My grandma Jesse died tonight. She was 96 years old and really the events surrounding her death were pretty good. She began to really struggle health wise a few months ago but recovered. This gave us all a warning sign that maybe she wouldn’t be with us much longer.
Our family took the hint and we drove down to south Georgia to see her two weeks ago. We had a great visit. When we got there around 11 am she was just getting up. She was walking around fine and talking with complete clarity just like my Grandma Jesse. We spent several hours together before she got tired and needed a nap. I covered her up on the couch and she dozed off. When she woke up we spent another hour or so with her and then we said our goodbyes.
My mom traveled down there 4 days ago and has been with her through the weekend. She told me tonight that she had a feeling she needed to check on Grandma so she went in and spent the last few moments with her as she breathed her last breath. As far as “goodbyes” go we could not have asked for more.
However, none of this changes the fact that death sucks. It is so much a part of our human experience that we forget that it isn’t a part of God’s Kingdom. Death is a result of sin – always has been and always will be. Death is NOT natural to God’s agenda. And yet it effects us all so much that we think it is “just a part of life” so we have to deal with it… NO! I won’t just accept death as a part of “the way things are.” Because that is NOT how they should be. I won’t just accept death as a part of “the way things are” without remembering that death is actually a defeated enemy. This is why Jesus’ resurrection is so important. It brings life from death. The cross took care of our sin, but death still remained – the resurrection laughs in the face of death and defeated it once and for all.
My Grandma Jesse had received that forgiveness and life. She is fully experiencing life with “no death” tied to it at the end. She was a faithful follower of Christ. She told my kids during our visit “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know the one who hold my future.” And they got it.
But for me there is still a little regret. For the last 10 years my world has been full of many things that did not include regular time spent with my Grandma Jesse. It is just the way it is – holidays and vacations were the extent of my time with her. Some of this was due to prioritizing other things, but much of it has been because of the mission and ministry that God has called me to pursue. It is all consuming just as Jesus said it would be in Matthew 19.
Jesus replied, “…everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19
My Grandma Jesse understood. Right before I left her house, I went into her bedroom and spoke with her. These were my last words and her last words to me,
“Grandma I am sorry I haven’t spent much time with you over the last 3 or 4 years.”
Grandma Jesse: “It’s all right, I know you have been doing the Lord’s work.”
“I love you”
Grandma Jesse: “I know it”
“I love you”
Grandma Jesse: “I love you too”
“Goodbye”
6.07.2010
Grateful
I'm grateful today to God for allowing me and others to see His activity so evidently in the lives of people around me. Yesterday was an incredible day at UCity Fellowship. Celebrating the journeys of four very dear friends (Lonnie and Angela Clouse and Trent and Carmen Post) is an honor. I will miss them all tremendously, but I am so excited to be a part of the next thing that God has for them as they establish and lead orphan care initiatives in Ethiopia and Mexico. I look forward to visiting them in their new works and planning effective partnerships for the Kingdom.
To follow a morning like that with a Baptism Celebration - was amazing. The way God continues to transform the lives of people young and old just completely floors me at times. Here is an email I received last week from a man who was baptized yesterday.
David,
I’m writing to you because of the deep connection that my wife and I have felt since attending UCF for the past month. I can’t speak for Nancy but for me, the moment that I walked through the doors, for the first time, I knew that there was something powerful working and that I belonged.
I was raised in an Episcopal church and ran as fast and as far as I could when I turned sixteen. While I never stopped talking to God all of these years, I have not attended a church since long ago because the message that I kept hearing didn’t jive with what I knew to be true; it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve come from, or what you’ve done but it’s what’s in your heart.
We used to live in a small town named Stanfield. Nancy worked in Concord and I was self-employed working all over the area. Our oldest son was struggling in the local school system and we were struggling financially. One day on her way home, she still can’t explain it; she was passing First Assembly and pulled in. She walked into the school office and asked for a tour, it was pajama day and the Principal happily gave her a tour; in his pajamas!
She promptly came home and proclaimed that we were sending Blake, our only child then, to that school; HOW! was my reaction…? Well, we stepped off the edge and SOMEHOW we found a way.
It was Blake’s sixth-grade year that this occurred and now he is going into his senior year at college and the part that God has played in his life is almost overwhelming.
I recount that story, and of course there’s many more, just to acknowledge the role that God has always played in our lives but that I have never truly served HIM.
Listening to the Rhodes’ story Sunday was something that Nancy and I are way TOO familiar with. I know and believe that as Tim said, “God has been breaking me down”, over the past three years which has left a huge hole in my life, and I think Nancy’s too. That’s what got me to the doors of UCF a month ago. The really cool thing….since we’ve been attending, some of the stuff that I care about deeply, veterans and Marines in particular, has entered my life at UCF. Something wonderful happened with this on Sunday and I spent most of the gathering crying!
As I look back over the years, it is so obvious that God has played such a huge roll in our lives, because there really is no other explanation. And because of the love He has shone to us, Nancy and I know it’s time to get off the sidelines.
I have listened to the cd and read the booklet but I have to say that when I saw this booklet a couple of weeks ago, before even reading it, I knew what I was to do. The cd sealed my commitment. I am ready to make “a public declaration to a new association with Jesus Christ” and be washed. Since revealing my desire for Baptism to my family, Nancy has also expressed her desire to be baptized.
My oldest son Blake has never waivered from the path; he has been an amazing example of Gods’ handy work and, if you accept our request for Baptism, I would like for him to be involved, if possible.
Thank you for this ministry,
Ron DuDonis
And if this was the only story like this, it would blow me away. But there are so many more amazing stories of God's activity.
Again ... I am grateful... just very grateful.
To follow a morning like that with a Baptism Celebration - was amazing. The way God continues to transform the lives of people young and old just completely floors me at times. Here is an email I received last week from a man who was baptized yesterday.
David,
I’m writing to you because of the deep connection that my wife and I have felt since attending UCF for the past month. I can’t speak for Nancy but for me, the moment that I walked through the doors, for the first time, I knew that there was something powerful working and that I belonged.
I was raised in an Episcopal church and ran as fast and as far as I could when I turned sixteen. While I never stopped talking to God all of these years, I have not attended a church since long ago because the message that I kept hearing didn’t jive with what I knew to be true; it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’ve come from, or what you’ve done but it’s what’s in your heart.
We used to live in a small town named Stanfield. Nancy worked in Concord and I was self-employed working all over the area. Our oldest son was struggling in the local school system and we were struggling financially. One day on her way home, she still can’t explain it; she was passing First Assembly and pulled in. She walked into the school office and asked for a tour, it was pajama day and the Principal happily gave her a tour; in his pajamas!
She promptly came home and proclaimed that we were sending Blake, our only child then, to that school; HOW! was my reaction…? Well, we stepped off the edge and SOMEHOW we found a way.
It was Blake’s sixth-grade year that this occurred and now he is going into his senior year at college and the part that God has played in his life is almost overwhelming.
I recount that story, and of course there’s many more, just to acknowledge the role that God has always played in our lives but that I have never truly served HIM.
Listening to the Rhodes’ story Sunday was something that Nancy and I are way TOO familiar with. I know and believe that as Tim said, “God has been breaking me down”, over the past three years which has left a huge hole in my life, and I think Nancy’s too. That’s what got me to the doors of UCF a month ago. The really cool thing….since we’ve been attending, some of the stuff that I care about deeply, veterans and Marines in particular, has entered my life at UCF. Something wonderful happened with this on Sunday and I spent most of the gathering crying!
As I look back over the years, it is so obvious that God has played such a huge roll in our lives, because there really is no other explanation. And because of the love He has shone to us, Nancy and I know it’s time to get off the sidelines.
I have listened to the cd and read the booklet but I have to say that when I saw this booklet a couple of weeks ago, before even reading it, I knew what I was to do. The cd sealed my commitment. I am ready to make “a public declaration to a new association with Jesus Christ” and be washed. Since revealing my desire for Baptism to my family, Nancy has also expressed her desire to be baptized.
My oldest son Blake has never waivered from the path; he has been an amazing example of Gods’ handy work and, if you accept our request for Baptism, I would like for him to be involved, if possible.
Thank you for this ministry,
Ron DuDonis
And if this was the only story like this, it would blow me away. But there are so many more amazing stories of God's activity.
Again ... I am grateful... just very grateful.
5.18.2010
The Cry of the Adopted!
There is a lot of talk that always happens in churches about being a “mature Christian.” And honestly a lot of it is a bunch of crap! The things that people usually point to as marks of “maturity” quite often have nothing to do with spiritual formation. They usually include some knowledge of the Bible with the ability to quote portions of it, and being able to have a conversation about spiritual things in which you have some new knowledge or insight to share. I hate conversations with people who define maturity this way and I get frustrated with churches that tend to facilitate this idea through their “dispensing of knowledge” approach to doing church. Just come on Sundays and hear what the master of knowledge has to say… and you will be mature! What a joke!
I think a better indication of maturity has a lot to do with how much we see ourselves as orphans adopted by God and how that plays out in this world. It has a lot to do with how we view this world and how we talk to God about it. Maybe the first mark of moving toward maturity is when a person looks at the world around them and is struck with the idea that “this is not right.” Again I want to share with you a portion of the book Adopted For Life by Russell Moore.
“The Spirit drives us to discontentedness with the status quo, and so we call out together for our Father’s attention. The Abba cry just might be the most easily misunderstood aspect of the biblical revelation of our adoption. How many of us have heard Abba described as an infant cooing out the words “Da-da” or “Papa”? This cry though, in the context of the Scriptures, is not an infantile cooing. The Abba is a scream! It’s less the sound of a baby giggling up into his father’s face, and more the sound of a child screaming “Daddy!” as his face is being ripped apart by a rabid bulldog. It is primal scream theology.”
“The Bible tells us “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is screaming to his Father for deliverance, to the point that the veins in his temples burst into drops of blood (Luke 22:39-44). That’s the Abba cry. It’s the scream of the crucified.”
“For all of the disturbing aspects of the orphanage in which we found our boys, one stands out above all the others in its horror. It was quiet. The place was filled with an eerie silence, quieter than the Library of Congress, despite the fact that there were cribs full of babies in every room. If you listened intently enough, you could hear the sound of gentle rocking – as babies rocked themselves back and forth in their beds. They didn’t cry because no one responded to their cries. So they stopped. That’s dehumanizing in its horror.”
“That’ where the Spirit is leading us, in Christ. The Holy Spirit doesn’t lead us to be the toothy, giddy caricature of a “Spirit filled” Christian. The Spirit leads us to see when we are in enemy-occupied territory, and he teaches us to rage against that machine. We’re frustrated right now when we see images of a python swallowing a pig on a nature program on television, when we see a billboard for a divorce attorney, when we hear of children swept away by a mudslide in the Third World, when we find ourselves gossiping about an acquaintance. The Spirit leads us to cry out with the rest of the universe, “O God, deliver us from this! This is not how it’s supposed to be!”
“It is through this kind of praying that we know we have “received the Spirit of adoption as sons” (Romans 8:15). Through this, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs” (Romans 8:16-17). Sometimes this passage confuses believers because we assume this means there’s an internal prompt, reassuring us that we’re really children of God. We assume this means a kind of peace in our hearts, a tranquility of assurance. It’s actually the opposite.”
“The Abba cry is a groan. Paul tells the church at Rome that because of the curse, “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” But it’s not just the creation screaming. Paul writes that “we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:26). When we recognize the groaning of the universe – and groan with it – we are confessing our own part in the curse. We recognize then, all around us, the need for a crucified Christ, and we endure suffering because we know that it is only in his shed blood and pierced flesh that the universe will be restored.”
So when is the last time you cried out to God, because you knew he would hear you and respond as a Father who deeply cares?
Love loud…risk often…hope always,
David
I think a better indication of maturity has a lot to do with how much we see ourselves as orphans adopted by God and how that plays out in this world. It has a lot to do with how we view this world and how we talk to God about it. Maybe the first mark of moving toward maturity is when a person looks at the world around them and is struck with the idea that “this is not right.” Again I want to share with you a portion of the book Adopted For Life by Russell Moore.
“The Spirit drives us to discontentedness with the status quo, and so we call out together for our Father’s attention. The Abba cry just might be the most easily misunderstood aspect of the biblical revelation of our adoption. How many of us have heard Abba described as an infant cooing out the words “Da-da” or “Papa”? This cry though, in the context of the Scriptures, is not an infantile cooing. The Abba is a scream! It’s less the sound of a baby giggling up into his father’s face, and more the sound of a child screaming “Daddy!” as his face is being ripped apart by a rabid bulldog. It is primal scream theology.”
“The Bible tells us “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence” (Hebrews 5:7) Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane is screaming to his Father for deliverance, to the point that the veins in his temples burst into drops of blood (Luke 22:39-44). That’s the Abba cry. It’s the scream of the crucified.”
“For all of the disturbing aspects of the orphanage in which we found our boys, one stands out above all the others in its horror. It was quiet. The place was filled with an eerie silence, quieter than the Library of Congress, despite the fact that there were cribs full of babies in every room. If you listened intently enough, you could hear the sound of gentle rocking – as babies rocked themselves back and forth in their beds. They didn’t cry because no one responded to their cries. So they stopped. That’s dehumanizing in its horror.”
“That’ where the Spirit is leading us, in Christ. The Holy Spirit doesn’t lead us to be the toothy, giddy caricature of a “Spirit filled” Christian. The Spirit leads us to see when we are in enemy-occupied territory, and he teaches us to rage against that machine. We’re frustrated right now when we see images of a python swallowing a pig on a nature program on television, when we see a billboard for a divorce attorney, when we hear of children swept away by a mudslide in the Third World, when we find ourselves gossiping about an acquaintance. The Spirit leads us to cry out with the rest of the universe, “O God, deliver us from this! This is not how it’s supposed to be!”
“It is through this kind of praying that we know we have “received the Spirit of adoption as sons” (Romans 8:15). Through this, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs” (Romans 8:16-17). Sometimes this passage confuses believers because we assume this means there’s an internal prompt, reassuring us that we’re really children of God. We assume this means a kind of peace in our hearts, a tranquility of assurance. It’s actually the opposite.”
“The Abba cry is a groan. Paul tells the church at Rome that because of the curse, “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” But it’s not just the creation screaming. Paul writes that “we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:26). When we recognize the groaning of the universe – and groan with it – we are confessing our own part in the curse. We recognize then, all around us, the need for a crucified Christ, and we endure suffering because we know that it is only in his shed blood and pierced flesh that the universe will be restored.”
So when is the last time you cried out to God, because you knew he would hear you and respond as a Father who deeply cares?
Love loud…risk often…hope always,
David
5.15.2010
The Terror of Being Adopted
Many times when I am sharing the idea of the gospel with those who have not believed or received it, I use the idea of adoption. It's imagery is so perfect... (maybe that is why it's in the Bible!) But one of the facts of adoption is so profound yet rarely shared in the gospel conversation. It makes sense when we are talking about physical adoption, but we don't want to admit it when it comes to spiritual adoption. The fact is that when a child is first adopted - literally when he or she is transferred into the arms of their new mom and dad, they are usually NOT FEELING WARM AND CUDDLY FEELINGS. In fact they are probably SCARED TO DEATH! Think about it, they barely know their "mom and dad." The experiences are often times so new that all they long for are the "safe" confines of the predictable orphanage - no matter how grotesque the situation was. Reminds me of the people freed from slavery in Egypt only to whine about how they would rather return to that slavery than the face the risk that comes with freedom.
But spiritually this happens as well. When a person believes and receives Jesus Christ as Savior the spiritual adoption is complete and that person is given the "right to become the son of God." Yet this person knows very little about the nature of their new adoptive father. Nor have they experienced any "adventures" of risk and faith that their father loves to take them on. These were my thoughts when I read this portion of Adopted For Life by Russell Moore.
When Maria and I at long last received the call that the legal process was over, and we returned to Russia to pick up our new sons, we found that their transition from orphanage to family was more difficult than we had supposed. We dressed the boys in outfits our parents had bought for them. We nodded out thanks to the orphanage personnel and walked out into the sunlight, to the terror of the two boys.
They'd never seen the sun, and they'd never felt the wind. They had never heard the sound of a car door slamming or felt like they were being carried along a road at 100 miles an hour. I noticed that they were shaking and reaching back to the orphanage in the distance. I whispered to the boys, "That place is a pit! If only you knew what's waiting for you - a home with a mommy and a daddy who love you, grandparents and great-grandparents and cousins and playmates and McDonald's Happy Meals!
But all they knew was the orphanage. It was squalid, but they had no other reference point. It was home.
The fact of the matter is that many new believers are scared to death at what their new adoptive father has planned for them. No matter how bad their life was - it was their life - and it was home. But now there is a journey into the unknown. A journey where you feel your way around "by faith and not by sight." Now there is a relationship that requires trusting someone other than yourself. A thought so scary that you find yourself reaching out with your arms for your past orphanage life. It is terrifying... and yet God sees it as exciting. God knows the good things he has planned for you. He has such great stuff in store, but He requires trust (faith) to experience it. The thing with God is that the new experiences he wants to take us on NEVER END. Each of them require us to let go of our "safe life" and learn in a fresh way to trust and hold on tight. So some of you need to let go of your crappy life regardless of how "safe" it is, some of you need to get over any failures of the past and gear up for another "adventure," and some of you who are already launching way out on a new journey just need to hold on tight to God. HE IS GOOD, not safe, but GOOD. You can trust Him.
Love loud... risk often... hope always.
But spiritually this happens as well. When a person believes and receives Jesus Christ as Savior the spiritual adoption is complete and that person is given the "right to become the son of God." Yet this person knows very little about the nature of their new adoptive father. Nor have they experienced any "adventures" of risk and faith that their father loves to take them on. These were my thoughts when I read this portion of Adopted For Life by Russell Moore.
When Maria and I at long last received the call that the legal process was over, and we returned to Russia to pick up our new sons, we found that their transition from orphanage to family was more difficult than we had supposed. We dressed the boys in outfits our parents had bought for them. We nodded out thanks to the orphanage personnel and walked out into the sunlight, to the terror of the two boys.
They'd never seen the sun, and they'd never felt the wind. They had never heard the sound of a car door slamming or felt like they were being carried along a road at 100 miles an hour. I noticed that they were shaking and reaching back to the orphanage in the distance. I whispered to the boys, "That place is a pit! If only you knew what's waiting for you - a home with a mommy and a daddy who love you, grandparents and great-grandparents and cousins and playmates and McDonald's Happy Meals!
But all they knew was the orphanage. It was squalid, but they had no other reference point. It was home.
The fact of the matter is that many new believers are scared to death at what their new adoptive father has planned for them. No matter how bad their life was - it was their life - and it was home. But now there is a journey into the unknown. A journey where you feel your way around "by faith and not by sight." Now there is a relationship that requires trusting someone other than yourself. A thought so scary that you find yourself reaching out with your arms for your past orphanage life. It is terrifying... and yet God sees it as exciting. God knows the good things he has planned for you. He has such great stuff in store, but He requires trust (faith) to experience it. The thing with God is that the new experiences he wants to take us on NEVER END. Each of them require us to let go of our "safe life" and learn in a fresh way to trust and hold on tight. So some of you need to let go of your crappy life regardless of how "safe" it is, some of you need to get over any failures of the past and gear up for another "adventure," and some of you who are already launching way out on a new journey just need to hold on tight to God. HE IS GOOD, not safe, but GOOD. You can trust Him.
Love loud... risk often... hope always.
5.14.2010
The Orphan is...
The more you think through the reality of adoption, the more you come face to face with the spiritual realities of God as my adoptive Father and me as the former orphan who is now fully his child. The more we engage in fighting for the sake of the orphan, the more we get a picture of how God fights for us. When I read this part of the book Adopted For Life I was struck with this reality.
"Imagine for a moment that you're adopting a child. As you meet with the social worker in the last stage of the process, you're told that this twelve-year-old has been in and out of psychotherapy since he was three. He persists in burning things and attempting repeatedly to skin kittens alive. He "acts out sexually," the social worker says, although she doesn't really fill you in on what that means. She continues with a little family history. This boy's father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all had histories of violence, ranging from spousal abuse to serial murder. Each of them ended life the same way, death by suicide - each found hanging from a rope of blankets in his respective prison cell.
Think for a minute. Would you want this child? If you did adopt him, wouldn't you keep your eye on him as he played with your other children? WOuld you watch him nervously as he looks at the butcher knife on the kitchen table? Would you leave the room as he watched a movie on television with your daughter, with the lights out?
Well, he's you. And he's me. That's what the gospel is telling us. Our birth father has fangs. And left to ourselves, we'll show ourselves to be as serpentine as he is." - Russell Moore
Yeah well, when I imagine myself as an orphan, I always think that I would be the good orphan, the one everyone would want. I would be likable and would probably only be in the orphanage due to some tragic set of circumstances that killed both my parents and many of my family members instantly and all that was left was me. And the first family that took me in would love me, because after all, I'm me. A great kid who got a raw deal in life and wound up an orphan. And they would love me, not so much because they are completely full of love, BUT because I am that lovable.
Yeah well, that is the lie I want to believe to deflect the truth about who I am as a spiritual orphan. The bible says that I was "dead in my sins" and that "while I was helpless... Christ died for me." I wasn't helpless because of all the unfortunate circumstances that "happened to me." I was helpless because of the choices I made. The orphan is me. BUT that's how great God is. He was never phased by my sinful heritage, my sinful choices, my deep brokenness. He moved, at great cost to himself, to secure my adoption.
"Imagine for a moment that you're adopting a child. As you meet with the social worker in the last stage of the process, you're told that this twelve-year-old has been in and out of psychotherapy since he was three. He persists in burning things and attempting repeatedly to skin kittens alive. He "acts out sexually," the social worker says, although she doesn't really fill you in on what that means. She continues with a little family history. This boy's father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather all had histories of violence, ranging from spousal abuse to serial murder. Each of them ended life the same way, death by suicide - each found hanging from a rope of blankets in his respective prison cell.
Think for a minute. Would you want this child? If you did adopt him, wouldn't you keep your eye on him as he played with your other children? WOuld you watch him nervously as he looks at the butcher knife on the kitchen table? Would you leave the room as he watched a movie on television with your daughter, with the lights out?
Well, he's you. And he's me. That's what the gospel is telling us. Our birth father has fangs. And left to ourselves, we'll show ourselves to be as serpentine as he is." - Russell Moore
Yeah well, when I imagine myself as an orphan, I always think that I would be the good orphan, the one everyone would want. I would be likable and would probably only be in the orphanage due to some tragic set of circumstances that killed both my parents and many of my family members instantly and all that was left was me. And the first family that took me in would love me, because after all, I'm me. A great kid who got a raw deal in life and wound up an orphan. And they would love me, not so much because they are completely full of love, BUT because I am that lovable.
Yeah well, that is the lie I want to believe to deflect the truth about who I am as a spiritual orphan. The bible says that I was "dead in my sins" and that "while I was helpless... Christ died for me." I wasn't helpless because of all the unfortunate circumstances that "happened to me." I was helpless because of the choices I made. The orphan is me. BUT that's how great God is. He was never phased by my sinful heritage, my sinful choices, my deep brokenness. He moved, at great cost to himself, to secure my adoption.
Adoption Is War!
God is using UCity to lead a movement of compassion for the orphan. There are ten families in our church who have either adopted or are in the process of adopting... and many more to come hopefully. This Summer UCity will send out two of our own families to lead orphan care initiatives in Mexico and Ethiopia. And God has given me a vision of ensuring that every adoptable child in the NC foster care system is adopted. I know God has called us to this task and I look forward to seeing how He accomplishes His work through us as we dive out deep... way in over our heads. The following is a quote from a book that is rocking my world... Adopted For Life. Are you ready to join the WAR?
"Adoption is one the one hand, gospel. In this adoption tells us who we are as children of the Father. Adoption as gospel tells us about our identity, our inheritance and our mission as sons of God. Adoption is also defined as mission. In this, adoption tells us our purpose in this age as the people of Christ. Missional adoption spurs us to join Christ in advocating for the helpless and the abandoned.
As soon as you peer into the truth of the one aspect, you fall headlong into the truth of the other, and vise versa. That's because it's the way the gospel is. Jesus reconciles us to God and to each other. As we love our God, we love our neighbor; as we love our neighbor, we love our God. We believe Jesus in heavenly things - our adoption in Christ; so we follow him in earthly things - the adoption of children. Without the theological aspect, the emphasis on adoption too easily is seen as mere charity. Without the missional aspect, the doctrine of adoption too easily is seen as mere metaphor.
But adoption is contested, both in its cosmic and missional aspects. The Scriptures tell us that there are unseen beings in the air around us who would rather we not think about what it means to be who we are in Christ. These rulers of this age would rather we ignore both the eternal reality and the earthly icon of it. They would rather we find our identity, our inheritance and our mission according to what we can see and verify as ours - according to what the bible calls "the flesh" - rather than according to the veiled rhythms of the Spirit of life. That is why adoption isn't charity - it's war.
The gospel of Jesus Christ means our families and our churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans close to home and around the world. As we become more attuned to the gospel, we'll have more of a burden for orphans. As we become more adoption-friendly, we'll be better able to understand the gospel."
All of the above is from the book Adopted For Life by Russell Moore. Many more quotes to come.
"Adoption is one the one hand, gospel. In this adoption tells us who we are as children of the Father. Adoption as gospel tells us about our identity, our inheritance and our mission as sons of God. Adoption is also defined as mission. In this, adoption tells us our purpose in this age as the people of Christ. Missional adoption spurs us to join Christ in advocating for the helpless and the abandoned.
As soon as you peer into the truth of the one aspect, you fall headlong into the truth of the other, and vise versa. That's because it's the way the gospel is. Jesus reconciles us to God and to each other. As we love our God, we love our neighbor; as we love our neighbor, we love our God. We believe Jesus in heavenly things - our adoption in Christ; so we follow him in earthly things - the adoption of children. Without the theological aspect, the emphasis on adoption too easily is seen as mere charity. Without the missional aspect, the doctrine of adoption too easily is seen as mere metaphor.
But adoption is contested, both in its cosmic and missional aspects. The Scriptures tell us that there are unseen beings in the air around us who would rather we not think about what it means to be who we are in Christ. These rulers of this age would rather we ignore both the eternal reality and the earthly icon of it. They would rather we find our identity, our inheritance and our mission according to what we can see and verify as ours - according to what the bible calls "the flesh" - rather than according to the veiled rhythms of the Spirit of life. That is why adoption isn't charity - it's war.
The gospel of Jesus Christ means our families and our churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans close to home and around the world. As we become more attuned to the gospel, we'll have more of a burden for orphans. As we become more adoption-friendly, we'll be better able to understand the gospel."
All of the above is from the book Adopted For Life by Russell Moore. Many more quotes to come.
4.29.2010
UCity :: Transforming cities, neighborhoods and families... one person at a time!
What does it take to transform a city in a way that those who are being transformed AND those who don't want to be transformed (or feel that they don't need transformation) all agree that the transformation is a good thing? Many churches aren't attempting city transformation at all. In fact, their transformation strategy is simply "for everyone to come to our church and agree with our leader, then we will all be changed." Others churches seem to think that transforming cities is all about changing laws and forming political action committees. And while those who are being changed by this see it as a good thing, those who aren't being changed are repulsed by the arrogance and the judgment that comes from these churches. These churches tend to focus their money and leadership energy on the programs of their church, building buildings for people to come to, and sheltering their kids from the "evils" of the world around them.
In the book of Acts 2:47 it is said of the first believers that they "enjoyed the favor of all the people." The first followers of Jesus, lived their lives in such a way that everyone around them (whether they agreed with them or not) thought that what they were doing was a good thing. At UCity - we are focused on transforming cities, neighborhoods and families... one person at a time. It is a community of transformation. We are a "fellowship" (a united group of people) seeking to serve the world around us in a manner that everyone can see our love.
I have read the book The Tangible Kingdom. In it the author talks about how he helps people who are used to going to other churches around get familiar with his church that is pursuing city transformation. I have quoted him and added to it. I like it.... a lot.
"I just want you to know that we're not a church, we're a mission to Harrisburg/Concord/University City. I don't feel any compulsion to feed you spiritually, but I will look after your spiritual formation. I believe you won't grow unless you live like Jesus lived and try to do what he did with people. This mission probably has nothing to offer you. However, I am interested in finding out if God brought you to us, and what your part in serving this city might be. And I am fully confident that if you open yourself up to imitating Jesus, you will begin opening your lives and your homes to those in need around you. As you do participate in this missional community, you will find friends surrounding you and a life that is true life."
Get ready for a focused city transformation... UCity.
In the book of Acts 2:47 it is said of the first believers that they "enjoyed the favor of all the people." The first followers of Jesus, lived their lives in such a way that everyone around them (whether they agreed with them or not) thought that what they were doing was a good thing. At UCity - we are focused on transforming cities, neighborhoods and families... one person at a time. It is a community of transformation. We are a "fellowship" (a united group of people) seeking to serve the world around us in a manner that everyone can see our love.
I have read the book The Tangible Kingdom. In it the author talks about how he helps people who are used to going to other churches around get familiar with his church that is pursuing city transformation. I have quoted him and added to it. I like it.... a lot.
"I just want you to know that we're not a church, we're a mission to Harrisburg/Concord/University City. I don't feel any compulsion to feed you spiritually, but I will look after your spiritual formation. I believe you won't grow unless you live like Jesus lived and try to do what he did with people. This mission probably has nothing to offer you. However, I am interested in finding out if God brought you to us, and what your part in serving this city might be. And I am fully confident that if you open yourself up to imitating Jesus, you will begin opening your lives and your homes to those in need around you. As you do participate in this missional community, you will find friends surrounding you and a life that is true life."
Get ready for a focused city transformation... UCity.
4.09.2010
UCity :: Weekly Update
Three Things to Know
1) UCity's Love Revolution Project is moving forward. We will be announcing the total giving pledges in a few weeks. So if the Lord has led you to make a commitment to this project for the next 24 months and you have not filled out a pledge card, you can pick one up on the program table on Sunday morning.
Here is a story that I heard today from one couple in our church. Through seeking the Lord, they felt the Lord leading them to sacrifice over the next 24 months to reach a certain commitment level. They both also felt led to make an additional commitment of more than $2500 and wrote on their commitment card "we don't know where this money is going to come from, but will give it as God provides." Well they called me today to share with me that through a series of circumstances they received a tax return of more than $4,000. This was a surprise to them because they run their own business for four years and have always owed money at tax time. After celebrating God's provision, I told them, "I LOVE WHEN GOD GETS PERSONAL." I love when individuals decide to trust God's leadership in their lives in ways that lead them to "risk often" in a personal manner. I love to witness faith grow as God comes through in more than adequate ways. I love what our church is becoming as each family and each individual seeks the Lord and trusts in Him. We will all grow to be a community that walk by faith and not by sight.
2) Our mission team to Red Springs Mission Center in Robeson County (poorest county in NC) was a huge success. In typical UCity fashion, I heard that the mission center staff were surprised at how much was accomplished by our group. We have some amazing servants at UCity and it shows all the time. A huge thanks to Brandon Todd for leading this first of many trips to care for the poor in our state.
3) A new series starts Sunday - METAMORPHOSIS :: True Life Stories. This series is going to blow you away. I know because it is already blowing me away. The stories of how God changes lives are amazing. As we hear and celebrate these stories, we are celebrating God's work and giving hope to those who need change. If you know of anyone struggling in their marriage, you need to do everything you can possibly do to get them to UCity this Sunday! This story is one that God has used in my life to teach me two things I will share on Sunday. Get ready!
1) UCity's Love Revolution Project is moving forward. We will be announcing the total giving pledges in a few weeks. So if the Lord has led you to make a commitment to this project for the next 24 months and you have not filled out a pledge card, you can pick one up on the program table on Sunday morning.
Here is a story that I heard today from one couple in our church. Through seeking the Lord, they felt the Lord leading them to sacrifice over the next 24 months to reach a certain commitment level. They both also felt led to make an additional commitment of more than $2500 and wrote on their commitment card "we don't know where this money is going to come from, but will give it as God provides." Well they called me today to share with me that through a series of circumstances they received a tax return of more than $4,000. This was a surprise to them because they run their own business for four years and have always owed money at tax time. After celebrating God's provision, I told them, "I LOVE WHEN GOD GETS PERSONAL." I love when individuals decide to trust God's leadership in their lives in ways that lead them to "risk often" in a personal manner. I love to witness faith grow as God comes through in more than adequate ways. I love what our church is becoming as each family and each individual seeks the Lord and trusts in Him. We will all grow to be a community that walk by faith and not by sight.
2) Our mission team to Red Springs Mission Center in Robeson County (poorest county in NC) was a huge success. In typical UCity fashion, I heard that the mission center staff were surprised at how much was accomplished by our group. We have some amazing servants at UCity and it shows all the time. A huge thanks to Brandon Todd for leading this first of many trips to care for the poor in our state.
3) A new series starts Sunday - METAMORPHOSIS :: True Life Stories. This series is going to blow you away. I know because it is already blowing me away. The stories of how God changes lives are amazing. As we hear and celebrate these stories, we are celebrating God's work and giving hope to those who need change. If you know of anyone struggling in their marriage, you need to do everything you can possibly do to get them to UCity this Sunday! This story is one that God has used in my life to teach me two things I will share on Sunday. Get ready!
1.30.2010
Ruthless Trust... Relentless Pursuit!
We received bad news yesterday from Ethiopia concerning our mission to adopt twin 6 year olds. It was yet another setback in our journey of hope. And while disappointment sets in each time we face a setback, don’t feel sorry for us… we are learning and growing. As painful and as unwelcome as these experiences are, they give us the opportunity to ruthlessly trust God. He is definitely refining our minds and our hearts through this process.
Soon after we received the news of the latest setback, I was overwhelmed with the thought of how personal this process is for me and how that impacts my every thought and action concerning these kids. Many of you reading this blog care for orphans in the sense that you care for the plight of the 143 million orphans worldwide. And at times you take action because you care – you donate your money and time to serve orphans in general. I get that and it is vital for people to act in this way. But those are not my thoughts when it comes to adopting Tizita and Geremo. You see Tizita and Geremo are two individual orphans. They are included in the 143 million, and yet they are not a number. One of the problems we are dealing with in this process is that we are the only ones in this process who don’t see Tizita and Geremo as part of a number. To everyone else dealing with orphans, they are just 2 of the millions that need help. So somebody who sees them this way, looks at their case and how difficult the steps are in this process and just concludes, “it’s too hard and I can be helping 20 other orphans who have easier cases in the same time it would take to help these two.” It is at this point that the numbers begin to work against our two kids. What Tizita and Geremo need isn’t people who care about the 143 million orphans worldwide, they need a mom and dad who will fight for them… just them!
The spiritual lesson that God is teaching me in this process is this. He has whispered to my heart, “David, I did love the whole world so much that I gave my Son for every person who has ever lived, BUT I am also your Father and I come to you personally and I love you individually. I sent my son because I was fighting for you personally.” I have felt that kind of love from God recently. The love that is specific to my situation, my emotions, my thoughts, my feelings. I have sensed the presence of God in ways that are personal.
This leads me to the second big thing I am learning through these adoption struggles which is this. Because I am their dad, I am the only one acting like it. I know no one else in this process cares like Mendy and I care. We see these kids as “our kids” and it produces a relentless pursuit to care for them. We will come up with new idea after new idea after new idea… We will raise dollar after dollar after dollar… We will go and go and go … until they have a mom and a dad. We have been and will continue to be relentless in our pursuit. It won’t stop. So each new setback only serves to remind me of what these kids need and this only strengthens my resolve to relentlessly pursue these two kids as my own.
And in that moment when my resolve strengthens, God whispers again, “This is how I pursued you. I came after you not as a group of people but as a boy who I wanted to adopt into my family… a boy who I relentlessly pursued until he found a heavenly Father. I boy who I continue to pursue relentlessly.” God is so good to me and yet that is how he pursues you as well. Individually… relentlessly.
One more thought. We have a common enemy. The bible indicates that the Evil One devises “schemes” (Ephesians 6:11) for our destruction. The meaning of this word indicates that our common enemy doesn’t just seek to destroy us as a group, but that he devises individual schemes that are personal to our own weaknesses so that he can completely destroy us one by one. This is the wickedness of our common enemy. He has devised a scheme to steal, kill and destroy Tizita and Genermo as individuals. A scheme that includes isolating them, lying to them and leaving them vulnerable. It is going to take someone who will treat them as individuals to combat the enemy’s work against them.
I am ready… this war is on… it is raging… ruthless trust… relentless pursuit.
Soon after we received the news of the latest setback, I was overwhelmed with the thought of how personal this process is for me and how that impacts my every thought and action concerning these kids. Many of you reading this blog care for orphans in the sense that you care for the plight of the 143 million orphans worldwide. And at times you take action because you care – you donate your money and time to serve orphans in general. I get that and it is vital for people to act in this way. But those are not my thoughts when it comes to adopting Tizita and Geremo. You see Tizita and Geremo are two individual orphans. They are included in the 143 million, and yet they are not a number. One of the problems we are dealing with in this process is that we are the only ones in this process who don’t see Tizita and Geremo as part of a number. To everyone else dealing with orphans, they are just 2 of the millions that need help. So somebody who sees them this way, looks at their case and how difficult the steps are in this process and just concludes, “it’s too hard and I can be helping 20 other orphans who have easier cases in the same time it would take to help these two.” It is at this point that the numbers begin to work against our two kids. What Tizita and Geremo need isn’t people who care about the 143 million orphans worldwide, they need a mom and dad who will fight for them… just them!
The spiritual lesson that God is teaching me in this process is this. He has whispered to my heart, “David, I did love the whole world so much that I gave my Son for every person who has ever lived, BUT I am also your Father and I come to you personally and I love you individually. I sent my son because I was fighting for you personally.” I have felt that kind of love from God recently. The love that is specific to my situation, my emotions, my thoughts, my feelings. I have sensed the presence of God in ways that are personal.
This leads me to the second big thing I am learning through these adoption struggles which is this. Because I am their dad, I am the only one acting like it. I know no one else in this process cares like Mendy and I care. We see these kids as “our kids” and it produces a relentless pursuit to care for them. We will come up with new idea after new idea after new idea… We will raise dollar after dollar after dollar… We will go and go and go … until they have a mom and a dad. We have been and will continue to be relentless in our pursuit. It won’t stop. So each new setback only serves to remind me of what these kids need and this only strengthens my resolve to relentlessly pursue these two kids as my own.
And in that moment when my resolve strengthens, God whispers again, “This is how I pursued you. I came after you not as a group of people but as a boy who I wanted to adopt into my family… a boy who I relentlessly pursued until he found a heavenly Father. I boy who I continue to pursue relentlessly.” God is so good to me and yet that is how he pursues you as well. Individually… relentlessly.
One more thought. We have a common enemy. The bible indicates that the Evil One devises “schemes” (Ephesians 6:11) for our destruction. The meaning of this word indicates that our common enemy doesn’t just seek to destroy us as a group, but that he devises individual schemes that are personal to our own weaknesses so that he can completely destroy us one by one. This is the wickedness of our common enemy. He has devised a scheme to steal, kill and destroy Tizita and Genermo as individuals. A scheme that includes isolating them, lying to them and leaving them vulnerable. It is going to take someone who will treat them as individuals to combat the enemy’s work against them.
I am ready… this war is on… it is raging… ruthless trust… relentless pursuit.
1.26.2010
Adoption Progress... Maybe!
My heart is so HOPEFUL. Mostly because I am an eternal optimist and believe the best is going to happen. I spoke with Nicco (our contact in Ethiopia) today. He said he has good news. They have finally received a document that could be the a key step in the process of completing our adoption. Now this may work and it may not work. But it is something they are trying and they are making progress in. Pray that this will help make the progress we need.
In our conversation, Nicco said that Geremew and Tizita's mother was with him and that she was going to see them tomorrow. I am glad this is going to happen, but I am unsure about what this experience is going to be like for Geremew and Tizita. I'm sure there will be joy and sadness. I am afraid that the Evil one will invade them with thoughts of abandonment and the feeling that they are all alone ... all over again. Please pray tonight before you go to bed for God to protect their hearts and minds and remind them of his care for them though those who are fighting to adopt them.
Thanks for walking with us.
In our conversation, Nicco said that Geremew and Tizita's mother was with him and that she was going to see them tomorrow. I am glad this is going to happen, but I am unsure about what this experience is going to be like for Geremew and Tizita. I'm sure there will be joy and sadness. I am afraid that the Evil one will invade them with thoughts of abandonment and the feeling that they are all alone ... all over again. Please pray tonight before you go to bed for God to protect their hearts and minds and remind them of his care for them though those who are fighting to adopt them.
Thanks for walking with us.
1.15.2010
Not what I wanted to hear.
Today we did not get good news from Ethiopia in our pursuit of adopting twin 6 year olds. It is not the end of the journey, just a point where it requires new seeking, new discernment, new wisdom, new faith, and new action. We are deeply committed to caring for these two kids. The circumstances surrounding us being connected to them we believe were directed by the Lord. Our struggle is that these kids are victims of a system designed to serve them but somewhat corrupted by authority, power and of course money. I hear the call of God to pursue them, chase after them and protect them. I don't know what that looks like, but I know it is different than what I am currently doing. Praying... discerning...planning...crying out... as we pursue the heart of our Father.
1.12.2010
God's Work.
Below is an email that was sent to me on January 5th. It is a picture of how God is using a place like UCFellowship to bring intense change in the life of an entire family. I absolutely love seeing this entire family. Their faces radiate the change that God has brought... signs of God's activity. I love seeing this and I can't help but share it, for God's glory. As you read, please know it is shared with permission. Enjoy.
David,
Happy New Year! I'm sure your holidays were well spent with family and friends as was ours. I just wanted to take a moment to say "Thank-you" for welcoming us into the UCF family and update you on our family as well. I cannot begin to tell you how much change we've all been through just in our short time attending Sunday gatherings (since just the beginning of the Jon and Kate series). Our two youngest ones are ALWAYS excited about going to "church" now on Sundays whereas before it was like pulling teeth. M. (oldest daughter) has shown more interest and has responded more outwardly in learning about Christ than ever since attending Journey for middle schoolers. V (oldest son) seems to be happy when he does attend. He seems to be at that stage where he is imbalanced between his social and spiritual lives, but every week we continue to encourage him to join us on Sundays. As far as Sharon and myself, we are doing well with the events of 2009 passed and forgiven. Our journey with each other, and with our UCF family, has been truly a blessing that has brought us closer together. Each week we look forward hearing a message that will inspire and enrich our lives. We actually have been trying to fill our days in between Sundays listening to previous podcasts, so much to the point where Sharon returned the gifts I gave her for Christmas in exchange for an iPod so that I could download the archive and listen at work.
I would like to say to you that "I trust in Jesus Christ as my savior." Even as I began my spiritual renewal 3 years ago within the Catholic faith I felt myself slipping away from the Church's teachings as I was coming up with more questions than answers. I tried to hold on and justify the beliefs I grew up accepting just because it was devastating to think that what I grew up learning and living until my early 30's was misguided. I cannot begin to tell you how painful it is to make that admission but on the other hand what a blessing it is to have discovered the true message now, to truely feel a change taking place inside.
I first began listening to the REJESUS series and have to admit that after listening to the messages on Opposing Religion, I was quite hurt, saddened, and offended by what I heard just because of my Catholic upbringing.. But as I listened over and over and over again, I began lowering my defenses as the messages began to take root. I just finished the series on the Morning After Pill and plan to listen again with Sharon. This series just spoke to me in more ways than one and really represents how I personally feel about where I'm at in my journey. I feel I have so much to grow and share but need an opportunity to put it into action. We both want to be involved more and was wondering how we can fill our time in between Sundays. As much as I would really like to serve on Saturdays at the Wall, it is difficult for me to be off from work. We would welcome any suggestions.
Finally, I know one of the points you made in the Morning After Pill was to stop learning and start living, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on the doctrines of limited and unlimited Atonement. I didn't realize the significance of this debate until I began reading on it and was wondering where the message from the Good News Paradox falls.
Thank-you for your time,
VM
Note: Since I received this I found out that their oldest daughter placed her faith in Jesus Christ after a Journey gathering.
My prayer:
God Thank you for allowing me to be on the front lines. Allowing me to witness you work in the lives of changed people instead of just reading about it in the Bible. thank you for forming a place like UCFellowship that fills such a unique place in your kingdom. I love being a part of it. I will not doubt your power, because I have seen it's effects. I know you can do anything. You are the Great and Awesome God. I simply worship You.
David,
Happy New Year! I'm sure your holidays were well spent with family and friends as was ours. I just wanted to take a moment to say "Thank-you" for welcoming us into the UCF family and update you on our family as well. I cannot begin to tell you how much change we've all been through just in our short time attending Sunday gatherings (since just the beginning of the Jon and Kate series). Our two youngest ones are ALWAYS excited about going to "church" now on Sundays whereas before it was like pulling teeth. M. (oldest daughter) has shown more interest and has responded more outwardly in learning about Christ than ever since attending Journey for middle schoolers. V (oldest son) seems to be happy when he does attend. He seems to be at that stage where he is imbalanced between his social and spiritual lives, but every week we continue to encourage him to join us on Sundays. As far as Sharon and myself, we are doing well with the events of 2009 passed and forgiven. Our journey with each other, and with our UCF family, has been truly a blessing that has brought us closer together. Each week we look forward hearing a message that will inspire and enrich our lives. We actually have been trying to fill our days in between Sundays listening to previous podcasts, so much to the point where Sharon returned the gifts I gave her for Christmas in exchange for an iPod so that I could download the archive and listen at work.
I would like to say to you that "I trust in Jesus Christ as my savior." Even as I began my spiritual renewal 3 years ago within the Catholic faith I felt myself slipping away from the Church's teachings as I was coming up with more questions than answers. I tried to hold on and justify the beliefs I grew up accepting just because it was devastating to think that what I grew up learning and living until my early 30's was misguided. I cannot begin to tell you how painful it is to make that admission but on the other hand what a blessing it is to have discovered the true message now, to truely feel a change taking place inside.
I first began listening to the REJESUS series and have to admit that after listening to the messages on Opposing Religion, I was quite hurt, saddened, and offended by what I heard just because of my Catholic upbringing.. But as I listened over and over and over again, I began lowering my defenses as the messages began to take root. I just finished the series on the Morning After Pill and plan to listen again with Sharon. This series just spoke to me in more ways than one and really represents how I personally feel about where I'm at in my journey. I feel I have so much to grow and share but need an opportunity to put it into action. We both want to be involved more and was wondering how we can fill our time in between Sundays. As much as I would really like to serve on Saturdays at the Wall, it is difficult for me to be off from work. We would welcome any suggestions.
Finally, I know one of the points you made in the Morning After Pill was to stop learning and start living, but I was wondering if you could shed some light on the doctrines of limited and unlimited Atonement. I didn't realize the significance of this debate until I began reading on it and was wondering where the message from the Good News Paradox falls.
Thank-you for your time,
VM
Note: Since I received this I found out that their oldest daughter placed her faith in Jesus Christ after a Journey gathering.
My prayer:
God Thank you for allowing me to be on the front lines. Allowing me to witness you work in the lives of changed people instead of just reading about it in the Bible. thank you for forming a place like UCFellowship that fills such a unique place in your kingdom. I love being a part of it. I will not doubt your power, because I have seen it's effects. I know you can do anything. You are the Great and Awesome God. I simply worship You.
1.09.2010
SImplicity and Complexity
I recently overheard four people talk about two messages they had heard from two different speakers. The speakers were John Piper and Andy Stanley. The conversation was largely about how deep and complex and awe-inspiring the Piper talk was and how simple and practical the Stanley message was. Then a comment was made along the lines of, "well you know the audience that Stanley speaks to regularly is just not mature enough or ready to grasp the spiritual depths and so that is how he speaks. Now I will have to confess that I listen to Stanley much more than I do Piper. But I have digested my share of both. I will say that after listening to my last series of NorthPoint talks from Stanley I was so challenged in my spirit that I listened again to take notes and make some major adjustments in my life. Simply spoken yes, but deeply challenging to me and my undergraduate degree in philosophy and religion with a minor in Greek and two masters degrees from Dallas Theological and Southeastern Theological Seminary.
The overall thought that prevailed in my mind wasn't about either of these amazing men but about God and about how He chose to communicate with us as humans. You see for whatever reason, cultural Christianity has always hungered for the complex. The spiritually complex sounds very mature and can only be grasped by those who have "been around a while." The complexity is used as a whipping stick to keep new, unrefined cultural Christians "in their place." I'm just not sure when Christianity began to value complexity so much unless we think we gain some sort of power from it.
It seems to me that right after celebrating Christmas, we would maybe grasp this a little more, but God became man so that he could communicate to humans in a way that we could all understand. The form in which He came screams out simplicity. God went to great lengths to communicate simply through a human being... Immanuel... God with us. So maybe simplicity is the ultimate sign of true spirituality. Some of the most amazing Christ followers I know are people who communicate the love and power of Jesus Christ so simply through their love. They don't know all of the theological terms for it, but man do they know how to love, and pray and share Jesus simply.
The overall thought that prevailed in my mind wasn't about either of these amazing men but about God and about how He chose to communicate with us as humans. You see for whatever reason, cultural Christianity has always hungered for the complex. The spiritually complex sounds very mature and can only be grasped by those who have "been around a while." The complexity is used as a whipping stick to keep new, unrefined cultural Christians "in their place." I'm just not sure when Christianity began to value complexity so much unless we think we gain some sort of power from it.
It seems to me that right after celebrating Christmas, we would maybe grasp this a little more, but God became man so that he could communicate to humans in a way that we could all understand. The form in which He came screams out simplicity. God went to great lengths to communicate simply through a human being... Immanuel... God with us. So maybe simplicity is the ultimate sign of true spirituality. Some of the most amazing Christ followers I know are people who communicate the love and power of Jesus Christ so simply through their love. They don't know all of the theological terms for it, but man do they know how to love, and pray and share Jesus simply.
12.24.2009
"Service" or "Serve-us"
Tonight (Dec 24th) from 5-6 PM there will be a celebration of Christmas at Robinson High School for the entire community. Please make your last minute invites to your friends, neighbors and co-workers. It will be an amazing time together. Cafe opens at 4:30.
I love the way many of you serve. More and more the majority of churches are made up of huge percentages of people who don't serve at all, they simply go and "consume" a church "service" (kind of an ironic name) and then return to their previous life feeling more mature as a follower of Christ. The numbers don't lie - 80-90% of regular attenders in churches do nothing other than show up. I'm glad God has formed and led this church to embrace a different definition of what church is. And I love how you "serve."
Today over 700 stockings stuffed with Christmas presents went out into our community because one couple (trent and Carmen Post) decided to be missional with their lives and pour themselves out, and one small group (missional community at UCF) decided to jump in full force to support this couple's efforts, and then when needed the church as a whole gets behind one action point (life Just Stuff It) and it is a beautiful thing to watch. This is SERVICE. This is LOVE. This is UCF. And this is why UCF is such a vital place.
And plese don't think that this just happens during Christmas. This is all the time. By my estimations sometime this Fall people at UCF just served the 30,000th meal to a homeless person. Thirty- thousand meals. Served one at a time, to one person at a time, by a group of people from UCF. You don't serve 30,000 meals by just doing it at Christmas and Thanksgiving.
But UCF isnt just out there serving the poor, it is right here serving our friends. I had a conversation with a friend of mine after church last Sunday. After knowing him for 5 years he decided to give UCF a try about 6 months ago. He spoke to me through tears about what this place has meant to his life and how something is happening inside his heart that he has never felt before. I told him it was God's activity and I look forward to the journey ahead as we talk through some questions that he struggles with.
I know God is up to something big in the place we call UCF. I love being a part of it. I can't wait to see you all tonight to celebrate Jesus... Immanuel... God with us.
Love loud... risk often... hope always,
David
I love the way many of you serve. More and more the majority of churches are made up of huge percentages of people who don't serve at all, they simply go and "consume" a church "service" (kind of an ironic name) and then return to their previous life feeling more mature as a follower of Christ. The numbers don't lie - 80-90% of regular attenders in churches do nothing other than show up. I'm glad God has formed and led this church to embrace a different definition of what church is. And I love how you "serve."
Today over 700 stockings stuffed with Christmas presents went out into our community because one couple (trent and Carmen Post) decided to be missional with their lives and pour themselves out, and one small group (missional community at UCF) decided to jump in full force to support this couple's efforts, and then when needed the church as a whole gets behind one action point (life Just Stuff It) and it is a beautiful thing to watch. This is SERVICE. This is LOVE. This is UCF. And this is why UCF is such a vital place.
And plese don't think that this just happens during Christmas. This is all the time. By my estimations sometime this Fall people at UCF just served the 30,000th meal to a homeless person. Thirty- thousand meals. Served one at a time, to one person at a time, by a group of people from UCF. You don't serve 30,000 meals by just doing it at Christmas and Thanksgiving.
But UCF isnt just out there serving the poor, it is right here serving our friends. I had a conversation with a friend of mine after church last Sunday. After knowing him for 5 years he decided to give UCF a try about 6 months ago. He spoke to me through tears about what this place has meant to his life and how something is happening inside his heart that he has never felt before. I told him it was God's activity and I look forward to the journey ahead as we talk through some questions that he struggles with.
I know God is up to something big in the place we call UCF. I love being a part of it. I can't wait to see you all tonight to celebrate Jesus... Immanuel... God with us.
Love loud... risk often... hope always,
David
12.23.2009
Christmas Eve Community Gathering
Christmas Eve is going to be an incredible time for you and your family to join 100's of other families in our comunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It's Christmas UCF style. The community is going to be incredible, the music will be rocking and the worship will be intense, so join us at Robinson High School fro. 5-6 pm tomorrow night. UCFellowship.org.
10.29.2009
People want to know
I love to take every opportunity to let you guys know how God is using a place like UC Fellowship in ways that you may not be aware of. This week a two year old church in the Charlotte area emailed to me to say:
During the retreat of our church’s elders last Saturday we all agreed that we need to sit down with you and have you walk us through your vision for UCF and how this is being implemented week by week. We sense that you are going the same direction that we are headed but you guys have a track record and we are just getting started.
I am always honored to share what I know, but they really don’t want information as much as they want transformation. You see, some leaders in this church have spent some extended time with many of you at UC Fellowship. They are truly awed by the work that God is doing in your lives and how you are seeking to love loud, risk often and hope always. They have seen God’s work in you and want to see that same transformation happen over and over again in the life of their church. They aren’t looking for new “methods,” cute “slogans,” or the next great church strategy. They want to understand how God is transforming people at UCF. You need to know this because you need to know what an amazing work God IS doing and the unique way He is using UCF for His Kingdom.
On Tuesday, I responded to another request from a mission strategy and planning group that I have talked with in the past. They want to do a profile on our church to be able to share with other churches and mission agencies. They are really excited about our approach to making a global impact in Ethiopia. In many ways, mission work is at a critical time due to a couple of factors.
1) Nearly all mainline denominational churches are declining and their mission involvement is declining as well.
2) Most new churches (younger than 10 years old) are not focused on making a global impact at all. Nearly all of their resources are focused locally or are consumed by the church itself.
This leaves a huge hole that is getting wider and wider every day. I believe God has called us as a church to lead the way missionally and blaze a trail for many other new churches to follow. God has led us to this point and you have made it happen through your prayers, your passion, your sacrifice, your giving, your willingness to go and your resolve to never forget about the world around you.
So once again, I want to say thanks for being you, for being the church and for being a model that God can use to help lead others.
Love loud… risk often… hope always,
David
During the retreat of our church’s elders last Saturday we all agreed that we need to sit down with you and have you walk us through your vision for UCF and how this is being implemented week by week. We sense that you are going the same direction that we are headed but you guys have a track record and we are just getting started.
I am always honored to share what I know, but they really don’t want information as much as they want transformation. You see, some leaders in this church have spent some extended time with many of you at UC Fellowship. They are truly awed by the work that God is doing in your lives and how you are seeking to love loud, risk often and hope always. They have seen God’s work in you and want to see that same transformation happen over and over again in the life of their church. They aren’t looking for new “methods,” cute “slogans,” or the next great church strategy. They want to understand how God is transforming people at UCF. You need to know this because you need to know what an amazing work God IS doing and the unique way He is using UCF for His Kingdom.
On Tuesday, I responded to another request from a mission strategy and planning group that I have talked with in the past. They want to do a profile on our church to be able to share with other churches and mission agencies. They are really excited about our approach to making a global impact in Ethiopia. In many ways, mission work is at a critical time due to a couple of factors.
1) Nearly all mainline denominational churches are declining and their mission involvement is declining as well.
2) Most new churches (younger than 10 years old) are not focused on making a global impact at all. Nearly all of their resources are focused locally or are consumed by the church itself.
This leaves a huge hole that is getting wider and wider every day. I believe God has called us as a church to lead the way missionally and blaze a trail for many other new churches to follow. God has led us to this point and you have made it happen through your prayers, your passion, your sacrifice, your giving, your willingness to go and your resolve to never forget about the world around you.
So once again, I want to say thanks for being you, for being the church and for being a model that God can use to help lead others.
Love loud… risk often… hope always,
David
10.22.2009
BEING the church... UCFellowship.
A note to the movement known as UC Fellowship... a missional community that some call "church."
Thanks for BEING UCFellowship. Notice I didn't say "being a part of" UCFellowship but truly BEING UCFellowship. You are the church. What you do defines who we are and so when you serve, we are a serving church; when you give we are a generous church. When you love we are a loving church. I want to thank you for being several things:
1) Servants - I get complements all the time about how this church serves. You serve all the time...Sundays, Saturdays, early morning, late night, all week long, public, private, local, global, poor, rich... it is amazing to see. So thanks for BEING servants. Several church around recently did a "campaign" to serve the city around them for a day. They asked me if I wanted our church to be a part of it. I politely (or maybe not so politely) told them that I didn't want anyone in our church finding out that at other churches you only have to serve when there is a campaign to do it at one point in the year. I was afraid for you to find out that some people define serving by something you do during a special emphasis, rather than something that God calls us to BE. Simply put, most of the things they were DOING once a year is what we are BEING day in, day out! You make me and other marvel at who we ARE.
2) Authentic - I have NEVER been a part of a more authentic, genuine, real gathering of people. I know that me being authentic helps you to be authentic, but you being authentic helps me to be authentic as well. This past Sunday was amazing. It is great to know that I can come and share my life with a large community that cares about what our family is facing right now in our adoption process. I love sharing the struggles, knowing that I will find compassion, love and care. If you missed the service, please listen to the message from our website. A lot of spiritual leaders just don't feel like they can be authentic AND lead. Unfortunately, their model of leadership is built around the appearance of strength and success with little room for struggle and weakness. Thanks for BEING authentic and allowing me to authentically lead out of my struggles and weakness.
3) Relentless Pursuit of the Mission - Our mission is to "challenge people to trust and imitate Jesus in missional communities for the good of the world." I love the ideas that I get from you daily about how this could play out in your work, home, schools etc. I love how we have created a place that DARES TO DREAM about the way things could be and the way things should be. I love that many of you think about going into the darkest places and bringing the light and hope of God there. I love that we are a place that forms unique connections with the community around us in ways that show unconditional love. I am grateful that many of you are beginning to dream about continuing to expand the mission. It is mission critical for us to never be stagnant, to never slow down and to never give up. Hope will always produce action rooted in faith and prayer.
So thanks for BEING the church!
Definitely need to read this article in preparation for this Sunday's Neighborhood Gathering. Kind of neat that God has us already doing something about this.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091022/ap_on_bi_ge/af_ethiopia_drought
Love loud... risk often... hope always,
David
Thanks for BEING UCFellowship. Notice I didn't say "being a part of" UCFellowship but truly BEING UCFellowship. You are the church. What you do defines who we are and so when you serve, we are a serving church; when you give we are a generous church. When you love we are a loving church. I want to thank you for being several things:
1) Servants - I get complements all the time about how this church serves. You serve all the time...Sundays, Saturdays, early morning, late night, all week long, public, private, local, global, poor, rich... it is amazing to see. So thanks for BEING servants. Several church around recently did a "campaign" to serve the city around them for a day. They asked me if I wanted our church to be a part of it. I politely (or maybe not so politely) told them that I didn't want anyone in our church finding out that at other churches you only have to serve when there is a campaign to do it at one point in the year. I was afraid for you to find out that some people define serving by something you do during a special emphasis, rather than something that God calls us to BE. Simply put, most of the things they were DOING once a year is what we are BEING day in, day out! You make me and other marvel at who we ARE.
2) Authentic - I have NEVER been a part of a more authentic, genuine, real gathering of people. I know that me being authentic helps you to be authentic, but you being authentic helps me to be authentic as well. This past Sunday was amazing. It is great to know that I can come and share my life with a large community that cares about what our family is facing right now in our adoption process. I love sharing the struggles, knowing that I will find compassion, love and care. If you missed the service, please listen to the message from our website. A lot of spiritual leaders just don't feel like they can be authentic AND lead. Unfortunately, their model of leadership is built around the appearance of strength and success with little room for struggle and weakness. Thanks for BEING authentic and allowing me to authentically lead out of my struggles and weakness.
3) Relentless Pursuit of the Mission - Our mission is to "challenge people to trust and imitate Jesus in missional communities for the good of the world." I love the ideas that I get from you daily about how this could play out in your work, home, schools etc. I love how we have created a place that DARES TO DREAM about the way things could be and the way things should be. I love that many of you think about going into the darkest places and bringing the light and hope of God there. I love that we are a place that forms unique connections with the community around us in ways that show unconditional love. I am grateful that many of you are beginning to dream about continuing to expand the mission. It is mission critical for us to never be stagnant, to never slow down and to never give up. Hope will always produce action rooted in faith and prayer.
So thanks for BEING the church!
Definitely need to read this article in preparation for this Sunday's Neighborhood Gathering. Kind of neat that God has us already doing something about this.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091022/ap_on_bi_ge/af_ethiopia_drought
Love loud... risk often... hope always,
David
9.12.2009
A tribute to my wife.
The series that we ended last week, Jon and Kate PLUS, is one that has obviously had a powerful impact on people in and around UCF. This whole topic of marriage and parenting is so close to my heart because I know it is so close to God's heart. It was God that create this whole idea of marriage, 1000's of years ago, so it kind of stands to reason that everyone ought to at least consider his ideas about marriage, particularly if your marriage doesn't seem to be working out the way you planned.
I love talking about the challenges of marriage and being authentic with the struggle we all face. Each time I do I am reminded of the gift that God has given me in my wife, Mendy. For those of you that don't know, Mendy and I met when her family began attending the church where my family attended in Knoxville, TN. We were good friends for a few years and Mendy tells the story that she said to her mom when she was 13, "I am going to marry David Henderson." Her mom told her she didn't even really know what marriage was, but that did not deter Mendy. We were married five years later on May 23, 1992.
If there is one characteristic that shines out in my wife, it is a "whatever it takes, servant-like devotion." She has always loved me and I have always been able to count on it. There are two challenges (actually more but two that stand out) to being married to me. One is ME. I am not easy to be married to, in the high times, life could not be better and in the low times everything seems dim. It takes a special person just to love me through the highs, the lows and everything in between. The second challenge is the path (sometimes I call it a burden... like the prophets referred to it) that God has chosen for my life. Midway through my freshman year at the University of Tennessee, God led me to give up my current course of study to follow His leadership and become a pastor. I don't care who you are, it isn't easy being married to a pastor. There is a struggle between work/home that is always blurry. There is spiritual opposition to everything you are trying to do and be as a married couple and as a family. There are endless expectations from others around you, who rarely understand that anyone has any expectations of you at all. For all of these reasons and more, being married to me isn't easy. Yet, God knew that it would take someone with radical "whatever it takes" devotion to be my wife and He convinced her early on to want to marry me.
Mendy has displayed her devotion to me in countless ways, but rather than just calling them "countless" and leaving it at that, I wanted to let everyone else know a few of the ways this woman has loved me with a reckless devotion.
-We decided to get married after her freshman year of college. She was studying early childhood education at the University of Tennessee. I had just graduated from college and was planning on starting and completing graduate school as soon as possible. We knew graduate school was going to cost a lot of money and decided it would be best to work hard and save for a year before beginning. This meant us both getting full time jobs (in addition to the "part time" youth ministry position I had) to save. It also meant that she would quit pursuing her degree. This was done with gladness and devotion.
-When we were married in '92, I had already been a youth pastor for 3 years. My youth were used to David (the single guy) being able to hang out at all hours of the day (AND night). Whatever these 7th-12th grade students needed to take the next step in their spiritual journey, I did my best to provide. When we got married, we moved closer to the church to be even more engaged in the community. Mendy jumped right in with the entire church community. She loved deeply and poured herself into many of the girls in our group as well as many others in that church. She tolerated the late night "drop in's" and the come and go at all hours from many of the youth.
-Fourteen months after we were married, we moved to Dallas, TX so I could attend Dallas Theological Seminary. Moving 15 hours away for some might not seem that big of a deal, but nearly all of Mendy's family and extended family lived in and around Knoxville. Getting together for birthdays, holidays etc was at least a monthly gathering, gatherings that we would no longer be a part of. We knew God wanted us in Dallas, Mendy always maintained that same "whatever it takes" devotion. We have never moved back to Knoxville and I know at times the distance has been difficult, but we know God’s promises for those who have left father and mother to follow him.
-As I found a part-time youth pastor position in Dallas, Mendy worked full time to put me through grad school. We graduated with no school debt... whatever it takes.
-For the last nine months of her job in Dallas, Mendy was pregnant with Megan. At one point early in the pregnancy, the doctor's became very concerned and warned us that we might lose this baby. I saw fear in Mendy's eyes and felt it in my voice as we prayed, and at the same time I saw an amazing determination and resolve. The doctor's said Mendy needed a specific medicine that seemed to be very difficult for them to find and needed it as soon as possible. Through many calls, Mendy found the medicine before our doctors office did. We believed then and still do that this doctor’s diagnosis and the timeliness of the medication saved Megan’s life… devotion… whatever it takes.
-We moved to eastern NC for my first job as a Senior Pastor. I was 26 and Mendy was 22. She adapted to a small town of 8000 people surrounded by farmland. It was a great place to start a family, but a very lonely place for Mendy. I watched her struggle, but always gracefully and willingly because we knew God had called us there.
-Two years into this position, I knew God was growing us and changing us. He was doing a work in both of our hearts that would totally change the direction of our lives and our ministry. Up until this point we were pretty comfortable people in a comfortable church with a comfortable future ahead of us. God had different plans. The next 2 ½ years God shaped in both our hearts a deep love for people far away from God and far away from the church. He placed in us a deep desire to pursue them with our lives. This is NOT a comfortable transformation, particularly when you act on it. And act on it we did. I remember being with Mendy at the 1st Evangelism conference that Willow Creek Community Church ever held. I stood in the parking lot of a grocery store in South Barrington, ILL after two days of that conference and Mendy and I said to each other, “I will not waste my life anymore focusing on comfortable religious people. I will take the message of Christ into the dark places in our world.” The reality of our lives now can be traced to that day. It was maybe a bigger stretch for Mendy than for me… and of course all I saw was devotion… to me… but more importantly to our Savior Jesus Christ… what it takes!
-A few years later this decision led us to begin a new church. We moved to Charlotte in June of 2000. When we committed to do this Mendy was pregnant with our third child and we had a secure income of $1,000 per month. The rest of our salary would be up to us to come up with. This situation alone would have been enough for many women to say, “no way… enough… I have to have more security than that.” Mendy didn’t just go along with it, she genuinely welcomed the insecurity as we stayed devoted to our God and His call on our life. Mendy gave birth to Jacob on August 14th, 45 days after we moved to Charlotte. Oh and we had the first gathering of UCF in our living room on July 20 with 14 people…. Whatever it takes!
-The first year of church planting is a total whirlwind. In those days there were not a ton of resources on church planting and truth be known, we really didn’t know what we were doing. But God called and He blessed. Mendy worked beside me every step of the way. She did not attend a service for the first year of our church because she gave herself to making sure the children’s areas were being led well… by her. She also quickly found herself cooking once a week for about 50-70 college students at our house… it was a zoo at our house. In August of 2001, Mendy called me mid morning to come home because she was not feeling well. Minutes later I was taking her to the Emergency Room. For 6 anxious days, Mendy was in excruciating pain that only subsided with pain medication that knocked her out. The diagnosis was double pneumonia and meningitis. All of this was simply brought on by fatigue. After 9 days in the hospital, Mendy came home. She missed Jacob’s 1st birthday because of her hospital stay. When I say we have given our lives to follow God’s call to begin this church, I mean it. We definitely tried to make some adjustments in our schedule, but with three preschoolers and a new church there wasn’t much room… devotion… whatever it takes.
-Through the years Mendy has watched me go through some amazing highs and some deep valleys. She has seen first hand my joys and pains and she has been with me on every emotional roller coaster ride I have taken her on. She has tried to buffer our family from the difficult days and protect our home from the struggles, but it is kind of hard when you open your home to everyone and truly love and serve them while they are there… a servant-minded devotion… whatever it takes.
-After giving birth to Lindsay in October of 2003, Mendy and I faced the most difficult time of our life to this point. She was diagnosed with heart failure brought on by the pregnancy and delivery. Three months after this diagnosis, we believed we were facing the need for a heart transplant (I have written a blog on this time title “Heart Failure”). Although she had NO energy and the medication completely fatigued her even more, Mendy did whatever was needed for our marriage and for our family. I watched her drag herself out of bed to serve our family and our community… and try to get rest in the momentary down times. I watched her wrestle with God and I wrestled with her. This lasted for three years, before the Lord healed her heart… devotion… whatever it takes.
-With each new stage that our children enter into, Mendy is there, fully present. She is the force that makes me a better dad by reminding me to do the little things and the big things that make our family what it is. Our kids don’t fully know, and maybe they never will, but Mendy’s devotion to me and to them is immeasurable. She knows what is needed and just figures out a way to make it happen… a servant minded devotion… whatever it takes.
-I have an enduring HOPE for things that are not real yet. I dream often about what could be and what should be. I look at the person furthest away from God and simply dream about what their life could be like if they went ALL OUT in their devotion to God. This leads me to dream and hope out loud a lot. Usually it is Mendy who is listening to the idealistic ramblings and outrageous dreams about what the Kingdom could be here and around the world. She has poured herself into others with me. It’s the kind of sacrifice that you only make when you have such a tremendous hope for what a person could be and should be. But hoping deeply also creates the potential to hurt deeply when it doesn’t work out or when evil wins a battle. I have watched Mendy both hope and hurt and she has been my comfort in my own hoping and hurting times… whatever it takes.
-I watched God call my wife to join Him in His work in Ethiopia. Mendy who is not nearly as ambitious as I am and hates to fly obediently said “yes” when God led her to go. You may look at her now and think she was ALL IN from the beginning, but in the beginning I know she went out of pure obedience to God and His voice. Four trips later and full of amazing stories of God’s work, Mendy’s obedience to go to Ethiopia has formed and shaped us in huge ways… devotion…. Whatever it takes!
-I really could go on and on, but I will stop with this one. I am currently watching Mendy’s devotion directed toward Tizita and Geremew (our two kids in Ethiopia that we are waiting to adopt). She has never met them, and they do not know it, but there is already a deep devotion to them in her heart. They are already treated like they are our kids. I can’t wait for the day that her devotion to this adoption leads to it’s completion. I want these kids to see the eyes of their mom and feel her servant minded devotion and on that day they will know that they have a mom who will always do WHATEVER IT TAKES!
You simply amaze me.
I love talking about the challenges of marriage and being authentic with the struggle we all face. Each time I do I am reminded of the gift that God has given me in my wife, Mendy. For those of you that don't know, Mendy and I met when her family began attending the church where my family attended in Knoxville, TN. We were good friends for a few years and Mendy tells the story that she said to her mom when she was 13, "I am going to marry David Henderson." Her mom told her she didn't even really know what marriage was, but that did not deter Mendy. We were married five years later on May 23, 1992.
If there is one characteristic that shines out in my wife, it is a "whatever it takes, servant-like devotion." She has always loved me and I have always been able to count on it. There are two challenges (actually more but two that stand out) to being married to me. One is ME. I am not easy to be married to, in the high times, life could not be better and in the low times everything seems dim. It takes a special person just to love me through the highs, the lows and everything in between. The second challenge is the path (sometimes I call it a burden... like the prophets referred to it) that God has chosen for my life. Midway through my freshman year at the University of Tennessee, God led me to give up my current course of study to follow His leadership and become a pastor. I don't care who you are, it isn't easy being married to a pastor. There is a struggle between work/home that is always blurry. There is spiritual opposition to everything you are trying to do and be as a married couple and as a family. There are endless expectations from others around you, who rarely understand that anyone has any expectations of you at all. For all of these reasons and more, being married to me isn't easy. Yet, God knew that it would take someone with radical "whatever it takes" devotion to be my wife and He convinced her early on to want to marry me.
Mendy has displayed her devotion to me in countless ways, but rather than just calling them "countless" and leaving it at that, I wanted to let everyone else know a few of the ways this woman has loved me with a reckless devotion.
-We decided to get married after her freshman year of college. She was studying early childhood education at the University of Tennessee. I had just graduated from college and was planning on starting and completing graduate school as soon as possible. We knew graduate school was going to cost a lot of money and decided it would be best to work hard and save for a year before beginning. This meant us both getting full time jobs (in addition to the "part time" youth ministry position I had) to save. It also meant that she would quit pursuing her degree. This was done with gladness and devotion.
-When we were married in '92, I had already been a youth pastor for 3 years. My youth were used to David (the single guy) being able to hang out at all hours of the day (AND night). Whatever these 7th-12th grade students needed to take the next step in their spiritual journey, I did my best to provide. When we got married, we moved closer to the church to be even more engaged in the community. Mendy jumped right in with the entire church community. She loved deeply and poured herself into many of the girls in our group as well as many others in that church. She tolerated the late night "drop in's" and the come and go at all hours from many of the youth.
-Fourteen months after we were married, we moved to Dallas, TX so I could attend Dallas Theological Seminary. Moving 15 hours away for some might not seem that big of a deal, but nearly all of Mendy's family and extended family lived in and around Knoxville. Getting together for birthdays, holidays etc was at least a monthly gathering, gatherings that we would no longer be a part of. We knew God wanted us in Dallas, Mendy always maintained that same "whatever it takes" devotion. We have never moved back to Knoxville and I know at times the distance has been difficult, but we know God’s promises for those who have left father and mother to follow him.
-As I found a part-time youth pastor position in Dallas, Mendy worked full time to put me through grad school. We graduated with no school debt... whatever it takes.
-For the last nine months of her job in Dallas, Mendy was pregnant with Megan. At one point early in the pregnancy, the doctor's became very concerned and warned us that we might lose this baby. I saw fear in Mendy's eyes and felt it in my voice as we prayed, and at the same time I saw an amazing determination and resolve. The doctor's said Mendy needed a specific medicine that seemed to be very difficult for them to find and needed it as soon as possible. Through many calls, Mendy found the medicine before our doctors office did. We believed then and still do that this doctor’s diagnosis and the timeliness of the medication saved Megan’s life… devotion… whatever it takes.
-We moved to eastern NC for my first job as a Senior Pastor. I was 26 and Mendy was 22. She adapted to a small town of 8000 people surrounded by farmland. It was a great place to start a family, but a very lonely place for Mendy. I watched her struggle, but always gracefully and willingly because we knew God had called us there.
-Two years into this position, I knew God was growing us and changing us. He was doing a work in both of our hearts that would totally change the direction of our lives and our ministry. Up until this point we were pretty comfortable people in a comfortable church with a comfortable future ahead of us. God had different plans. The next 2 ½ years God shaped in both our hearts a deep love for people far away from God and far away from the church. He placed in us a deep desire to pursue them with our lives. This is NOT a comfortable transformation, particularly when you act on it. And act on it we did. I remember being with Mendy at the 1st Evangelism conference that Willow Creek Community Church ever held. I stood in the parking lot of a grocery store in South Barrington, ILL after two days of that conference and Mendy and I said to each other, “I will not waste my life anymore focusing on comfortable religious people. I will take the message of Christ into the dark places in our world.” The reality of our lives now can be traced to that day. It was maybe a bigger stretch for Mendy than for me… and of course all I saw was devotion… to me… but more importantly to our Savior Jesus Christ… what it takes!
-A few years later this decision led us to begin a new church. We moved to Charlotte in June of 2000. When we committed to do this Mendy was pregnant with our third child and we had a secure income of $1,000 per month. The rest of our salary would be up to us to come up with. This situation alone would have been enough for many women to say, “no way… enough… I have to have more security than that.” Mendy didn’t just go along with it, she genuinely welcomed the insecurity as we stayed devoted to our God and His call on our life. Mendy gave birth to Jacob on August 14th, 45 days after we moved to Charlotte. Oh and we had the first gathering of UCF in our living room on July 20 with 14 people…. Whatever it takes!
-The first year of church planting is a total whirlwind. In those days there were not a ton of resources on church planting and truth be known, we really didn’t know what we were doing. But God called and He blessed. Mendy worked beside me every step of the way. She did not attend a service for the first year of our church because she gave herself to making sure the children’s areas were being led well… by her. She also quickly found herself cooking once a week for about 50-70 college students at our house… it was a zoo at our house. In August of 2001, Mendy called me mid morning to come home because she was not feeling well. Minutes later I was taking her to the Emergency Room. For 6 anxious days, Mendy was in excruciating pain that only subsided with pain medication that knocked her out. The diagnosis was double pneumonia and meningitis. All of this was simply brought on by fatigue. After 9 days in the hospital, Mendy came home. She missed Jacob’s 1st birthday because of her hospital stay. When I say we have given our lives to follow God’s call to begin this church, I mean it. We definitely tried to make some adjustments in our schedule, but with three preschoolers and a new church there wasn’t much room… devotion… whatever it takes.
-Through the years Mendy has watched me go through some amazing highs and some deep valleys. She has seen first hand my joys and pains and she has been with me on every emotional roller coaster ride I have taken her on. She has tried to buffer our family from the difficult days and protect our home from the struggles, but it is kind of hard when you open your home to everyone and truly love and serve them while they are there… a servant-minded devotion… whatever it takes.
-After giving birth to Lindsay in October of 2003, Mendy and I faced the most difficult time of our life to this point. She was diagnosed with heart failure brought on by the pregnancy and delivery. Three months after this diagnosis, we believed we were facing the need for a heart transplant (I have written a blog on this time title “Heart Failure”). Although she had NO energy and the medication completely fatigued her even more, Mendy did whatever was needed for our marriage and for our family. I watched her drag herself out of bed to serve our family and our community… and try to get rest in the momentary down times. I watched her wrestle with God and I wrestled with her. This lasted for three years, before the Lord healed her heart… devotion… whatever it takes.
-With each new stage that our children enter into, Mendy is there, fully present. She is the force that makes me a better dad by reminding me to do the little things and the big things that make our family what it is. Our kids don’t fully know, and maybe they never will, but Mendy’s devotion to me and to them is immeasurable. She knows what is needed and just figures out a way to make it happen… a servant minded devotion… whatever it takes.
-I have an enduring HOPE for things that are not real yet. I dream often about what could be and what should be. I look at the person furthest away from God and simply dream about what their life could be like if they went ALL OUT in their devotion to God. This leads me to dream and hope out loud a lot. Usually it is Mendy who is listening to the idealistic ramblings and outrageous dreams about what the Kingdom could be here and around the world. She has poured herself into others with me. It’s the kind of sacrifice that you only make when you have such a tremendous hope for what a person could be and should be. But hoping deeply also creates the potential to hurt deeply when it doesn’t work out or when evil wins a battle. I have watched Mendy both hope and hurt and she has been my comfort in my own hoping and hurting times… whatever it takes.
-I watched God call my wife to join Him in His work in Ethiopia. Mendy who is not nearly as ambitious as I am and hates to fly obediently said “yes” when God led her to go. You may look at her now and think she was ALL IN from the beginning, but in the beginning I know she went out of pure obedience to God and His voice. Four trips later and full of amazing stories of God’s work, Mendy’s obedience to go to Ethiopia has formed and shaped us in huge ways… devotion…. Whatever it takes!
-I really could go on and on, but I will stop with this one. I am currently watching Mendy’s devotion directed toward Tizita and Geremew (our two kids in Ethiopia that we are waiting to adopt). She has never met them, and they do not know it, but there is already a deep devotion to them in her heart. They are already treated like they are our kids. I can’t wait for the day that her devotion to this adoption leads to it’s completion. I want these kids to see the eyes of their mom and feel her servant minded devotion and on that day they will know that they have a mom who will always do WHATEVER IT TAKES!
You simply amaze me.
4.30.2009
ReJesus :: Penetrating Conversations - Welcome?
This post is in response to a group learning activity that we had during out Neighborhood Gathering on April 26. I said I would post responses to the penetrating questions we used here so you could know what I think. There are five questions and I will create a new post for each question.
4. I came here because I heard your church was a friendly place, but other than someone saying “Hi” to me at the door, no one has said a word to me yet this morning. What’s up with that?
If you have been to UCF for more than six months and you call UCF “your church.” You need to wake up to what is going on around you on Sunday mornings. You are UCF. You may not feel like an insider, but to a new person walking in the door you are an insider, you are UCF. The new person walking in our church doesn’t know if you have been there 6 months or 6 years. They draw conclusions about whether or not we are a friendly church based on how you engage and respond to them. It is vital that you take this on as your responsibility.
We can plan to have greeters and welcomers etc, but let’s face it, when you walk by a greeter, you know they are supposed to be there “doing their job.” And while this job is important, it is more important that a person feels like everyone is welcoming, not just the people we picked to do the job. To be honest with you, most of the churches around have an elaborate system of greeting people – parking lot greeters, front door greeters, greeters here, greeters there, greeters everywhere. I have been to some of these places and you get the sense that these people aren’t really friendly, it is just what they are supposed to do, so they do it. It’s kind of like being greeted by the Walmart greeter – they don’t really care about you – they say hi and give your kid a sticker because it is their job! However I have been to a few places where the greeters at the door were just the tip in the iceburg – you walked in to a completely authentic welcoming community. You felt it because it was from everyone.
Bottom line on this one is that you are not a welcoming person because you are too self-focused. My professor Howard Hendricks once told me, “the reason you don’t remember someone’s name is that you are too worried about them remembering yours.” It’s true, the reason we aren’t welcoming, is because we would rather just show up and talk to who we want to talk to. It is most comfortable to talk with people in your small group or your close friends, but loving others as you love yourself requires you to have an others first mindset.
General rule #1 – if you can usually talk to a group of people during the week, don’t waste the precious time 10 minutes before and after each service talking to the same people. People in my family room (small group) pretty much know that I don’t talk with them much on Sunday morning, I can talk to them through the week and on Wednesday nights when we are getting together. With a new person I have one chance to express love to them by putting them first.
General Rule #2 – We need to implement the 10 minute rule. For the first 10 minutes after each service, you are not allowed to talk to anyone you already know. Build some new friendships. Take some risks.
If you didn’t realize it we are growing. We have new people and new families coming in the doors every single week. Some of these people are giving church “one more chance” after being out of church for years. You are UCF, what will you do? And what will the new families feel because of it?
4. I came here because I heard your church was a friendly place, but other than someone saying “Hi” to me at the door, no one has said a word to me yet this morning. What’s up with that?
If you have been to UCF for more than six months and you call UCF “your church.” You need to wake up to what is going on around you on Sunday mornings. You are UCF. You may not feel like an insider, but to a new person walking in the door you are an insider, you are UCF. The new person walking in our church doesn’t know if you have been there 6 months or 6 years. They draw conclusions about whether or not we are a friendly church based on how you engage and respond to them. It is vital that you take this on as your responsibility.
We can plan to have greeters and welcomers etc, but let’s face it, when you walk by a greeter, you know they are supposed to be there “doing their job.” And while this job is important, it is more important that a person feels like everyone is welcoming, not just the people we picked to do the job. To be honest with you, most of the churches around have an elaborate system of greeting people – parking lot greeters, front door greeters, greeters here, greeters there, greeters everywhere. I have been to some of these places and you get the sense that these people aren’t really friendly, it is just what they are supposed to do, so they do it. It’s kind of like being greeted by the Walmart greeter – they don’t really care about you – they say hi and give your kid a sticker because it is their job! However I have been to a few places where the greeters at the door were just the tip in the iceburg – you walked in to a completely authentic welcoming community. You felt it because it was from everyone.
Bottom line on this one is that you are not a welcoming person because you are too self-focused. My professor Howard Hendricks once told me, “the reason you don’t remember someone’s name is that you are too worried about them remembering yours.” It’s true, the reason we aren’t welcoming, is because we would rather just show up and talk to who we want to talk to. It is most comfortable to talk with people in your small group or your close friends, but loving others as you love yourself requires you to have an others first mindset.
General rule #1 – if you can usually talk to a group of people during the week, don’t waste the precious time 10 minutes before and after each service talking to the same people. People in my family room (small group) pretty much know that I don’t talk with them much on Sunday morning, I can talk to them through the week and on Wednesday nights when we are getting together. With a new person I have one chance to express love to them by putting them first.
General Rule #2 – We need to implement the 10 minute rule. For the first 10 minutes after each service, you are not allowed to talk to anyone you already know. Build some new friendships. Take some risks.
If you didn’t realize it we are growing. We have new people and new families coming in the doors every single week. Some of these people are giving church “one more chance” after being out of church for years. You are UCF, what will you do? And what will the new families feel because of it?
4.29.2009
ReJesus :: Penetrating Conversations - Generosity
3. Speaking of money, why do you keep pushing us to give more when our country’s in the middle of a financial crisis?
Your only protection against a recession is to follow God. Your only protection when we are not in a recession is to follow God. I am challenging you to be truly generous people, holding on to everything loosely. Our economic outlook has no influence on what I am going to challenge you to do. If anything, I believe the challenge to follow God’s wisdom concerning your finances and being a generous person needs to be more heavily emphasized in times like these. Think about these promises from God.
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Psalm 112:5
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9
I challenge you to give generously because it is the only path that invites God’s activity into your finances. If we do what He asks us to do with our money then our future is in His hands and He can choose to do what He wants with us. The bible tends to indicate that things work out better when we place things in God’s hands. And if most of you were honest, we make a pretty big mess of things when we do our own thing. Some of you have lost a bunch of money recently due to the decline in value of stocks, investments, etc. If you had invested that money in the Kingdom of God years ago, your investment would have been safe. Instead, you stored up treasures for yourself here on the earth “where moths eat and rust corrodes and where thieves break in and steal.” Store up treasure in heaven by investing in the things of God and your dividends will truly be secure.
One of the most quoted verses in the bible “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” is written by Paul as he is speaking about living in times of need and in times of plenty. The verse speaks about trusting in Christ to give us the strength to live in times like these. Trust Him! You have an absolutely amazing opportunity in your world right now to live with God’s peace when it comes to the economy. People are going to continue to get more anxious and stressed out over finances to the point that those who live in peace will shine brightly and have great opportunities to share where their peace comes from.
Your only protection against a recession is to follow God. Your only protection when we are not in a recession is to follow God. I am challenging you to be truly generous people, holding on to everything loosely. Our economic outlook has no influence on what I am going to challenge you to do. If anything, I believe the challenge to follow God’s wisdom concerning your finances and being a generous person needs to be more heavily emphasized in times like these. Think about these promises from God.
A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Psalm 112:5
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9
I challenge you to give generously because it is the only path that invites God’s activity into your finances. If we do what He asks us to do with our money then our future is in His hands and He can choose to do what He wants with us. The bible tends to indicate that things work out better when we place things in God’s hands. And if most of you were honest, we make a pretty big mess of things when we do our own thing. Some of you have lost a bunch of money recently due to the decline in value of stocks, investments, etc. If you had invested that money in the Kingdom of God years ago, your investment would have been safe. Instead, you stored up treasures for yourself here on the earth “where moths eat and rust corrodes and where thieves break in and steal.” Store up treasure in heaven by investing in the things of God and your dividends will truly be secure.
One of the most quoted verses in the bible “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” is written by Paul as he is speaking about living in times of need and in times of plenty. The verse speaks about trusting in Christ to give us the strength to live in times like these. Trust Him! You have an absolutely amazing opportunity in your world right now to live with God’s peace when it comes to the economy. People are going to continue to get more anxious and stressed out over finances to the point that those who live in peace will shine brightly and have great opportunities to share where their peace comes from.
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