In Awe!... of cities?

Last month, at RADIATE-In Awe, I had the opportunity to join Pastor Rich Perez from Christ Crucified Fellowship and director, Andy Young, of the Cru Philly team in a couch discussion in front of 1000 students.

Here is that interview following a great talk called "cities" by Pastor Rich. (starting at minute 53)
http://vimeo.com/83794784

Minority in Ministry

As a Puerto Rican-American from the Bronx (NYC) who attended a differently diverse university in an urban New Jersey community and joined staff with a majority Caucasian organization, I can assure you that it is not easy to become part of a community where you are a minority and still hold true to your individuality and culture.

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As a child, I had always seen multiple ethnic backgrounds and diverse cultures represented in nearly every area of my life.

When I moved to New Jersey for college, I witnessed a shift in the cultural population and slightly felt the need to adjust. Stepping into the classroom was noticeably and often uncomfortably different in its ethnic demographic.

As a Deaf education major, I became well acquainted with the feeling of being uncomfortable in a community of people who are all of a different culture. (Most Deaf adults asso ciate with their deafness before they do with their ethnicity. In their world, you are either hearing or Deaf.)

Even later in life, as an interned with a national organization where I worked with a  majority Suburban American team, I would occasionally feel uncomfortable and alone. Sometimes I felt misunderstood and often pride led me to believe I deserved special attention because "they needed to learn about my differences".

Being a minority, ethnically, spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally is never easy and rarely, if ever, comfortable.  This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t purposefully place ourselves in places where we are the minority.

Look at Peter, a friend and disciple of Jesus Christ. Acts 10 and 11 record:

·         Peter’s fear to enter into a different culture - Peter originally didn't want to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. They were completely different than he was in culture, spirituality, ethnicity and more.

·         God's calling for him to stay uncomfortable - The Holy Spirit led Peter to bring the truth of the Gospel to the Gentiles. Later in chapter eleven, he is even able to be a bridge-builder between the circumcised Jews and the Gentiles.

·         The fruit of his obedience to the Holy Spirit – Despite Peter's obvious discomfort and fear, his obedience finally led him to the opportunity to be a bridge-builder between the Gentiles and God and into the whole body of Christ (The Church).

It wasn't easy for Peter to be the only Jew amongst Gentiles, nor was it easy for him to be one of the few Jews within his community who believed Gentiles could know and experience the Holy Spirit. He probably often felt scared and alone like I did entering the deaf community and like I'm sure you have at some point as well. He may have even though it to be an impossible task (outside of God) to merge the two different cultures together. However, as believers, God calls us to be part of the impossible. He doesn’t just call us to Himself, but He calls us to community so that we may be a brighter example of what love looks like to this dark world.

Powerful Message

This is a message from a media ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ's called everystudent.com The website is intended to capture the attention of students who are seeking God and seeking answers to their many questions about Him. There are articles they can read covering almost any topic and they can respond by emailing a staff person anonymously and receive a biblically sound response. Here is a portion of one of the articles. (Feel free to visit the website to find the rest of this article and more.)

The early portions of Scripture declare not only God's immense power and knowledge in the fashioning of the universe, but his enduring concern over the created order. His relationship with individual men and women was such that they found it appropriate to identify him as friend, provider, comforter and King. Yet, it didn't take much time for rebellion against God's moral order to become the modus operandi. A great divide between God and his creation surfaced, as evil and corruption of heart and action came to be the primary descriptors of the human condition. It seems clear that a moral entropy has been enacted, leaving in its remains the wounded, pummeled and trounced souls of God's creation. All this in the face of the ever-present, ever-concerned creator.

God, as such, is the consummation of all that is noble, loving, compassionate, righteous and pure. He possesses these attributes to a degree in which no greater can be conceived. He does not participate in acts of love; He is love. He does not participate in acts of righteousness; He is righteousness. And it is because of these essential attributes, and a score of others, that God is unable to provide us with the forgiveness necessary for communion with him without exacting a heavy price. He cannot compromise his righteousness, yet he hasn't forsaken his love......