Why the Olympics Shouldn’t be in Chicago

This whole Olympic prospective is stirring. My wife and I have family in Chicago and Chicago-land as well as a great number of friends in the city. On the exterior, having the Olympics in Chicago would be my obvious desire, but there is perhaps something more.

Madrid and Tokyo are disqualified in my mind. Tokyo already hosted the Olympic games in 1964 and Spain got its turn with Barcelona in 1992. Neither Japan nor Spain really needs to host the Olympics again – at least not yet.  Chicago is a GREAT city. Hosting the Olympics would expose the world to the beauty of the Chi and boost Chicago economically – though I wonder if the needy will actually receive much.  However, didn’t the U.S. just host the Olympics in 1996? Now we are not like Spain, our country is considerable larger in size and in population, but still do we as Americans need to host the games again, so soon? I ask why can’t we share the honor of having the Olympics?

I personally, favor Rio. The Olympics have never been in Brazil and have never been hosted in South America. Beyond that Rio is beautiful – it is on the list of “places I wish to go, but probably won’t”.  I can’t imagine a nicer climate, nicer scenery etc. Plus, the culture of Rio is incredibly rich.

As far as capability, Rio recently hosted the Pan American Games and in 2016 Rio will be coming off an experience being one of the host cities for the World Cup.

But perhaps my biggest reason for wanting Rio to get the nod – beyond the fact South America hasn’t hosted and all the other countries in the final four have hosted – is that Rio is a dichotomous place. There is great difference between the rich and the poor in Rio. As a result there is a high crime rate – especially violent crime. As you read this, you would think that these are reasons NOT to host the Olympics, but perhaps three things will happen.

First, the government of Rio will realize it needs to clean up some neighborhoods and take care of the poor in order to be a proper host.

Second, the increased revenue from the Olympics will be a financial opportunity for some lower class folks – construction, vending, hosting, hotels, etc.

Third, the poverty and injustice of Rio will be greater exposed to the world – specifically to Christians – and we will begin to do something about it.

I am not going to complain if Chicago gets the Olympics.  Honestly, I will probably buy tickets to various events – especially if we end up living in Chicago or in Chicagoland.  But thinking justly; Rio should host.

But I am not making decisions, that will happen in a couple hours . . . who will it be?

Are We There Yet?

Urban Faith recently published my article on Christianity Today International’s newest short-term missions curriculum, Round Trip.

Excerpt

Round Trip includes the typical information that likely can be found in a variety of training manuals for short-term mission candidates. But unlike many of those programs, this documentary and handbook bring an intimate, real-life narrative to the exciting but often uncomfortable experience of traveling to another country to share the gospel. [read more]

Desiring To Write

I have been pretty absent from the blogging world recently. Graduate work has taken up a great deal of my time, but I do plan to start writing again soon.  I am actually realizing that writing on this blog and about  non-Grad School related topics helps me persevere through my Graduate work and stay sane and balanced

As a start back into blogging, I will probably start posting my outlines from the commuter chapels that I lead on the campus of Huntington University. Perhaps that will help me get back into the habit of occasionally posting. I will post my outlines from last semester when our focus was the story of Daniel and I will begin to post from this semester, in which we are focusing on the Parables of the Christ.

I hope all is well out there and look forward to discoursing with folks in the future weeks.

PEACE.

Interview with Soong-Chan Rah

I wanted to pass this article. It is an interview with Northpark University professor Soong-Chan Rah about diversity in the church and his new book The Next Evangelicalism.  Several of the questions of from me and the others come from Ed Gilbreath and some others at UrbanFaith.com. Here are some of the questions asked.

Practically speaking, do you think the strong tone and language of your book will change the mind of someone who isn’t already passionate about diversity in the church?

You seem to suggest a connection between the Korean/Korean American church and the African American church. Where does this come from, and why do you establish such a connection?

How do ethnic minorities begin a conversation amongst themselves about reaching out to other racial and ethnic groups?

You offer a blistering critique of the emerging church movement, suggesting that it is overhyped and lacks diversity. Is diversity possible in the “emerging” or “emergent” churches”? It seems as if Christians involved in that movement are extremely cultural bound, even more so than “mainstream” evangelical Christianity?

It seems that often the conversation is how white churches can become more diverse, which can come off as an expression of white dominance or perpetuate the phenomenon of “white guilt” as a motivator. Would you suggest that some white and minority churches serving in the same neighborhood merge rather than having white churches glibly trying to be diverse?

Beautiful Togetherness

Sf Gate

The Rev. George Cummings looked out over his congregation in the Laurel District of Oakland and saw white faces sitting next to black ones. Piedmonters sat next to Oaklanders.One of the most intractable racial divides in America – the self-segregation of churches – was being bridged before his eyes.

• Judge says O.J. Simpson outfit stays in storage 06.16.09

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“The God who calls us to be together, calls us to oneness,” said Cummings, pastor of Imani Community Church.

“Amen,” said someone in the crowd.

“We are not always there yet, but we are on our way,” said Cummings, who is black.

“That’s right,” said another voice from the pews.

Cummings’ church and Piedmont Community Church decided that they would come together as one people. They will worship together periodically. They’ve started to mix into each others’ Bible studies. Their choirs sing together. Their children have gone on a mission trip together to Tijuana. On Sunday, May 3 and May 17, they had ceremonies affirming their covenant with each other.

Piedmont Community Church is predominantly white, as much as Imani is black. They are only 10 minutes apart by car, yet before this relationship began, neither pastor had been to the neighborhood of the other’s church. All sides see bridging the divide as bearing fruit. Read More

My heart was blessed by this article. Seeing the Kingdom of God uniting and overcoming racial/ethnic barriers is satisfying to my soul. What is wonderful about this situation is the fact that churches are literally 10 minutes from one another, thus the potential for collaboration and eventually integration is there. I am sure that if they decided to integrate permanently there will be culture collisions, but those tensions would be growth pangs that lead one another towards Godliness.

Shallow differences of style and preference often get in the way of us being true community together.

One of the congregation members made a wonderful comment to bookend this article.

Jan Hunter, an Imani member, said doing the right thing sometimes means feeling uncomfortable. A few years ago, the Imani congregation christened the child of a lesbian couple. It was a first for many in the congregation.

“I don’t know what we thought was going to happen,” said Hunter, 54, who is black. “Everyone was happy. Lightning did not strike.”

She said it was probably uncomfortable for some to worship with people they’d had prejudices about – in both directions. But, she said, “You have to start somewhere.”

“Doing the right thing sometimes means feeling uncomfortable”; simple and profound. We are a comfort seeking culture one of the ways this is manifested is the continued racial and socioeconomic segregation of our churches (and neighborhoods).

One of the most important elements of this article is that these are old churches. They aren’t church plants by young folks who see the need for multi-cultural congregations. While new plants are beneficial, there is something rich in reconciliation when churches change directions and acknowledge the ills of their separation. These two churches have histories, they existed for years. The fact that they are willing to understand the biblical call for unity, acknowledge the social rift between ethnicities and humble themselves is simply incredible.

I am encouraging my church to participate in this type of relationship. We live approximately 30 minutes from any church that is not predominately white,  so whatever relationship we form will not be one that leads to one integrated local church. But, racial reconciliation between Christians can most definitely be done . Churches can learn to worship and serve with those “different from them”, understand the needs of different communities and become a larger body of Christ.

Huntington, Indiana has a dark racial history and although things have changed there are mutual negative perceptions between he minority communities in Fort Wayne , Marion, and Huntington.  If something can occur it will not only mend the brokenness with the church, but within our communities.