Although Camden hasn’t always held the top spot, for 2009 we’re back to being #1 in the nation for being the most dangerous city in America. Check out the article here.
My hometown of Birmingham was 6th and surprisingly New York City was 296th!
Camden is a city of potential. But I’m not surprised it’s considered the most dangerous. Why? Because it’s also the nation’s most poverty stricken city. And can we also mention the history of corruption of city officials? The last three Camden mayors are in jail for corruption charges. Interesting!
We taught a lesson last week on how Jesus is the most important thing. Apparently H. was listening because at school the next day, on a Thanksgiving turkey art project, he wrote, on his own accord, “Jesus is the boss.”
It makes me happy to know the kids a) listen to what we tell them and b) think about it when they’re away from us. H. came up with the phrase “Jesus is the boss” entirely on his own.
Last week I attended the Princeton Forum on Youth Ministry hosted by the Institute for Youth Ministry at Princeton Seminary. It was in Hendersonville, North Carolina at a beautiful camp ground called Kanuga. I went for a two day retreat and then for an additional four day conference. It was nice to get a break from city life and be surrounded by gorgeous scenery. North Carolina in the Fall is one of my favorite places to be. It was also great to be challenged theologically with speakers like Kenda Creasy Dean, Rodger Nishioka, Mark DeVries and others.
About 70% of the conference was applied to church ministry, but I still learned a lot. I met amazing youth directors from around the country and was encouraged by their service and dedication to young people. It was a good week.
We have partnerships with local churches to buy Christmas presents for the kids, but preparation begins now and today I was asking the kids what they wanted. I heard ps3, iPods, skateboards, but one little boy said SHOES! and then ran off.
He wanted SHOES for Christmas!
Isn’t that precious? Later, I looked at the list and noticed that his sister also requested shoes. He could have asked for toys, but asking for shoes is very practical.
We’re teaching the kids about the life of Jesus and last week’s lesson was called Jesus Was Born For Us. One of my goals is to communicate the gospel in a culturally appropriate way. So, with our urban context, I pieced together a video about the life of Jesus and put the song “Our God” by The Cross Movement as the background music.
When we played it, the kids started laughing. They were kind of freaked out because whenever they’ve seen videos of Jesus and Biblical stories, it’s always been classical (White) music in the background. Not some guys rapping, “Yeah Lord!” The song even says,
“You prolly never had the living God unpacked,
Unpacked by some rapper the living God don’ jacked.”
Over dinner a few days later, my teenage staff members brought up the video in conversation and was like, “Yeah, Miss Jenn, I didn’t know what to think…”
I’m happy with how they responded. I didn’t mind that they laughed or thought it was weird. I want them to realize that Jesus is just as accessible and real as the rap music they enjoy. The music is modern and so is Jesus. Does that make sense?
I think it’s good to see old stories with a fresh perspective and I’m thankful music helps us do that.
I posted the video below, along with the lyrics of the song. For me, it was really powerful seeing these images of Jesus and hearing the words “Jesus our God.”
[Intro]
Yeah Lord! (Yeah Lord!)
Can we tell ‘em about you? (Can we tell ‘em about you?)
I know they don’t know (I know they don’t know?)
But they listening right now so we might as well. (But they listening right now, so we might as well.)
We just gonna talk about you. (We just gonna talk about you.)
We gonna vibe with you. (We gonna vibe with you.)
Help ‘em vibe with you, Lord. (Help ‘em vibe with you, Lord.)
They prolly never heard. (They prolly never heard.)
[Verse 1]
You prolly never had the living God unpacked,
Unpacked by some rapper the living God don’ jacked.
For His own purpose, you know it’s seems to bug,
People the way He mends though he picks up scrubs.
Like you won’t like me, but enough of this intro,
Introduing this God, gotta give up for this info.
Info all about the One that the texts calls ‘Yahweh’,
Yahweh is the I AM he had a Son come our way,
Our way to Yahweh is the man Christ Jesus,
Jesus is the Son Yahweh sent to man. Christ breezes,
Breezes to another person known as God the Spirit,
The Spirit is the third person of the God Head, hear it.
Here it is, the foundation. God’s Triune.
This things hard, Hard to lay out in sixteen bars.
Bars of truth about God, Doesn’t this seem odd?
A rapper would bring truth heavy as 16 cars.
[Chorus]
Our God!
I decided to write. I aquired a mic,
I want your eye on The Christ,
‘Cuz he is our God!
Aint no body like Him. Thats just why we like Him,
Plus we got our life from,
Jesus our God!
We won’t stop till every block is listenin
He’s on top, cuz on top is his proper
‘Cuz this our God!
What other God would cop from every race
of people so we could show off His grace.
No one but our God!
[Verse 2]
You ever heard the word attributes?
Attributes describe; God’s got so many vibe, some of them I have to shoot.
Shoot, eternality just to start it off.
Off the timeline, he was here before he started all.
All knowning, all powerful, all present. Yes yes,
These are the omni’s of God. He’s at His best,
In every way, in every class. His very breath
Creates and sustains every day and every step.
Step with me. Get with me, you know im movin’ y’all.
I’m movin y’all. To see the sovreign Lord who proves it all,
It all comes closer as sin comes to the forefront,
Front if you want His grace and mercy. We all want,
We all want love, but none of us want wrath,
Wrath is in the package, the enemy won’t last.
Last, but not least He’s beautiful.
Holy, He’s Just, Transcendent, He’s Immanent Plus Immutable.
[Chorus]
Our God!
I decided to write. I aquired a mic,
I want your eye on The Christ,
‘Cuz he is our God!
Aint no body like Him. Thats just why we like Him,
Plus we got our life from,
Jesus our God!
We won’t stop till every block is listenin
He’s on top, cuz on top is his proper
‘Cuz this our God!
What other God would cop from every race
of people so we could show off His grace.
No one but our God!
[Verse 3]
I kick this for you, though it bores you. Isn’t it disloyal
to dis God, when this God picked us from soil.
Soil was given the shine like he dipped us in oil.
Oil is the sign of God’s Spirit who boils,
Boiling. Hot flashes is what he gives. It’s for you,
For you to give it back. Lord, let this adore you.
A door to this God is all narrow is all, Get out.
Get out, is what you hear to narrow tree. Spit out,
Spit out the lukewarm. The Lukewarm,
Those who really dont know, The God of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
But now you have life, so does the Ambassador,
Ambassador, Uses the mic just like a rapper does,
A rapper doesn’t usually recite the story of,
His story of Him, who gets the sole “Gloria”,
Glory to Jesus, the way to the father,
Father now we can call you more than God.
We can call you ABBA. Your God.
[Chorus]
Our God!
I decided to write. I aquired a mic,
I want your eye on The Christ,
‘Cuz he is our God!
Aint no body like Him. Thats just why we like Him,
Plus we got our life from,
Jesus our God!
We won’t stop till every block is listenin
He’s on top, cuz on top is his proper
‘Cuz this our God!
What other God would cop from every race
of people so we could show off His grace.
No one but our God!
Last week we went to Duffield’s Farm Market in Sewell, New Jersey for a hayride, pumpkin picking and a corn maze. The kids had a great time experiencing farm life.
Urban ministry leader Arloa Sutter has a series on Twitter called “Being poor is….” and it hits the reality of urban poverty on the head. They resonate with me because they are 100% true! I’ve been there and I know other people who have been there. Arloa understands urban poverty issues and communicates them powerfully in 140 characters.
Being poor is needing that 35-cent raise.
Being poor is hoping the toothache goes away.
Being poor is bed bugs with no hope of relief.
Being poor is hearing the rats scratching in the walls at night.
Being poor is discovering you can run an extension cord from the light the landlord leaves on in the back stairway.
Being poor is standing in line at a food store at midnight on the last day of the month when the LINK card (food stamps) gets replenished.
Being poor is making lunch for your kid when a cockroach skitters over the bread, and you looking over to see if your kid saw.
Being poor is a six-hour wait in an emergency room with a sick child asleep on your lap.
Being poor is four years of night classes for an Associates of Art degree
Being poor is thinking $8 an hour is a really good deal.
Sitting on this stoop, it’s stunning to think about how far Jay-Z has come. Not only is he an entirely self-made man, he’s found his great success doing exactly what he loves. He is thoughtful and intelligent, a reader and a seeker. And in between telling me how he survived life on the streets, how a scolding from his mother helped him fall in love, and even how he and Beyoncé managed to keep their wedding small and private, he explains why he cares so much about connecting with kids who remind him of him—kids he hopes will point to his photo and say, “I can make it, too.”
