The Urban Remnant

Objections to Certain Unaffable Rites: Kim Davis and the American Conscience

2015-09-06T14:59:00.001-07:00

Kim Davis, County Clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, was held in contempt for her defiance of Constitutional law on the grounds of her faith. She refused to issue marriage licenses altogether in response to marriage equality.

The Kim Davis case, the County Clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses in Rowan County, Kentucky, presents a conundrum. For many, the conversation is wraught with problems on both sides of the argument. The debate is redefining and has strained the relationship between government employment and conscientious objection to federal/state policies, which were already tenuous. One thought I had, however, is how accountable or not accountable should we hold government employees when they defy policy on any grounds?

As a Christian, I may disagree with certain policies that are incongruent with my faith. Under federal law, reasonable accommodations are to be provided to employees such as wearing a burka or accommodations for prayer. These are physical accommodations where no federal law necessarily eschews. But what about philosophical accommodations?

Former Secretary of State, First Lady and Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has come under fire for using her personal email account for government purposes. As a federal employee, she defied a government policy that prohibited use of private email in her work. Everything from Benghazi to what staffers knew in her employ has been called into question. The GOP as well as America has held her accountable for not valuing transparency. Clinton should have been more responsible by adhering to the rule rather than valuing her own convenience. Kim Davis, on the other hand, has invoked the name of God in both her defiance and defense of the Constitution. It would be silly to think Hilary Clinton could invoke the name of Jesus on the issue of whether to use her gmail account or the .gov account. However, in a pluralistic society where poly-fill-in-the-blank is the aspired value, is there room for a Christian science teacher working in a public school to choose not to teach the core curriculum when she knows evolution is incongruent with her belief in creation? Is separation of church and state a "hard and fast rule" or is it pliable? Are religious people to be more creative in how they perform their job responsibilities w/o violating their consciences? Or, are departments such as the DOJ the only ones given the grace to defy federal policies?

In the Jim Crow South, and across America, laws and policies were violated by many people of whom were not employees of the state. However, we do know that there were places where county and state employees who were white (not a whole lot, a smidgen really) subversively and secretively defied segregation laws. The conscientious objector is the role of a person ready to risk it all to bring public attention to harmful policies. Edward Snowden, for example, is now living in exile in Russia for whistleblowing the federal government's harmful surveillance debacle while many illegal immigrants (not all) gain certain protections under law. No matter where you stand on immigration, does government of the people and by the people protect objections to certain unaffable rites in it?

There are consequences for being the conscientious objector living and preaching in a hostile environment that cuts to the core of faith, belief and what it means to be American in this country. Should Kim Davis be held personally accountable for her defiance of the federal law as a state employee? The answer is as much yes as was the case for Meshach, Shadrach and Abegnego who defied Nebechadnezzer's law to worship him instead of the one true God. That story can be found in the Book of Daniel in the Bible. Since God is sovereign, if it is His will, she will be vindicated. However, she and others have to get comfortable with facing negative consequences when we defy the federal government and its laws. All of us, not just people of faith.

Invisible People with Invisible Problems: Race and the Blindess of White Privilege

2015-08-11T07:15:00.001-07:00

I am invisible, understand, because people refuse to see me — Ralph Ellison, "Ibisible Man."

More and more I tend to speak less and less into FB conversations on race and white privilege because more and more as an African American... Nay as a brother in Christ who is Black living in America, I'm mostly "wrong." However, whether one is liberal or conservative in his or her politics, as a black person there is one thing that history cannot deny and that is the severe handicap that many of us have experienced collectively (not necessarily individually, which I'll explain); but together under a system that traditionally has awarded the "disaffected."

Ultimately, white privilege or white "advantage" is about economics. Money and education often grant access to opportunities that those who have not have no access to. However, putting money and education aside for a moment; white privilege (at its heart) is about acculturation/assimilation. It is about espousing values that marginalize, minimize and diminish the cultural values, beliefs, fears, pains and baggage of the "other" in order to maintain a status quo. It doesn't always recognize its purpose, but that status quo tends to deem the values of the "other" as incongruent with itself. It devalues cultural diversity. English-only is one example of this.

In France, I am at a severe disadvantage culturally and economically if I don't speak French. Even if I am not a native speaker of French, I'm marginalized at best. If I learn French as a second language, it grants more access. However, if I'm from N. Africa and Muslim (heck, if I'm from America and gung-ho American), I will find myself at a disadvantage there culturally. The French won't see it as rudeness. They will see it as the way it should be. Finding oneself on the fringe of a society and of its espoused values and beliefs systems is a disadvantage. Advantage and privilege will go to the members of that social club.

Earlier I mentioned how the marginalized often experience disadvantage collectively through history and injustice. The reason why some people of color will succeed individually and personally is because they will have had access to certain aspects or components of privilege. Yet, this often comes at a cost. If I lose my language, lose my patois; if I lose my gutteral and broken English; if I stop eating/cooking/smelling-like "guk" food (watch Gran Torino) and disengage my family/ethnic/nationalistic values — then I'm closer to "whiteness" in America. But can a leopard change his spots? Can a zebra change her stripes?

Think about the image of a zebra losing her stripes for a moment. In your mind's eye (and be honest), what color is the horse? If you said "white," then your closer to a large percentage of people who see "black" as bad or negative. I, too, see a "white" zebra. Why is that? Education. We're often taught that black/darkness is bad. What we do though is erroneously attribute that philosophical/moral sensibility to people and things. We don't realize this. And that is why "black" lives matter, not just "all" lives. This is why "black" is beautiful and not just "all" people; because when you are marginalized, you become invisible (read Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man — not to be confused w/ H.G. Wells' "The" Invisible Man). Invisibility means not counting, not being noticed, not-existent. White advantage/privilege doesn't see the problems. It only sees a white zebra because it has ignored the other stripes.

So, personally, I have to lose a lot plus have independent wealth and education to experience less marginalization and more "whiteness." What if I lost my blackness both physically and culturally? Then will I have the greatest advantage historically and traditionally? Yes. I'm still a man. If no longer invisible.

Obama, Gun Crimes, the States and Gun Laws

2015-07-23T22:09:00.001-07:00

In a recent interview with the BBC, President Obama lamented his inability to effectively tackle guns during his presidency. The President was quoted in "The Hill" saying, “If you ask me where has been the one area that I feel that I’ve been most frustrated and most stymied, it is the fact that the United States is the one advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient, common-sense gun safety laws.” As I think about this and the unnerving and seemingly escalating gun violence in the nation, I wondered what the laws looked like from state-to-state.

According to research collected by Deseret in 2013 for a report ranking the ten states with the most strict gun laws, IL ranked #2 overall. This was just before the laws changed allowing conceal-carry permits. As I was doing some brief research of my own, I wanted to know which states had the most gun crimes/violence in the United States. I was surprised with what I learned.

Alaska ranked #1 followed by Louisiana and Mississippi. Tennessee ranked #10. Other states in the top ten included Montana, New Mexico, Alabama, Wyoming, Oklahoma, & Arkansas. No where to be found in the top ten of the CDC's research from 2013 were Michigan, Illinois, California, Texas, or New York; though one may argue that gun violence in large cities like Chicago, LA, Houston and New York City; or mid-sized cities like Washington DC, Detroit, Baltimore and Cleveland make up the bulk of gun deaths in those states. I'm not sure. However, I wondered if there was a direct correlation between poverty and gun crime in subordination to the gun laws of any one particular state.

In 2013 Pennsylvania ranked #1 with having the strictest gun laws in that Deseret poll. California ranked #10. Other states included Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Hawaii, Connecticut & New York. Go figure. The states with the strictest gun laws had less gun crime than the top ten states that had the least restrictive gun laws including a common rule across those particular states: Stand Your Ground.

So in 2013, the states that had the strictest gun laws, including Illinois, had less gun crimes than the states that had less restrictive gun laws. This shouldn't be rocket science, but as a 2nd amendment supporter it bolsters my opinion that common sense laws safeguarding lives should trump my ability for legal easy access to guns.

We need to get illegal firearms off the street and tackle socio-economic issues that tend to exacerbate gun violence in our major, urban areas. In states like Alabama, Mississippi and Alaska, addressing social justice issues, poverty, education, and employment are critical. I was even surprised that of the gun crimes in the top ten at least four or five were located in the infamous Bible Belt. Maybe we need to open up the Word more rather than opening up a hail of .45 calibre bullets.

Overall, addressing poverty in direct correlation with common sense gun legislation should theoretically reduce the amount of real gun violence in states — perceived or not. But here's the rub: right now, gun crimes are down 49% nationally as a whole since the early '90's (Pew, 2013).

Internet References

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/249022-obama-inaction-on-guns-biggest-frustration-of-my-presidency

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/13/24-7-wall-st-states-most-gun-violence/71003050/

http://m.deseretnews.com/top/1428/0/10-states-with-the-strictest-gun-laws.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F%3Fref%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2013/05/07/gun-homicide-rate-down-49-since-1993-peak-public-unaware/

In View of the SCOTUS Decision on Marriage Equality

2015-06-27T08:30:00.001-07:00

When Jesus confronted the Pharisees who caught a woman in her adultery and then brought her before Him to test Him (John 8:1-11), they quoted the Law of Moses which required that she be stoned. Unmoved, Jesus (knowing their thoughts) began writing in the sand. We don't know what he scribbled there. Maybe he was biding time before responding to them. Yet, He replied to her accusers, "You who have no sin cast the first stone," then returned to his scribbling. Eventually, one by one from oldest to youngest, her male accusers dropped their rocks/stones and went away until there were none. Jesus then turned to the adulterous woman and asked her, "Where are your accusers, those who condemned you?" She replied to Him "There are none Lord."

"Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."

In view of the SCOTUS decision on marriage equality, some of my dear brothers and sisters in Christ have made themselves into Pharisees. They've made themselves the moral authorities when to be honest they are not. Christ is the moral authority and we are flawed at best in our own moral standards.

However, many of my 'neighbors' in the LGBT community refuse to acknowledge that we've all stumbled in our attempts to create our own standards around sex and human sexuality rather than follow God's standard. Jesus simply desires that we confess our sin and he will be faithful and just to forgive our sin and to restore us from all unrighteousness; to restore us toward his standard. Jesus restored this woman, and he wants to restore us by his love and mercy: his moral authority. He gave her life when according to the Law she was deserving of death. We, too, are deserving of death, but Jesus offers us life in his name.

Jesus also confronts our sin w/o accusation. It is our responsibility to acknowledge our sin. He also wants us to sin no more, which is the task before us. Though we may fail at times, he still commands us, "Sin no more." In Christ and Christ in me there is no sin. Yet if I refuse to acknowledge my faults, I call God a liar. However, Father forgive me for when I fail. Lord thank you for your love and mercy towards me. Thank you for forgiveness. Thank you for the cross. Thank you for life in your name through the power of the resurrection.

Many will ask, though, "Whose God?" This is also the metaphorical crux. If people refuse to believe Jesus, then they themselves are their own moral authority and do not acknowledge their nature as sinful in the face of challenges to their lifestyle choices, decisions and behaviors. For without faith it is impossible to please God, for one must acknowledge that he exists in order to pursue greater revealed knowledge of he truly is.

All this to say: as Christ followers, refuse to be hypocrites. Refuse to be Pharisees in your own eyes, in your own condemnation of others as a moral authority. Understand the motives of your hearts. Be like Jesus who, not lacking in compassion, confronted this woman with love, mercy and grace. Sinner — acknowledge your sin. Accept God's love and sin no more. If you stumble or fail, acknowledge it. You have an Advocate before the Father, Christ Jesus the Righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins.

I love all of you and wish only the best that God has to offer each and every one of us.

Gun Violence and America's un-Civil War

2013-10-01T07:38:00.001-07:00

Updated Post (6/5/2014): Sometime ago, I wrote a form letter to IL Senator Dick Durbin (D) as part of an assigment our government class were doing. There'd been an increase in gun violence in Chicago over the course of the year, and gun deaths are still a pervasive problem; especially amongst our youth. I wanted to understand Senator Durbin's platform on guns, gun safety and 2nd Amendment rights. I wanted to understand what Congress was doing to help curb the violence. The following is that letter and Senator Durbin's response.

----------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON DC 2051

Dear Senator Durbin,

My name is Michael Lee Carter, and I am an educator in the northern suburbs of Chicago. I am originally from Detroit, having moved here just over ten years old. We challenged our government class to address their senator or congressman about a policy issue or piece of current legislation that concerns them. The goal of these letters is to teach our students that they have a voice in the democratic process and that their voices matter.

Certainly in recent years, let alone recent months, both of our hometowns have had a considerable amount of national and international attention. Plenty of positive stories are happening in Chicago and Detroit from art communities, church organizations and other non-profits endeavoring to help save the Motor City to everyday people in Chi-Town working hard to improve schools, neighborhoods and others' lives. Some of it has been negative, though, and has garnered more public scrutiny. Between bankruptcies and pension crises, both cities are embroiled in publicity surrounding gun crimes that have led to more tragedies than inspirational narratives.

The Cornell Square Park incident in Chicago's Back-of-the-Yards neighborhood is the latest example of the crisis besieging Chicago, Detroit and other urban centers. However, the inner-city is not alone. From Newtown, CT to Aurora, CO; from Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of the Tucson incident to most recently the Navy Yards shooting involving a mentally compromised reservist, America is at war with itself. It is a “civil war” with people standing on different sides of the issue: Do tighter gun control laws ensure the safety of citizens, or do they encroach on a Constitutional right to legal gun ownership? Laws such as “Stand Your Ground” don’t seem to help, especially when it seems to only polarize our nation over issues of race, equality and fairness under the law. Though I am an advocate of the Constitutional right to gun ownership, I believe that the laws governing unlawful discharge of guns, illegal ownership or distribution of guns, the breaking of inter-state laws in terms of purchasing guns to be distributed unlawfully in other states (a federal violation), and the carry or use of a gun in the process of a crime (felony or not) should have stronger sentencing guidelines that are fair across the board.

There has to be equal guidelines defining use of a firearm in self-defense that are clear and fair as well. Legal gun ownership in states with conceal and/or open carry should stipulate that gun owners have insurance for each firearm purchased and kept in the home that is separate from home insurance. This would add one more layer of accountability and ensure families are taken care of in the event that people are injured or killed in firearm discharge. If I have to register ownership of each car in my possession, carry a legal license to drive and have auto insurance for each driver authorized to drive in my family, then it makes sense that the same should be true of a gun owner. In the same vein, guns and alcohol do not mix. Drivers who drive under the influence suffer penalties for DUI’s across different states. Vehicles involved in DUI are often confiscated depending on the situation and one’s license can be revoke depending on the system in one’s state. If it is found that a shooter who discharged a firearm was under the influence of alcohol or mind-altering drug, then there should be stiffer penalties also.

Much has been said about diagnosed depression, emotional and mental disabilities and the use of firearms by those who live with these issues. The names Jared Lee Loughner, James Holmes, Adam Lanza and Aaron Alexis has put mental health and gun access in the spotlight. Sensible people understand that not all people who suffer from depression or some form of social emotional disorder or mental disability have a propensity to kill. Yet for every 100 inner city instances of gun violence it seems there’s at least one kind of gun massacre that stands out. Whether it be Columbine or VA Tech, serious discussion must be had about protecting the civil liberties of people with disabilities while at the same time addressing access to firearms by the same population.

The gun manufacturers and organizations such as the NRA need to be pushed to ensure that each new gun manufactured in the United States is properly serialized just as vehicles are with a standardized code that is tamper-proof. These standardized codes, as registered with each state, would create a second layer of accountability, enabling law enforcement to track those guns from person to person, entity to entity and state to state. Ultimately, it would allow local and state police, DEA, ATF and FBI to trace a gun back to its owner, seller and manufacturer.

Gun sellers argue that tougher gun control laws would hurt their bottom-line and prevent “law-abiding” citizens from legally purchasing firearms; that tougher legislation would impede their Constitutional right to “bear arms.” This may be true. However, is the bottom-line more precious than the lives of people loss yearly to gun crime and gun accidents?

Our love affair with guns have to philosophically end. Responsible legislation regarding gun ownership must begin. No one disagrees that responsible legislation is necessary to stem the tide of gun violence in our nation. Though many fear that stronger advocates are pushing to take their guns away, countries like Japan, Sweden and Norway have an argument with fewer gun crimes because gun ownership is not a legal right. I’m not that advocate. I believe that there is a place for responsible legislation that upholds the Constitution and protects lives. Together, let’s stop the post-modern, American Civil War over our guns. Our class thanks you for your ear and for your kind response.

Sincerely,

Michael Lee Carter

---------------------------------------------

November 13, 2013

Dear Mr. Carter:

Thank you for contacting me about gun violence prevention. I appreciate knowing your views and share your concerns about gun violence.

I am a cosponsor of the Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act which would reinstate a ban on magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The ban on multi-round magazines expired along with the federal assault weapons ban in 2004. I also am a cosponsor of a bill that would reinstate the ban on assault weapons and would expand the definition of assault weapons to close loopholes that allow gun manufacturers to work around the previous ban.

I support universal gun background checks, which prevent the transfer of firearms without a background check by non-licensed gun sellers. I am a cosponsor of “terror gap” legislation that would give the Attorney General discretionary authority to deny gun sales to individuals who are known or appropriately suspected to be engaged in terrorism.

There are 314 million people in our country and about 300 million firearms available for sale or possessed by civilians. While gun legislation may not change the values that shape popular culture, it can significantly reduce the likelihood that innocent children and adults will be the victims of gun violence.

The majority of Americans and the majority of thoughtful gun owners and hunters agree that there must be reasonable limits on gun ownership and weapons. We must institute common-sense limits, such as barring those with a history of mental instability, those with a history of violent crime or who are subject to restraining orders, and those whose names have been placed on a terrorist watch list from owning weapons. Straw purchasers and gun dealers should face firm penalties. There should be limits on how many firearms may be purchased in one month. Those who own firearms that are within the reach of children should have protective locks on their weapons.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I will continue to work for the passage of these and other reasonable gun safety measures to reduce the prevalence of gun violence in our country.

Thank you again for your message. Please feel free to keep in touch.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Durbin

United States Senator

RJD/bc

Murda City

2012-06-15T08:13:00.001-07:00

Murder is murder, but like I've shared with many here in my adopted home of Chicago, though Detroit may have an infamous reputation of being the "murder capitol;" its percentages are skewed because of its smaller population amongst other large urban populations across America. Chicago has seen a 35% increase this year in deaths resulting from gun violence over this same time in 2011. So far, there have been 228 gun murders in the city, percentage wise more than LA and NY (5/30/2012 stat 208 murders = 7.7 per 100,000 people compared to 3.2 in LA and 1.9 in NY). Detroit currently has 149 murders or 3.5 per 100,000 people through 6/10/2012 (Detroit Police Dept. stat). Detroit may have its woes, but Chicago is also seeing its share in 2012 with more national spotlight.

Pray for the violence to cease in both my hometowns and across this nation. Pray for the families and victims who are left with the pieces. Pray for our children to have a safe summer, that they can play again. Pray for law enforcement that they have the strength, grace, and humility to justly police the streets (not just for NATO summits and high profile weddings). Pray for local governments to support its own police department, to get more officers on the streets, to stop de-funding neighborhood programs that help stem the tide. Pray for community activists and local churches to not grow weary in fighting the good fight.

To my friends in places like Baltimore, DC, B'Ham, N'Orleans, St. Louis, Memphis, Cleveland and Houston: What is the outlook there? Pray that the Father will stem the tide in our cities. Five hundred in Chicago is very possible. Father, save our cities and the people in them.

Job 24:14 "The murderer rises before it is light, that he may kill the poor and needy, and in the night he is like a thief."

Deuteronomy 21:7-9 "...and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people [ ], whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people [ ], so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’ So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord."

The context here is [Israel]. However in the new covenant, atonement and redemption is secured through the blood of Jesus Christ for all people, particularly to those who believe and receive this atonement. The principle here encourages the redeemed to intercede for the city, its blood-guilt, victims and families as Jesus did on our behalf.

Jeremiah 29:7 "But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/06/15/061512-news-chicago-murders-knowles-1-3/

WILD WEST IN CHICAGO www.thedaily.com City officials fight back as murder rate outstrips N.Y., L.A. – even Kabul

The Law and the Prophets

2012-05-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

In his famous painting, Norman Rockwell illustrates his visionary interpretation of "The Golden Rule" found in the Gospel of Matthew 7:12. It should be the intent of an urban remnant to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to ALL people. We should seek the welfare of the cities to where we've been sent (Jer. 29:7); to prayerfully build cross-cultural relationships with the people around us in order to foster platforms for dialogue. Because of God's great love towards us and His church, we realize that every relationship we foster within our personal spheres of godly influence presents opportunities for significant ministry and service. We intend to passionately live out the Law and the Prophets. But what does this mean?

Matthew 5:17-20 ESV

""Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells the crowds who were listening to Him not to "think that [He] came to abolish the Law or the Prophets" (v.17). To "abolish" means to do away with, put an end to, annul, or make void. The KJV uses the word "destroy" which is a synonym. The Greek here is "kataluo," which means to loosen, but implies "demolish." So Jesus informs the same kind of people who He described as "distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd" (Matt. 9:36, NASB) that He did not come to do away with the Law (not necessarily the same rules that the scribes and Pharisees added to the Law, which became burdens on the people) and the prophecies spoken about Him, but to "fulfill" them (v.17).

The word "fulfill" is defined as the ability to carry out or bring to realization (as in prophecy); and to perform or do as duty, obey, follow. It can also mean to satisfy or bring to completion. The Greek word is "pleroo" (play-ro-o), which implies satisfying, executing, finishing, verifying, and/or accomplishing; all five of which Jesus does. He satisfied the righteous requirements of the Law through obedience. He executed His office as both Son of Man and Son of God without sin. He finished His task of accomplishing redemption for all by the shedding of His own blood to satisfy God's wrath against sin. He verified the scriptures written about Him in the Law and the Prophets by fulfilling them in their presence. He accomplished this work forever during his earthly visitation and with power and authority through His resurrection.

So, what could Jesus have meant by verse 18 when he declares, "For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished?" Whenever Jesus accords the word "truly" to any of His sayings (particularly "truly, truly"or "verily, verily"), He is insisting on the direct, honest, and authoritative facts of what He is saying. He is being more, accurately literal and less, figuratively metaphorical as in his parables. There is no deep meaning to what He declares. "It is what it is." So we can avoid asking the question, "What does this mean to me" because it's not about my personal interpretation of what Jesus meant that means anything. It is about author's intent. What was the intent behind the words that Jesus declared to the people?

Jesus intends to help us understand that the Father holds each one of us accountable to the Law and the Prophets, particularly as they are revealed in the Gospel; which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (Rom. 1:16). However, Jesus knew that man in his own sinfulness could never fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law, although the scribes and Pharisees would have the disheartened people think otherwise. All of us have broken the Law at one point or another. None of us can ever say, for example, that we've never lied or told a story or thought evil of someone we didn't like. None of us can say we've never been selfish at times. None of us can say that we have loved God with all of our hearts, with all of our minds, with all of our soul, and with all of our strength. None of us can say we've loved all of our neighbors, let alone our enemies, as we have loved ourselves.

So, we are accountable to the righteous Law that Jesus declares He would not abolish, remove, nor relax. In fact He declares that anyone who "relaxes [even] the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven" (v.19). Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus speaks of the "least" and the "greatest." He declares to His disciples that whoever desires to become great among you must become the least and servant of all. He demonstrates this through the washing of His disciples feet, which was not only a preparation for them, but an act of love towards them. It was His intent to set for them an example of how real leaders lead: through acts of love and service. If we learn to love God and love neighbor as Jesus taught and commanded us to do with humility, then we too can follow the Law and it's commandments. However, even this is not accomplished through our own strength. For we make mistakes. Mistakes are errors. Errors imply missing the mark. Missing the mark is sin.

"For ALL [not some] have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). We are not as righteous as some of us may falsely believe. This was the mistake of the Pharisees. Jesus continues, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (v.20). Wow. Exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees? But they're always reading the scriptures and praying every day in the public squares. They must be closer to God because they fast all the time and give "generously" to the temple. They're always pointing out my own mistakes, all the while seemingly living "perfectly." How can my righteousness exceed theirs? Jesus answered this question earlier in the text. It is not my own righteousness that will exceed that of the scribes and the Pharisees. It is Jesus' fulfilling the righteous requirements of the Law and the Prophets, His righteousness, that would exceed them on my behalf.

The Apostle Paul, a Pharisee and former persecutor of the church, writes in his letter to the church at Rome, "Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:19-26 ESV). Hence, our righteousness comes by faith, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ (Rom. 10:17), which is the Gospel of our salvation.

Jesus fulfilled it all without abolishing anything. It is finished, and we can proclaim, "Hallelujah!" We have work to do, but it's not the work of the legal requirements of the Law by which no person can be justified. It is the works of righteousness afforded us through redemption because of our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. For we have God's righteousness bearing witness in us who are justified by His grace.

Yet, Jesus still cautioned us: "Anyone whosoever relaxes...teaches the same...least in the kingdom of heaven" (v.20). We must be careful to fulfill the ministry of love and reconciliation that is set before us because of God's great love and mercy towards us. He desires that we serve with gladness; that we walk in the Spirit; that we walk as Jesus walked, with eyes of compassion rather than contempt. He knows that we are still flesh and that we fail, but He encourages us to confess our sins because He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. And the result. He restores us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

See. God is not unjust. He has not left us alone. Jesus is both our Advocate and the propitiation (or atoning sacrifice) for our sins. So lift up those feeble knees and stand your ground. You are not alone. Demonstrate your faith through the works God has prepared in advance for you to fulfill. You are His workmanship (Eph. 2:8-10). His poem. If you do this in God's strength and show others the way too, you "will be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (v.20). In short, Jesus sums this up with a simple message: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets" (Matt. 7:21, KJV). God bless you and keep you and may His face shine upon you.

Revisiting “The Skin I’m In”

2012-05-01T10:43:00.001-07:00

The following is a short essay that I wrote eight years ago now. It was a culmination of hurt and loss that coincided with the impending decision to leave the urban education program for which I thought I was brought to Chicago to complete. My hope is that this will encourage those who are experiencing a deep level of personal insecurity and anxiety that God is sovereign and that He has a greater plan and purpose for our lives. Rest in Him and find comfort in His redeeming love.

“The Skin I’m In” by Michael Lee Carter, The Chicago Academy

Wednesday, February 4, 2004

This brief reflection deeply evolves from within my own personal anxieties and disappointments as I PUSH through the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) in Chicago, IL. This personal response was prompted as I read an excerpt from and comments on Victor E. Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning in chapter eight of “Mosaic of Thought[1].”

I often feel so utterly trapped in my own skin. Not in a cultural, ethnic, or racial prison that some may interpret to be a black man’s limbo, but caught in the trappings of a fleshly way of thinking. One that ultimately finds a man snared like a fish in a net. Although flailing and fighting to escape, soon exasperated, that fish wastes away and is soon destroyed. I am the fish.

I have played the role of fish far too long in this short melodrama entitled “My So-Called Adult-Life.” Far too long have I sought to coexist in a vacuum of perpetual childhood; one free from any real responsibilities. A desire, like Peter Pan, to never – grow – up. However, reality harshly reminds me day after disappointing day that I am a man, a priest whose responsibilities are not only to the self and to self-learning, but toward others and foremost to God. So, in the deep hurts and the painful sense of loss – loss of time, loss of integrity, financial loss, and loss of purpose – I wallow and wail. My breath is soon expired.

Jesus spoke to the five thousand at Capernaum and told them that they did not follow him because of the miracles they saw him perform; but that they followed and sought after him because their bellies were filled. He then commanded them to work not for the food that spoils, but for the food that brings eternal life. What am I really working for: material goods, recognition, fame, and/or some kind of entitlement? I know that I have been called to a greater plan and purpose in life than these things. These are the trappings that find many people eagerly queued and impatiently waiting to cash in their “great works.” While in the meantime, they are void of love, lacking in peace, destitute of faith, and void of hope. These are the fruit of the Spirit by which our passions for greater and more meaningful things are driven. Hence, redeeming the time, I am ready to escape my skin, to shed this flesh, and to embrace a new carapace with new attitudes and new perspectives on life; to adopt a more eternal worldview, even as I am adopted.

For I am God’s poetry, his unique ode, sonnet, free verse; continually humbled at the editor’s desk and being made fit for his eternal purposes. Read between the lines. The hurts and the losses are still there. However, my life and attitudes about life cannot be dictated by them any longer. My freedom is in Christ, and I choose to keep my eyes fixed on my beloved. I cannot fulfill his purposes if I allow my flesh, a carnal worldview, to detour my thinking and cast shadows of doubt on every decisions that I make. I must learn to love, love to learn, and permit myself to grow up and to place those hurts and losses in perspective. I am a giant sturgeon resting in pristine waters, contemplating the deep, rich meanings and the beautiful images of my life in Christ. My life as a husband. My life as a son. My life as a writer and an educator. My life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Satan’s nets are torn and utterly destroyed thereof.

[1] Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann, 1997

Incarnational Ministry

2012-04-28T13:34:00.001-07:00

As the Jesus disciple living in the city, urban ministry is an incarnational ministry: living where you serve; serving where you live. This includes the metropolis as well as the neighborhood. How are you personally serving the diverse people of your urban sphere of godly influence? What needs are there to be met with compassion and action?

The Voice of God or the "Voice" of Emergents

2012-04-22T18:21:00.001-07:00

Here is a recent stream from Facebook of a dialogue my cousin and I had over a USA Today article highlighting a new, emergent translation of the bible called "The Voice" to be published by Thomas Nelson. It targets younger audiences and will feature contributors such as Brian McClaren and Donald Miller who wrote the book "Blue Like Jazz." if you want to continue the dialogue, follow it on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/michaelleecarter --------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Lee Carter recommended a link. 3 hours ago 'The Voice': New Bible translation focuses on dialogue www.usatoday.com Publisher says offeres modern American readers a more accurate translation of the Bible. Like · · Share Dudley Bryan Jr likes this. Michael Lee Carter Disclaimer: I do NOT approve of the bible changes mentioned in the article above. The above article is where apostasy and false teaching about Jesus begins. It's always been around, but now it's clothed in the names Thomas Nelson and Houston Baptist University. 3 hours ago · Like · 1 Michael Lee Carter Know what you believe about the Gospel, Jesus, and the Word of God, then place it under the lens of correlated, biblical evidence and scholarship. 3 hours ago · Like · 1 Dudley Bryan Jr Some interesting discussion in the comments. It's always a valuable note to remember that the KJV is the third official english translation of the bible, commissioned by the king of Scotland who gave it's translators instructions to insure the translation supported church doctrine of the time, and it's beliefs around ordained clergy. I tried to read one criticism of it, but even re-reading it, the criticism makes numerous allegations that are vague and mostly without any reference to specific passages from the new work. http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=1230 Like one of the commenters in the article, unless we're committed to reading Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, it sounds entirely reasonable to openly consider new English translations. Especially if they speak to an age not rooted in the 17th century. What translation do you prefer? From the Lighthouse BlogThomas Nelson Goes Forward with “The Voice” – A “Bible” Project by Emergents www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com According to a February 11th article in Christian Today, “New Bible Project for ...See More about an hour ago via mobile · Unlike · 1 · Michael Lee Carter I prefer reading the scriptures from several English translations that seek to preserve the original language of the Hebrew and Greek. Traditionally, the KJV, particularly the 1611, was translated into English from the original languages under great persecution in order to bring light to how the Bible text really read versus what the religious authority wanted the common people to hear. Modern translations such as the NASB and the ESV bible seek to preserve the same, yet within the context of how modern English is read and spoken without altering the original language. For example, the word "Word" in John 1:1-2 (http://bible.us/John1.1.ESV) and John 17:17 (http://bible.us/John17.17.ESV) is rendered "logos" in the Greek. If the proposed word "voice" is used to supplant the word "Word" in John 1:1, something is lost. Mainly the sense that the "Word" references the very personified word or message of God than simply the voice of God. The word "voice" in the Greek is rendered "phone" or "phones," such as written in Revelation 4:20 (http://bible.us/Rev3.20.ESV) and Luke 3:4 (http://bible.us/Luke3.4.ESV). John the Baptist was the voice calling from the wilderness for example. Because Jesus is the Word, the "Logos," then He and God have always been the same and have never stopped being the same. Yet at one brief moment in time, the "Logos" became flesh and dwelt among us (John1:14, http://bible.us/John1.14.ESV). Jesus prays to the Father in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth." If Jesus is the "word" and if He is "the way, the truth, and the life..." (John14:6, http://bible.us/John14.6.ESV), then Jesus is the very truth by which his disciples are sanctified. The word "truth" is rendered in Greek "aletheia" in both John 17:17 and John 14:6, which is "verity" or "veritas" in the Latin. In the Gospel of John, the disciple declares, "These [words] are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (John 20:30-31, http://bible.us/John20.31.KJV). Rendering any Bible translation that makes this unclear, seeks to derail the Gospel, not proclaim it. John 1 ESV | YouVersion www.youversion.com previous next John 1The Word Became Flesh1 In the beginning was the Word, and t...See More 18 minutes ago · Like ·

God's Present Plan in My Momentary Suffering

2012-04-20T06:43:00.001-07:00

This morning as I prepared to read the scriptures, the verse of the day popped up: "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you" (1 Peter 5:10). Yesterday evening I returned home from the hospital after receiving Achilles tendon surgery due to a rupture I suffered at work. During the pre-op, I was in good spirits with an upbeat attitude praising the sovereign Lord through my circumstances, although this injury meant an early summer vacation from school. God has blessed me with so many people who have come to my care and to meet my needs, especially from my wife, my parents, and the body of Christ. On the morning of the surgery, the medical staff were a delight and demonstrated a level of hospitality and assurance that can only come from a sovereign God who loves and cares for me. Both my wife and my parents were at my side. At this point, brothers and sisters in Christ had also been praying for me as well as interceding for the medical team's sake. We saw evidence of this in the post-op care and encouragement at the hospital. However, I had not really taken into consideration the level of pain I would encounter when I returned home. For the first time (ATR being my first real surgery), I experienced a pain that I'd never known. Excruciating to say the least. I thought about Christ and how he suffered on a cross for my sin and wondered, "Wow! He endured the pain of a Roman crucifixion; the burden of not only my sin, but the sins of the world; and the abandonment of his loving Father in the briefest of moments that must have felt like an eternity." For the first time, I personally knew real, physical suffering. Although the pain medication began to do its job last night, the Father had not abandoned me. Nor had my wife and parents, unlike the disciples. God bless my wife Tiffany. For although she had to go to work this morning, is helping out tonight with a jr. high overnighter through our church, and has administrative duty on campus tomorrow, Saturday, she arose several times through the night to care and assist me through the pain and difficulty. That's when a bible verse came alive for me from 1 John 4:10-11: "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." She deeply loved me during the night and sacrificed sleep on my behalf. I cannot dismiss this as duty, for she didn't "have" to do it. She did it because she loved me and had compassion for my weakness. These acts in turn has made me fall madly in love again. And God's greatest love toward us should cause us to love him and to love one another. My momentary suffering (though not as a result of the gospel) is a platform for God to demonstrate his glory, power, love, and majesty in my life and in the lives of those around me. He is full of grace and has secured eternity for me through his Son Jesus Christ. God intends to restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish me himself. All this he accomplishes with a goal in mind: to increase my faith and to spur in me a further love and compassion for others, especially for the lost and for the household of faith; to shape me to become more like him.

Jesus Walk

2012-04-16T12:40:00.001-07:00

We should realize that every relationship we foster within our personal spheres of influence present opportunities for significant ministry and service. If we begin to see “work as worship,” ways to joyfully engage the world around us with compassion and purpose; intentionally walking as Jesus walked in the context of our relationships, then we can fulfill what is true about those who truly follow Him: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

How the Wild Weasel Popped on Friday the 13th

2012-04-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

I ruptured my Achilles tendon on April 13, 2012. It was a Friday. I currently work as a teacher’s assistant at a therapeutic day school in the Chicago area. Although the students had a break from school that day, the staff arrived for a full day in-service. During a morning circle activity involving a blow-up beach ball, the freakish thing just happened. We all heard a loud pop and down I went to the floor. I have officially renamed the sinister Achilles “The Wild Weasel.” It even has theme music: 3rd Bass - Pop Goes the Weasel.

To read the rest of this post, check out my Achilles blog at http://achillesblog.com/laughitupfuzzball/

A Declaration of Faith to be Adopted by Faith

2012-03-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

As I was Googling yesterday, I stumbled upon the statement of faith of Urban Ministries Inc., an African-American Christian publications company that publishes Sunday school and bible study materials for local churches. I've never really been a fan of "standardized" curriculae for church-wide studies. However, I can understand why using such resources can be great for ensuring that church members in a local body are on the "same page" doctrinely, practically, and knowingly. As bible study and Sunday school teachers, we are responsible for our doctrine, that it lines up with the truths of God's Word. We are accountable that we teach from a biblical perspective. I was encouraged by UMI biblical stance. Their doctrine of faith (which in many ways outlines the biblical perspective of all true-believers) is as follows:

http://www.urbanministries.com/spec/statement-of-faith/

Click the link and read it at their website.

2012-02-08T14:57:00.001-08:00

One of the gr8st acts of love that humankind can ever Xperience is the relinquishing of another's gr8st treasure on behalf of the one deserving the gr8st wrath.

The Christmas Dawn: An Interpretive Prequel

2011-12-20T13:45:00.000-08:00

The following video is a montage of Bible scriptures adapted from the NKJV and set to the music of Red Rider, The Moody Blues, Mariah Carey, and Kirk Franklin. The Christmas Dawn is my interpretation of a prequel to the story of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his eventually birth at the appointed time in a little town called Bethlehem. Photographs were shot mostly with our smartphones or other digital devices over time. Following the embed feed, you should find the scriptural references to the video. Merry Christmas, and may the Lord bless and keep you in the new year.

The Christmas Dawn (of Light and Darkness)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1,2)

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:3)

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4)

[Accordingly], in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1)

The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Gen. 1:2)

Then God said, “Let there be light;” and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. (Gen. 1:3,4)

[Because] God is light, in Him is no darkness at all. (I John 1:5b)

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:5)

That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world [of whom John bore witness]. (John 1:9)

Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (Heb. 1:3)

[However,] He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. (John 1:10,11)

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12,13)

For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren. (Heb 1:10,11)

[For He declares,] “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we many know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ [who is the Word of life]. This is the true God and eternal life. (I John 1:1, I John 5:20)

And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (II Pet. 1:19)

[That] born to you this day in the city of David [is] a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11)

Civil Disobedience

2011-12-13T20:54:00.001-08:00

Tiffany and I have been trying to retrain our dogs Diego and Salaye to stay off of the furniture. We hope by doing this that we can some day get new furniture to keep nice; to invite guests into our home to sit and not walk away “hairy-fied.” “How is that working,” you might ask. Well, as you can see “someone” is not minding me.

Salaye only tends to disobey when it seems fitting that she can sit closer to me. She yearns that connection because she seeks my comfort and companionship. She hates not being near, and being on the floor next to me is not near enough. I can feel her diaphragm pulsating against my side as she breathes, resting.

Where do you find rest? Where is your comfort? Are you satisfied with being away from the Master, or are you willing by faith to step across the boundaries to meet Him where He is? What barriers in your own life have you erected that hinders you from approaching or returning to the Father’s side? He lovingly and patiently awaits your return with open arms. Seek Him, and you’ll discover that He’s always been near.

New to Windows Live Writer, but Not to the Importance of Strong Fathers

2011-12-12T19:46:00.001-08:00

Hey. Just testing out this application for updating my blog from Windows Live Writer. Maybe this will be a good way to edit my blog. However, so far I’m not impressed. I’m simply typing into a template that mimics the color scheme, typeface, and panel juxtaposition that is setup on the Blogger site. I don’t see anything else that I’ve written or posted on the blog from this software. I can insert stuff like this picture of me and my pops at church in Detroit.

This picture was taken earlier this year, I believe, during a special anniversary for the pastor of my dad’s church. Dad has journeyed a long way to get to this point in his life. I praise the Lord for him because despite the disappointments, personal mistakes, and other trials that has marked his life, he has never stopped being a father. He loves me and my sister very much as well as our spouses. He loves his granddaughter with a papa’s love. He loves my mom with a husband’s love. He’s not perfect, but he’s proven to be strong. He is a man of God. And men of God are never perfect (except Jesus of course). However, men of God strive to be more like Him.

Windows Writer Live is not impressive, but Winfred Lee Carter is impressive; not because he is perfect, but because the Perfect One resides in him. Love you dad.

Pillars Addendum

2011-11-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

I recently read a snippett in USA Today about Cam Newton, rookie quarterback for the Carolina Panthers. It read that he was the first college player since 1950 to win a national championship (Auburn), garner the Heisman Trophy, and secure the first round draft pick into the NFL. Some of you know that there was no "NFL" as we know it now in 1950, but that's not the point. Nor am I going to get into the debate over alleged NCAA violations and accusations, which is a stark media contrast to what the media is so ready to blush about now. I simply thought to myself, "Wow! What an accomplishment." Cam Newton is also keeping the football gurus salivated with a tall order of personal achievements on the field despite a 2-6 record as a Carolina Panther. As I reflected on this, I couldn't help but think about what a role-model Cam Newton could be to so many kids. Then...reality check.

Many African-Americans are still looking for heroic icons, living legends who are also black, for our children to look up to and whom they could also emulate. There are many. But in the mad rush to catapult men and women into that role on accomplishments and media exposure alone, many overlook the every day people, the mundane workadays who fittingly model hardwork, responsibility, and fairplay. Part of the problem (and perhaps the whole) is the breakdown of the family and the absence of "real" fathers in the home and men of "real" honor and dignity in many of our communities. I say this not to spite all of the hardworking, child-rearing, faith-building, hope-instilling, virtuous women who have mothered and modelled love, perseverance, and care for centuries. This is a call for men (who have not already done so) to step up and to reclaim a God-ordained stewardship entrusted to them. Wake the sleeping giants and let the pillars rise. If Cam Newton fits the bill, fine; but let's start with the normal Newtons first. But question (abrupt and perhaps awkward): does this person necessarily have to be black?

The Urban Remnant: An Abstract (Part One)

2011-07-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

The solutions proposed by our society will not result in the world becoming a better place. – Dr. Jim Lang

If my people, who are called by my name, would humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive them of their sins, and will heal the land.
II Chronicles 7:14

Within the social and spiritual context of the city, what is needful? As it relates to life and godliness, nothing short of the effectual fervent working of the Holy Spirit in the lives of its people by the way of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, through faith by God’s grace, will bring about the needed spiritual awakening and transformation of “da hood”. Beyond popular belief, the harsh, physical landscapes of the inner-city are not a direct reflection of the inner turmoil and emotional conflict of those that live there. No, if that were so, every nook and cranny of the American geographic would be a virtual wasteland of man’s spiritual condition and depravity. However, the effects of sin on our world and in the city are evident, and it takes shape in many different forms, particularly in a large number of communities in the city.

For instance, many predominantly black, inner-city communities in the U.S. are currently experiencing the adverse effects of imminent domain and widespread gentrification more than ever before (Micah 2:1,2). Years of gun violence, drug trafficking and abuse, failing schools, economic injustice, technological divide, racial parity and generational poverty have all slowly plagued many of these communities since desegregation and “white flight”; most have never recovered. Hence, the changing economy of neighborhoods, the lack of viable resources, and the apathy resulting from crime, broken families, job loss, poor housing and lack of education contribute immensely to the blight that we see, as well as experience. All of this, then, is the revealed side-effect of sin at work in the world and in the life of the inner-city.

Over the past 25 or more years, epidemic levels of hardship, blight, brain drain and spiritual anemia present in the black community have supplanted programmatic efforts to act on the social gospel of “Love thy neighbor as thyself”. Moreover, the presence of the local church seems to be increasingly inept and impotent in the face of these dire challenges, thus appearing to be “more heavenly minded than any earthly good”. In fact, with the number of mega churches increasing, less bible-believing, doctrinally sound congregations are being planted in inner-city communities. More congregations are moving out of “da hood” into bigger and better facilities located elsewhere. It does not help that most of the membership of many of the local churches that have remained commute to Sunday services from other neighborhoods and surrounding suburbs in the metropolitan area.

Adding worldly insult to spiritual injury, many of these communities have been deemed “hopeless”. School districts have commissioned school closings; city ordinances have made way for commercial building projects as well as housing whose affordability remains far out of reach of the pocket books of families and residents who have long endured. Subversively, local governments change the face of these communities and push the indigent further to the fringes of our already marginalized society (Isaiah 5:8). However, there is hope for the hopeless.

To make matters worse, many churches are preaching a deceptive gospel of prosperity (some out of greed) and a “cheap” kind of grace that speaks only to the love of God and His blessings, but never addresses the deeper heart issues behind man’s spiritual condition within the scope of “da hood”. These false prophets, then, rob the people both financially and spiritually because they do not understand the truth (Micah 2:8,9). Hence, many who live in these broken communities question God’s love and equate “blessings” with God’s favor.

Jesus Christ proclaims, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10) Jesus has taught us that He is Life. Everything else, then, is not life at all. However, the thief has been busy in the inner-city. According to Charles Lyons, pastor of Armitage Baptist Church in Chicago, “Urban evangelism is the biblical strategy to reach the world.” God’s biblical call to reach the world, then, begins at the lights on the hill. Urban Remnant has responded to the call, and like the prophet Nehemiah, we seek to repair the walls surrounding the city and to restore worship to the temple of God. Our mission is to return to the field of our broken communities in order to promote its emancipation from the bondage of apathy, hostility, fear and sin; and to cultivate the transformation of its people into the likeness of Christ. We will accomplish this by the power of God and through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, preaching the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and making disciples who will pursue holiness and in turn spread the Word. This call to renewal, then, will spur a sense of urgency to actively rebuild, educate and invigorate our communities in order to bring about financial peace, economic stability, academic excellence and spiritual awakening.

An Urban Remnant

A remnant is defined as the leftover or the small part that remains after the main part no longer exists. About nine years ago when my wife and I still lived in Detroit, we and our friends discussed the growing trend of the city's population drainage. This version of flight appeared to find its effect in a number of factors: increased blight, failing schools, poor city services, high property taxes, etc. As brain-drain increased, we also observed another trend, though alarming to us, that was observable for several years. Increasingly, many of the local churches in the city were becoming hubs for commuter traffic. What I mean by this is that most of the members of these local churches, particular in the large historical congregations and ministries, commuted from other cities or neighborhoods to attend worship services. We saw this trend as the growing barrier to local churches effectively reaching the communities they served with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Essentially, the people of God were not living amongst the people they served.

Our urban communities are changing everyday. The name Urban Remnant concerns itself with the city and the people who choose to remain despite. Its about the Ministry of Reconciliation lived out in the broken places. Its about making disciples, bearing fruit that remains, and positively affecting the spiritual growth of our local communities through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This Urban Remnant seeks to spearhead a forum for discussing these matters and developing biblical strategies to address them.

Better than Life

2011-07-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

Thought for the Morning: Tuesday, November 18, 2008

As I prayed this morning in my classroom, God impressed on my heart a thought that I seldom think about as I negotiate through a world system that emphasizes the needs of “self” over the needs of others. Although Christ promises us abundant life, His purpose for our lives is not that we have better ones, but that in His name, to His Father’s glory, and for the increase of His kingdom, I make better the lives of others. David expressed in the Psalms his praises to God for His loving-kindness: a deep, unselfishly loving faithfulness. It is this loving-kindness, he says, that is better than life itself (Psalm 63: 3).

What is my life? Does it consist of the abundance of things and the satisfaction of self-interests? Or is it Christ who is my life? Because Christ is my life, I have the ability by the power of the Holy Spirit to comprehend God’s loving-kindness toward me (Ephesians 3: 14 – 21). God’s provision (physical needs, spiritual formation, and emotional support) for me in all things ensures that I will be uniquely taken care of and it frees me to place focus on the lives of others. Hence, if I understand God’s deep love and unfettered commitment to me, which is my life, then by the power of His Spirit, I can share that deep love and unfettered commitment toward others. When I allow nothing to be done out of selfish ambition and conceit, but in lowliness of mind esteem others better than myself, then I am fulfilling the second commandment: to love thy neighbor as thyself.

Wisdom: the Value of Learning in the Face of Frustration.

2011-07-08T11:31:00.001-07:00

An educator that shuns education, that's a travesty; but an educator that seeks to avoid validation, that's a trailblazer.
------------------------------------------------------------
Wisdom is the best education.
------------------------------------------------------------
When we were denied equal access to quality education, we as a people girded our loins and mustered strength for the good fight: to honor schooling and to value learning despite inferior resources and uphill battles for equality in the face of Jim Crow. Nearly fifty-five years since Brown v. the BOE, mostly every person has equal access to free and public K-12 education without discrimination or written rules that deny that access. Though the system is imperfect (look at the inequities in state school funding), in most cases the system, its tools, and resources available to students, families, teachers, and communities are undeniably better than those under "separate, but equal." However, something has been lost.

We no longer have the faith to fight the good fight in the face of the present trials that many of students in urban schools encounter. I'm not speaking about rallies, or marches, or protests, or legislation, or fiery dialogues at school board meetings and collective bargaining tables. We can do that. I'm speaking about the wholesale honor of schooling and the value of learning that, despite the challenges, familes instilled in their children. Teachers valued the learner more than themselves, and more so in our communities (I believe) than anywhere else because of those past challenges of racism and inequality. There was more autonomy.

Today, the high school drop-out and low graduation rates are staggering amongst many urban, African-American and Latino/a students. There are more students wrack with behavior and conduct disorders (both diagnosed and undiagnosed) that impede learning. Social and community issues plague our schools. Many inner-city educators are tired, some are simply there: to sit on tenure; no longer to be trailblazers in their classrooms to rally on behalf of their children. The system is broken. Teachers are broken. Students are broken. Families are broken. Communities are broken. The people rage, and the spirits are broken. We are broken.

No longer do we thrive and survive the fiery furnace. We simply burn like chaff in the blaze of a violent crucible. Why? It is my belief that the collective community of many inner-city student bodies perish in the flames because its people fail to believe, hope, trust for something better; and to value learning.

Of course I believe that the faith of our fathers saw us through many dangers, toils, and snares; and that mainly the God of our fathers through the Gospel of Christ. Yet, not all school communities are imperiled like many in urban or rural communities. They are broken in other ways. Yet there is something to be said about the faith, sweat, blood, tears, and prayers that blazed a trail toward actualizing that which our fathers envisioned as "better." Noah trusted God for that which was better. Abraham trusted God for that which was better. Moses trusted God for that was better. Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Carter G. Woodson, A. Phillip Randolph, Mary McCleod Bethune-Cookman, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez; each one hoped for something better as the world raged. And within their spheres those hopes expanded, dreams realized in the lives of people who wanted "better."

We have to want better to get better. The best education is wisdom, as the Proverbist writes. "Get wisdom." It makes life all the more better.

The Dream Act

2011-07-02T11:36:00.001-07:00

1 Chronicles 16:23-24

23 "Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

24 "Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples."
-----------------------------------------------------------
Over the past year, Illinos Senator Dick Durbin (D) and Utah Senator Orin Hatch (R) have championed a bipartisan bill that they believe would create a path toward citizenship for children of parents who've entered the country illegally. The "Dream Act" outlines a six year long pathway for qualifying, undocumented children, most of whom had no choice whether to come here or not, to become U.S. citizens if they complete the requirements toward a four year college degree or military service.

I would consider myself somewhat conservative when it comes to many political issues, including immigration policy. However, this bill hopes to fix at least one aspect of an already broken, fragmented policy: the dream of thousands of children who had no other choice than to follow their families illegally into the United States. According to Nick, a comment editor on the bill's web portal, nearly 65,000 children of the hundreds of thousands of high school seniors who graduate each year do not realize the same dreams that most graduates envision for themselves because of their illegal status. I personally know children who have either graduated from high school or are near graduation who are affected by this. I believe that the intention of this bill is a good one; one that extends grace, places no limits on responsible governance and regulation, and grants opportunity to hardworking students with long-term dreams. Repair the loophole of identity theft, and its potential to fuel fear of "terror;" and this bill (law) will be even better.

To those of us who are believers, disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are commanded to fulfill the great commission; to make disciples through the gospel of our God. This is part of our identity as strangers who were invited into an eternal citizenship, one "where moths and rust do not destroy, nor thieves break in and steal." We should be asking questions like, "How does immigration policy in our country impact the kingdom of God?" Agree or disagree, in a post-modern world where urban communities are becoming more diverse and multicultural, we should engage in the issues that I believe God wants His own to also address: in truth and in love. In doing so responsibly, biblically, and joyfully, we in turn invite friendship and dialogue from a dying, broken world in need of redemption.

God's Math

2011-06-28T05:46:00.001-07:00

Mark 10:1-9

1 Getting up, He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, according to His custom, He once more began to teach them.
2 Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. 3 And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?" 4 They said, "Moses permitted a man TO WRITE A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY." 5 But Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 "But from the beginning of creation, God MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE. 7 "FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER, 8 AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.

9 "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
-----------------------------
As my wife and I approach our eleventh (11th) anniversary, I am reminded that in God's marriage math, 1 + 1 = 1. Too often I take this for granted in a culture that, one, does not honor marriage between a man and a woman quite the same as He does; two, sees couples primarily as indivuals who are interdependent from a systematic and functional viewpoint; and three, misunderstands God's primary plan for the roles of husband and wife in the context of oneness. This is a context of love: a covenant and not a contract. Contracts carry stipulations and limits responsibility. Covenants establish agreements entered into voluntarily by two parties that identify and affirm their relationship one to another and acknowledge their binding, loving commitment one to another, even if one party member fails to keep it. From this viewpoint, my wife and I can celebrate the oneness we share, despite the differences, despite the disappointments, despite the despair because the covenant is one of love unconditional and not just a partnership of equals. The new math of marriage does not compute and too often ends with irreconciliable differences. The old math works just fine if husbands and wives affirm God's creative model for exemplifying His ideal relationship between Himself and His people. Under the blood, a Redeeming God plus humbled people is always equal to ONE.

The Law-Abiding Citizen

2011-06-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

The Law-Giver has declared that none abides by the Law He provided humanity. Instead, he continuously breaks it. When it came to the relationship between humanity and God's righteous decree, we were outlaws. Then the Law-Abider stepped in, fulfilling all righteousness on the law-breakers' behalf. We were two thieves on a cross: venomous, vile, rebellious. The third Man was the Son of Man: innocent, scapegoated, broken for us. He took our due punishment upon Himself, as one who didn't break the law, and bore our own iniquities.

The sign on the post read "INRI," which in Aramaic was translated KING OF THE JEWS. It hung above the Law-Abider's thorn-crowned head. One thief continued to hurl insults at the on-lookers. He also taunted the KING to come down from the cross if He was truly the Son of God. However the other, penitent in heart, defended the God-Man before the crowd. The outlaw turned with somber eyes to the KING and inquired of Him, "Will you remember me when you enter your kingdom?" Jesus, eyes swollen shut and face beating unrecognizable, assured him, "Today, you will be with me in paradise."

Though we ourselves can no more follow perfectly the perfect law of the holy God than a camel can pass through the eye of a needle, Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God, the Law-Abider accomplished this. Yet He alone was wounded for our sin, for our lawlessness. Greater still, this one act of sacrificial love made available to all of us an assurance that we would be with Him. If only we'd simply acknowledge our guilt with penitent hearts and believe by faith that Jesus alone atones for our sin. By the power of His resurrection, we who were once thieves now become citizens of an eternal country where none can break in and steal. And the Law-Abider enters into our lives to empower us who stole to steal no more.