What is love?

It is Valentine's Day and I started out the day thinking about a few of the people I love most in this world...Dave and Tyler. These two guys bring me so much joy everyday. I am so thankful for them. I actually took my little valentine to the park and to lunch today. It was fun to see him with his little girl friends. He gave them little valentine's that we made. As the day progresses I can not help but think about what it means to be called to love. I have been in an introspective mood lately. It seems like an easy answer, but after the weekend I had at the CCDA(Christian Community Development Conference) it does not seem so easy. I left with a lot of questions and a lot of things to ponder. The love preached in our churches and our society is not always a true love or even personal love. The church has become very inwardly focused and I am not sure if that is what Christ came for...actually I am pretty sure it is not. He does not have an "Us and them" mentality but a "We" mentality. We need to focus on eachother and that means everyone. Here are some of the quotes and questions from the weekend that got me thinking:

"Jesus is not the answer to my personal peace and happiness." (that is a tough one-even when times are hard He is still there. He is not just there to make your life comfortable or feel good which is why he may call some people to do things that do not make sense)

"How can I be an agent of hope?"

"What are the needs facing people the most?" (This got me thinking about the people around me and around our city...what are the needs? Although overwhelming, it is a good question.)

"We are not going to leave until God uses us to change something!" ( I have often been asked if we are going to stay in LA and my answer is "I don't know". It is hard to answer, but I feel like this answers it perfectly.)

"The answer to violence is connectivity in the community." ( Connectivity is hard when you have so much diversity of thought, diversity of socioeconomic and political status, diversity of religion, but I believe this really can help transform a city. This is one of the driving forces behind community development...looking at the systems and bringing justice to people that would not otherwise receive it. It is not just charity.)

"The key to your being an agent of transformation is allowing your heart to be broken for what breaks the heart of God."

"I am not looking for people to hate, but people to love." (It is easy to hate, but love is a higher calling.)

"Churches are getting bigger and bigger, but the problem with the poor is getting larger and larger." (This just astounds me if this is what we are called to as the church. Why is this true? How can we not be more active in bringing about justice for the poor and oppressed?)

"The poor have the power to become invisible, we have the power to make them visible." (Cities have the power to make them invisible by ignoring the fact that they are there. Many cities do this and I had no idea. Many of us have the power to help the poor, but chose not to.)

In regard to homeless..."People see me and think they know what I need. They don't ask me I need...they tell me what I need." ( This one struck me hard...I think I know what food a homeless person needs and rather than ask them I buy them something I think they need, when really they may not be able to eat it. We really have to get to know them.)

"People want to help the poor, but they don't want to know the poor. (It is easier to stand and feed someone food, but to get out from behind a counter and get to know them is much harder. It is more about realizing they are one of us.)

I went to a few round table discussions and workshops about homelessness and about advocacy. It was interesting to learn that LA is known as the capital of homelessness. If you have ever been to skid row downtown you would believe it. The CEO of the Union Rescue Mission(one of the largest shelters in the US) was at the roundtable. We talked about not just helping people, but moving them from a place of survival to a place where they can thrive. Two experts shared about there years of experience working with the homeless. I learned a lot from them. I learned that it is a very complicated issue, but that we can do a lot. Our church has recently got involved with something I am really excited about. We helping start a branch of Family Promise in the San Gabriel Valley. This organization coordinates 10-13 churches that take turns 4 times a year hosting 4-5 homeless families for one week in their church. They house, feed and build relationships with these families in the evening and during the day they go to a day center where they meet with social workers, seek job training, counseling, financial advisement, and other things to help them get on their feet. It is a transitional housing model that has proven to be very effective in other areas. Our church can not host because we don't have a building but we have been able to be involved in other ways. We have also been able to help with the homeless count in Pasadena, attend city council meetings, among other things. I am not telling these things because we want a pat on the back, but to let you know what we have been up too and what I have been challenged with recently. It is hard to write it all, but at least you get a glimpse. Please post your comments and let me know what you are up to and what you have been thinking about lately.