New Wine, New Wineskins

This event’s keynote speaker was Dr. Ray Bakke, the Executive Director of International Urban Associates and one of the foremost experts on urban ministry. He is the author of several books, including The Urban Christian and A Theology as Big as the City. His thoughts made a lasting impact, highlighting God’s heart for the city and the Church’s role in addressing the daunting problems and exciting possibilities of ministry unique to urban life.

Dr. Bakke spoke at a variety of venues including Multnomah Biblical Seminary, Reed College, First Covenant Church, and a Civic Leaders’ Breakfast. Dr. Bakke was joined by several other speakers, addressing the problem of structural evil in our society and the Church’s call for systemic change.

This conference was attended by those who related to questions such as, Do you have a loved one who struggles with homosexuality? How do you relate to him or her? Perhaps you yourself struggle with homosexuality. Do you feel isolated, afraid to express what you are feeling and experiencing? Christians often talk about freedom in Christ. But you feel as if you are weighed down with a burden too great to bear. How do you cope? What’s the solution?

Relational problems require relational solutions. According to Phil Hobizal, Director of Portland Fellowship, this gets at the heart of the difficulties people struggling with homosexuality face. Portland Fellowship is a ministry which reaches out to people with same sex attractions. Through this partner event, attendees learned how to and had the opportunity to interact with people who know first-hand the transforming power of Christ’s love, making them relationally and sexually whole.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words from his sermon, “Paul’s Letter to American Christians,” still ring true today. “You must face the tragic fact that when you stand at eleven o’clock on Sunday morning to sing ‘All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name’ and ‘Dear Lord and Father of All Mankind,’ you stand in the most segregated hour of Christian America. They tell me that there is more integration in the entertaining world and other secular agencies than there is in the Christian church. How appalling that is.” This conference took a step toward seeking to bridge this gap.

The forum panelists consisted of professional, influential men and women of the Portland community who are dedicated to breaking down racial barriers in the hope of living the dream of the late Dr. King, who said, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” These gifted men and women were selected on the basis of their character and integrity, lived out daily in both their professional and spiritual lives.

The panelists discussed their own personal experiences as African-American men and women and they provided insightful dialogue on current race relations and offer information on the present efforts being made toward racial reconciliation in Portland. This perspective contributed to the school’s desire to reflect the Word of God and impact its community.

This event featured Randy White, Inter-Varsity National Coordinator for Urban Projects. The title for the conference was taken from the first chapter of his book, Journey to the Center of the City: Making a Difference in an Urban Neighborhood (IVP). Randy claims that one may have to fly upside down “to see things right-side up.” In a society that esteems those who climb the social ladder, Randy calls for the equivalent of the yuppie nightmare: “downward mobility,” which is really what God’s Son did in becoming a humble servant. “Flying Upside Down” is about a paradigm shift, which involves taking another look at God, at Scripture, and at our lives.

The prophet Jonah was angry with God for sparing Nineveh, that pagan city, whose people repented at Jonah’s preaching. God replied to Jonah, “But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?” (Jonah 4:11) God is also concerned about the well-being of the great city of Portland. The Jonah syndrome, though, is rampant in our culture, showing forth not only in white flight to the suburbs, but also Church-flight as well. Our cities are dying. Do we care? If not, perhaps we’re dying, too. If the Evangelical church does not develop a parish mindset for the cities of this land, the church will perish. Yet God is calling many Christians back to the city to live and to care.