March 24 Email Update

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?!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

"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?

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?

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!!!

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!

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

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?

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

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.