"I wouldn't do anything for the first six months."
To my surprise, this was the beginning of a response I received to a question posed to Dr. Bob Lupton. Dr. Lupton has been doing Christian Community Development for 40 years in inner-city Atlanta. I was trying to ascertain what Dr. Lupton thought the most important issue facing an inner-city community was. Where do you start? He didn't even pause. Heck, he was ready to answer before I finished the question. Drawing on his wealth of experience he responded, "I wouldn't do anything for the first six months."
Really? Nothing?! But the people need something. You can almost feel their hopelessness as you drive through their community. But as Dr. Lupton continued with his answer, I realized the shortsightedness of my thinking.
"I wouldn't do anything for the first six months," he continued. "I would see where the Spirit is moving, and I would go there -- find a church full of faithful, praying people who want to see a change. I would move in to that community and become part of it. I would get out and meet my neighbors, and ask them what they think the community needed. Perhaps I would volunteer with a local ministry or church to get involved. Maybe join the PTA. Spend the time getting to know the people and find out what they think the neighborhood needs. I would then push them a bit further to see whether they feel strongly enough about a particular need to put their own time and energy into making it happen."
The conversation continued, but the point was the same. There is no way that Dr. Lupton could decide what the most critical program need for a community is. You have to ask the community members. And the proof that it is truly a critical need can be seen in the reality that they are willing to become personally invested in making it happen.
This is not an entirely new idea for me. A critical mistake that I have made at different points during my time in urban ministry is assuming that I know what a community needs most. And even worse, believing that I can be the one to make it happen for them. The community may benefit from our organization's help and direction, but they are the ones most familiar with the need. And they are the ones who should be empowered to meet it.
The point was simple and clear. Honestly, it kind of made me want to start over in a new city, just to do it right this time. But, until God calls me out of West Palm Beach, I will try to be effective by doing nothing a bit more often.
-- John Fix, Director of Operations
To my surprise, this was the beginning of a response I received to a question posed to Dr. Bob Lupton. Dr. Lupton has been doing Christian Community Development for 40 years in inner-city Atlanta. I was trying to ascertain what Dr. Lupton thought the most important issue facing an inner-city community was. Where do you start? He didn't even pause. Heck, he was ready to answer before I finished the question. Drawing on his wealth of experience he responded, "I wouldn't do anything for the first six months."
Really? Nothing?! But the people need something. You can almost feel their hopelessness as you drive through their community. But as Dr. Lupton continued with his answer, I realized the shortsightedness of my thinking.
"I wouldn't do anything for the first six months," he continued. "I would see where the Spirit is moving, and I would go there -- find a church full of faithful, praying people who want to see a change. I would move in to that community and become part of it. I would get out and meet my neighbors, and ask them what they think the community needed. Perhaps I would volunteer with a local ministry or church to get involved. Maybe join the PTA. Spend the time getting to know the people and find out what they think the neighborhood needs. I would then push them a bit further to see whether they feel strongly enough about a particular need to put their own time and energy into making it happen."
The conversation continued, but the point was the same. There is no way that Dr. Lupton could decide what the most critical program need for a community is. You have to ask the community members. And the proof that it is truly a critical need can be seen in the reality that they are willing to become personally invested in making it happen.
This is not an entirely new idea for me. A critical mistake that I have made at different points during my time in urban ministry is assuming that I know what a community needs most. And even worse, believing that I can be the one to make it happen for them. The community may benefit from our organization's help and direction, but they are the ones most familiar with the need. And they are the ones who should be empowered to meet it.
The point was simple and clear. Honestly, it kind of made me want to start over in a new city, just to do it right this time. But, until God calls me out of West Palm Beach, I will try to be effective by doing nothing a bit more often.
-- John Fix, Director of Operations
Recent Comments