The Seeing and the Weeping of it. [part two]

Micah 6:8 says;
He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

The church over the past several generations has become good at mercy ministries and in some cases we've even become great at being merciful to those around us; donating to others our provisions, serving the less fortunate, sharing the Gospel with the down and out and demonstrating genuine compassion for the least, last and lost among us.

But are we great, or even good at providing justice?

God said through Micah; "do justly..." Do we weep over the injustice of a neighborhood that no longer can be afforded by it's residents? Are we concerned with the plight of our brothers and sisters, who attend our services but return to the drug infested neighborhood in which they live?

In short, could it be that the Great Commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself" means that we must do more than the mere spiritual transformation of a person? Mercy causes me to share Christ for the purpose of Spiritual Transformation but justice causes me to share Christ for the purpose of Social Transformation.

Please remember that as the Church in your City, you are the most powerful certainty on the planet! No other entity has God said "Jesus is the Head of you." But also please know my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, if we're not careful we're going to lose the right all together to be heard in our communities.

Love mercy - please. But while we're at it, let's add justice to our plans, action steps, strategic sessions and yes ... to our prayer for one another. Then I think we can be like Nehemiah, who when after the weeping went to work to bring justice to a troubled city.

What do you think?

Dan Rogers

The Seeing and the Weeping of it [part 1]

Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 1:2-4

The gates and the walls of his beloved city were in ruins, and his fellow citizens were in harms way - now that's worth crying about!

You get the idea, walls and gates were very important to a city because of the protection and safe harbor they provided and represented. When the gates and walls are in ruins, it's very indicative of the overall condition of the city and it's citizenry.

If Toledo had walls and gates, what would be their condition?

You guessed it - "it's crying time."

Maybe it's time for us to step up and step back from our daily grind for a minute. What do we see? No, not just the obvious - what do we see? What is the condition of our people? Does it break your heart to see the hungry and the homeless? Does it mess you up to see thousands return to our city each year from incarceration? Do you weep over the victims of domestic violence? Are you crying?

First cry - then serve. That's Nehemiah's story. He allowed himself a moment to get messed up over the bad news of his home town, then he went to work to fix it. Perhaps in some cases we get too busy in the service and work of others, we forget to let something of ourselves break first.

When we follow Nehemiah's example and first weep over what we first see, then our action plans, and to-do lists, and economic development plans, and educational plans, and regional growth plans become better organized and better implemented, because we've seen the beginning from the end.

What do you think?

Dan Rogers

Do we 'Nehemiah' our City?

Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me,
The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned.
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 1:2-4

Toledo, like many mid-west cities, is in trouble.

Toledo is in fact the 13th fastest shrinking city in America, we have an entrenched political climate, a failing public school system, and a community of civic leaders who seem to have an endless penchant toward examining the fuzz in their navel while the city we love teeters somewhere between broken and busted.

In the course of the next several posts I would like to develop with you the following, regarding Nehemiah's responsiveness to bad news concerning his home town.

Nehemiah;

• Received those who knew the condition of the city,
• Asked questions regarding the cities condition,
• Heard the news
• Sat down - stopped his normal and daily routine,
• Wept - openly expressing the pain of the news,
• Mourned the reality,
• Turned to God with fasting and prayer concerning the cities condition.

Do we 'Nehemiah' our city?

What do you think?

Dan Rogers