On the road again

Baker’s Square.  East Side.  Tuesday, 11:30 AM.  “Milwaukee is a microcosm of the issues faced in America.”  Political polarization, pockets of extreme poverty contrasted with pockets of extreme wealth, unemployment, and more.  Demographically, Milwaukee is one of the most diverse cities in the nation.  Check out these stats from city data.    

Black alone - 233,325 (39.2%)

White alone - 220,219 (37.0%)

Hispanic - 103,007 (17.3%)

Asian alone - 20,553 (3.5%)

Two or more races - 13,307 (2.2%)

American Indian alone - 3,408 (0.6%)

Other race alone - 819 (0.1%)

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone - 195 (0.03%)

2011 marked the first time in US history that minority births outnumbered white births.  America is growing increasingly diverse, which is a great thing for the gospel, and Milwaukee is already incredibly diverse.  It seems to me that Milwaukee may be one of the cities in America that God could use to chart the course for the church in America in the next generation.  The challenges of polarization and the opportunities of diversity position churches in Milwaukee to have a significant impact on the church in this generation and beyond.  Pray for the churches that are here and the ones that are yet to come! 

So where did I get this little tid-bit of information?  From one of my friends from high school.  We have had a great week in a number of different ways.  I have been able to reconnect with some old friends that I haven’t talked with in forever.  I was able to have lunch with one and help another move into a new apartment.  It’s encouraging to see familiar faces! 

This past Sunday I was able to participate in two of the four worship services that epikos engages in.  It felt pretty good to play a role in leading God’s people to worship Him.  It was also very helpful to remember what the “pre-speaking” jitters feel like!  I’m going to be preaching at Woodridge Community Church this next Sunday.  My experience at epikos helped me remember that I need to be very mindful to not bulldoze the congregation!  (Anyone remember my sermons from before 08? :-)

Other than that, I’ve been keeping on pace with meeting with people like crazy to continue to get a feel for this city.  Kristy has had a good week too.  She was able to connect with a few different pastors’ wives.  Being relationally wired, it was refreshing for her to engage in a few heart to heart conversations.  Beyond that, Kristy was able to get herself on the roster to help out at an inner-city outreach this Saturday.  She’s been itching to jump into serving out here and we’re grateful that she is going to have an opportunity soon. 

From here, we begin the bittersweet process of saying goodbye to new friends and packing up the house and van so that we can say hello to some old friends.  This is probably going to be the last blog I write for a while as we are headed home next Friday!  I’m not sure where I’m going to take this blog from here.  Far more people have been tracking with “on the move” than I was anticipating so I’m not sure whether or not I will continue to blog in the future.  If God does call us to plant, though, then I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on how that progresses through this blog.  If anyone was wondering where we are at in the discernment process, please check out last week’s post, “decisions, decisions.”   Since this will be my last post for at least a few weeks, I thought I should close the loop on the story that has probably gotten the most attention: The Neighbors Upstairs. 

It hasn’t necessarily become more comfortable sharing this duplex.  After our neighbors texted the landlord requesting that we don’t send any more cookies or notes, they emailed her saying that text was just a joke.  Odd, right?  I don’t know if that was actually the case as their body language has continued to silently scream “stay away!”  So that’s what we’ve done.  They have indirectly made it clear that they don’t really want to have a relationship with us, so we’ve respected that.  If God would open a door in the next 8 days, we’ll be sure to walk through it. 

Thanks for tracking with us, praying for us, and supporting us.  I hope that these weekly posts have encouraged you and revealed more of God’s glory!  It’s all for Him!