The Grand Tour

Yesterday I was able to take a big step in familiarizing myself with the communities around Redeemer and making good contacts! For most of the day, James Kling took me around all of the surrounding areas and educated me just about every facet of life there. He has lived and worked in this area for quite some time and so has proven to be a knowledgeable and willing informant. We began with a windshield tour in south Crestwood, making our way through the edges of Forest Park and into Avondale. After checking out the grand Avondale Library and Park, we made our way into some much rougher areas through Woodlawn, Gate City, and East Lake. It was very interesting to see the sudden progression (or rather, digression) from nice, large houses and neighborhoods to housing projects, crack houses, prostitution centers, and other typical components of the east Birmingham hood. This graffiti on one dilapidated, barred up house spoke volumes on life in this area:



We finished up our tour by literally crossing the tracks into the suddenly more appealing and less disconcerting north Crestwood area. I was amazed again by how close in proximity the worst sections of town are to the more affluent, with little more separation than trains and little more connection than persistent, petty crime. At the end of this time, I felt I had had my eyes opened (though briefly- no less potent) to a whole new world, literally on our doorstep and in our backyard. As I learned of the alarming crime statistics, saw the abject poverty, and spoke with the hurting and hungry, I felt a rush of conflicting emotions. My compassion and concern were immediately tempered by fear, selfishness, and pride. The sheer weight of the need both inspired me and overwhelmed me. I was discouraged and yet excited, cynical and yet hopeful. As the commands of Jesus to care for the poor, feed and clothe the orphans and widows, and share hope with the lost rushed to my mind, so did my busy schedule, my fear for my safety, and my lack of resources.

Surely all who have endeavored to obey Christ's simple and challenging example have faced these sentiments, from the time of the early apostles until now. Then more Scripture continued to come to mind: "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some..."(1 Cor. 9:22); " I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing power of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things..." (Phil. 3:8); "...who being in very nature God...made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant...he humbled himself and became obedient to death..."(Phil. 2:6-8); "He who despises his neighbor sins, but happy is he who is gracious to the poor"(Prov. 14:21,31); "He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered."(Prov. 21:13). Then I went and read Is. 58, as I encourage you to do. Things seemed to fall into their right places and my perspective was better aligned.

For the last several hours of the day, we visited local schools, ministries, churches, non-profits, and other groups that would be helpful to create initial contact. While we certainly will be limited in our partnerships and commitments at outset, it is important to watch and learn from those who have paved the way. Several of these stops were the Dept. of Human Resources (for the unemployed), Cornerstone Christian School, Workshops Inc. (on-the-job training for mentally handicapped adults), Girls Inc. (our current landlord), and many more. As we form more relationships with such people and groups, we will begin to discover opportunities for future partnerships and coordinated outreaches. I have a lot to process and follow up with after such a great, eye-opening day, and I look forward to the fruit that will surely come from such discoveries!