just facts, trends, and God in the city. The God in the city must be the compassionate God. The God who cries when little kids are shot because their big brothers are in gangs. The God who wants so desperately to see his people fed.

We are also going to be talking worldwide in the class. Finally, a view beyond our American culture. There is so much out there that we do not have a clue about.