Mass Communities, Preventing School Violence

I was asked yesterday my thoughts on how to stop the mass shootings, particularly at schools, short of "world peace, spiritual revival, and extensive gun control." This is not an area that I approach lightly, with so many families effected by gun violence. I also know I'm not a mental health professional, but I know communities pretty well. There are several common things I see in mass school shootings that we all can have a role in changing.

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1) Lonely guys:

Almost every perpetrator of mass shootings was a male viewed as an "outsider, quiet guy, someone who kept to himself, or had a few friends." This pattern has been repeated for the last 20 years. While it is a dangerous stereotype to create (being one of those quiet guys in school), it is an important one to understand.

We need more caring adults in the lives of our youth. We need greater spiritual, emotional, and developmental support of youth. Our churches need a transformative presence in our communities, our communities need meaningful relationships, and our families need interconnected networks. Families, churches, schools, and community cannot do it alone, this is a fight for every youth, both victim and perpetrator.

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2) Relationship Corruption:

These perpetrators tend to be young men who have had issues with developing and maintaining relationship, more than the average teen. These tend to be heterosexual males, most often they have recently broken up with a girlfriend, been rejected by a girl, or warped expectations of relationships with women. Again and again, these young guys choose to deal with heartbreak, rejection, and frustration through violent expressions.

We need better examples, better media, and better relationships. I don't expect a "Leave it to Beaver" world, but we lack good media examples of families with values. Our youth are looking for leaders, for men (and women) who can guide and encourage them, invest in their lives, care for their souls, and create a brighter future. We need stronger families that teach how to deal with frustration and disappointment aside from violence or separation. We need better media that doesn't objectify women and glorify sexuality, that doesn't, in the same broadcast, talk about a violent crime against women and then discuss the latest celebrity's body modification or photo scandal. If journalism is to be respected again, publish meaningful news. Lastly, we need better school systems that allow for more creative outlets and teach kids how to express them selves in other more acceptable ways. We need sports, play, arts, and entertainment opportunities for our youth. We need funding for these "non-core" courses that can make all the difference with our youth.

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3) Weaponized Violence:

These mass shootings have just that, guns. I do believe that law-abiding citizens have the right to carry guns. I know that gun laws do impact those citizens the most and gangs still get guns. What we have a problem with is our culture of guns. Most perpetrators obtained guns legally, as youth, or had access to them in their homes, despite warning signs and behavioral alerts. Many had a "fascination" with guns, violence, or studied mass shootings. There are few of these that happen as stabbings, drivings, or smashings... these are shootings, guns must be addressed.

I won't open this debate up here too much, but I cannot address shootings without addressing the tool used to create them. We need more supervision and limitation over youth access to guns. I get that it is culture and that it has not been my family's culture. Those with founded mental issues, should not have access to guns. Those that do not secure their weapons and have them stolen, should probably lose their access to guns. Also, guns aren't cars, cars were made for transportation, guns were made to kill, we have to have policy that addresses them as such. We have had shootings in all corners of the country, with all sorts of backgrounds, this is a gun culture issue. We have to address the issue and not shy away from the tough and meaningful discussion. We cannot just use anecdotes, stories, and fears of government take over to frame the conversation, but that this is real and meaningful issue in our community. We must be willing to put aside our beliefs about guns and find real solutions. We have to start to love our youth more than our guns.

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This isn't a conversation for everyone, but is one that we have to have. I share this because it is on my mind and heart. It is time for our churches to see our real need for community revival, our families to become beacons in our neighborhoods, and our schools to become sacred community ground to be protected and supported. This is possible, but we have to be willing to go the extra mile, to invest ourselves, and to take risks forming new relationships.

Church Official: Christ is fat, drunk, and just one of the guys

"And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

...And the Lord said 'Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation?...

...For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, 'He hath a devil.'

'The Son of man [Christ] is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber [a drunk], a friend of publicans and sinners!

'But wisdom is justified of all her children.'" Luke 7.29-31, 33-35

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This passage has been an eye opener for me...

The religious leaders of the day accused Christ of being a "glutton, a drunk, and a friend of sinners."

They missed the reality that our relationships and fellowship with the lost, sick, and rejected are critical to our Gospel mission. They wanted him to minister and live as the religious of the day did, to associate only with other religious people, to eat and drink in ways that they had been limited to, to only visit homes and places they wanted him to go.

Instead they missed the entire point of Christ's ministry: seeing souls receive the Gospel.

Christ says that the "wisdom" in which he ministers will be "justified" by her "children" (by the results) in vs 35. He says this know what just happened in the verses preceding, vs 29, where "all the people that heard him," except the religious leaders, accepted the Gospel and were baptized. Christ's wisdom in choosing to eat and drink with the rejected, partying, lost crowd was justified by the work of the Gospel to change those lives.

Are we only ministering in safe ways? To only people like us? Only in places that our religious friends approve? Only in places that we are comfortable, places where we are not tempted?

This passage has hit me hard.

I should always be checking to see if my fear of temptation or fear of falling becomes a barrier to service. I know that Christ went to many unsavory homes and was tempted, but remained without sin. I'm not Christ, but I believe his willingness to go there is to show the capability of a spirit led life to over come temptation. I find it is often easier to fall in the places I am most comfortable rather than new or challenging places.

May I never become too spiritually refined that I would never be accused of associating with the lost. May I not do so much to avoid temptation that I avoid those that need Christ the most. May my faith in God's spirit of love, power and a sound mind be greater than fear of failure and accusations.

When people see me, may they see a student of the Great Physician ministering among the spiritual wounded and sick. May I have the boldness to enter, the humbleness to minister, and the discernment to live a balanced life.

I will not be justified in the end by what I didn't eat or drink, but by the work of the Gospel in the lives around me.

Learning to be uncomfortable for Christ.

Do Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly - The Eric Garner Ruling

Today we struggle with understanding our justice system and the impacts of the power we bestow on certain individuals in our society. We see the permanence of our actions, as a national community, and the residual effects of our ancestral decisions in the decision announced today. We question how we view others, how we hold each other accountable, and how we maintain an orderly and welcoming society. 

First, please see NFL Player Benjamin Watson's post (it is very spot on in both incidents):
http://www.facebook.com/BenjaminWatsonOfficial/posts/602172116576590


Let me explain my understanding of the current events and my perspective:

• The ruling in the Eric Garner case is not a controversial case, it is a heart breaking case.
• Unlike the questions that remain in the Michael Brown case, the Garner case was recorded from the initial the confrontation to the moment that he went unconscious (and eventually died).
• Eric Garner was not a perfect, model citizen, but that is not a reason to arrest someone or take them down with a prohibited use of force. There are little things called due process and reasonable suspicion that are required and have not yet been presented publicly in this case. This is what makes the case even more disturbing and fosters greater frustration (as my friends have shared numerous stories of "driving while black").
• The choke restraint was not allowed as a use of force by NYPD and it specifically cited as the cause of death, which was ruled a homicide (whether death was intentional or not, 7 minutes before CPR efforts doesn't seem accidental). 
• When a crime by a public servant is recorded on tape, a homicide is the confirmed ruling by a public official, and the decision is quickly made to not take it to trial... justice is not complete nor served.
• Even those who are chosen to protect and serve make bad choices, sometimes don't know their limits, and they can get caught up in the moment, it does not excuse them from legal responsibility.
• I have no doubt that this is an incredibly difficult job and ever more difficult these days than ever before. The demand for safe communities are higher, the potential for litigation broader, and the lack of staffing and increased demands on fewer officers makes keepers of the peace an ever tougher career. 
• However, they have the legal and physical power to take away every right and privilege that any of us have ever had, including freedom and life itself. This responsibility is an incredible one and I deeply respect my friends and coworkers who have entered into this profession and served our communities proudly and effectively.
• This is more than a race issue, it is an assumption and a relationship issue. 
• Race issues are learned assumptions about other groups that guide our thinking and ultimately our actions. These issues are about how we relate to one another, an aspect in which this society has lost the ability to do in ways that we once new. The tension that exists politically, religiously, socially, and racially (and any other -ly) is greater than it has been in a long time. This tension has caused us to only have "easy" conversations and perpetuate an isolation of ourselves into groups that only think like us, further enhancing our relational tensions.
• We all have a responsibility to stand together in the face of injustice, justice requires the community to stand and speak together, not as mobs and rioters but as a community and as an American people.
• We may not agree on the causes, the solutions, or the who is at fault, but if we do not come together to stand against injustices, we cannot heal the deep wounds of our forefathers and foremothers. A color blind or politically correct response will only get us through the immediate crisis, but through open and honest dialogue can we begin to hear, understand, and move together towards a stronger truly American society. These will not be easy conversations, but they are necessary.

This brings me to the mini-message that I can't seem to shake. God clearly tells us that he expects us to walk with three key principles in our lives. These principles should guide all we do and be the lens through which we see our imperfect and challenged world. These three principles reflect the very character of God, the embodiment of his personage in the Godhead. 

What does the Lord require of us? Do Justly, Love Mercy, and Walk Humbly with our God

Do Justly
We are to be as our heavenly Father and proclaim his perfect wisdom, his law, his holiness that does not tolerate the weak to be taken advantage of, the good to be wronged, the kind to be abused, and the lesser to be destroyed. His justice is perfect and true, he is consistent and fair, his eye is pleased by the work of the righteous, and his joy is from his children that follow his ways.This should be the basis for our blind symbol of our justice system, the system that rules with no consideration for race, clothes, stature, or appearance.

We are called not only to rule justly but to DO justly. This is an active and engaged work, a value that should exude from us in our actions and walk. The action of justice is one that observed, inspires, and creates the great societies that we aspire to live in. An actively just society is one built on trust and dialogue, one that is genuine and stable, one that supports and care, and one that protects the weakest and uplifts the poorest.

Love Mercy

Mercy is the work of Jesus Christ, the gift of the just Father to redeem a fallen world. Christ embodies the love of mercy, his mission to give his life a sacrifice for us, a substitution for our condemnation, the payment for our conviction. He was full of grace and truth, the perfect law and the perfect love.  "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." He is the example of giving and seeing others as greater then they deserve and worth of his greatest attention. He lived with the rejected and despised, he taught the wisest the simplest truths of neighborly love, he met both spiritual and physical needs and gave of his greatness for the most undeserving.

We are called to LOVE Mercy, it should be the thing that fills our hearts. Mercy should be the thing that motivates, empowers, and thrills us. Giving of ourselves out of our strengths and our weaknesses should be the hope of our life. Our love for mercy should move us to act and not just feel bad, it should move us to share and not just wish others the best, it should move us to be a part of the solution instead of creating barriers. Our love for mercy drives us to what is right, it drives us to do justly, it puts other first and ourselves last. A love of mercy gives no matter the return, the reward, or the gratitude, it gives and excuses because it loves to. The love of mercy is the act of charity, it is the forgiveness of wrongs and the attraction of peace.

Walk Humbly

The walk is guided by our powerfully humble comforter, the Holy Spirit. He reminds us of our position, our potential, and the power that resides in us. He guides us and encourages us, he builds our faith, our knowledge, our strength, and matures our spirit. He reminds us of others, their need, and speaks on our behalf when we cannot. He is Christ reigning in us. He is the King's spirit that directs, instructs, and empowers. He is able to "do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." It is through him that we bear the fruits of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. 

To WALK Humbly impacts all of our life, the private, religious, public, employment, and spiritual. When we walk humbly we walk differently, the value of others is greater then ourselves, the walk is not what is expected in this world. The humble walk is one that values life, even the lowest and most unlovable ones. Through humility we see other's perspectives, we learn how to see other's needs and values and how to live a life of giving for the best of others. The humble spirit is perceived not announced, it is subtly bold and quietly proud, it finds strength in something other than itself. Humility from the spirit bears fruit for self control, inner peace, and deeper purpose. 

So when I see the case of Eric Garner, I feel many different and conflicting things, the greatest being outrage in our imperfect system, our imperfect society, and our imperfect answers. I must turn to the source that brings peace, that shows love, and that acts justly. 

I can't help but pray for his family through this time and hope that they find peace in this same source. That they trust in the God who promises justice, who freely gives mercy, and gives us the strength to walk walk humbly. 

I pray for our country, my friends, coworkers, and our families. I pray for their protection, their care, and their perspective, that they see others through the Spirit's eyes, they show mercy as Christ did, and they act out of justice as God has blessed. 

I pray for a justice system that seeks heavenly guidance, considers merciful decisions, and rules mercifully and honorably. 

And I pray that I always serve my community, locally and beyond, in a manner that reminds others of the Justice, Mercy, and Humility. 

This I pray.