Articles
 

Creating the future one mustard seed at a time Learn More »

Contact

Mustard Seed Associates
PO Box 45867
Seattle, WA 98145
o: (+1) 206-524-2112
Download vCard

Join our mailing list

Posted 863 days ago

Not the World - Just Camdem

By Danny Kam, Azusa Pacific University 

I went to Camden, New Jersey, with an iPod in August of 2007. When I came home, I sold it for $120. Camden does that to you. 

Camden is in one of the poorest cities in America with one of the highest crime rates per capita. Its brother city of Philadelphia—that is, “the city of brotherly love”—is not much better. I could have spent that summer working part-time at the illustrious In-n-Out Burger in my suburban home of Santa Maria, California, but instead I chose to live in a house with fifteen other kingdom revolutionaries to change Camden the way Jesus would have—from the ground up. We didn’t meet with any mayors, stage any protests, or fight any bloody coups. (We do revolutions infinitely better than the French ever could.) Instead we played with children, bought them Slurpees from the local 7-11, and told them stories about a man named Jesus. On Fridays, we would play Deal or No Deal, where one lucky kid would have the chance of winning up to ten whole dollars. 

We weren’t trying to change the world; we were just trying to change Camden. For a summer, we kept those kids off the street. For a summer, we looked teenagers in the eyes and told them they could make it in the world. For a summer, we learned just a slice about life in the inner-city—also known as the urban jungle. And, we helped water the butterfly gardens to bring it a little bit of greenery and life.  

While there, we got to meet Tony Campolo. He had founded the organization with which we were working called UrbanPromise—a promise to the urban youth of America that Americans will not be apathetic anymore. He told us that we were giving up our summers, but that was nothing. He told us we were sacrificing our lives for the summer, but he wanted our whole lives—Jesus wanted our whole lives. He didn’t want us to be seeds that never produce fruit. We are called to be fruitful in all areas of our lives—not just when we are doing “ministry.” We hadn’t even grown roots yet, he said. He called us to a lifetime of service. 

That is why when I graduate I plan on working in the inner-cities as a history teacher, both here and abroad, while living communally with fellow revolutionaries. I plan on being a “secret agent” for the kingdom, getting kids to question the propaganda of the American empire through critically thinking about religion, philosophy, politics and government. You would think after one summer I wouldn’t want to live in a house with fifteen people again. Some revolutionaries never learn. 
 

Danny is a student who is about to graduate from Azusa Pacific University with a BA in social science and minors in youth ministry and Biblical studies. He enjoys working as an AVID tutor in the California school system where he helps students of first generation immigrants go to college. He is a man who wants to change America from an apathetic nation to a prophetic voice for truth and justice in the world.

Add your comment or view comments » 1 people have responded

Reader Comments

The guy was right, in the long-term, you aren’t doing anything of significance for the poor people of these communities. You have good intentions of course, you buy the kids a couple of slurpees, you waters some of the gardens, and it’s all fine and dandy. But.

That’s basically like putting band-aids on a rotting, putrescent wound. It covers it up, and seems better for awhile, but in the end, you realise that what you’ve done was of insignificance to the healing of the wound, and you go to a hospital to properly treat the wound.

All these long-standing issues in America, poverty, urban decay, these are all things that have been in the making for years and years. From everything from, Redlining, to White Flight, to subsequent gentrification, it’s all just been a series of events leaving a large amount of people in their wake, completely forgotten, left to rot in the ghettos.

If Washington D.C. won’t look and see the plight of these people, if they won’t see for themselves that such a rich and prosperous nation as our have these huge communities, completely forgotten about and left to rot and fester.

It should be so, that Americans know that every kid in the whole country is going to sleep every night with something in his stomach. Why couldn’t this only be true.

I don’t have any religious beliefs myself, I found this site just browsing around, but I can say that that’s what Jesus would want if he were still alive.

Derek Rubin » 247 days ago » Link

Add a comment
personal information

Available now - Turbulent Times Ready or Not! Manual

It’s here! The recession response manual, Turbulent Times—Ready or Not! A Creative Response Manual for Missional Congregations 2010 to 2020 is available FOR PURCHASE – only $10.00. This resource has been in the works for more than a year and anticipated by many. Its purpose is to help churches create innovative... More »

New book by Christine Sine: Light for the Journey

Light for the Journey Morning and Evening Prayers for Living into God’s World A Prayer Resource for Groups and Individuals by Christine Sine Morning and evening prayers have become an important part of... More »

Justice at the Table Resource now available!

  Justice at the Table Resource now available! This resource is a collection of personal reflections and practical ideas to help us redeem "food" in all its dimensions from... More »

To Garden With God Manual

by Christine Sine Fifteen years of gardening experience has finally been compiled in one place—in To Garden With God, Christine’s new garden manual. Practical advice for backyard gardening is interspersed with... More »

The New Conspirators - Book by Tom Sine

Friends of MSA… The New Conspirators: Creating the Future One Mustard Seed at a Time we are offering Tom’s new book for $15 {US} plus postage. If you want to find what... More »

MP3s - The New Conspirators Conference

... More »