Discipleship Commons

This reflection has been on the margins of my mind for some time since I first heard of Trayvon Martin. It is personal and offers a perspective that I am still processing… but for good reason. When I asked Brandon Winstead to offer a reflection on Trayvon, I thought it might indicate that I had nothing to say on the matter. So, in solidarity with Brandon, I offer my thoughts as well. My thanks to Brandon, who embodies the type of youth pastor we need more in this journey. I know his work with YouthFront and alongside NTS will make our seminar at NTS worthwhile. My thanks to organizations like YouthFront’s missional journeys and the Kansas City Urban Youth Center, who live out this ministry daily. 

Reflections on Youth, Race, and Violence

I can think of four times where the intersecting themes of youth, race, and violence exploded into my life. The first time occurred when I was an adolescent in high school
during the death of Martin Luther King.

The tensions exploded that day into a large battle between young black and young white
men in a southern high school. Hardly a riot, but also a shattering moment in my life, where I had friends on both sides of the racial divide clash out of a sense of grief but also racism. A young black man and myself fled to the local bowling alley after school, where our common love for the pastime allowed us to share a moment of consternation and pain.  I really did not understand everything (my life too sheltered by privilege), but I knew I did not want to lose a friendship based on the color of skin. I also realized I did not understand his world.