What Would I Do?

One of the people who inspire me in the work we do is Bart Campolo. Bart is the son of Tony Campolo, another hero of mine and the person most responsible for me coming to understand that Jesus saves us to change the world (in other words, it is not just about what happens after we are dead). Bart lives in inner city Cincinnati with his wife and two teenage kids.

Bart’s neighborhood has turned into a war zone of late. There is gunfire, there is innocent “collateral damage”, there is fear. For the residents of this neighborhood, this is life; they have no real choice. However, Bart and his family choose to live there.

Bart believes (as do I and countless other “urban missionaries”) that only by living among those you serve can you understand them, can you understand their problems, can you learn what obstacles stand in their way.  When hear about a neighborhood with a “bad” school, you think that is sad. When you live in a neighborhood with a bad school, that is now not just sad, it is now your problem as well.

However, Bart has to balance the call to serve with the safety of his family.

The first thing you learn in urban missions is to not confuse your comfort with your safety. Often you will go into places where you do not feel comfortable; everyone is a different color than you, everyone is bigger than you, they speak a different language than you. Fear is the instinctive response; we fear the different. Often, these fears are ungrounded.

Most inner city violence is between lovers or between users or sellers of alcohol and drugs. Random violence is pretty rare. Generally. However, when you are in a war zone, accidents do happen, and if your daughter dies because of a stray bullet, she is just as dead as if the killer targeted her.

I admire Bart for his choice to stay. I wonder if I would if I were in his shoes.