(I took this photo of the blood stain this afternoon. It is not my intention to shock or disgust, but to show the reality of what so many live with day in and day out in urban centers and around the world.)
For those who enjoy my Friday Art Reflections, I apologize for (again) skipping it. However, recent events in our neighbourhood take precident. Last night, local police descended on our block like we rarely see. As I stepped out on the front steps to see what was going on, I realized they were stopping only 100 meters or so from our house. Before long a crowd gathered along the police tap that had closed down the street, so I wandered up to find out what was going on.
It turns out that a 20 year old man, who I have since learned is a local gang member, was shot on the sidewalk near a busy cross street. I later learned that the young man was in stable condition, but was refusing the cooperate with police. That last bit of information made my heart drop- a refusal to cooperate generally means retaliations. Seeing the cautious tension of the neighbourhood today, it seems the rest of the community is fearing the same.
Over the last year we have seen gang activity in our community (Winnipeg’s West End) increase. Typically gangs function between two major areas in our city- the West End and the North End- migrating back and forth depending on police activities, “business”, etc. When we first moved here five years ago, they were firmly in our neighbourhood (in fact, our house had been one of the city’s worst gang houses prior to being abandon and restored). However, after a year or so, we saw the shift towards the North End. It seems the tide is turning again.
While I am grateful that Canadian cities have been able to keep a (relatively) firm hand on the number of guns that hit the street- usually resulting in a much higher rate of stabbings and beatings than shootings- we are not sure this will last for much longer. Poverty, racism, and substance abuse are just a few of the major contributors to gang violence. However, even the simple increase in male illiteracy can be tracked along side petty and then violent crime. As a result, fewer people choose to live here (with many locals fleeing), businesses dry up and, sadly, churches disappear or become bunkers.
There are a few note worthy exceptions to this urban church abandonment, such as the incredible commitment of New Life Ministries, but I fear our response to this crisis is the very antithesis of what Christ calls us- commands us to be. Being missional quickly loses its “sex-appeal” when the implications of what it demands of the Body of Christ becomes clear, but the power of the Spirit discovered in the sacrificial obedience drive us further to those places where God is already at work.
I am not trying to be judgmental or to inspire guilt. I stand convicted of this message too, having resisted those next steps to further obedience beyond the comfort of the familiar. Neither am I suggesting that every Christian should end up here. I have said it before, but I feel it needs to be said again- given the tragic imbalance of Christian involvement, proximity, giving, etc. when considering the abandon places of our world, clearly many Christians are failing to hear and/or respond to the commanding call of our Lord, to whom we (should) have given over our live and our rights to His purposes.
And so I say this not to blame or guilt or judge, but to articulate what I hear so strongly in my heart today:
The blood on our streets is blood on our hands. Unless…
Emerging Church, Missional
