We just experienced one of those moments that causes you to appreciate why the Lord sent us to Harrisburg. I was honored to baptize my son, my nephew and one of our very dear spiritual daughters (and her daughter), this past Saturday evening.
We united with Christ Community Church in a joint baptism celebration. One of their pastors assisted me with our people, and then asked me to help him with the folks from his church.
As the praise went forth from the worship team, we were baptizing people as the congregation praised God and celebrated. I love the CCC family. They have always made us feel so welcome ever since we first moved here.
I couldn’t help but think back on the long journey that brought us to this moment. Seemingly endless disappointments and setbacks were pushed aside because I could recall many of the battles each person has faced to bring them to that moment in the water.
I felt the presence of God as this symbolic act was turned into a spiritual reality. Each person buried their past and the old man as they arose to a new life, hope and future in Christ.
In that moment, I kind of related to the sports commercial where the various athletes are shown battling through adversities and challenges on the field or behind the scenes in practices and workout. They turn to the camera and say, “I live for this!”
That’s how I feel today. The past few weeks have been filled with discouragement, grief, sorrow, and more disappointment. But standing in that baptism pool, watching people crying and embracing one another, and finally experiencing something that we have longed to do for more than six years, I can only say, “I live for this!”
We're not here to build a big ministry. We're building people.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Our Hearts Were Broken (9/11 Tribute)
Our Hearts Were Broken
9/11 Anniversary Tribute (Written 9/11/2011)
Ten years ago today our hearts were broken.
In horror we watched, no word could be spoken.
Time stopped, Could this be really happening?
My eyes can’t believe what I’m seeing.
Did the news flash really say what I'm hearing?
Sirens and screams in the background searing.
I cannot imagine what people are feeling.
As loved ones perish while thousands are fleeing.
Overwhelmed with grief, sickened by sorrow.
It’ll just be a nightmare when I wake up tomorrow.
How could something so evil be unleashed on the world?
Snatching the innocence of every boy and girl.
We’ll never forget the moment the second plane flew in.
The exclamation of the commentator,
"O my God, It happened again!"
And panic begin to set in as we learned
The terror plot wasn’t done,
Another plane had crashed into the Pentagon.
We’ll never forget the thoughts as we watched events unfold.
Is this the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies, foretold?
Is it just the random deed of some religious maniac?
Is it the start of world war three, is our nation under attack?
We’ll never forget the moment
When those towers came crashing down.
Our hearts were crumbling with it,
Knowing lives were being snuffed out.
I wanted to scream, I wanted to cry,
But I could only kneel down.
I prayed to God,
In whom peace and solace could be found.
God alone can avenge the taking of innocent lives.
For the first responders who left behind
Grieving children, husbands and wives.
For the mothers, fathers, sons and daughters
Who faded away with no warning;
For the brothers and sisters
Who did not see the next day’s dawning.
It’s taken me ten years,
To put words on these thoughts.
Ten years of processing feelings
Of profound sadness and loss.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully express
What happened to us that day,
Except that I know we came to understand
The pain on God’s face!
For ions of time
He has watched mankind destroy one another.
He stepped in from the beginning
After one brother killed the other.
What religious view is so important
That so many lives need to be shattered?
What political agenda means so much
That nothing else matters?
America, America,
God poured out His grace on Thee
As crying and wailing rang out
From sea to shining sea.
Ten years ago our hearts were broken,
But I have to wonder somehow.
Where will we be within our hearts
Another ten years from now?
Chris Green, 9/11/2011
Chris Green wrote this song three days after the tragic events of 9/11. The lyrics are based upon the prophetic words of Jeremiah Chapter 5 (Will I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?).
This song intends no disrespect to those who died and have suffered since that day. However, it is a sobering message to people of Faith, that still resonates to this day.
This song is addressing the American Church and its responsibility to follow the life and mission of Jesus Christ in ministering to a nation in crisis.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
One Size Does Not Fit All
I couldn’t sleep last night so I followed my own advice and got up to pray.
Sometimes I like to go downstairs to our living room, but most times I go into our bedroom closet. It’s a walk-in closet, so it’s perfect for seclusion.
Lots of things have been on my heart. I feel like I’m burning bridges with some of my pastoral colleagues. I don’t mean to, but I’ve spent so much time trying to be accepted and understood in the church community of Harrisburg, that I stopped being who I really am.
Part of accepting who I am has meant accepting the role God has given Carol and me. Since I work in the Department of Education, I’ve gained a very important perspective about the role that we play in the church community.
Since I’ve been in this position, I’ve learned that all children are not educated the same way. Some children, because of their mental or physical disabilities, are placed in the Special Education system. Within the Special Education system there is an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that designs an educational plan specifically for that student. Other children, because of behavioral challenges, are placed into the Alternative Education system. Still other children, who do not speak English, are placed into the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) or the English Language Learners (ELL) systems. Parents and students can also opt for Charter schools or Cyber schools for their education.
I guess what I’m getting at is that there is no one size fits all method in education. So, I think I’m struggling with the one size fits all approach to ministering to people that attend church gatherings. In the last couple of years, Carol and I have come to realize that Urban Life is like a Special Education version of the church. Sometimes we’re like the Alternative Education system or the LEP.
Many times we have been asked to bring our church family to attend other events and conferences being hosted for ALL to attend, but they don’t understand. You cannot always bring Special Education students in to the “regular” education system. You cannot readily bring Alternative Education students into the regular classroom. You certainly can’t expect Limited English Proficiency Students to understand what’s going on.
We love the people whom the Lord has led to Urban Life. They are vibrant and excited about being there. We are excited about them being there. Our ministry is completely different. It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before. I can hardly wait, from one week to the next, to see what God is going to do. It’s just hard to explain why it has to be THIS way in the life of this church family. The education diversities came to me in prayer and now I understand a little better why Urban Life is so different.
There is often a stigma placed upon the students who are not part of the “regular” education system. I guess that’s also why we’re so protective of our church family.
The problem is that the same kinds of people are in the “regular” church setting and they are dying there. Their need is not being met, but they don’t want to be identified as a special needs student or an Alternative Education student. But the truth is that they need to be in that kind of setting so they can get healed and delivered.
Lord, help the church leaders to see people where they really are.
Sometimes I like to go downstairs to our living room, but most times I go into our bedroom closet. It’s a walk-in closet, so it’s perfect for seclusion.
Lots of things have been on my heart. I feel like I’m burning bridges with some of my pastoral colleagues. I don’t mean to, but I’ve spent so much time trying to be accepted and understood in the church community of Harrisburg, that I stopped being who I really am.
Part of accepting who I am has meant accepting the role God has given Carol and me. Since I work in the Department of Education, I’ve gained a very important perspective about the role that we play in the church community.
Since I’ve been in this position, I’ve learned that all children are not educated the same way. Some children, because of their mental or physical disabilities, are placed in the Special Education system. Within the Special Education system there is an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) that designs an educational plan specifically for that student. Other children, because of behavioral challenges, are placed into the Alternative Education system. Still other children, who do not speak English, are placed into the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) or the English Language Learners (ELL) systems. Parents and students can also opt for Charter schools or Cyber schools for their education.
I guess what I’m getting at is that there is no one size fits all method in education. So, I think I’m struggling with the one size fits all approach to ministering to people that attend church gatherings. In the last couple of years, Carol and I have come to realize that Urban Life is like a Special Education version of the church. Sometimes we’re like the Alternative Education system or the LEP.
Many times we have been asked to bring our church family to attend other events and conferences being hosted for ALL to attend, but they don’t understand. You cannot always bring Special Education students in to the “regular” education system. You cannot readily bring Alternative Education students into the regular classroom. You certainly can’t expect Limited English Proficiency Students to understand what’s going on.
We love the people whom the Lord has led to Urban Life. They are vibrant and excited about being there. We are excited about them being there. Our ministry is completely different. It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before. I can hardly wait, from one week to the next, to see what God is going to do. It’s just hard to explain why it has to be THIS way in the life of this church family. The education diversities came to me in prayer and now I understand a little better why Urban Life is so different.
There is often a stigma placed upon the students who are not part of the “regular” education system. I guess that’s also why we’re so protective of our church family.
The problem is that the same kinds of people are in the “regular” church setting and they are dying there. Their need is not being met, but they don’t want to be identified as a special needs student or an Alternative Education student. But the truth is that they need to be in that kind of setting so they can get healed and delivered.
Lord, help the church leaders to see people where they really are.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Sent to Build People
Almost five years ago, my mother called me from St. Louis to share a dream that the Lord gave her about us. She told me that in the dream, Carol and I were leading a small group of people through a heavy, thick forest or jungle type area. She said we led them to the bank of a river and I told everyone that we were going to cross the river and get to the other side. She said Carol and I went out into the river and stood in waist deep water and kept encouraging everyone to come on and cross the river.
Two things stood out to her in the dream: First, the water was very clear. It was so clear that she could see our feet on the floor of the river. Secondly, we stayed in the river until we were able to get everyone across. There were some who were very hesitant to cross, but we kept encouraging them until they all made it.
When she woke up from the dream she said the Lord brought to her remembrance the story of Israel, crossing the Jordan River to come into the land of promise. She said the Lord made her to know that we were in Harrisburg to bring this small group of people out of bondage and into the land of promise, more specifically, into their deliverance.
She wanted to know if I thought the dream represented a literal or a spiritual land of promise, and if this was our true assignment in Harrisburg, to lead this small group of people out of the bondage they were in, or even possibly out of Harrisburg. She said she did not recognize the faces of the people. She only knew that she had never seen them before.
Mom shared the dream with my brother (Bishop Raphael) who told her to share it with us because it would be very encouraging to us.I cannot answer the questions that she asked because I honestly don’t know. I only know that what God showed her was very accurate. It is, indeed, a small group of people and I know we are standing in the middle of the flow of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We are trying to live what we are teaching, so that we are presenting more than lip service, but a life service.
We are no longer assuming that we were sent to build and establish a big church here. What I mean by this is: I believe God sent us to Harrisburg to build a group of people, not to build a ministry. The best part is that I'm at peace with that. We just know that we are to stand in the river and lead this small group of people out of the jungle they are familiar with, and to cross over into the land of promise.
Mom wanted to know if we are going to return to St. Louis one day. Again, I don’t know what the future holds. God’s reason for sending us to Harrisburg, PA has been manifold and a big part seems to have more to do with our personal restoration, family reconciliation and emotional healing, than anything else.
We recall that GOD called us catalyst for this community. I know from my studies in chemistry that catalysts never become a part of the reaction that they cause. The catalyst just starts a thing, but it never becomes a part of the substance. I see and understand, now, that it is possible that that's all we were sent to Harrisburg to do, as far as reaching the community goes. I’m beginning to accept that possibility.
Right now, I can’t concentrate on all of those questions and scenarios. I’m just concerned about getting this precious group of people to cross the river and come into God’s purpose for their lives.
Two things stood out to her in the dream: First, the water was very clear. It was so clear that she could see our feet on the floor of the river. Secondly, we stayed in the river until we were able to get everyone across. There were some who were very hesitant to cross, but we kept encouraging them until they all made it.
When she woke up from the dream she said the Lord brought to her remembrance the story of Israel, crossing the Jordan River to come into the land of promise. She said the Lord made her to know that we were in Harrisburg to bring this small group of people out of bondage and into the land of promise, more specifically, into their deliverance.
She wanted to know if I thought the dream represented a literal or a spiritual land of promise, and if this was our true assignment in Harrisburg, to lead this small group of people out of the bondage they were in, or even possibly out of Harrisburg. She said she did not recognize the faces of the people. She only knew that she had never seen them before.
Mom shared the dream with my brother (Bishop Raphael) who told her to share it with us because it would be very encouraging to us.I cannot answer the questions that she asked because I honestly don’t know. I only know that what God showed her was very accurate. It is, indeed, a small group of people and I know we are standing in the middle of the flow of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We are trying to live what we are teaching, so that we are presenting more than lip service, but a life service.
We are no longer assuming that we were sent to build and establish a big church here. What I mean by this is: I believe God sent us to Harrisburg to build a group of people, not to build a ministry. The best part is that I'm at peace with that. We just know that we are to stand in the river and lead this small group of people out of the jungle they are familiar with, and to cross over into the land of promise.
Mom wanted to know if we are going to return to St. Louis one day. Again, I don’t know what the future holds. God’s reason for sending us to Harrisburg, PA has been manifold and a big part seems to have more to do with our personal restoration, family reconciliation and emotional healing, than anything else.
We recall that GOD called us catalyst for this community. I know from my studies in chemistry that catalysts never become a part of the reaction that they cause. The catalyst just starts a thing, but it never becomes a part of the substance. I see and understand, now, that it is possible that that's all we were sent to Harrisburg to do, as far as reaching the community goes. I’m beginning to accept that possibility.
Right now, I can’t concentrate on all of those questions and scenarios. I’m just concerned about getting this precious group of people to cross the river and come into God’s purpose for their lives.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
When a Plan Comes Together
Today, parents across America are enrolling their children in kindergarten to 12th grade online courses, sometimes known as cyber schools. Higher education institutions and many progressive churches and ministries have been doing this for many years. In our view, we are still lagging behind the times. As a church, we should have been offering this a long time ago. We’ve been recording our sessions since we first started and we’ve been posting videos on our website since 2006.
However, only within the last couple of weeks did we begin to organize the various videos into teaching series and Bible lessons that our members can access like online classes to help them in their personal pursuit of God and His purpose. We are adjusting the ministry to help them search out the matters in their lives. (Proverbs 25:2) Online educators are adjusting their systems to help people reach graduation. We’re just providing a similar service. Finally, we have a seamless connection between our Sunday Café, the Friday night pastoral sessions, our books, and our online teaching.
Moving forward, we can add some of our guest speakers like John and Kerry Shuey of Kingdom Quest Ministries, to our online teaching series on prayer. Other guest can be included in online series about marriage or faith. We are very excited about the endless possibilities. For those among us who don't have internet access, they can pick up the weekly teachings from the FREE DVD's and FREE books on our display table at the Sunday Cafe'.
Sometimes we wonder why we didn’t think of this sooner, but we know the reason is simply because this wasn’t our plan. It was God's plan. All along, the Lord has been systematically guiding us, step by step. This strategy has come forth out of what we have been doing over the past five years. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?
However, only within the last couple of weeks did we begin to organize the various videos into teaching series and Bible lessons that our members can access like online classes to help them in their personal pursuit of God and His purpose. We are adjusting the ministry to help them search out the matters in their lives. (Proverbs 25:2) Online educators are adjusting their systems to help people reach graduation. We’re just providing a similar service. Finally, we have a seamless connection between our Sunday Café, the Friday night pastoral sessions, our books, and our online teaching.
Moving forward, we can add some of our guest speakers like John and Kerry Shuey of Kingdom Quest Ministries, to our online teaching series on prayer. Other guest can be included in online series about marriage or faith. We are very excited about the endless possibilities. For those among us who don't have internet access, they can pick up the weekly teachings from the FREE DVD's and FREE books on our display table at the Sunday Cafe'.
Sometimes we wonder why we didn’t think of this sooner, but we know the reason is simply because this wasn’t our plan. It was God's plan. All along, the Lord has been systematically guiding us, step by step. This strategy has come forth out of what we have been doing over the past five years. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?
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