The 6 P’s of Uptown Bethesda
(adapted from Untamed by Deb and Alan Hirsch and influenced by my experiences)

Passion:
Literally, suffering. 

This it he P we avoid the most I bet.  Who wants to suffer in order to communicate God’s love with people?  Seriously… do you want to?  I don’t.  But to practice Passion is to choose to.  To choose to die.  Sound familiar?  Yeah, it’s what Jesus did and has called us to do if we claim to be His followers in Luke 9:

 23-24Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat—I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.

Passion is entering into the suffering of the community.  For some it is allowing their children to be submitted to the same pathetic school systems as their neighbors.  For others it is literally losing loved ones to repercussions of living in dangerous neighborhoods.  For others it’s loving someone so much that their suffering becomes yours.  It is always taking the opportunities to sacrifice for those we love.

I don’t feel like I have experienced much suffering yet in Uptown, but  can say that I am beginning to.  I experience the Passion of my community when I’m sitting in my living room and hear shots ring out.  I am entering into the suffering of the neighborhood when I wrestle with fear for my physical safety and the safety of those I love.  I connect to the pain of the community when I face the reality that many friend and family will never come see me – never visit for dinner or stay for a weekend because of the violent history of my neighborhood.

That’s not a lot of suffering – but it is, indeed the beginning.

Proclamation:
Last but actually most important is the sharing of the good news of Jesus’ love and reconciliation.  Paul tells us that we are ambassadors of Jesus given the task of reconciling people to God.  Through us, God has chosen to bring people back to Himself.  We are agents of reconciliation in a world very far from God.

I have 2 very strong beliefs about Proclamation that seem to counter each other:

1.       Non-verbal Proclamation is continually happening as we make choices in Prevenience, Proximity, Presence, Powerlessness and Passion.
2.       Verbal Proclamation is fruited (a natural byproduct) when we establish lives of Prevenience, Proximity, Presence, Powerlessness and Passion.

One main opportunity that I’ve had to Proclaim the good news of Jesus has happened with a woman I met at one of the meals I attend.  After learning she had cancer and would have surgery soon, I also discerned she was headed into this alone, so I offered to join her on surgery day which then solidified a friendship that allowed me the opportunity to visit her in rehab and even throw her an 80th birthday party at the nursing home she was recovering in.  The fruit of Proclamation happened at the end of one of my visits when this woman said “Sher, why did God send you to me?!” I turned the question back on her and her answer was sober and tearful; “I had been very angry at God and I think you are helping me back to Him!”  THAT is the Good News of Jesus that I came to Uptown to PROCLAIM!  I did not need to tell this woman that God wanted her – I showed her.

In the words of my mentor Eric; “Boo yah!”

A short explanation of my order with examples of why these P’s must work together:

To live incarnationaly – we must first seek to join God where He is working.  We must acknowledge that He has been at work in this world since it’s inception and we are not agents sent out from Him – but rather agents sent to where He is to join in as added vessels.  Before we attempt Proximity – we must have a foundation that acknowledges the Provenient grace of God.

In order to truly be Present in the lives of those to whom we are sent, we must be in proximity.  Presence is shallow and unaccountable without Proximity.

Once we have moved into the neighborhood, established routines in the community where we seek to be present, then the opportunities for powerlessness present themselves more clearly.  Sometimes Proximity requires Powerlessness and in that way the two may work in tandem.

Passion is often a result of Powerlessness.  So often, we in the West have constructed cocoons around ourselves to protect us from pain and suffering.  That is the suburban mantra, no?  Once we clinch our teeth and give up our Power, we are then targets; able to share in the Passion of the community.

I like my order, but I most firmly hold to the idea that Proclamation is the fruit of Provenience, Proximity, Presence, Powerlessness and Passion.  It is possible that I’m wrong, but I am leaning these days towards believing that if Proclamation is not birthed by the Holy Spirit it is filthy rags to Jesus.