Getting to Know "Durh'm"

So I've spent my first week in Durham, NC participating in Project Bridddge, which is a program focused towards community service and awareness of the social/racial/class issues influencing the city of Durham. In the past 3 days so many assumptions and givens I've held onto for years have come face to face with reality, and the stereotypes are no longer holding their weight.

Before I came to Durham, Duke required all incoming M. Div students to read The Best of Enemies, which recounts the struggles of civil rights in the Durham area, and how the leader of the local KKK came together with a prominent, Black activist to work towards a peaceful integration of the schools. It is a story of hate, prejudice, segregation, self-righteousness, hopelessness, and powerlessness; but it is also a story of faith, hope, and ultimately, love between two people that were supposed to hate each other. This type of love transcends explanation and human understanding; it is a thing of the Gospel of Christ.

The Black activist (a woman who I met today by the name of Ann Atwater) opened up her home to us and spent 2 hours sharing her wisdom and encouragement to all the Bridddge participants. The meeting in her house symbolized a climax in my own understanding of the race and class divides plaguing our country. The answers to these problems are not simple; in fact, they may not exist at all. This has been a tough issue for me, but Christ promised we would always have the poor. In the face of such problems and wealth disparity, what is the necessary Christian response? What about wealthy Christians as they encounter the poor? Do we take Christ literally and give all we have? Do we give our money, our time, etc? Is there a balance?

Since I began this post, Project Bridddge has come to an end. As different groups gave closing presentations, we struggled to identify a proper response to the problems of race relations, class disparities, idolization of academics versus the pragmatic application of our faith, and others. We each had different responses, but there was one comforting truth. We can get involved in numerous areas. We can do community service for hours upon hours. But none of this will "fix" the problem. We must remember that God is Sovereign; we may not understand our place in a certain mission context, but we can go forward in condidence that each person we meet, every class we take, each service project we pursue, constitute intimate, ordained moments where the Spirit of God manifests itself in how we love others. This is the Gospel. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself. Social justice, distribution of wealth, and the other concerns of the Durham area must be addressed under the day-to-day reality of the Gospel. We can't allow ourselves to fall in love with visions and causes while we forget to love the person sitting next to us in class, or our next door neighbor, or even our enemies. This alone is possible through the love of Christ, demonstrated before us as an example to walk in the very (incarnated) footsteps of God on Earth.

This truth comforted me. I pray for God's wisdom and His heart as life continues in my new home.
-Thanks for reading:)