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Give a Helping Hand!

Volunteering… spending time in service to others just feels right! I want to do it again.

Today I invested time scrubbing first graders desks clean in G. Delgado Kanoon elementary school in Little Village Chicago. As part of a church wide, Serve the City, event I chose to volunteer in the Little Village Community . I was primarily motivated by recent gang related shootings. There is just something about a nine year old kid getting shot in his neighborhood that really grabs a hold of my heart.  So, before getting to my service location I made a decision to intentionally reach out to young people steeped in gangland. Not long after arriving I was able to connect with a 16 year old gang member. We were able to hang out a bit, drive in my FJ Cruiser, and then serve in the elementary school. We had good conversation and I could tell that just my presence helped make this young man feel safe.  Although our time together was short I think it was significant, at least for me. I wonder if this young man’s day was made a little better or maybe his outlook on the future just a little brighter…simply because somebody chose to befriend him?

 In many ways I felt like a weekend warrior…dropping into the neighborhood and then leaving. The real heroes are the people who choose to live in the neighborhood with the simple purpose of contributing to the peace, justice and welfare of others.

What’s your volunteer story?

By the way, check out some of the awesome ways that we are making a positive difference in the lives of kids in gangs.

Dr. George Tiller

Astounding irony is the best way to describe the events of the last twenty four hours. On my way home from ministering in three Sunday Services at New Life Community Church I turned on my radio to the news that Dr. Tiller was killed while worshipping in his Lutheran Church. 

I’m confident that in the eyes of many pro-life activists the idea of a late term abortion doctor and church doesn’t mix, much less an abortionist that worships as a Christian.  Yet the church became the hunting grounds and that’s where the irony lies. The idea of church and murder are not as toxic opposites as one may have thought in past years.  Church shootings and killings are a fairly regular thing these days. The one place people least expect to get killed, unless of course you are a pastor or an abortion Doctor, has started to become a place where security needs to be heightened.

A gathering of Christ followers, the Church, is supposed to be a life giving place, a sanctuary for the soul and a refuge for the sick. Could it be that Dr. Tiller was attending Church for the work of his heart, seeking a place of solace and communion with his God? Yet, the sanctuary became a killing floor and there among the pews and carpeting Dr. Tiller took his last breath.

It didn’t take me long to conclude that the assassination of Tiller would serve as a poignant catalyst to the resurgence of discussion on the Pro Choice and Pro Life debate. I’ve also realized that we have a long road to travel in regards to coming to agreement on the abortion issue. In my opinion, it’s a debate that only a just, merciful and loving God can reconcile. In the midst of all the heated emotion, I think it’s important for the world to know that millions of Pro-Life people think that the murder of Dr. Tiller was wrong and unjust.  I’m among the millions of Christians that look at this murder as a senseless act of violence. Yet however senseless this death may seem, let’s be careful to not go down a similar road of physical and verbal aggression.