The Table

You know what's so wonderful about potluck dinners?

Everybody brings something to the table. Nobody comes empty handed with nothing to give. People are empowered to feel a sense of actualization as a contributing member to the meal. They understand that they have something to give, even if its a bag of chips. They have something everyone else can use.

Potlucks are everywhere in today's church culture. They provide context for community and put everyone on an equal playing field. Everyone brought something, so everyone instantly becomes "one of" the community.

That sense of contribution and the subsequent feeling of confidence and pride that comes with it is invaluable to forming a healthy community. 

So why are so many systems of service in America acting in opposition to that sense of "oneness" & "togetherness"? For all of our culture of service, are the people we are coming in contact with feeling like they bring something to the table as well? Are they being allowed to feel like they have something to offer?

I look no further than my own life to relate to the poverty mindset. I grew up in a tough home situation, where much of the time we didn't have much money or resources. There were many people who dropped off groceries on our front doorstep and ran away, or who helped us one time and then never again.

But you know what made the biggest difference? The people in my life who called me friend. They didn't view me as a project, they weren't primarily concerned with "saving me". They simply cared about who I was, who I was becoming, and showing me what I had to bring to the table.

Just read what Jesus says in John 15: 9, 12-17 (emphasis mine):

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other."

Jesus has called us friends. By his great love and the work of his Holy Spirit, he has revealed to those of us who follow him who we are, how we are gifted, and has empowered us to play a part, to contribute, to his work on this Earth.

This is a glimpse of what Jesus has been saying to me. There are action steps ahead that will come with time.

I want you to consider what this means for you. When you give or serve, are you letting the Holy Spirit guide you and are you focusing on the "who"? Are you seeking to form community and looking for ways to allow people to use their gifts? Are you taking on a spirit of humility and a desire to learn?

How can we stop measuring our service by how it affects us? How can we be people who empower others through the Holy Spirit to take next steps in who they are becoming?

"Nobody is so poor that they have nothing to bring to the table." - Bob Lupton

We all bring something, and we should never be so selfish as to disallow others to bring what they have. We must care for the needs of those we serve above our own. 

Very simply, as Jesus has loved us, so we must love others.

10,000 Reasons

How many times has your heart been broken?

How many times have you trusted someone only to be let down?

How many times have you have experienced something so painful that you doubted your heart would ever recover from it?

Over my lifetime I would estimate I have felt like this 1,000 + times. At least that's how I can perceive it sometimes.

It's no secret that life can be unpredictable & that our hearts can be wounded over and over....and over again. In this lifetime every single one of us will experience great pain and great joy. It is a mixed bag of emotions,circumstances, and our reactions. How we make meaning of this lifetime is everything.

I know a lot of people that as "life happens" allow their hearts to become hardened, and feel themselves getting truly lonely on the inside. Maybe they never show it on the outside, maybe they do, but the one thing they have in common is a feeling of being shrouded in darkness and being on autopilot. To them, God is no more than a bully who wants to judge them, or maybe He doesn't exist at all.

Then there are those ridiculous, insane people who as "life happens" actually get stronger. Not in a way that's pretending to be tough, but I mean they actually become better people for their experiences. They are growing and thriving, learning from each day. Sure they fall, but they get back up. To them, God has compassion on their hearts and a plan/purpose for their lives.

There are 2 foundational truths we need to understand about our existence:

1. We were born into a spiritual battle for our hearts between a God that loves us unconditionally and an enemy seeking to destroy any shred of that love he possibly can.

2. There is a God in heaven who created us to be in perfect relationship with him and who has created a great story of reconciliation, sacrifice, and redemption in which we are being transformed into his likeness and having our original purpose restored. Not only that, we have a part to play in this story.

In my 24 years on this Earth, I have experienced death, homelessness, a public shooting, poverty, depression, abandonment, heartache, failure, car accidents, being in prison, hunger, etc.

The Apostle Paul tells us his experiences with being shipwrecked, tortured, imprisoned, beaten, etc.

In the context of those experiences he writes this in Phillipians 4:11-13.

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

The "him" he is talking about is Jesus. In spite of all he has lived through, Paul stills trusts with all his heart in Jesus.

For all the 1,000 + times I have felt separated from the love of God, there are 10,000 more when God has been victorious.

He is my rock, the strength of my heart. He is the foundation upon which I rest. He is my refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. He is my fortress, He is a mighty God. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love.  He is my everything.

Friends, your life has a purpose. God cares deeply about you and your heart. There is more to life than being a victim of a crazy emotional roller coaster. More than being tossed around by circumstances.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess in Christ our Lord, for he is faithful to heal us. His mercies are new every morning. He is the author and the perfector of our faith. Nothing in all of creation can truly separate us from Him.

Thrive

There are a few lyrics from the Switchfoot song "Thrive" off of their album "Vice Verses" that I absolutely love:

"A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive"

And isn't that just how life feels sometimes? 

Void of a sense of intimacy and real joy, we go from thing to thing, task to task, meeting to meeting almost on autopilot. We are technically alive, but nothing about the way we feel inside or interact with people would give any indication that we are.

Much of the time, we get so used to it that we barely even notice our heart has become a little more hard and our will a little more weak. We remember how we used to feel, who we used to be, and the present just feels so....impossible. overwhelming. frustrating.

Was it meant to be like this? Were we meant to just "get through" each day?

I have to believe there is more. More than the anxiety, the fear, the need for control. There is no way we were given the gift of life just to use it to run the rat race for success and to get there at all costs.

There is no way we were created to only focus on ourselves and our needs, having no awareness of the people around us or the overwhelming love of the Father.

Believe me, I get it. We have to work while going to school while having a significant other while having friends while being involved in church while....etc.

Maybe there are some things in our life that we are investing time in that shouldn't be there, but for most of us it's all good and necessary stuff taking up our time.

                    "Cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you" - 1 peter 5:7

                                         If you are reading this and feel anxious. 
               Take a deep breath. Take 5 minutes. Turn off the computer, phone, etc. 
                             Bask in the love and mercy of our Heavenly Father. 
                   Feel His love for you. Breathe it in. Meditate on the above verse, 
                                        and understand 2 things about God:

                                                           He is strong.

                                          He loves you with a deep, deep love.

                                        Be STILL and KNOW that He is God.
            
                                                              Repeat.

A Risen Life

I feel terrible today.

The weight of the world feels like it is slowly getting heavier on my shoulders. I feel caught in that ugly place of confusion, frustration, weariness, selfishness, lonliness, and exhaustion.

This is one of those days where I feel like everyone is just waiting for me to fail and like I have nothing to give.

But Jesus has risen.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." - Galatians 2:20

You see, whether we want to admit it or not, we are human beings. 

We are needy, broken individuals who, if left to our own devices, allow our perspective to become narrow and our actions harmful.

On our own we do not always feel loved, or like we even have the ability to love others. On our own we dig ourselves deeper into despair or whatever bad feeling exists and we isolate ourselves from any form of true intimacy.

"I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

Jesus has risen.

Meaning we don't have to stay in frustration, isolation, or fear. Meaning that as we die to ourselves and imitate Christ's humility, as we share in his sufferings, we can also share in his resurrection.

"We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." - Romans 6: 2-4

The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus is a reminder that Jesus can breathe new life into our humanity, and has empowered us through his Holy Spirit to be an agent for resurrection everywhere we are.

You are not "just a" mom or dad, you are not "just a" employee, you are not "just a" ordinary person.

You are someone with the ability to influence those around you wherever you go, to live the power that comes from having Christ live in us and through us.

We don't have to be perfect, just willing. Willing to let God work in our hearts to bring true healing and intimacy with Him, so that we can be that for others and ultimately point them to Jesus.


"The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Imitating Christ's Humility

I want to start this blog with the following passage from the book of Phillipians. Specifically Phillipians 2:3-8:

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself   by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!"

(emphasis mine)

You know what one of the most amazing things about Jesus' death on the cross is to me? 

The fact that all authority and power in heaven and earth had been given to him, and he chose to lay it down of his own accord.

He could have summoned an army of angels to prevent him from being held captive, or at the very least taken the multiple opportunities that were given to him by his accusers to defend himself. 

He could have lashed out in anger at his torturers or ran away as he felt the anxiety and fear in his final moments at Gesthemane. He could have said "Father, not your will, but mine be done."

But he did none of those things.

He took the very nature of a servant and humbled himself to the point of death.

What Jesus did on the cross represents forgiveness for all of our sins, a way being made to relationship with God, and full submission of Jesus to his Father's will.

That's what I want us to consider. What steps are we taking to die to ourselves on a daily basis in submission to God the Father? How are we imitating Christ's humility?

Are we getting angry and frustrated when things don't go our way? Are we seeking only the good of ourselves? Are we entitled to what we "deserve"?

The Son of God himself did not wield his power against humanity. So we, who are here today & gone tomorrow, should not be so arrogant to think we can act any differently.

May we take the nature of a servant, may we "wash each other's feet", may we look not only to our own interests but to the interests of others. May we learn to hear the Fathers voice, and know that his commands are not burdensome, but are born out of his undying love and commitment to see us look more like Jesus.

May the death of Jesus remind you how deeply you are loved, and empower you to love others.

Maturity

I want to be humble in a way that isn't just really good at faking it, but where I have a true self awareness of who I am in relation to the God we serve.

I want to improve at submitting to authority, and not always thinking my way is right or that I'm untouchable because of what I may have accomplished or experienced.

I want to mature in the unique plan that God has for my life, not spend all my time comparing myself to so and so in an attempt to either boost my ego or make their story into my story.

I want to have character and integrity, to do the little things well even when no one is watching.

Most of all, I want to help empower families and lead folks out of the poverty mindset and into the worth and dignity they possess as the creation of God Almighty. I'm tired of seeing single parent households that can barely pay the bills, feed their kids, do laundry, or find a job.

I'm tired of the way people in those situations fall into depression and believe they are worthless. I'm tired of them getting used to being somebody's project.

I'm tired of living in the poverty mindset.

Let's face it, you can't lead where you haven't been. I believe the church needs more spiritual mothers and fathers who throughout their life have consistently taken steps in faith to follow Jesus no matter what it may have cost them. People who are truly mature in the Lord, confident in their identity in Jesus, humble, compassionate, quick to love in action & truth, submissive to authority, full of character & integrity.

In a word, people who are being sanctified. Looking more like Jesus everyday.

If we want to see true and lasting change, disciples of Jesus being made, broken homes and families restored, and people coming out of poverty, we must allow Jesus to walk us through the process of maturity. If we want to be participants in what the apostle Paul calls "the ministry of reconciliation", if we want to see resurrection happen all over the place, we must be in tune with what God wants to do in & through us.

In this next season of life, I will be working part time at Starbucks and part time as a missionary through Current of Ohio, LoveCanton, and many other entities I am involved with.

I know that God wants to teach me all of the stuff I listed above, and I believe being bi-vocational for a season was the step out of my comfort zone that Jesus was wanting me to take.

So how about you?

What is the next step Jesus is asking you to take?

Reaching The Summit

Kids matter deeply to God, and the tragic circumstances and home lives that some kids must face, is not the end of the story. Healing for at-risk kids in physical, spiritual, and emotional ways is absolutely possible. I know because in many ways it's my story.

I grew up in a tough home environment, and the stress of poverty and the weight of our brokenness felt like too much to handle sometimes. My response was often violence, which caused me to get suspended multiple times, almost expelled, and eventually led to my brief incarceration in a juvenile detention center when I was in 8th grade. 

That is a brief part of my story, and was not the end for me. Today I am a new man who has   experienced great personal healing through God and the community of people he placed around me, including much of my once broken family. I have lived firsthand the life of an at- risk kid and the transformation that is possible.

As a result of how my life was changed, my goal is to give back and do whatever it takes to help kids facing big obstacles. To do this practically, I will be climbing Mt. Rainier in Seattle, WA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rainier) during August 18-20, 2013 w/ 3 other friends. Our goal is to reach the 14, 411 ft. Summit.

This is both a personal growth challenge, and an attempt to raise money for the Christian Children's Home of Ohio (http://www.ccho.org/). Our total goal is $20,000 as each person has committed to raise at least $5000.

Their mission is to "bring healing to hurting children & families in His name." For more than 40 years, and with programs in 16 locations throughout OH, including many counseling centers and a Children's Residential Center where kids get the care they need, CCHO is a beacon of light for at-risk kids. 

For the personal challenge side of it, I will also need to raise some personal costs just to be able to go. Rest assured, I will be saving every penny I can to help cover this.

I will be tracking my progress in every aspect of this climb, so stay tuned for more info.

Please be in prayer for the climbing team, the kids that CCHO supports, and the countless other children that are still living in abusive situations.