Concrete jungle
marble grey and bleeding
Unaware of Who it is they are needing.
Dripping rain forests
lush emerald gold
Downpour weeping stories untold.
Middle-aged prostitute,
mascara lines on face,
vanished, gone without a trace.
Homeless beggar
cardboard prayer
rolling by on life’s conveyor.
Profane rappers
subconsciously plead
calling for spirit-mouths to feed;
See right through us
Conflicted souls,
fear in eyes, shot through with holes.
Flames of fire
simmer deep within
Follower’s hearts to free from sin.
Christian’s hide,
trembling we cower
As if God-in-us doesn’t have the power.
Bold and aggressive,
Yet meek and mild,
We must become the Church in the Wild.
**This poem was inspired by the radically relevant teaching we have been receiving by Anthony Thompson at FHC’s Saturday Night Services. I will be linking this poem with the D’Verse community where we were given the writing prompt of Wild.
What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ's Sake? 
nice…emboldened and challenging…i might add the businessmen that is pilfering, the mom that is self medicating to get through the day…the ones we look at and think are ok but not really…
Those would be good additions. We see right past so many…
spinning back through for poetics and great to see you there…yes we do see past many…i think we see many of the obvious ones but often fail to act beyond the suffericial…just sat at a light and watch someone hand a beggar a tract…will he see jesus passed his empty stomach?
Since we’re on a Salvation Army kick here on our comments, I will quote something that William Booth, the organization’s founder always said, “Soup, soap and salvation.” He believed that until you took care of the basic needs of man, there was no use speaking to him about his spiritual condition.
Beautiful, true writing. Those that are forgotten, the unoticed and dispossesed they are Gods own.
I especially like these lines…
Profane rappers
subconsciously plead
calling for spirit-mouths to feed;
Thank you Suzy Q. My time in the Salvation Army church definitely taught me to love the unloved.
Thank you dearest – for always challenging us to see with clarity what is right in front of our eyes. May we be the unexpected, wildly gracious, simple servants of the Most High, to the least of these.
Amen. Wildly gracious. Wow, great choice of words.
become the church in the wild, what a thought.
loved your word flow.
fabulous insights and wisdom.
Thank you. The idea actually came from a talented young man who teaches our contemporary service at our church. He’s teaching a series Church In The Wild.
Christian’s hide,
trembling we cower
As if God-in-us doesn’t have the power.
convicting and challenging words. Greater is He that is in us…how easily I can forget that and live in fear.
me too, dear sister…me too.
Downpour weeping stories untold.
this is exquisite writing….
If I could save a favorite comment…I would save this one. Your opinion means so much to me.
And you say you can’t write ‘as well’… HA!
Lovely. Challenging.
Beautiful.
“bold and aggressive,
yet meek and mild”
Yes, Lord.
show me how.
me too. Show me how as well, Lord.
the church in the wild…i like..we are way too tame.. jesus was both, wild and tender and i got much to learn..
Your comment reminds me of a quote from the Narnia series…speaking of Aslan they repeatedly say…He’s not a tame lion, you know.
You really got this righteous. The rhymes are lke heavenly rap I wish I heard more of on the airwaves. Church in The Wilderness, play on.
Thank you Charles….I think my children would find it amusing that you have called my work rap…they really have no idea how hip I am!
Excellent poem. I especially like this stanza, convicting as it is:
Christian’s hide,
trembling we cower
As if God-in-us doesn’t have the power.
Keep up the good work! Peace, Linda
Thank you Linda! We do have the power, and we deny it…so sad…
I respect your statement. Far too few Christian churches, it seems to me, go to the people and offer the help as per Christ’s example. The Salvation Army church is a notable exception.
Weird again, as you were typing this, I was adding a virtual kettle to my facebook page…My entire family on my father’s side are officers in the Salvation Army.
Jesus was a radical in the wild, terrific words
He wasn’t a tame lion, you know… ;D
Church in the Wild -> the latest denomination
haha! This is a great comment! If I could favorite it, I would!
My nephew is called into the inner city in Dayton, OH. He would underline every word. Truth is tough.
Good for him! I have deep Salvation Army roots…and even though I no longer attend their church, you can take the girl out of the Army, but you can’t take the Army out of the girl.
Too true! “You can take the girl out of the Army, but you can’t take the Army out of the girl.”
powerful lines here (I respect your opinion) these lines are thought provoking :
Christian’s hide,
trembling we cower
As if God-in-us doesn’t have the power.
Bold and aggressive,
Yet meek and mild,
We must become the Church in the Wild.
Thanks for stopping by. I’m glad the lines provoked your thought.
I always shake my head at the usual very conservative media preachers, going on about how God wants you to be rich, blah blah blah. Give me the rebel Jesus any day, over them.
Jesus was radical, relevant and revolutionary…and still is.
every word counts
that is a gift
Thanks Brenda. I loved your poem as well. I felt as though I were daring to take a walk in a haunted woods, alone.
what a statement…and challenge!
“Christian’s hide,
trembling we cower
As if God-in-us doesn’t have the power.” …there’s a lot of that going on.
We can’t help a world that we are terrified of…and why are we terrified anyway?
To my mind this is saying something that needs to be said. Well done.
Thank you David. I appreciate your comment and visit to my blog site.
Great poem, speaks volumes.
Thank you dear Patti! For all of your loving, kind a supportive comments! You make me feel loved.
This is really impactful — I was kind of rapping it in my head as I read along…cool that it has that rhythm to it.
Thanks! It was partially inspired by a rap (that I’ve never heard, only read) written by Kanye West. He’s very lost, and yet he writes a rap called No Church in the Wild as if he wishes that there was. I’m praying that if he is truly seeking the way that I suspect he may be that laborers come across his path.
Reblogged this on What In The World R U Doing 4 Christ's Sake? and commented:
Powerful poetry. You have a gift!
Thank you so much! You are quite the encourager!