Out of all of the ministers we met, though, Rudy may be my favorite. This guy (with the help of Kirbyjon Caldwell) was called to "re-start" this church. Re-start means: so many white people moved away that the church dwindled to the few who were left behind and somebody had to come and get it going again.
When asked about the changes in the area since the time his ministry began, he said the young man on the street is angrier. When asked why, he put the blame at the feet of the prosperity gospel. "You see, it just doesn't work for everybody." He may have been referring to Joel O'Steen's message, or the image the media puts forth of the good life, or both, or neither . . . I'm not sure. But he said that when people are told they can have that, then they don't get it, they get more alienated than ever.
Rudy's wife, Juanita, preached on the Sunday we were there. She did a great job of speaking the language of the people who were there. She is also on the board of Renovare', for those of you who are familiar with Richard Foster's spiritual disciplines and contemplative organization. Juanita is the one who brought Rudy to Christ . . . when he was running an hourly-rate hotel that his father built for the expressed purpose of "making money off of other people's pain."
This is the sanctuary that is home, by the way, to the family of Beyonce Knowles (if you don't know who she is, that's okay). She grew up here and you can tell by the music in the service that she drank from this well.
This is communion time. We were welcomed very nicely to this place. More people said hi to me in the foyer of this church building than in any other we visited. The music took me out of my comfort zone. I had to pump my fist, snap my fingers, and do some other such things in time with the music--which was some sweet music, by the way.
This is their building. You can see where the old building becomes new. What they've done here is keep a community of faith alive--in a dying community. They have three services, the early one tends to be visited by the wealthier clientele who are beginning to move back into the area (only they are having second thoughts because of all of the homelessness around them). The services get progressively "street-wise" after that.
This a nearby bridge, under which the homeless come for shelter.
1 comment:
I would rather hear about the manger than the crib, but I don't watch MTV. His positive attitude was his greatest asset.
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