Fearless Faith - ending the era of violence in our cities » Boston Miracle

Community leaders call for end to Hub violence – BostonHerald.com

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:43:15 +0000

Community leaders call for end to Hub violence – BostonHerald.com.

Vid: Street Confessions

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:30:13 +0000

Above is the link to the video project of Villages Without Walls, a ministry of Bethel Pentecostal Church in Dorchester, MA. It is produced by the Greenwood Street youth they work with, and there are young men and women from across ‘hoods commenting on their lives on the streets. A cautionary note: the vid is raw, and the people they interview are talking real talk. I think its one of the best representations of the voices of street youth today…

Rev. Dr. Walter Fluker and I at BMA annual Dinner

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 05:23:16 +0000

Rev. Dr. Walter Fluker (right), Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor at Boston University. Good friend of mine...

This is my friend, Rev. Dr. Walter Fluker, who is currently the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor at Boston University School of Theology. I’d thought I’d include a bio I found online, so you can read his accomplishments to date…

Dr. Walter Fluker is formerly the Coca-Cola Professor of Leadership Studies and Executive Director of the Leadership Center and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Morehouse College where he was actively engaged in the development of a program dedicated to strengthening civil society through ethical leadership. He is a featured speaker, lecturer and workshop leader at foundations, businesses, corporations, colleges, universities, churches and religious organizations as well as a consultant to both national and international organizations.

Fluker recently completed the first volume of the trilogy, The Sound of the Genuine: The Papers of Howard Thurman which will be published by University of SouthCarolina Press in November 2006. He is completing a manuscript, The Ground Has Shifted: Essays on Spirituality, Ethics and Leadership from African American Moral Traditions. His publications include: They Looked for a City: A Comparative Analysis of the Ideal of Community in the Thought of Howard Thurman and Martin Luther King, Jr. and The Stones that the Builders Rejected: Essays on Ethical Leadership from the Black Church Tradition. He is co-editor with Preston King of Black Leaders and Ideologies in the South: Resistance and Non-Violence; is co-editor with Catherine Tumber of A Strange Freedom: The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life and the author of numerous articles and essays in scholarly journals and anthologies. He has held professorial and administrative positions at Vanderbilt University, Harvard College, Dillard University and Colgate-Rochester Divinity School; and has served as visiting professor and scholar at Harvard University, The University of Cape Town (South Africa), Columbia Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary. Fluker earned a Ph.D. in Social Ethics from Boston University, a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Seminary and a bachelor degree in philosophy and biblical studies from Trinity College.

Screening “Street Confessions” a powerful local Boston documentary

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 05:14:23 +0000

At the BTPC Monthly meeting in October, we watched "Street Confessions" a powerful documentary which is a project of Bethel Pentecostal Church in Dorchester

Boston TenPoint held their monthly meeting at Twelfth Baptist Church, and showed the film “Street Confessions”, a project of Villages Without Walls, one of the outreach ministries of Bethel Pentecostal Church. The raw, brutally honest film was produced by the street youth that VWW works closely with, and features youth from across hoods. Telia Rivera and David “Elder” White encouraged their youth to be as real as they can in telling their stories of street life, and they “kept it 100″. I highly, highly recommend the film for any church outreach ministry, or for any youth group discussions.

One big message I received from the film was about how devastating the effects of trauma and disconnection can have on a young life, but at the same time how hopeful a person can be if someone can show them hope. It reminds me of the parable from which the verse above is drawn from. The sheep and goats are judged based on what they did (or didn’t do) for the “least of these”. It’s not enough to do good work for people you like or don’t mind being around. We are mandated by God to serve those who have been disconnected from hope, and often those people are the ones that we have difficulty being around. Remember the least of these in your life, and serve them….

Youth talking about living in a “culture of violence” at CUFP meeting

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:52:56 +0000

Churches United for Peace Mtg

Last night Churches United for Youth Peace met at Twelfth Baptist Church to listen to the experiences of everyday youth grappling with community violence. The group, led by the Rev. Dr. Sylvia Johnson, is part of the Boston Foundation’s StreetSafe program, and aims to build the capacity of churches to work together addressing violence in their communities. The youth invited above were amazingly insightful and articulate in expressing their concerns, and they underscored for me the vital role that churches can play in helping youth learn how to resolve issues without resorting to extreme violence. I applaud Dr. Johnson’s efforts.

You are also a part of something today. It is called the movement of God on this earth. The LORD has chosen you to carry is Name and his Spirit, and to hold up the light in this darkened world. Because you represent the most powerful force in existence, you can do anything, even address and help youth overcome violence. Remember this, and represent Him well today…

Mothers Rallying in Franklin Field

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:02:43 +0000

Mothers in Franklin Field

“So I went down to the potters house and I saw him working the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him…”- Jeremiah 18:3-4

The photo above is one of the many rallies led by Mothers for Justice and Equality, a group formed a year ago this month to express outrage over the continuing homicides in Boston. Statistically, the number of shootings are declining, but it doesn’t feel that way if it is your child that’s been shot this year. The group’s aim is to see all the shootings stop. “Its Not OK” is their motto. These mothers, and their supporters, are turning the tragedy of their lives into a powerful opportunity to come together and change society.

Jeremiah goes to the potter’s house to receive a message from God. One part is that we are all clay in the Potter’s hands, with our daily lives molded and shaped by the hands of God. But another part lies in the way we react to life’s troubles. Our text says the potter, as he was shaping the pot, detected some impurities. So he started over, to reshape the pot so that it can withstand the kindling fires without breaking. Perhaps your problem/situation/circumstance may be God’s opportunity to smooth something out of you before you go through the fiery furnaces of life. At any rate, yield to the potter’s hands today – God’s hands know what is best for you…

Mothers Standing UP in Orchard Park

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 03:57:54 +0000

“OP” is home to one of the largest gangs in the city of Boston. The Mother’s stood tall there, and we were present to support them. In all, they rallied at 12 parks in the city over the summer – a powerful testimony indeed to represent the message, “Its Not OK”…

Eugene Rivers and Ray Hammond, starting over again

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 03:53:03 +0000

Revs Ray Hammond and Eugene Rivers

This is one of those moments where I am most proud of these two. As you know, I helped to start the Boston TenPoint Coalition with these two gentlemen and the Rev. Sam Wood in 1992. Together we were a part of a movement in the city that saw the homicide rate drop by 79% over the course of the 90s, with a 29-month period that saw ZERO juvenile homicides (significant because most of the shootings in the early 90s were of young juvenile youth). Gene and Ray represented the visible leadership of that group. Success, however, raised its ugly head, if you will, and the ensuing clash of egos and agendas tore these two guys apart. During that tense time I spent much of it trying to keep it together, but I wasn’t superman…

But what you see in this photo is not a fake picture. It is actually two preachers publicly coming together in reconciliation over the bad blood that existed between them. They reasoned, how can we keep conflict between us, then try to tell the youth to be peaceable at the same time. So, in an act of real leadership, they decided to broker a truce between them. It served as a model for some of us there. Sure there are skeptics, but because I know the heart of these two men, I know that its real. Couldn’t be more proud of them in that moment…

Ministers Reconciling

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 03:48:30 +0000

Minister's Reconciliation Event - In October, over 50 pastors and ministers in Boston decided to come together to reconcile their differences...

HOW CAN WE CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE IN THE STREETS, IF WE DON’T CALL FOR A CEASEFIRE AMONG OURSELVES!!!!!

Praying for the City

Rev. Jeffrey Brown — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:19:54 +0000

This is the back of one of our community walkers shirt, as they were preparing to pray before hitting the streets. Some people have asked, what do they do? Do they pray? Do they sing?? Do they go out and meet people??? I would say all of the above.

Community walking, however, is different from a Prayer Walk. Those who are usually engaged in that process are not interacting with the people they encounter, except to deliver a message. Community walkers have as their aim connecting and relating to those residents they encounter: the youth on the street, the grandmother sitting on the stoop, the family barbecuing on the lawn.

The Church is on a recovery mission when we operate in this way: we are our brother and sister’s keeper, and we have a responsibility to make known ourselves, and to make known those who have been voiceless and hidden in our community…

Bowdoin & Geneva Community Walk - July 22d