Anniversary of Dr. King's terrible death

Alone or One?

No individual can live alone, no nation can live alone, and anyone who feels that he can live alone is sleeping through a revolution. The world in which we live is geographically one. The challenge that we face today is to make it one in terms of brotherhood…. Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood, and yet we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood. But somehow, and in some way, we have got to do this.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Source: A Knock at Midnight

Add your thoughts at inward/outward

Social media and isolation

I remember well the first time I rode a New York City subway train. 


The scene looked about like this photo. 

No cell phones. 

No iPads. 

No electronic notebooks of any kind.

Just a sea of newspapers attended to by intent, silent, isolated readers apparently lost in worlds of their own as they tried to make sense of the news of the day. 

Lots of people criticize the new forms of media available to us today.  Often we hear that community suffers thanks to the constant availability of information and our connection to it.  We're told that Facebook, Twitter, email and the rest compromise our connections to one another. 

I expect there is some truth in such observations. 

But, then again, the real challenge remains as to how we use media.  We can connect or disconnect.  We can decide to engage our fellows via new and amazingly fast forms of media that actually advance the interests of community, or we can turn away into our own worlds defined by isolation of our own making. We've witnessed the youth of the world unite, organize and bring radical change to society and culture very, very quickly. 

"Poor people" find themselves cut off from many of the advantages of new media, but that is changing, thankfully.  Maybe one of the best investments we could make would be to bring everyone into the new and rapidly changing world of digital connection. 

Before making that first trip to New York City, I recall being coached by veterans to the experience to avoid direct eye contact with people on the streets and in the subway system.  I was sort of set up for not connecting. 


You know what I did, don't you? 


I bought The New York Times and blended in!

Attack poverty for real!

Here's a note I picked up from "Attack Poverty."  It is right on!

Want to help the poor? 

Abandon old donor-recipient model.

Embrace partnership model that values God-given creative capacity in everyone!

Publishers Weekly Review. . .

[The following review appeared recently in Publishers Weekly.]

The Wealth of the Poor: How Valuing Every Neighbor Restores Hope in Our Cities

Larry M. James

Abilene Christian University Press

$24.99 trade paper (288p)

ISBN 978-0-89112-380-4

 

        

 

When most people think of Dallas, they don't think poverty. This captivating memoir by first-time author James, a Church of Christ minister before heading up CitySquare (formerly Central Dallas Ministries) reveals what the Big D's 28 percent inner-city poverty rate looks like at home. James and CitySquare approach economically poor neighborhoods by first identifying their critical assets—social capital, survival skills, indigenous knowledge, and capacity for change—in a process James calls "re-neighboring." Skillfully blending social entrepreneurism, an adroit acquaintance with urban planning policies, and a profound love for his neighbors, James and CitySquare are not only lifting individuals out of poverty, but economically revitalizing neighborhoods by incubating for-profit microenterprises, including landscaping, a used-car lot, and even solar power. Readers move seamlessly through James' hard-won lessons, biblical insights, and engaging community profiles to a deeper theological point about hope and the gospel. While some of James' examples may not translate well beyond Dallas, his fresh engagement with the practicalities of "loving one's neighbor" in an era of austerity will inspire readers everywhere. (May)

Reviewed on: 06/17/2013

KTIS radio and "The Wealth of the Poor"

I enjoyed my early morning interview with Ted and PK on Missouri radio station, KTIS!

I'm finding my book is opening many new doors for discussing CitySquare and the entire subject of poverty in urban America.

Listen in here!

The Wealth of the Poor

 Order your copy of The Wealth of the Poor today! Call toll free 1-877-816-4455 or go to Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.

What people are saying about "The Wealth of the Poor"

I'm back from vacation and finished your wonderful book. . . . To me your book was all about taking risks, especially taking the risk of really getting to know people as individuals and uniting with them as neighbors.  I also loved how you took risks - like being honest that what you need most is financial support versus well-intentioned gifts of volunteerism that don't involve true personal investment. . . . I love how you say, again and again, that we are really all the same and that it is the simple things that people often need the most like the freedom of privacy. My favorite part of the book was Principle 5 and I agree completely with you!  Some times you just have to hold hands and jump.  And of course I completely agree with you that it is time to move beyond the concept of charity.

Michelle Corson, CEO

Champion Impact Capital

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Your book is already as dogeared as a college freshman recycled textbook. The wisdom, insight, humility, and acknowledgement that we all need to remain both student and teacher, is highly respected and deeply appreciated. 

Michael Samuelson

The Health and Wellness Alliance for Children

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If you haven't got a copy of Larry's book, you need to!  

Dr. Bob Biard

Texas A & M Adjunct Professor

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This book should be read by anyone interested in urban ministry in America today.

 Dr. Jerry Jones

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It is a good read--I learned a great deal about your early efforts that I didn't know.

John McStay

Dallas business leader

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Simply put, this is the best, most readable, and most powerful book on the social implications of the Christian religion that I have read.

Richard T. Hughes

Distinguished Professor of Religion at Messiah College

Director of the Sider Institute for Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan Studies

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Larry James is an inspiration to my life.  Each time he speaks, I learn something.  May God use this book to do for many what Larry has done for me:  to remind us of the value of every single human being.

Max Lucado

Bestselling author

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Thank you for sending me your book--a testimony in the most profound sense. You lived and wrote in the open, which opened up space for others to find their own way. I love your idea of a business card with an asterisk. And I love that the credo of CitySquare on the next to the last page could be true.

I would have left out a lot of the running argument with the parts of the church that still want to ask about evangelism. And there was more bible than needed. I looked for your honest statement once that you said "I believe more and more in less and less." The church--at least the part of it that has a heartbeat--is emerging there, I think. So I argue less and less with the old church, hanging with people who believe deeply, but simply. So I wonder if you, like me, are still waiting for the moment to write an honest theology.

Your book does make me long for time together.

In the meantime, you'll see the book sales leap by at least a dozen or more copies as I recommend it. 

 

You've done a good thing.

Gary Gunderson

VP Faith and Health Ministries

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

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Call today, toll free  1-877-816-4455 to order your copy of The Wealth of the Poor:  How Valuing Every Neighbor Restores Hope in Our Cities by Larry M. James.

 

Talk, and then there's talk

"Today it is fashionable to talk about the poor. Unfortunately it is not as fashionable to talk to the poor."

--Mother Teresa

Watermelon at "the corner"

My head is still reeling with thoughts, impressions and experiences I've enjoyed the past two weeks at "the corner" of Malcolm X and Dawson Street.

Every week magic manages to break out on the porch of the abandoned house that's nestled under a big shade tree.

This afternoon I engaged in amazing conversations.  More on that in future posts.

But what made today special was the watermelon we shared.

Actually, a woman who came by carrying a big watermelon shared it with all of us.

It seemed like Jesus feeding the 5,000 with the loaves and fishes!  That watermelon went a long way.  Everyone was invited to take a piece and everyone did.

I suppose you would need to be present to fully appreciate the dynamic of what happened.

So beautiful.

So full of peace.

So about hope.

More later.

Hmmm. . . .what if homeless persons owned a can, plastic, paper recycling business?  As I say, more to come.

People are amazing.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Unique Special Event at The Nest

Be Our Guest! You're Invited to a Special Reception to Celebrate a Fundraiser and Food Drive Benefiting CitySquare

Nest, a unique gifts and home accents store in mid-town Dallas, is hosting a fundraiser for CitySquare. Visit Nest and bring in non-perishable food items during the month of February and save on your purchases! A portion of sales will benefit CitySquare's programs and food items collected will be donated to our Food Pantry. We would like to invite you, a strong supporter and friend of CitySquare, to a special event for the promotion on February 9th from 6 to 8 pm at the Nest store. We hope to see you there so please confirm your attendance with RSVP@NESTDALLAS.COM See full details below.

"Who Dat Nation" prevails!

After 43 years of frustration, many during which fans learned to wear brown bags over their heads, the New Orleans Saints won a trip to Super Bowl XLIV with a 31 to 28 win over the fairly amazing Minneapolis Vikings. 

We lived in New Orleans for five years while I attended seminary (New Orleans Baptist) and graduate school (Tulane University).  We learned what a great city New Orleans truly has been, was and is. 

Saints fans take loyality to the outer edges of reality!

Now they have their champions. 

Two weeks from today they will take the field in Miami against the Indianapolis Colts led by Peyton Manning, son of Saints' legendary quarterback, Archie Manning.  I'm sure Archie will pull for Peyton.  I also bet there is a special spot in  his soul that can't turn loose of a hope that the Saints prevail.  In a sense, Archie Manning can't lose in this game. 

While living in New Orleans, I spoke in the Saints' chapel service.  Archie Manning was in attendance, as was head coach, Hank Stram.  It was the thrill of a lifetime for a young minister (25 years old). 

I have a regulation Saints helmet hanging on my wall.  It will always be with me.

You see, there's a code among Saints fans. Once a member of "Who Dat Nation," always a member.

Way to go black and gold!  Who dat?!

Where the streets have no names

. . .opening track from U2's 1987 album, The Joshua Tree.

In a 1987 interview, Bono said of the song:

"Where the Streets Have No Name is more like the U2 of old than any of the other songs on the LP, because it’s a sketch - I was just trying to sketch a location, maybe a spiritual location, maybe a romantic location. I was trying to sketch a feeling. I often feel very claustrophobic in a city, a feeling of wanting to break out of that city and a feeling of wanting to go somewhere where the values of the city and the values of our society don’t hold you down. An interesting story that someone told me once is that in Belfast, by what street someone lives on you can tell not only their religion but tell how much money they’re making - literally by which side of the road they live on, because the further up the hill the more expensive the houses become. You can almost tell what the people are earning by the name of the street they live on and what side of that street they live on. That said something to me, and so I started writing about a place where the streets have no name."

Of course, Bono's on to something that we all recognize in our own cities.  What if we lived in a community where the value of the human capital was not linked to nore judged by place of residence, income level, race, religion or educational attainment?  What if we all began to recognize the inherent worth, in real world terms, of every single person living in the city we call home?  What if status was determined by generosity, commitment to neighborhood and one's fellow citizens?  What if the names on the street signs simply told us our geographic location in our increasingly smaller world? 

I think I get this song.  How about you?



I want to run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name

I want to feel sunlight on my face
I see the dust cloud disappear
Without a trace
I want to take shelter from the poison rain
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name

We're still building
Then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

The city's aflood
And our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building
Then burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

Our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh, and I see love
See our love turn to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh, when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

Empire and power

Those who want to do only theology, whether conservative or progressive, and those who seek to be faithful to Christ at the religious level alone will have to face the uncomfortable truth that they might be drawn into the force field of empire unconsciously, without being aware of it. The deep-seated and well established force fields maintained by empire must not be underestimated. Christian theology that seeks to stay true to the alternative and challenging inspiration of Christ… will have to find new ways of dealing with the influences of empire.

Christ and Empire:  Form Paul to Postcolonial Times by Joerg Rieger (Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2007),
( p. 313).

Be That Woman

The Washington Area Women's Foundation, in partnership with RP3 Agency, produced this video depicting the tough circumstances women confront far too often, especially in urban centers like Dallas.

But the story doesn't need to end there.

Investing in the lives of girls and women pays off big time!

Those of us who work in urban settings among low-income folks understand this truth. This creative little 2-minute video intends to encourage such investments in this specially placed and powerful human capital resource.

Secret Agents of Change. . .cool site, smart notion

Parent Academies at CDM

An exciting new initiative is now underway inside the Roseland Homes community. Operation Family Fresh Start "bundles" various Central Dallas Ministries resources and, in partnership with the community and its families, focuses everyone on improving and advancing the lives of all.

Health, employment, education, parenting, nutrition, recreation, leadership development, community connections, crime prevention--all of these concerns come together on the platform we're referring to as Operation Family Fresh Start.

An important component of our new effort is the Roseland Parent Academy. Participants meet on the third Thursday of every month from 6-8 p.m. Our first session (very well attended) rolled out on September 17.

Topics for the academy provide a hint at the quality and character of this aspect of the new effort:

Navigating the DISD System: Rights and Responsibilities of Parents

Homework has changed! Figuring out the "New Math" and

Other Strategies to Help Your Child with School Work

Nutrition for a Healthy Future

Understanding and Preventing Diabetes

Asthma and Other Breathing Problems

A Fresh Start: Informational Services to Individuals Re-entering the Workforce

The Job Talk: Steps to Take to Get Back into the Workforce

"At-ten-Hut!" Trade Offs: Building Success Even if You Didn't Go to College

Financial Literacy: Getting Your House in Order

Positive Steps Toward Home Ownership

Change: The Sky is the Limit

No doubt in my mind, we'll have some exciting outcomes to report this time next year.

A song about a very wealthy woman. . .

I love country music!

What a song!

What a message!

Here's to your health, friend!

We've recognized for a long time now the power and the benefit of social networks, social capital, collective efficacy and strong community connections among people. Social bonding contributes to quality of life wherever it is found. Creating such bonds among low-income neighbors is a crucial part of what we attempt to do here at Central Dallas Ministries.

A recent report ("WELL; What Are Friends For? A Longer Life," April 21, 2009) by Tara Parker-Pope in The New York Times, provided more evidence of this powerful reality.

Here's what she says:

In the quest for better health, many people turn to doctors, self-help books or herbal supplements. But they overlook a powerful weapon that could help them fight illness and depression, speed recovery, slow aging and prolong life: their friends.

Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health. A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk for obesity among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age.

Read Parker-Pope's entire report here.

Any stories of the healing reality of friendship and community that you'd like to share?

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A poverty-free world

Nobel Peace Prizer winner Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the world's largest micro credit lending network in the world, the Grameen Bank, understands that poverty is not the fault of the poor.

People are poor largely thanks to forces at work outside of their control.

The vast majority of the world's poor work incredibly hard and want to do better.

The lack of credit, education, proper nutrition, access to transportation and the unrelenting struggle to simply survive keep the poor trapped in poverty.

Yunus' vision is of a "poverty-free world." One of his trademark statements is that "the word human and poverty should never be used in relation to one another."

People were not meant to be poor.

Listen to his wisdom here.

Tell me what you think.

America's economy and markets are quite different from those of the developing world. How do we apply Yunus' values and vision here?

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Our interconnected world. . .thinking about consequences. . .valuing the intelligence of the poor

Jacqueline Novogratz works on global poverty.

What she says about our basic interconnectedness as humans needs to be heard.

How she views the capacity and the strength of poor people is extremely instructive.

The struggle against poverty is the same all over the world. The economics differ in terms of scale and net value, but the essential principles Novogratz delineates relative to consequences and how to approach the challenges sound and feel familiar.

Engagement and self-sufficiency are inviolate values in the battle we all share. . .way beyond charity.

Worth your time to listen.

Reactions will be useful.