Sometimes it helps to have a little distance from a tense situation. Space can allow for truth and reason to shine through. It’s easy to become irrational when one is in the middle of the drama. Hyperbole takes over and you can literally talk yourself to the polar extreme of an argument as you work to make your point.

And so I was thankful for this article a couple of weeks ago because it gave me perspective. I almost didn’t read the article because our prolonged discussion about race lately has me a bit fatigued, but I’m glad that I dove in. I think I’ve read it three times now.

The article reminds me that we have come a long way. We have a ways to go. But more than that, it highlights people who are thinking outside the box and coming up with creative solutions to the problem of communities that do not value education.

As I look back on the past year of ministry, this is one of the questions that we have wrestled with the most. We made some strides, but we have a lot of work to do as we strive to create a culture where educational success is a normative value. It’s a tough fight, because we are going against the grain of what popular hip-hop culture is preaching, and we are also working with a population that doesn’t have a whole lot of faith in the city’s educational system.

If you are also worn out by the discussion on race, gut it out for one more article. You won’t be disappointed.