Can anything good come out of the hood?

I was recently speaking to our mutual friend and fearless leader of YPN, Dean Cowles, about how change occurs incrementally within the city and he blessed me by telling me of a devotional that he lead last month where he used a passage from my latest book The Script.  The Script is a hip hop translation of the book of John and Dean’s devotion was centered around being incarnational in ministry. So he chose a passage that brings an incredible light into the way Jesus’ followers thought and reacted to the social ‘miss fits’ of their day.

The passage (John 1:45-46) from The Script version reads: 45. Phillip found Nathaniel & said, "I got somebody you gotta see!"  We found the One that Moses & the prophets described to a T'; Jesus the son of Joseph representin'  the Nazareenes. 46. Nazareth, Ha!  Nathaniel screamed what kinda scheme you believin'? Them Nazareen's is straight Ghetto! Phillip said well, you come & see then!
 
Dean told me that since he shared this verse from a hip hop translation, he was feeling the flavor and came up with his own flow for a creative title to his talk: ‘Can anything good come out of the hood?’. Well, I have to give you props D!  Although it’s probably been used more than a few times, I know it would’ve been great to be there and watch you deliver it! 

What a great question; whether asked by a 1st century streetwise Galilean or a 21st century inner-city youth worker this rhetorical question always stings us with the reality of how easy it is for us to systematically categorize people and thereby deem them guilty by association before proven able to achieve. Jesus was the exception to Nazareth, and he proves over and over again that there is a way to mine the greatest treasures of the earth out of the most unlikely places.  So in tribute to the excavators who are in constant search for ‘good things’ to draw out of the hood: I’d like to pass this month’s resource tip to you. 

Back in 2005 a great book about relationship and network building came out titled: Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi.  This is an incredible book that will encourage you and help you tighten up those relationships that help you find and deliver the ‘goods’ out of the hood!  I recently downloaded the e-book version for my cell phone to read through again and I’m telling you it’s a must read for the urban youth worker. 

I’m just going to hit you with one powerful quote from Keith’s book—check it out: To achieve your goals in life, I realized that it matters less how smart you are, how much talent you’re born with, or even (most eye-opening to me) where you came from and how much you started out with.  Sure all these are important, but they mean little if you don’t understand one thing: You can’t get there ALONE.  In fact, you can’t get very far at all. 

That’s all I can give you, but you must get out there and check out some of his stuff and feed your soul. You can get a sneak peak of the book online at the site eSnips: We have much work to do and need all the help we can so don’t cheat yourself; invest in yourself and check out this great resource. 

Sharing the gospel from ‘Street to Street’

Fred D. Lynch III
GodStyle Productions

Fred Lynch is the founder of GodStyle Productions. A ministry committed to changing youth culture. For more information on Fred, go to www.godstyle.com or check out his latest project The Script (the gospel of John translated into rap) at: www.gettheepic.com