| Thug theology reaches to inner city BY MELISSA LAUBERUMCONNECTION STAFF The first sermon the Rev. Erik Williams ever preached was on Ezekiels valley of the dry bones. This summer, he was assigned there. Williams was hired by Baltimore-Harford District superintendent, the Rev. Mark Derby, to serve as a pastor on the site of the current Baltimore Saving Station at Milton Avenue and Oliver Street. It is an area described by neighbors as brimming with murder, drugs, violence and poverty. But Williams is certain that The United Methodist Church, with the grace of God, can bring life to the decaying community.  The creator of thugology, or thug theology, Williams believes he understands the inner city and its residents in ways many more mainstream United Methodists may not.
Recently he spoke to the Executive Office of the President (Office of National Drug Control Policy) in Washington, D.C., on thugology, a theology based on the rap music of Tupac Shukar and others and the story from Luke 23 about the thieves that hung on crosses next to Jesus. His theology is interwoven with his life experiences. A native of Philadelphia, Williams grew up in the early 1970s, a time of racial and social turmoil. He witnessed rampant police brutality and, even as a child, felt called to become a lawyer so that he could fight for justice. After graduating with a law degree from the Georgetown Law Center, he worked for a year as an English teacher in Prince Georges County, in an attempt to give something back to the community. Working with the students, he listened to rap music. Williams then became a criminal defense attorney in Florida. He remembers praying with one of his clients in a cell. The man was in leg shackles and faced the death penalty if convicted for killing a 5-year-old in a drive-by shooting.  The Lord spoke to me, said Williams, who felt called to enter the ministry and discover and address some of the reasons why so many young black men were being incarcerated.
He attended Harvard Divinity School and went on to found and direct The Holy House of Thugs in Philadelphia. Williams describes this home as a hip-hop focused, transformational ministry called to address the spiritual needs of the hip-hop generation, incarcerated individuals and others who feel left out of traditional houses of worship.  The ministry embraced the Gospel in creative ways, answering the question: Where do you go when your back is against the wall? Williams said.
He sees similarities between that work and the new job he is beginning in Baltimore. This kind of ministry often works just as well outside of a church, Williams said. He envisions after-school programs, feeding and clothing outreach, job placement, mentoring programs with area labor unions, drug treatment, health care and above all, prayer. Im not going in with a blueprint, but rather a template, said Williams who explained that evangelism, education and economics are the foundation of the new ministry. In these early days he will be walking the streets in the East Baltimore community, handing out Bibles and praying with people. He also intends to consecrate the site, which was once the home of a United Methodist church that was destroyed by fire. The ruins of the church are buried under the empty lot. As one of the Baltimore-Washington Conferences new church initiatives, he hopes this out of the box ministry will draw volunteers from throughout the conference to help him put Gods vision into action. Well be about empowering people, Williams said. When you see every person as a child of God, how else can you respond? | 
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