Rebirth: East St. Louis

Hope Point Church Sermon, 5.9.11

2011-05-11T00:08:00.001-04:00

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2009-10-15T22:20:00.002-04:00

I just realized this blog is still up...we have transitioned to using one on our website, http://www.rebirthesl.org/. You can easily subscribe to that one on the site. Thanks so much!

The Reality of Brokenness

2009-04-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

I don’t know if I’ve ever been faced with the reality of our world’s brokenness as I have in the past month. I’ve never had so many nights where I am just to exhausted to move—not because of any physical exertion, but because of the weight of my emotions. This world is far more broken that I have ever realized. Just this past week:

- One of my close friends dies while playing pickup basketball. Eric was 24, and a leader in the African-American community. He was laboring for the Kingdom, and loving his wife and children well. This world is so broken…
- A player walks into the weight room in street clothes. “Are you lifting today”, I ask. He responds, “I don’t know. I have to see when my dad can come by to help me move my stuff. My grandma put me out.” Another player responds through laughter, “Again?! What did you do this time?” To them, it’s just the way it is…
- We bought protein powder to give to our guys after workouts. Many high schools do this in order to get their players bigger and stronger. That would be a great perk for us, but our main desire is that our players simply have some type of nutrition, because there is no guarantee they’ll get it at home…but that’s the way it is.
- One of our players will be a star. He’ll be able to go to any college he wants to, and he talks about it all the time. He’s always leading by example. Yet, yesterday he decided he wanted to be cool and hold someone else’s marijuana. Caught, suspended, arrested…how can he not connect holding that bag to his chances of college? Something is wrong here…
- A player opens up to me and tells me a lot about his life. His mom was able to buy a house, which is a huge step. But she put her boyfriend’s name on the deed, only to discover he was little more than a cheat and a drunk. She can get no help from the authorities because they are all his drinking buddies. She has to spread her kids out in various places. “I sleep on my sister’s couch. My mom won’t let us near him because she knows we’ll beat him up. I just want to have a room again.” Does it bother him? “It makes me mad, but that’s just how it is.”

The difference between my view of the brokenness of this world and that of these youth is simple: To them, “it’s just the way it is”. I agree, “it’s the way it is”…but that’s not how it should be. And I can claim the promise that the broken world we live in will be restored to the fullness God intends. That truth keeps me going, and keeps me praying that these youth will one day embrace the gospel, giving them a reason to hope in the midst of more suffering than I’ll ever experience. The reality of “the way it is” might not change, but at least they’ll know the truth: “It’s not how it should be, and it’s not how it will be”.

Eric Marshall, Hero and Friend

2009-04-25T10:32:00.002-04:00

A hero died Wednesday. He wasn’t just a hero for me. He was a hero to all that knew him. Eric Marshall defied the odds. He was more than just a great basketball player. He was a father. He was a husband. He was committed to the betterment of those around him. Somehow, in this self-serving world, Eric found a way to think of others far more often than he did himself.

He shouldn’t have made it through college with the success and impact he did. How many guys have a child the first week of their freshman year, yet still manage to maintain a solid GPA, a successful Division I basketball career, and be integrally connected to many other students and activities on campus? I’ve heard of few doing such a thing, and none who remain intensely committed to raising their child well.

And what about after his dream of playing any type of professional basketball ended? After he tore the second ACL? Was he devastated? Did he give up on life, and just spend the rest of his days drifting aimlessly like so many others who have faced the same reality? No, Eric had perspective. He knew that basketball in and of itself was absolutely worthless to all of us. It’s a sport. It’s merely a game. It’s nothing more—unless it is used for a greater good. And Eric knew this.

And, finally, Eric had a vision of reality that many of us don’t. He recognized that his first son’s mother was not someone to consider marriage with. He wasn’t proud of the out-of-wedlock birth, but he knew that this just wouldn’t work. So he waited. And eventually he found a woman worth waiting for, and he married Tanya and they were blessed to have a child together as well. Isaiah could grow up around a stable home with his new brother Caleb because his father had the fortitude to embrace a hard reality, while trusting in a more hopeful future.

How did Eric live in a way that was so counter-cultural? How does a young man swim upstream, against the current of our world? He was rooted in Jesus Christ, grounded in the very grace that saved him not long after that first week of his freshman year. I was privileged to know Eric through college, and to see him mature into a man of God. His growth in the faith and trust in the Lord enabled him to live as he did. Basketball became a tool to share the gospel, which is why he was playing Wednesday night. He wanted to use his gift to impact the world, and he did. He wanted to invest his life into the lives of other men, and he did. He wanted to love Tanya, Isaiah, and Caleb well, and he did that too.

Eric Marshall wasn’t perfect. He wasn’t without his faults and flaws. None of us are. But he lived a redeemed life, one that was passionate for the gospel. That is was set him apart. He didn’t just make it through life; he lived hard, and he lived well. His is a life we should all emulate. May we pursue that same life, may we pursue our Savior, Jesus Christ.

An unexpected challenge to my faith…

2009-04-19T23:55:00.003-04:00

Last night I had the opportunity to speak to the youth group at First Baptist Ellisville, which is in West County. I expected this to be a typical suburban youth group, but I was completely blown away.

First, the reason I was asked to speak was because the subject of their weekend event was Justice. The students initiated this opportunity to learn more about what justice is, God’s heart for it, and how we are called to live it out in our world. Did you catch that—the students wanted to learn more! All around the room were large banners the students had made, each with an issue of justice such as Human Trafficking and Child Soldiers, and the countries where these injustices are presently ongoing. After the previous night's talk, the students spent time praying about each of these issues. We ate a meal of only rice as a reminder of the suffering of many around the world. They spent Saturday morning serving with several ministries in the area, but the more amazing thing is that they serve in this way at least once a month. In spending a few hours with these students, I could tell that many of them had a true zeal for the Lord.

To top it all off, they were an engaging audience that responded to the injustice that has been done in East St. Louis, and, hopefully, to my challenge for them to live as people who cultivate God’s character within them and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Their youth minister (whom I embarrassingly had called by wrong name 3 times in my talk—see below!) told me they were going to send our ministry an honorarium. I obviously was very thankful, but even more thankful to have simply been around these youth for several hours yesterday. What a challenging reminder of how we are to pursue the Lord and live out of His character!

(Okay, here is the story. His name is Dustin. Our pastor’s name is Darrin. I called him Dustin all afternoon, until somehow our pastor’s name came up in conversation. From that point on, I called him Darrin…until he pointed out my mistake after I finished my talk. Unbelievable! He laughed it off, but I felt like a total idiot!)

March 24 Email Update

2009-03-25T11:23:00.001-04:00

A lot has happened since the last update we sent. I have been given greater responsibility and trust on the coaching staff, and my relationship with the players is growing as well. I'll use a list form to give you a few details:

I'm still only going to after-school workouts, but now I take a group of athletes and train them on my own after our weight workout
We are going to start taking guys out to eat on Fridays after they work out...This Friday will be the first time we go, and I'm anxious to see if Golden Corral is going to allow us to come back next week!
I always give guys rides home from practice, and it's a great time for conversation
Kristin made her first big sale yesterday, and we're hoping that her business will grow as our network of relationships grows.
She also has just recovered from foot surgery, and expects to begin volunteering some at the high school next week.

That's the positive news. On the more sobering end of things, we've had three shootings in the last week. This isn't abnormal, as violence increases with temperature in our area. One of the shootings was at an intersection I pass by twice each day--a sobering reminder that our earthly lives are temporal, and we ought to be about what truly matters. I tell you this to ask you to pray that this trend doesn't continue. One of the victims was one of our seniors who had signed with the University of Illinois to play football. We think he'll have surgery and recover enough to play, but this is just such a picture of what these kids face every day--and the "matter-of-factness" with which they talk about these incidents is even more indicative of the obstacles they face in East St. Louis. Please pray with us that this does not continue to be the norm.

You call that community development?!

2009-03-22T18:01:00.008-04:00

This past Friday Kristin and I completed what I would argue was our first community development work. As you know, we've been trying to get some new equipment for our weight room, but we don't have the money with which to buy anything. What happens when necessity and lack of resources meet? Creativity flourishes!

Instead of buying much needed training plates for our athletes (I won't bore you with what those are), which would have cost over $250, Kristin and I made them out of plywood for only $30! Coach Sunkett was really excited when I showed him what we'd done. God gave us the creative spirit we needed to meet a need at our high school, which is giving us in-roads into the East St. Louis community!

Big Baby Steps…and many tired players!

2009-03-18T12:05:00.001-04:00

I realize the above title is somewhat of a paradox—but let me explain! The past two days have been a lot different in the weight room. Partly due to simply being more comfortable there, to feeling more accepted, and to getting more leeway from coaches, I’ve been able to really get after the players! I’ve yelled some (healthy yelling, I promise!), I’ve challenged them, I’ve picked on them, and I’ve made them work until they gasped for air. Now, some of you may be thinking of withdrawing your support and calling Social Services to report abuse, but, I’m telling you, this is BIG! I have been entrusted with more responsibility by the coaches and the players themselves have demanded more of me. Several of them have asked me to stay after the workout and help with them speed and conditioning drills. In fact, one even mentioned that he’d love to do something on Saturdays, and so maybe we’ll generate enough interest to pull that off!

To those of you who weren’t athletes, I don’t know what comparison I can give you to help you understand how this is truly helping to foster and grow my relationship with the players. There is a certain bond between players and a coach that really pursues them both athletically and personally, and I can really sense a start of that bond. Now, we have a LONG way to go, and I’m only interacting with about 20-25 different players, but I think it’s a great start. Just the fact that I have two freshmen who look to me for a ride home every day is a sign that we’re making great relational progress, and that we haven’t taken minimal baby steps, but “Big Baby Steps”!

Daily, Routine, and Revolutionary

2009-03-10T13:15:00.004-04:00

One of my good friends works in the wealth management business, so you can imagine the chaotic state his life has been in for the past 8 months! In the past several the fear and uncertainty that threaten his joy have become the first topic of conversation anywhere, no matter where a person works—or, these days, doesn’t work. Our economic climate has not missed Kristin and me, but it has not affected us as much as many others. Sure, our support is lower than we’d like, and she’s not selling earrings as much. But that’s not nearly as significant as many losses others have incurred. The crazy thing is that much of the same emotions and stress that the economy causes in so many people, we feel every day—and it has nothing to do with the economy!

Every day at 2 o’clock I start readying myself for afternoon workouts at the high school. I head over there each afternoon knowing that this day won’t be like a previous day. Maybe there will be a few new guys there. Maybe there will be a coach I haven’t met yet. Either way, I am faced again with the same mistrust and suspicion that everyone gives me. Friday I went, and there were only two players who stayed around to lift—so we cancelled it. Yesterday none of us could find the coaches. It’s surprising how stressful the uncertainty can be! I gave a freshman a ride home Friday. My head is spinning: “Do I force conversation? He’s obviously young, and so it will be tough…How many questions are too many? What’s too personal?” These things might seem small, but when you’re trying to earn rapport in a community like East St. Louis, they are big!

It’s also hard for me, a person who is really driven, to realize that in three weeks, I’ve spent probably about 5 hours around teenagers. 5 hours, that’s all! But, I think God is using this to teach me the same things that he’s teaching those affected so heavily by the economy. We are called to “walk in the Spirit”. This isn’t done through some thunderbolt and lightning revelation, but through the daily, routine things that we are called to do. Each day I make it a point to study the Bible. I pray. I try my best to ensure Kristin is doing well. I try to check out of everything to keep my sanity. I trust God to lead my by His Spirit as I surrender myself through these actions. And, most of all, I remember why we are here, and that “He who called is faithful”, and it is God’s responsibility to guide, shepherd, and sanctify me. May you embrace this truth wherever you are and whatever you are facing, and may you pursue the daily, routine things that--by His grace--produce revolutionary results!

Earning my Stripes

2009-03-04T00:07:00.003-05:00

The phrase to "earn one's stripes" is defined as "to gain a position through hard work and accumulated-experience". There have been quite a few times in my life when I've recognized the truth of this phrase, and I was faced with the reality of it again today. I have finally been cleared to volunteer coach with the football team, and this afternoon was my first interaction with many coaches and players. I was very sobered in my thinking--it's going to take a long time to earn the trust of not only these players, but also the coaches.

After I left I talked to my college defensive coordinator, which was most helpful. "You know how much you know. I know what you know. They don't know anything about you or what you know," he said. This is so true. No one up here knows anything about us. They don't know my football background. They don't know how long we have been planning to move here, or how our hearts bleed for the city. But one of the suggestions my coach gave me was to take some of the coaches to lunch. I can do that. I also think I'll be able to give some players rides home after workouts. Hopefully soon I'll be able to be in the weight room during school hours. These things I can and will do...and hopefully, eventually, I'll "earn my stripes", opening the door to many gospel conversations.

The Christian Activities Center

2009-02-26T10:30:00.003-05:00

I had an awesome meeting with Chet Cantrell, the director of the Christian Activities Center (CAC), a ministry that's been in East St. Louis for over 20 years. Chet has lived in the area since 1989, and he is a wealth of knowledge and insight! I'm trying to bribe him to meet consistently with me so I can pick his brain!

But while it was great to learn a lot about the city, it was also really exciting to dream of partnering and learning from one another. The CAC focuses on a specific neighborhood in the city. They draw kids from across the city, but their core aim is to minister to the children and families right around the Samuel Gompers housing projects. This is exactly what we want to do in a different part of East St. Louis. It was really exciting to think of how we could facilitate and enhance one another's ministry. Mostly, I think they will be helping us! But, it's still really exciting to be able to lock arms with other brothers for the sake of Kingdom advancement in our city.

Here is the link to the CAC's website: http://www.cacesl.org/index.html.

Getting Started at the High School

2009-02-18T11:39:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I met with Coach Sunkett, the head football coach at East St. Louis High School. He was receptive to the idea of our ministry, and is going to allow me to assist with their strength and conditioning program. This will afford me the opportunity to be in contact with almost every player on their team--what an incredible opportunity!

Pursuing the Call

2008-12-21T19:06:00.001-05:00

"Any vision worth pursuing will demand sacrifice and risk. You will be called upon to give up the actual good for the potential best. You will find it necessary to leave what is comfortable and familiar in order to embrace that which is uncomfortable and unfamiliar. And all the while, you will be haunted by the fear that this thing you are investing so much of yourself in may not work out at all." - Andy Stanley

February 3, 2009. The day we'll leave the South, all we've known, all that's familiar, all that's comfortable. We're often tempted to focus on the negative or throw pity parties, but in this season I'm especially reminded of what Jesus did for us. To enter humanity as an infant? To leave the pleasures of heaven for the cross? To experience separation from God so that we might experience eternity with Him? Yes, these are incredible sacrifices, and our recognition of them makes it much easier to follow God's call.

Not only does the recognition of Jesus' work give us courage, but it assures us of purpose and allows us to dream of how God would use us. What will happen in East St. Louis? We have no idea. But we can dream. It's our dream that our neighborhood will be transformed into a place where our kids can freely ride their bikes, and that they'll be taught-and even discipled-by the 14 year-old who is presently concerned only with football, sex, and the drama of gang life.

This Christmas season, I urge you to search out what God's purpose for your life is. Where is He calling you to sacrifice? To step out of your comfort zone? Is He calling you to follow Him to an unfamiliar place? It's hard, it's uneasy, and certainly uncomfortable-but step out, and God will draw you closer to Himself, and He will use you more than you can imagine!

Where will we find our niche?

2008-12-06T17:00:00.002-05:00

Every successful business fills a void in the economic market. It thrives because it does what others are not doing. Ministries and churches are similar. As I thought about what our niche will be, I thought of all the issues and problems we could address in East St. Louis--education, housing, healthcare, teenage pregancy, absentee fatherhood...the list goes on and on. The dilemma is obvious: Where does one start? Is there a core issue? How do you approach one issue and forsake all others?
It's easy to get wrapped up in all of the issues and not really address any of them. And, it would be easy to think that simply addressing all of the external issues would produce lasting change. But, the reality is that, even if all issues and problems in a society were erased, the people would still be the same. In other words, the real issue is that we are sinful and separated from God, and apart from the restoration of that relationship, anything else is like using a mere band-aid to cover an epidemic.
I have come to this conclusion: We must build leaders for the Kingdom of God. We must build leaders who remain in the city, who reinvest their lives in the next generation, who reproduce themselves, and who reverse the cycles of generational sin. As we build these leaders, we will address many needs, and that attention will be much more effective and lasting as it is coupled with Gospel transformation. Then, through these leaders, we will continue to address the needs of the city--always focusing on the core Need--for generation after generation.

Want to learn more about Rebirth?

2008-12-02T10:53:00.005-05:00

While a blog is a great way to post short stories or updates online, I realize it is lacking in its ability to communicate a lot of details. So, if you'd like more information about our ministry or would like to consider supporting us, please email us at RebirthESL@gmail.com. We would be happy to provide you with more information about our plans, our hopes, and our dreams for the city of East St. Louis!

East St. Louis Wins State Title!!!

2008-11-30T21:28:00.010-05:00

The Flyers won the Illinois 7A Championship Saturday afternoon. I was so excited to be able to watch the game on television. These are the young men we'll be sharing our lives with in just a few months! If you'd like to read an article or watch the highlights, there are links below:

http://www.bnd.com/409/story/559996.html

http://myfoxstl.varsitynetworks.com/default.aspx?hierarchy_id=Media-Details&media_id=419000&media_type=V

Football Plays for State Championship!

2008-11-24T12:10:00.003-05:00

East St. Louis won it's semi-final game this past Saturday, and plays this weekend for the school's first state title in almost two decades. I think team's success this year really confirms that coaching will be a great way for me to enter into relationships with these men.

East St. Louis: In Focus #3

2008-11-12T10:45:00.001-05:00

The East St. Louis Flyers are a perennial athletic powerhouse, especially in football. Many kids escape the life of the streets by playing sports. The simple pleasure of athletics gives them a break from the harsh reality that often threatens their existence. Football is so highly regarded in the city that there are a significant number of players in the program. This is part of the reason I plan to use volunteer coaching as my entry into the community and into the lives of these youth. It is our hope that this "natural in" would allow me to move quickly into relationships and begin to build trust. This would then provide me with opportunities to share the hope of Jesus Christ with those who have little reason to hope in anything around them, and so many of whom have no idea what true hope is.

Sitting and waiting...and acting too?

2008-10-30T15:24:00.003-04:00

Kristin and I got a dog this summer. I think the previous owners must have fed him from the table, because any time there is food around, Buck is around. As I watched him wait patiently before me yesterday, and then lie on the floor beneath my feet, it really hit me: What does it mean to wait before God? You see, Buck eventually gets impatient, and moves on to the next thing--which is the story of my life! But, we aren't called to pray and then do nothing...so what does it mean to really wait on the Lord?

I don't know if I have a great answer for this. I'm still mulling it over. What I've learned so far is that there is a difference between praying and then taking action apart from God, and praying and then taking action in partnership with Him. I think there is a way to wait patiently at His feet even as we act. I am not sure I know exactly how to do this, but I want to continue to learn. Maybe it's having a continuously prayerful mindset? I only know a few people who really live like this--and I'm not one of them. Or maybe it's simply being aware that He is with us and only in Him are those things He calls us to possible? Regardless, this image of Buck at my feet has stuck with me, and I'm fighting to learn what it means to expectantly wait on God to move, even as I move in the direction He is calling me.

East St. Louis: In Focus - #2

2008-10-29T08:37:00.003-04:00

As I sit back and look at our support situation right now, this picture is so challenging. Why, you might ask, is a scene of kids playing on old mattresses in the midst of housing projects challenging? The answer is simple: Joy. These kids are living in poverty—there is no arguing that reality. Yet if you were to be there taking this you would see the joy that they are experiencing even in the midst of their situation. Our support is really hurting right now, and it’s so tempting to give up. But looking at these kids challenges me so much. The voice inside my head screams, “You lucky to be above the poverty line whiner, get up, keep moving, and quit complaining about the economy—you’re fortunate to even feel the effects of it!” With my perspective shifted by the joy of children, I move forward. It’s not an easy for any of us who are affected by this economic downturn, and I don't write this to minimize our situation. However, I think we’d all do well to realize how blessed we are to even feel the effects of these financial struggles, and to learn a lesson from those who are far less fortunate, yet immeasurably more joyful.

East St. Louis: In Focus

2008-10-26T21:35:00.002-04:00

At first glance, this picture seems to portray the creativity that characterizes kids in the inner-city. However, the graffiti in the background is gang art, and the bears indicate multiple tragedies. Each time a person from the neighborhood is killed, a bear is nailed to a telephone pole. Each bear represents a life that was cut short because the youth of East St. Louis choose to invest their lives in drugs, violence, and gang activity. This is a sobering reality that few of us will ever face. As I sat in a truck taking this picture, it occurred to me that kids are dying each week, that my own children will grow up on these streets...and that my mind is too often preoccupied with things that possess only earthly significance. I’m learning that the greatest reality, the thing of utmost significance, is that—apart from Christ—lives are lost, and these youth spend eternity in a place that is far worse than the one where they spent their earthly lives, something they never dreamed possible.

Dreaming the Impossible

2008-10-23T09:25:00.000-04:00

When I flew into St. Louis Monday, I looked at the city from the plane and felt overwhelmed. What need! What despair! It all rushed back again, and I wanted to run from reality. However, as I drove away from the airport, I began to pray, and realize again the opportunity for God’s glory in this city. I thought of how I once lived in a world of illusions, as if football and girls were an end. And then I thought of the youth of East St. Louis, and the illusion of life they have bought into. But how great will it be when they see the Truth, the hope of Christ! When those living in illusions are born into reality, they can become leaders for the true King. And they will bring light to a dark and desolate city, making much of the our Glorious God.
I’m only here for a few more days, but as I ride around the city I’m dreaming, and I’d ask you to dream with me. Would God choose to use a group of underprivileged, poorly educated, and hopeless youth to demonstrate his glory to surrounding cities, regions, and a nation of affluent, elite citizens? I think He would, and I think He will. Please pray and dream with me to this end!

Fear and Trembling

2008-09-30T12:08:00.001-04:00

Kristin and I are studying Nehemiah as we prepare to launch this ministry. We are realizing more and more that we are so much like him--scared to death! The thought of staying in Spartanburg is so much more comfortable than the reality of leaving all we know. The thought of being in a network of existing friends is easier, as is being near family as we raise our own children...The list could go on and on. We are trying our best to take baby step after baby step forward in this vision, and trust that God has so much more for us in East St. Louis that He would if we did not go. We want to be people that, like Nehemiah, are humble before God, but who are willing to lift our heads and follow where He leads.