bad dudes and good guys

I have been engaged in ministry with a young man from a local community in the hopes that our ministry there together might be incarnational in that he lives in the community our church seeks to grow with in God's Mission.

I had met a couple of young men from the neighborhood that I thought we might want to get involved in our community of community builders and engage them in some ministry opportunities.

No, he said, that wouldn't work. Those are bad dudes. They're into some bad stuff. They don't want to change or become better people.

I didn't understand. Weren't they precisely the kind of people we wanted to reach out to in ministry?

No. He said.

I didn't press the issue, but for a long time didn't really understand how he couldn't be excited about reaching out to "the bad dudes" to help them become "good guys" (quotes provided to emphasis we are all "bad dudes" and "good guys" at one time or another, but we are talking generalities here).

I got a little better insight into the concept by watching the movie Gran Torino.

Clint Eastwood's character is an aging, lonely widower who finds friendship and companionship with a couple of the good kids in his community. The community itself is also aging and "changing" in ethnic diversity and finding itself at the mercy of crime and gang activity.

The task is not to save the "bad dudes", but to protect the "good guys".

It's important to leave behind the 99 to find the one. But we have to protect the flock.

We have to have a certain amount of outreach to the "bad dudes". How do we best accomplish that?

Do we spend enough time and energy with the "good guys"?

Ultimately, as outsiders- 80 year old white guys- living among 20 year old "mongs", the "good guys" will ultimately have to "save" the "bad dudes". All we can really do is figure out what we are prepared to give up in order to fulfill God's mission.

At least that's what Clint did.