A Vision For Urban Leaders

When Christ walked the earth he had the ability to look at people and see something beyond the labels of society. Christ was able to see the under-resourced, unqualified, outcast, and marginalized as potential participants in the work of transformation. He was able to look at the corrupt, the incarcerated, the diseased, the poor, and left for dead and see something that even the religious leaders of the day had the lack of vision to grasp. Through the declarations and demonstrations of God’s love, truth, and new life those deemed unworthy find their identity as made in the image of God and from there, begin to see their potential to work alongside Christ and transform lives and communities.

This month I attended World Impact’s annual TUMI (The Urban Ministry Institute) Leaders’ Summit in Wichita, Kansas. I was so moved by the hundreds of ministry leaders that have a revolutionary vision for the poor and the incarcerated. I participated in worship, shared meals with, and listened to the stories of Brothers and Sisters from around the country and around the world who are aligned with God’s vision for “the least of these.” But they don’t merely have sympathy and mercy for the poor and incarcerated. They are involved in training and equipping them to serve as church planters, pastors, community leaders, and missionaries. These Summit attendees are chaplains, church pastors, denominational leaders, and volunteers who see that the harvest field is not only plentiful, but contains gifted and talented folks who, if empowered and resourced, can take responsibility for transformation right where they are.

This issue of seeing all people through the eyes of God, is not just a ministry model for me, it’s personal. I grew up in the urban context myself and am also African-American, I know what it’s like to be stereotyped and judged wrongly when looked at with worldly vision instead of Godly vision. My life was transformed as a teenager because there were people of faith who saw me with God’s eyes. They not only saw my potential for new life in Christ, they saw my potential to become an empowered indigenous Christian leader in my own community. I am a product of the eyes of people of faith aligned with God’s vision for the broken, oppressed, and under-resourced.

It is possible to have faith and be spiritually blind. This happens when we are unwilling to allow God to correct our vision on a regular basis. I pray that more members of the body of Christ would develop a deep desire to see others with the eyes of God. This deep reflection on a vision for the poor and incarcerated specifically remains an urgent opportunity for the church. I challenge you to pray for the ability to see others the way God sees them—not in their current situation but as the catalyst for community change God made them to be.

Read more from Efrem Smith.