mommasblog

So the things at the end of the post that I said were beginning at Joe Momma’s….are different.

Our weekly meetings be at lunch and will basically be an opportunity for youth pastors to connect with their students and with other students from Union High School. Rather than do a Bible study, we’re going to allow the students and youth workers to make ten minute videos to show during the lunch period. The videos will have no purpose other than to entertain and to be a reason for people to show up. I kinda realized that everything doesn’t have to be so heavy. Sometimes people need to have some fun.

The other thing we’re starting that’s not mentioned is an initiative to give our leftover lunch buffet food away to people who need some food. We’re going to save the leftover lunch buffet pizza and put it in a freezer bag and a few times a week, a group of kids who try to help out the homeless are going to come pick it up and take it downtown to give away.

The cool news about the staff at the restaurant is that I’ve already seen several of them embrace the idea that our relationships with each other have value beyond work. I love watching my managers care for and care about the high school kids that work for me. Great things are happening. Seriously.

I hope that others see that just a touch of creativity and innovation can open doors for us to serve people.

By the way, Momma’s Blog is changing some. It’ll be more personal stuff from me about life, about the restaurant, about whatever. The restaurant’s official blog will be at www.joemommas.com from now on. It’ll be less deep, less intensive, less uncomfortable.

Here’s who I am, in a nutshell, in case you’re new. This is important because it will explain my idea….

I am spiritual. I am a Christian and I believe God loves me and wants a real relationship with me. I believe he created me with strengths and weaknesses and was intentional about making me who I am.

I am political. I love politics in general. I love America and I love the government that our founding fathers created. I love that we all have a voice if we want to and that change can be affected by passionate people.

I am a Tulsan. I love this freaking city. I love our parks and our landmarks, our people, our buildings, our size, our past, and our future. While there are other cities out there that may appeal to more of my current desires, I am commited to this city and to its growth and improvement. This brings me to my next characteristic.

I am optimistic. I tend to see the best in people, places, and things. I love a fixer-upper more than anything. I love to imagine the future for people and to invest in them to help them realize the same thing. I went to college to be a teacher for this purpose. Nothing excites me like seeing others excited about who they are and who they can be. This characteristic explains a great deal about me. It explains why I have Joe Momma’s in its current location with its current staff. It explains why I love Tulsa. It explains my home. It explains my dog. It explains my friendships and relationships. I love to see the core of what something or someone can be.

I am impulsive. I get an idea and I get excited about it and I move immediately. I want results yesterday. I don’t touch my blog for a month, then I get excited about something and I write an essay. Much of my life is done on impulse….much to my wife’s dismay.

For some time I’ve had in the back of my mind the possibility of running for public office. I’m secretly hoping and thinking that I could help. Some youth and some creativity might not hurt our fair city. I want to see things get better and I want to be a part. I value the children of our city and think they require revamped investment. Our public school system needs help. Our crime rate (largely due to gang related violence) is a testament to a lack of education, belonging, and alternatives. Our spending is out of whack. Our sales tax is high, our vision for the future, while it’s coming together, is still disjointed. I want to be a part of a solution.

I feel much the same way about the institutional church as a whole. I believe that the church in America has lost relevance. It’s disconnected and out of touch. We are seen as cheesy, judgemental, exclusive, and more. While Jesus is loved and respected, his church is mocked and ridiculed. We have taken our finger off the pulse of our culture and are now struggling to find it again….and it’s laughing at us. Lately I’ve been stricken with this frustration and sadness at what the church has become. We are not being Jesus to people. Needs aren’t being met like they could/should. Lives are not being changed like they could/should. Good things are happening, don’t get me wrong. As a whole, however, the church is missing the mark. I also want to be a part of this solution. I love a fixer-upper, remember?

If I was running for big national political office and the question was asked, “How do you propose to fight crime and improve education and deal with poverty?” My answer to these types of questions from a fundamentally political perspective is that it’s not the government’s job. I think people in private America can do a better job improving these three things than any government initiative. The only problem is….they aren’t. America, the world’s most Christian nation….isn’t. Can someone explain to me how an entire culture, largely made up of people who claim to be followers of Jesus are leaving it up to their government to meet the needs of education, crime, and poverty?

I want to start something. I want to start it in Tulsa as a way of illustrating to the rest of America that the church is alive; that Jesus is alive to us. I now believe I am as capable of affecting change from where I stand as a church going business owner in Tulsa than as a politician. I believe we can promote the message of Jesus to believers in such a way that they will be compelled to move. I may be placing too much hope in people, but my theory is that people have at their core a heart for something. I believe there are people with a heart for children, families, criminals, singles, seniors, divorced people, high school kids, alcoholics, wealthy business men, poor people, stay at home moms, handicapped people, people in ministry, etc. I really do. I think there are people who if you asked them what they care about would tell you something like, “Well, I don’t really do anything about it, but I’ve always thought it would be great to work with (insert group from above).” I’m not kidding or using hyperbole. I think it’s real. I think you have that in you. You may have never told a soul, but you care about something. You care about someone other than yourself. Something could get you fired up, you just haven’t been given an opportunity or the appropriate prodding to move you to act.

The solution is this: By teaching and equipping people to engage in their community with those for whom they care, we change our world. I’m not kidding, so stop laughing. Think about what I’m saying. Think of the real possibility. 400,000 people live in Tulsa. I guarantee you that nearly half go to church. What could 200,000 people do for this city if they gave even a few hours of their time.

The church’s job is to create opportunity for people to care for others. The church becomes “the church” when we’re more “out” than “in.” As I think of the potential that just my church alone has to effect change on the community around us, I am inspired. I am moved to move. I am starting to embrace the big picture. I will challenge those around me at my church to move. Good things will happen. You can watch or you can join me.
What am I doing about it now? I’ll tell you. Joe Momma’s Pizza will begin hosting weekly lunch time bible studies. Different ministry leaders from around town will come and present Bible studies during lunch. I’ll host them. Bring it on. In addition, we’ll begin making one deliberate hire at all times. That means we’ll always have somebody on our staff that the remaining staff knows is there for us to care for. We have a place of employ for people needing a job. People can come, be loved and cared for, and make some cash. I don’t know what all this looks like in the grand scheme of things or what the future holds, but know that I’m moving. I ask you to join me. If you’d like to discuss this post, feel free to call me. 852.3232. e-mail is blake.ewing@joemommas.com. Thanks for finishing this akwardly long post.

B