Ready To Drop The Bomb

It was sundown and cold out on there on that block in a forgotten corner of East Oakland, California. He was laughing as I shared the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. I mixed some of the 21st century grimy hood truth in with the back street Nazareth truth from the 1st century. "Brother man, do you understand that there ain't nuthin' out here for you on his corner but prison or death?"

He reminded me of a rhyme from the greatest gangsta rapper of them, Kool G Rap.

"Y'all wanna underrate G? You people got some nerve

I was born in the ghetto, you was sheltered in suburbs

Age of 15, kid I'm destined to drug serve

Welfare cheese up in the fridge

No heat, freezing in the crib

Nigga rocking Pro Keds with holes in the bottom

12-year old problem, home in the bottle

No Holy Bible, all I know is survival

OGs in my hood told me to roll up and rob 'em

(I'm a) hustler. I come from the heart of the ghetto. You dig?"

His eyes searched the skies as the smirk spread across his face. He was laughing but cats ain't playing out in the badlands. His crack squad brothers drifted around us like dead-eyed ghosts in bullet proof Kevlar vests. My heart hurt for the young brother that night because I saw the future. It was a future that came to be. A year later, he was blasted to pieces right out there or that same corner. I wonder if he made 21.

As a minister to people in the hood, I have met a great number of people who ended up in the pentitentiary or the graveyard; people who sometimes come back to visit me in my darkest, late night dreams. And as I see their faces even now, one question pops up in my mind: Where is the Church?

Pastor, you have command of a great army of non-violent warriors bound to the the G-code (Great Commission). And more often than not, your band of believers has no real connection with the people who truly need that word of hope. Your building is like a fort in the center of hostile territory. The faith community has failed the hood miserably. You don't speak their language and the folks that you are duty bound to reach surely don't speak yours. The Church's deadened heart and deep rooted complacency have allowed our young people to die and get shipped off to prison in unspeakable numbers. Change must come.

One year ago on Christmas day, my friend Tom Dever suggested I write a book. It is just about done now. The title of it is: "Street Cred: A Hood Minister's Guide To Urban Ministry." This book is real and it's straight from the streets. Like a gangsta with 50 round drum or a maniac with a full metal banana clip, I'm not holding back anything. If you want to know the full story about what it's like in those streets this is the book you'll want to read. If you have a heart for the lost in America's hood, you'll want to pick up this book. If you believe in that G Code (Great Commission), you'll want to read this no holds barred, straight-to-the-soul new work. Street Cred tells you how we can save tomorrow and offers suggestions for what should be done. I would ask you to read my new book, "Street Cred" and buy a copy for your pastor as well.