The Warrior "7"

Last night we (the Sunshine Warriors) defeated Edgewater Baptist to complete our 11 game regular season. We finished the year with a 4 and 7 record. I am greatly encouraged from the way we finished the year! In one of our last regular season games we nearly defeated the undefeated first place team, Breakthrough Urban Ministries. We lost that game by a mere two points, and could have easily won the contest. That proved to me and to the team that we can compete with (and beat)anybody if we play together. Although our team may lack size and depth, we make up for it with heart. When we are at our best we play with a lot of intensity!

We finished the season with 7 players. Let me introduce them to you...
Baby T "Beat You To The Spot" Nimely - Baby T is one of the best on-ball defenders that I have coached. He loves to "lock up" the other teams point guard, and to apply relentless pressure. He then brings that same intensity to the offensive end, and penetrates with full force. Baby T will be a junior at Mt. Carmel High School this fall.

Cornell "All The Way To The Cup" Brandon - Cornell has a "nack" for finding his way all of the way to the whole. Sometimes he dribble coast to coast. Sometimes he catches it on the wing, and penetrates. He somehow slices through and/or by the defense and gets a lay up. Cornell graduated this year from Fenger High School, and will be heading to college in the fall.

Eric "I'm A Football Player" Nimely - Eric is quick to point out to teammates that he is a football player that is playing basketball to stay in shape. Eric brings that football mentality to the court. He crashes the boards, dives on the floor, and does the little things. He even made a couple of "and-ones" this season. Eric will be a junior at Team Englewood High School this fall.

Pierre "And-One" Carr - I think Pierre has the Miracle League record for converting the most "and-one" three-point plays. He can penetrate past, through, and around just about any defender. Once he arrives at the basket, he intentionally positions his body to draw contact. He utilize the officials like few players that I have seen. Pierre was our leading scorer this season. He will be a junior at South Shore High School this fall.

Trevell "I Need More Touches" Martin - After one of our first games, Trevell told me and his teammates that we would be better off if he just "got more touches." As the season progressed I believed him. Trevell is a streaker shooter with 3-point range, and an ever-improving mid-range jumper. He models his game after his idol, Tracy McGrady, and he continues to develop his game each summer. Trevell will be a junior at Team Englewood High
School this fall.

Terrell "Big Baby" Martin - Terrell's appearance and game favors the Boston Celtic's Glen "Big Baby" Davis. Terrell has a wide body, that creates space within the lane. He continues to develop as a good rebounder and as a defensive presence in the paint. He also has a soft touch for a big guy around the basket. Terrell will be a junior at Team Englewood High School this fall.

Wendell "Slash" Ambrose - Wendell was a new addition to our team this season. He did a great job handling the ball and playing calm even when the game got crazy. Wendell is at his best when he slashes to the hole. He does this through the use of a crafty jump stop, and through a cross-over dribble. If he continues to develop his jump shot, he will be dangerous. Wendell will be a junior at Team Englewood High School this fall.

Update, Update...
On Saturday we competed in the end of the year tournament. We entered the double-elimination tournament as the 5 seed. Our first round opponent was South Shore United Methodist. We lost a close contest to them, and during the second half we lost Pierre Carr for the rest of the tournament. After dropping into the loser's bracket, we earned back to back victories against Edgewater Baptist and the World Overcomer's. (In other words we lost to "the Methdodists" but were able to defeat "the Baptists" and "the Pentecostals." :)) Our final game of the day was a rematch against South Shore. Unfortunately, we ran out of gas (and lost another player to injury - Trevell Martin). We played hard all day long though, and I was proud of how hard we played in spite of our limited roster.

I continue to pray that the seeds that were planted this season will continue to grow, and that eternal fruit would abide in the lives of the young men. I am reminded of Isaiah 55 of the "lasting effect" of God's Word (Isaiah 55:11). Our final tournament devotional was a powerful gospel presentation shared by long-time youth pastor Danny Lopez. I am praying that these young men will seek and serve Christ in their youth!

It's Soft Isn't It?

On Saturday I was able to spend the day with my family in South Haven. We got together to celebrate my sister Anne's 33rd birthday. After spending time together on the beach, we all went out to dinner at Clementines. Just after most of us had finished with our meals, my nephew Carson (age 3) asked me if I would take him to the bathroom. I grabbed his hand and we headed off to the men's room. When we got inside, he first walked towards the stalls - only to discover that they were occupied. Next he assessed the urinal situation - 2 full size and 1 "short urinal." This particular "short urinal" was technically still too high for him, but he would not be denied. He dropped his pants to his ankles, thus exposing his backside and most of his legs (this produced grins and chuckles from the other men entering the rest room). He then stood on his tip toes so that he could reach the urinal. He literally rested "his equipment" on the urinal rim. For those of you who don't know much about "urinal rims," they are not the cleanest or most sanitary surfaces. Nonetheless Carson did not want any assistance from his uncle Dave at this point. A few minutes in he turned to me and stated, "I think I need to sit down." So we headed for the newly opened stall. I wiped down the seat and made a "paper throne" for him. I then lifted him up, placed him on the seat, and then stepped outside the stall to wait for him. A few minutes later he announced, "Uncle David I'm done." I walked into the stall to find him with his pants still at his ankles, and with a smile of "a job well done" on his face. I could tell that he needed something, so I asked the question that I was hoping to avoid - "do you need me to wipe you?" He nodded yes. This is where the story really gets good. After indicating his need of assistance, he proceeded to bend over and grab his ankles with his hands. Apparently either his mother or father taught him this procedure to aid "the wiper." I then grabbed the appropriate amount of toilet paper and proceeded to wipe his tiny bottom. As I was wiping him he asked,"it's soft...isn't it?" I almost busted out laughing, but I kept my composure and just smiled at him. I then told him, "Carson you did good." He immediately responded, "no you did good."

It's great to be an uncle!

Warrior Update

We are just over the mid-season mark for the Miracle League Season. At this point the Sunshine Warriors are 3 and 4. Other than one lop-sided victory that we had, every game this season has been close. We once again started the season with a full roster of 13 players. However, various circumstances have once again trimmed our roster to the “Faithful 8.” This has posed challenges, losing a 6’5” shot blocker and low-post threat, a 5’9” 3 point “gun-slinger”, and some additional bench support. However, our remaining 8 leave us with a scrappy and determined 6-foot and under bunch. For 5 of the guys this is their 4th summer playing with us in the League.

We have 4 regular season games remaining, followed by a post-season tournament on Friday July 17th and Saturday July 18th. I am confident that if we are playing together and playing hard, we can make a run at the championship.

It has been great to have Pastor Brad helping as an assistant coach and driving an additional van to our games. Pastor Brown has also been gracious to us in allowing us to use First Baptist’s vintage gymnasium for all of our practices.

We have had some really good devotional talks with our guys. They are asking really good questions, wrestling with the gospel, thinking on who Christ is. I am encouraged especially by 2-3 of the guys who show evidence of growth and spiritual maturity developing. Please continue to pray with me for the team – that eyes would be opened to the gospel and that fruit would continue to grow.

Go To The Legacy Conference!

Lecrae says to go to the Legacy Conference...

Eliminate Hurry...

This past Sunday I visited my sister & brother-in-law's church (I believe it is the Third Reformed Church of Kalamazoo). During the message the pastor told a story about a phone conversation that John Ortberg (pastor & author) had with a spiritual mentor of his. Towards the end of the conversation, he asked his mentor what type of wisdom and/or insights he could give him to grow in His intimacy with the Lord and to keep his heart devoted to Him. The spiritual mentors response was, "you need to do whatever you can to eliminate hurry from your life." In fact, the mentor made sure he emphasized that statement, eliminate hurry, by repeating it to him before the conversation ended.

I've been thinking the last few days about what that statement means, or rather what it would look like to eliminate hurry from my life. I do think that part of that means learning to say no, prioritizing your time, and potentially even cutting some things out of your schedule. However, I think that "eliminating hurry" can still include full days. The key is that the activity and the service flow out of times of communion with the Father, and out of an abiding in Christ (John 15:5).

We see the perfect example of this type of lifestyle in our ultimate example, Christ. We have looked at two key passages as a staff recently that illustrate the priority that Jesus placed on times of communing with the Father in prayer, in the midst of much activity. The two key verses (and the surrounding passages/context) are Mark 1:35 and Luke 5:16.

Mark 1:35 = And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.

Luke 5:16 = But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

If you look at the context of Mark 1, you will find that Jesus' early morning time of prayer (v. 35) followed a VERY full day of ministry. In the Luke 5 passage, just before verse sixteen it tells us that Jesus' fame was spreading and that His ministry was in high demand. Jesus modeled a perfect balance of being & doing, of worship & work, of still communion & showing compassion. His days seemed to be high-paced but He was not hurried. He was active, but He wasn't agitated. Why?...because He "often withdrew" and spent time with His Father.

Another place where you see this type of balance emphasized is in Luke 10. I greatly appreciate Warren Wiersbe's insights into this chapter. He states in his commentary on the book of Luke, "The three scenes in chapter 10 illustrate the threefold ministry of every Christian believer, and they answer the question, ‘What in the world does a Christian do?’ To begin with, we are the Lord’s ambassadors, sent to represent Him in this world (v. 1-24). We are also neighbors, looking for opportunities to show mercy in the name of Christ (v. 25-37). But at the heart of all our ministry is devotion to Christ, so we must be worshipers who take time to listen to His Word and commune with Him (v 38-42)." I love that - ambassadors, neighbors, worshipers.

I am praying for our staff this summer, that in the midst of full days we would be given the grace to eliminate hurry.



“Few things are as damaging to the Christian life as trying to work for Christ without taking time to commune with Christ (John 15:5).”
-Warren Wiersbe

Friday Night Lights

It's happening!! Praise God!...

A Renewed Burden For The Lost

As you know from my previous post, I recently preached a sermon entitled "Becoming A Courageous Church." The first point of my message was that the Church needs Courage to Communicate The Message. The main Scripture that I highlighted was 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2. It states, "for you yourselves know brothers, that our coming to you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict." I love the part that says, "we had boldness in our God." In emphasizing the fact that I(& we) often times lack courage to open up my mouth, I pointed out that this passage and the Bible as a whole is clear that any boldness and/or courage that we need to share the gospel with people comes from God. The NIV translates this section, "with the help of our God we dared to tell you His gospel." It is a supernatural message, and we must rely on His supernatural power to share it. In other words = His Message + His Power = Boldness/Courage. This is what we see throughout the book of Acts in the early church.

During the sermon I challenged the congregation of Living Hope to ask God for divine appointments during the week to share their faith with co-workers, family members, neighbors, etc. I then told them that I was going to do the same. I did, and God definitely answered my prayers. During my Greyhound ride from Oakland to Los Angeles, God gave me the opportunity to have lengthy conversations with two different brothers about Christ. I was able to open up the Scriptures with them. It was awesome! Then on my flight back to Chicago I had a great conversation with the guy that was sitting next to me. He is a Buddhist, and we chopped it up about issues of faith and the gospel for probably the last hour of the flight. I don't highlight these recent conversations to illustrate what a great evangelist I am, but rather to emphasize the fact that if we ask God for divine appointments to share our faith with those whom our lives intersect with, He will answer that prayer.

Over the course of my time in California, I also began reading a book entitled "One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven" by Mark Cahill. The author of this book is clearly "on fire" to share Christ with the world. God has been using this book, my time in the Word, and these recent experiences to give me a renewed sense of burden for people who don't know Christ. I am praying that God will continue this work in me.

Here are a couple of quotes that I have come across in the last few weeks that have impacted me.


"If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned or unprayed for."
-Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Leslie Newbigin in his book “The Gospel In A Pluralist Society” states that, “The Christian community is characterized by hope and that hope is the oxygen of the soul.” That means that many of the people with whom we live and interact are suffocating, and the oxygen of the gospel is their only hope.”

Christians Must Suffer

This is a longer clip (10 mins or so), but it is definitely worth watching.

2009 Legacy Conference - July 30 thru August 1

Legacy Conference 2009 - "Sola Scriptura"

California Trip Highlights

Becoming A Courageous Church

This morning I had the opportunity to preach at my guy Aaron's church, Living Hope Neighborhood Church, in Richmond CA. I felt led this morning to preach about what it means to become a courageous people of God. The preparation and the delivery of the message really convicted and challenge me in my own cowardice. Here is the outline of this morning's message.

Becoming A Courageous Church

“Courage is acting (or moving forward) on conviction in the face of fear.”
-John Perkins

The Church Needs The Courage To…

(1)Communicate the Gospel
• 1 Thessalonians 2:1-2 = …But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.

Ask God for “divine appointments” this week.

(2)Compassionately Care for the Needs of Others•
2 Corinthians 8:1-4 =…Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.
• Luke 10:25-37 “the parable of the Good Samaritan”

“In the third century AD, a terrible plague struck the city of Alexandria, claiming many lives. The pagans interpreted the event as the gods’ punishment and refused to help the sick since they “deserved” their calamity. Alexandrian Christians responded differently. Out of love for God, they nursed the weak and buried the dead – often contracting fatal illnesses. These brave souls won the nickname “paraboloni” which means “one who takes a risk.” Today, we should make it our aim to earn this title of honor.”
Amy Sherman “A Call For Church Welfare Reform”

(3)Cross Lines
• Acts 13:1; Acts 11:25 =…the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch
• John 4:1-26 “Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well”

“Love for each other across racial and class barriers still remains the most powerful testimony to Jesus Christ and the gospel. The local church must demonstrate fellowship to communities turfed by gangs, divided by political corruption, and ruined by financial exploitation.”
-Ray Bakke in “The Urban Christian”

(4)Our courage must come from Christ!
Acts 4:13 = When they saw the COURAGE of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Burdened For The Fatherless

Last weekend I got a voice message from a friend of mine, Jake, who graduated from Moody with me. He lives and works in Des Moines, Iowa and is very involved in ministry there at his church and at his job. Jake definitely has the gift of encouragement. It is hard to have a conversation with him and not feel encouraged in some way. On this particular phone call he left a question for me. He told me that he recently had become involved working with fatherless youth. He then asked me how we could be praying together for the fatherless. I was really challenged by his question and the obvious intent of his heart behind his question. Although I have definitely prayed for young men and young women over the years who don't have their fathers involved in their lives, the size of his question really caused me to think.

Fatherlessness has become an epidemic in our nation. I see the effects of it in the urban context, but fatherlessness exists in suburban and rural contexts at an ever increasing rate as well. Young people that grow up without a father are more likely to be impoverished, less likely to graduate from college, and have an increased chance of incarceration. I will refrain from sharing the statistics on this, but they are definitely disheartening. What makes fatherlessness so challenging to tackle is that it is caused by both systemic injustices and personal sin. It is a complex challenge. Materialism and chasing the American dream plays a part. Economic injustices and lack of opportunity plays a part as well. The reasons or causes for fatherlessness may vary, but the effects don't change.

But back to Jake's question, "how can we be praying for the fatherless?" First and foremost, God is referred to throughout Scripture as the defender and the helper of the fatherless. It is evident that the fatherless are on God's heart. I am reminded what the founder of World Vision, Bob Pierce, once said - "Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart." We need to allow God to break our hearts for the fatherless. I think that is the best place to start.

Secondly, I am reminded of the prayer that Jesus challenged his disciples to pray in Matthew 9:36-38 = When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." We can therefore be praying that God would raise up laborers with a heart for the fatherless.

The interesting thing about the Matthew 9 passage is that right after Jesus tells them to pray for laborers, he sends them out as laborers. We need to be the laborers with hearts for the fatherless. There is an African proverb that says, "it takes a village to raise a child." The church can be that "village" for the fatherless. The church can and should be the family for fatherless children. So what does this look like? If you are married and have a family, although your primary ministry is your wife and children, you can still reach out to the fatherless. In fact it should be a natural, as an increasing number of your children's friends may be fatherless. You have a great opportunity to have them over for dinner, take them to church, and take them on family trips. Singles within the church could and should be involved as well. Although singles don't have the connection through their kids like married folks do, there are endless opportunities for singles to mentor and disciple fatherless young men and young women.

We can also be praying that fatherless young people will find their identity in Christ - that they will find their identity as a child of God. Young people need the strength, protection, affirmation, and love of their father. When they don't get that, they look to fulfill that legitimate need illegitimately through relationships/sex, gangs, drugs/alcohol, etc.

In conclusion, let's be the village for fatherless children, let's be the family of God for them, let's be the Church.

Psalm 86:5
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling.

Psalm 82:3
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Isaiah 1:17
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Deuteronomy 10:17-18
For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing.

Chicago Peace Campaign Kickoff Rally

Chicago Peace Campaign Kickoff Rally
Saturday May 23rd
11am - 1pm
Washington Park - just east of Garfield Blvd & King Dr

Proverbs 27:17

Last weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Boston, Massachusetts for my friend Ben's graduation from Gordon-Conwell seminary. Ben and I practically grew up together. I call his mom and dad, aunt and uncle, and he and his two sisters cousins. Over the years I have learned much about friendship from Ben. It was during my sophomore year of college that he introduced me to the concept of being accountability partners. His transparency with his own personal sin struggles allowed me really for the first time to be completely honest and vulnerable with a brother in the Lord about my struggles and my fears. In the spring of 2001 he cried with me as I shared my surrender to follow God's calling into urban ministry. Over the years there have been times where he has cried for me as he has prayed for things that I have gone through in my life. He has modeled what it means to "be" a true friend and brother in the Lord.

Over the course of the weekend I also got to observe he and two of his closest friends from college. These guys connected at Wheaton college and have invested in each other's lives over the last 9 years or so even as distance and family have made it challenging. These brothers love to laugh and have a good time together. They also intercede for one another, seek counsel from one another, and lovingly challenge one another when necessary. Spending the weekend with them reminded me of the importance of friendships and the importance of community.

In the book the Disciplines Of A Godly Man,the author Kent Hughes states that only 10% of men have true friendships with other men. That is a sad statistic, especially for the body of Christ. I am still learning what it means to "be" a godly friend. I still struggle with being transparent and vulnerable with my brothers, but by God's grace I am growing in this area. I am thankful for the solid brothers that God has placed in my life.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Sharing A Need

The conclusion of this school year (last day of school is Friday June 12th) marks our second school year of ministry in our new building. Praise God for all that He has done during our short time here in this community. When we first moved into the building in January of 2007, only the office section of the building was usable. Over time, the all-purpose room and the community technology center were finished. In June of 2007 we finished 1 of the 6 apartments located on the 2nd floor of our building (it has been home of the Blodgett family ever since).

We still need to finish the other 5 apartments as well as the remaining storefront on the first floor. The vision for the last storefront is to transform it into a community cafe, that will be open to adults in the morning and then be used as additional youth programming space in the afternoon and evening hours. The vision for the unfinished apartments is to create affordable housing (4 units) and staff housing/office use space (2 units).

Praise the Lord, we recently were able to get our zoning changes finalized at City Hall. This enables us to secure our building permits and move forward with the above mentioned rehab projects. However, what that means is that we are now in the position to raise the funds necessary to complete the project. The financial need is $150,000. Please pray with us that God would provide for this need!! The completion of the building would be a huge blessing as we enter into our 3rd school year of ministry here in the fall.

Pictures: the top picture is the inside of the unfinished storefront, the 2nd picture is the outside, the 3rd picture is a view of our building off of 61st St

Chicago Peace Campaign Update...

Yesterday was the launch meeting for the Chicago Peace Campaign at the Chicago Embassy Church. I believe there was 100-120 people in attendance. We began with a time of worship and prayer. Then the pastor of Chicago Embassy and Chris Butler cast the vision for the Peace Campaign and exhorted us to collaborative action for peace. They also showed a tragic video, highlighting youth violence in our city, that set the tone for the urgency and importance of this campaign. We were reminded that this is not about convincing those who are doing violence to put their guns done, but rather this is about mobilizing people who are doing nothing towards creative and collaborative works of peace. In other words, the movement is seeking to create a culture of peace in Chicago that leaves no room for violence. In Biblical terms, darkness cannot overcome the light.

The web site for the Peace Campaign will be up in a matter of days. The next event is scheduled for Saturday May 23rd at Washington Park from 11:00am to 1pm. This will be the kick off rally.


Jeremiah 29:5-7
Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

Global Stand By Me

Chicago Peace Campaign

In lieu of the challenge of violence in our city, a new movement has been started called the Chicago Peace Campaign. It is a comprehensive peace plan developed to mobilize churches, community organizations, and concerned neighbors towards collaborative actions that promote peace throughout the city. The movement is being spearheaded by Chris Butler (26 yrs old), who grew up in Chicago and is burdened to see Chicago's diverse communities unite around the cause of peace. He loves Christ and loves the city, and it is out of this heart for the Lord and for people that this vision has been birthed. I was privileged to be at the initial meeting for this movement, surrounded by urban ministry veterans, pastors, and community organizers. Each person at the initial meeting was then exhorted to recruit ten people to come to the launch meeting this Saturday. We are praying that 200 people will be in attendance at this initial launch meeting.

Here is a brief description of the mission of the Chicago Peace Campaign and its main pillars of action.

The Chicago Peace Campaign is a mobilization strategy to fill the city of Chicago with "the way of peace" through life giving words and action, leading to a measurable decline in the rate of violence in the city, especially among our young people.

Peacemakers Projects: Organize, coordinate and support service projects that will become deterrents to violence and monuments of peace.

Friday Night Lights: Night time outreach in rough areas. Light up dark corners with physical lights while lighting up dark souls with the light of the Gospel.

Beautiful Feet: Recruit a corps of street pastors to go house to house with message of peace and be a presence for peace in the streets.

Peaceful Speech: Communicate the message of peace through new media (website, facebook, text message etc.), traditional media (radio, television, newspapers) signs and events.

Pray for Peace: Cover the Chicago Peace Campaign and the city of Chicago with prayer.


I will write an update after this Saturday's meeting and as the various activities begin to unfold. The launch meeting is this Saturday, April 25th from 10am to 12pm at the Chicago Embassy Church 5848 S. Princeton.

Too Many Young People Are Dying

Last Friday morning I attended the funeral of 18 year old Tommie Williams. He was shot and killed the previous Thursday evening near 5pm on the corner of 61st and Cottage Grove. The church where the funeral was held was packed, primarily with young people. It was evident that he was a well-liked young man. His mother shared that the Lord was keeping her strong but that whoever shot her son didn't just shoot him, he shot their whole family (meaning it hurt all of them deeply). His father told those in attendance that he didn't want his son to be just another t-shirt. (In the inner city, when a young person dies, t-shirts are made that have his/her picture on it and usually say RIP.) Tommie had six sisters and four brothers.

On Thursday evening (of this past week) 14 year old Juan Cazares was playing basketball with his friends. At around 6:30pm two men walked out of an alley and began to shoot. Juan was shot, and eventually died from gun shot wounds early Friday morning. Juan was well liked and known for his sense of humor school officials said. Juan had two younger sisters and a younger brother. He lived with his mom and some of his cousins.

Juan became the 33rd Chicago Public School student that has been killed by violence this school year (2008-2009). A total of 508 Chicago school kids were shot (not all fatal) from September 2007 through December 2008, according to data compiled by the school system and released to the Chicago Sun-Times. Those CPS shooting statistics do not even include other school-age kids who have been shot. Adding those kids would double the 508 shootings of CPS students (according to Chicago Sun-Times March 9th article). That averages out to almost 32 children shot each month. Although (thankfully) not all of these shootings have been fatal, the damage is still severe.

“There is physical damage, which is awful enough. But the psychological damage can last much longer – both for the victim and their classmates. Many kids in the most violent neighborhoods of Chicago are paralyzed by fear, and it’s hard to blame them (Chicago Sun-Times March 9, 2009 article).”

I am still trying to get my mind around all of this. I have been praying and thinking about all of these shootings and all of these young lives that have been taken. It is sobering enough to hear the number and to hear the statistics, but when you start to personalize it and think about the families, the friends, and the classmates that are effected it becomes even more tragic. There is so much potential in the young people here in Chicago. I see it first-hand every day and every week. At the same time, many of these young people feel deep pain. There is a saying that I have been reminded of lately that says, "hurt people hurt people." Young people are hurting, and they are acting and reacting out of that hurt. The crisis of youth violence that our city is experiencing right now is a very complex issue. Unfortunately there is not a "quick fix." In the next few weeks I will continue to blog about this topic, thinking through preventative responses that the Church here in Chicago can engage in.

Please pray for our city. Pray for the young people and their families. Pray that peace would reign in the streets. Pray that the Church would rally and unite in acts of compassionate intervention.

I recently discovered a Chris Tomlin song entitled "God Of This City" that I have been singing as a prayer. The words are as follows...

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

Amen!

Thinking on the Cross

Today we watched the Passion of the Christ with a small group of our youth. At the very beginning of the movie the words of Isaiah 53 scroll across the screen. Isaiah 53:5 reads, "But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed." It is such a powerful and sobering passage of Scripture. Throughout the day I have been listening to Shai Linne's atonement album, and one of the sermon snippets on his album especially stuck out to me today. The pastor explained that not only was the Cross an act done for us (ie John 3:16) but an act done by us (He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities). He then added that it is not until we fully understand that it was done "by us" that we will fully understand the depth of His grace and love for us.

This video was done by the Christian hip hop group called Hazakim. You can check them out at www.myspace.com/hazakimcamp