We Forgot to Be Humble

I got my "Hooser United Methodist e-news" today and was interested to see this item --

BARNES, OTHER CHURCHES TO HIT INDY STREETS WITH PRAYER TODAY
On the heels of the rapid escalation of both the heat index and the record high crime, the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition, including Barnes UMC, is geared up to once again hit the streets in record numbers. Various local congregations are planning to meet today, June 2, at 9 p.m. at Christ Church Apostolic, 6601 N. Grandview Drive before strategically hitting the streets to evangelize and present a united front against the violence that has reached record levels. Groups of walkers will traverse the city of Indianapolis to pray and provide a positive presence to area residents. Armed with determination and past successful experience, it is anticipated that the Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition‚s leadership in this effort will have the same or comparable effect as in 1999 when 20 churches participated in a similar walk. As a result of the neighborhood patrols and other Ten Point programs and services, there was a 44 percent decrease in the homicide rate in the Mapleton-Fall Creek and UNWA neighborhoods and the City of Indianapolis enjoyed a reduction in the homicide rate for the first time in five years.

44 percent decrease in the homicide rate in Mapleton-Fall Creek? That stat was pretty interesting to me -- but the part about Indianapolis enjoying a reduction in the homicide rate was bad timing considering the headlines of this morning's paper (a family of seven was killed in a horrific mass slaying last night).

This reminded me of Boston a few years ago claiming that it's crime rate had gone down because of their stricter sentencing guidelines on crimes committed with a gun, and New York claiming that it was their focus on broken windows (and other petty crimes). Actually during those years the crime rate went down almost everywhere -- no matter what strategy was adopted. The Freakonomics authors suggest that it may be because of the legalization of abortion. Everybody wants to take credit when things get a bit better and point the finger when things are bad. That's not so good. And, from my perspective, not particularly Christian. It just got me thinking that when people take credit for things like this I think it's a pretty tough thing to prove -- and unfortunately it provides some very unrealistic assessments of what would happen if you would just adopt a particular tactic. For years the church as done this with "if you only do contemporary worship then people would flock to your church" -- or variations on that.

In the book The Plague by Albert Camus a couple of the main characters are talking about how it is that the black plague was able to spread so rapidly through their city and the doctor responds "we forgot to be humble. That was all."

When I see the news from Iraq this week and read the responses to the allegations of what happened at Haditha -- whatever else ends up being true...I wonder, all over again, if we simply haven't forgotten to be humble. When I saw the news out of the eastside this morning and know (because I've been around this more than a few times) that a little money (very little money) will be thrown at this problem for a bit...and then things will go back to normal until we get shocked when the next really bad thing happens.

In the midst of that I certainly don't want to say a bad word about churches getting out to the streets and talking with people. But I imagine that these conversations, for the most part, will be fairly perfunctory. I doubt if much of substance will happen. But it is a good FIRST step. If it leads to further conversation...to people really listening to one another -- to trusting that the answer is out there in what the Spirit of God is doing even (if not especially) in the midst of what are so often labelled as "at-risk" communities or "blighted" neighborhoods or "inner city" which seems a code word for a whole host of bad things.

Hope will rise when we don't forget to be humble and we turn toward one another -- we pay attention to the enormous personal resources that are available in each person and that we cannot afford to waste. Those resources are fairly different...just like Paul so often pointed out -- some are called to be teachers some prophets and so on...each person is necessary, each person is needed. When we aren't humble we see people as objects not subjects and we miss the gift that will not only add a little bit of "zazz" to our shared life, but will also keep us safer, and healthier and stronger.