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The Word Became Flesh and Blood and Moved Into the Neighborhood

By Sandi Bradford

The first time I heard John 1:14, read from The Message, was in a sermon presented by an inner-city pastor in Los Angeles. He shared how his own family had chosen to move into the “hood” to be near the people they were called to pastor. He told of the Latino students who now hung out at their church after school for snacks and tutoring, the dropouts who now had a place to “drop in.” He had come to them, was meeting their practical needs, and the “hood” was experiencing the genuine love of Christ.

In his book, The Church of Irresistible Influence, Robert Lewis states, “The church, we now firmly believe, is to be in the bridge-building business, according to the design of Jesus Christ. Over this bridge the church must travel and prove its reality to a disbelieving world. Only then will the world reconsider its skepticism, hostility, and lostness. Our world must experience the same incarnational influence as the first century experienced when Grace and Truth himself suddenly bridged that great chasm and became flesh.”

As we think about our country, state and community we must ask ourselves, “Are we really making a difference? Is our influence growing? Is the moral tenor of our community changing because of us?” The challenge is great but so are the opportunities to go into our “world” and meet the practical needs of the people there. More than ever there is openness for “faith-based initiative,” compassion ministry, and community involvement. Let me share three short stories with you of women who have “moved into their neighborhood.”

Leann Sparks-Cherry is the middle school pastor of a church in Springfield, Missouri. Across the street from the church is a middle school, full of underprivileged, overcrowded and under funded students. Leann had a vision to build a “bridge” to that student population by opening an after-school program once a week where students can come into the church for snacks, crafts, tutoring, supervised sports and games. The results have been phenomenal! More than 100 students now come each week, and over 100 members of the church are volunteering in various ways, sharing their time and skills. Some of the students have started attending youth activities at the church and some of this year’s academic success has been attributed to the church’s involvement.

Crissy Brooks returned after 2 years of ministry in Venezuela to invest her life in a community program in the barrios of Costa Mesa, California. The after-school program motivated her to move into the neighborhood and to begin a corporation called Mica Community Corporation, based on Micah 6:8. The holistic approach encourages community-driven incentives to affect and change the neighborhood through partnership between the people in the community and local churches. Her home visits have encouraged her neighbors to identify their needs and possible solutions. Crissy commented that this approach takes courage and is a slow process, but that it will be effective as God’s transforming work happens in “her neighborhood.”

In Oklahoma, Marcia Trout and Stacy Turnipseed reach out to the disabled of their city through a school and church services which meet their special needs. Many of the 150 participants found the church through referrals from state group homes. The church is also preparing to start a respite care and Alzheimer care outreach program.

What “neighborhood” is near to you? What are your interests, your passions, your giftings? Those have been placed in you to serve your world. Included in this month’s website are lists of ways to reach your community; but let’s use Matthew 25:35-40 as a start toward incarnation theology:

“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

 

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