The essential element of the FREEDOM TOUR is community.
Of course we raise funds and awareness for the kids at the HOME OF HOPE. And we enjoy riding bikes. Cycling, fund raising,and fighting human trafficking comprise the face of the tour, but its DNA is community.
In what might be a classic understatement, our friend John told us during one of our devotions, “Community is hard.”
When you’re with a group of folks 24/7, you see them at their best and, well, less than their best. People get tired, hungry, and frustrated. There’s bound to be disagreements and frayed nerves. But you’re there, sleeping and eating together, riding together, so it’s tough to simply ignore or walk away.
Community is hard
The former teacher thinks back to the single basic principle I used for the last few years in my classroom.
Everyone gets treated with dignity and respect.
Turns out that a middle school classroom is a fun place to be when that simple thing happens. Also turns out that creating that environment takes some work.
Simple stuff isn’t always easy. Community is hard.
Most folks, including middle school kids, agree with the notion that we all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Many can’t quite define exactly what that means.
Respect in this context simply means “I see you, I pay attention to you, I listen to you.”
Dignity means worth. To treat someone with dignity means to presume that the person has innate worth, not because of ability or appearance or status but simply because he’s a person, a child of God.
Here’s the tough part: everyone means EVERYONE. In a classroom that means the nerd, the jock, the new kid with the funny accent, and the kid who punched you two years ago. You don’t have to be buddys. You DO need to treat each other with dignity and respect.
Community is hard.
I really wanted a higher principle: Love your neighbor. I didn’t think that would work in a classroom, but I believe dignity and respect was a good start.
When Jesus said, “Love your neighbor,” He wasn’t talking about the nice guy next door who loans you his tools. He used The Good Samaritan to illustrate love for even our most hated enemy. He said that guy was our neighbor.
Do you believe He was serious? I do.
What’s simpler than LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR? I’d like to claim the FREEDOM TOUR does this basic thing perfectly.
But simple stuff isn’t easy. Community is hard.
My goal for the FREEDOM TOUR circle is the same as my classroom goal. I hope we love each other, and I hope we live that out by treating each other with dignity and respect.
I see you, I’ll listen to you. I believe you have worth, just because you’re you.
Simple. And difficult. A great way to run a classroom. Or a community surrounding a bike tour.
Or, maybe, a world.