Talking about the m-word

Yup. Ministry.

Just abandon all your ideas and what-nots.

Start thinking fresh from this post, cause it's really hard to convey an idea when you think you know where I'm going but really you don't...

..well maybe you do, but still just start with a clean thought pattern.

This Sunday was the conclusion of the 'Ministering' series (I actually didn't notice that it was a series until Jason said, "This is the last part of the series" and I was like, "Oh.. I didn't know that") that we've been going through at New Harvest.

So just a quick catch-up, then
1) Ministering to the Lord
2) Ministering to the people in the church
3) Ministering to the community

A very big point in this whole thing is not to think of your personal ministry as limited to one of those: you need to have all of them functioning at some capacity.

In the book of Luke, more specifically Luke 10:25-..? is a story about a man asking Jesus whats the most important law, or something like that. Jesus asks the man what the scriptures say, and he says, "Love God with [everything] and love your neighbor as you love yourself." There again we see that it isn't a matter of 'serving' or 'ministering to' God OR church-folk OR the community: we are to love everyone in balance.

The rest of that chapter in Luke is a 'parable' (or cryptic analogy-based story with a moral) about a man getting all kinds of beat up and being left for dead. Several people pass by him and no one helps him out, until this one guy comes along and takes him to the nearby hotel. This man, the Samaritan, actually carries this beat up dude to town, pays for his stay and medical bills, and then promises to pay any other bills that might be accrued. And at the end of this story Jesus asks the man "who is the neighbor in this story" - the 'importantest law' man says, 'the man who took care of him' - and Jesus pretty much says, "yeah, so now it's your turn to do the same"

Who is your neighbor? Anyone you encounter.
You are responsible for your neighbor, and your responsibility expands with exposure (to more neighbors)

Jason then showed several pictures of people from our community (and one that we support through World Vision, Kalasinga in Tanzania) and introduced us, also giving some back story into their lives. He explained how we might have not known them, or maybe not even have seen them before, but we now know of them, and that they are our responsibility in times of need.

Loving God doesn't matter if it doesn't overflow to loving others

We've been talking about the Kingdom of God for quite a while now (and hopefully it will become part of daily conversation). We realized that the Kingdom of God is here and now, and that Jesus wasn't explaining how the earth sucks now and when we finally go to Heaven we'll all be happy. Sure theres not gonna be any bad stuff in Heaven, but the point isn't Heaven, it's the Kingdom of God, and all those examples that Jesus gave were meant to be used NOW, not in the future.

Heres a hard part

Matt 25:14-..I think the end of the chapter
It's another parable, this time about 'talents' (apparently a talent was worth more than a thousand bucks). So theres this land owner, and he has several servants whom he gives different amounts of talents to while he goes on vacation. 5, 2 and 1, respectively. When the land owner comes back, the servants present his monies. The one that was given 5 talents made a profit and had 10 at the end. The one that got 2 also made a profit (of 2) and had 4 to give back. The guy that only got 1 talent, though, thought it best to bury it in the ground so no harm would come to it. And the land owner comes down pretty harsh on him about it. It goes like this,

26-27"The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.

28-30"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.' (taken from 'the Message')

The part thats hard is relating it to our stuff. First, material things we have. Second, physical and mental abilities that we have. Are they used? Or are they kept clean and safe, waiting to be returned later?

God is looking for a good investment. We may say, "Pay off our building, God, please!" - but is it a worthy investment?

The part about making it personal is this:

What can use, that I already have, for God's purpose?

It's not about 'me'

Seems the time of the year has come again where I am required to attend school. I have actually applied more than two days before classes start this year (I'm doing good). Taking algebra and 'college success'.

I always feel bad for not taking a full load, but at the same time I don't think I would be able to (for one I don't have the money and for two [kinda still part of one] I need to work for extra expenses during the year) I'm pretty sure college is designed to make you owe money. You're somehow forced into a college experience so that you'll be able to get a good job, but you are left with a huge debt that you'll get a job to pay off so that you'll be like the rest of the system. Seriously, I understand that you need money (in this modern world) to survive.

I just have this chill in my spine when I think of things like that.. Theres so much confusion when thinking about how Jesus lived in His time and how things happened in His life to shape those around Him. Obviously we aren't there, instead we are here and thus given our own chance at making things right on our time. (I recall a part of the Bible that mentions not owing anyone anything)

In short, I don't agree. Or at least don't think it should have to be that way.

If the whole purpose to living is to pay to keep living, then why don't we all just die and save everyone the effort? I mean, we have people that have debts that were received in order to pay off other debts that would later be established in order to make it possible to 'live'. I suppose the only dynamic in the equation is 'what level of luxury are you willing to extend your debts for?'

Why is it so strange to consider living in a home with more than just your immediate family? I've been talking with Sarah about how much money we'd save if we all joined together.. Look at the price for rent when it's split between three or four people. There are some other things that combine to make things easier. Work around the house is split. You'd also never get lonely. The money saved on rent can pay off other stuff faster. Now look at that same scenario split among eight or more people/families.

If you are already thinking of ways you are going to get ripped off by the other tenants, then you need a mental refreshing. If you are a Christian, then all of your stuff shouldn't mean that much to you in the first place.

I've also been taking life a little less.. fearfully? single-routed? I'm not sure really how to describe it. The idea that if something bad happens then it's part of a plan for life thats bigger than myself. I think thats kinda the point.. it's not about 'me'.

Family (We All Need Love)

So I find it important these days to work on family relationships. I find it amazing how in just the little town of Surry we have a group of teens and their siblings that range from 20's to months-old, and every one of them gets along. At any one given time we can pull together an impromptu party or sports night. The element of family can not be stressed enough these days.

My family is up from Florida this week. We've been going over all the things they have in Florida that aren't here and they miss (mostly just a city vs country battle, but also some things literally confined to southern states - that does not include sweet tea) as well as what things are in Virginia that we just shrug off as "yeah, duh, they're here" and my cousins all find it amazing. Things like ground hogs, deer, possum, raccoon, and fire flies. Wow.
The important thing is that for the past few days, I've been interacting with people that are like me by blood, and we all naturally care for each other. No plans, just spending time together. Why is it that time with others is so amazing?

The bonds you make with people are worth more than anything.

I've learned to take more risks as well. Talking here about risks with relationships and expressions of love. Someone said that loving isn't risk free and in order to enjoy it to its fullest one must make himself vulnerable. That is something I highly encourage.

I'll end with a quote I like from C. S. Lewis,

"...[F]ree will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having... The happiness that God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily untied to Him and to each other in an ecstacy of love and delight.."

_small-post_The world preceeded with an "i"

We were playing speed scrabble last night. If you've never played speed scrabble, then you need to. So I used my tiles and my next piece was an I. I could not find anywhere to put it, so I tried attaching it to the front of all my other words; that failed miserably but was crazy funny (I would remember the words it made but it was approaching 1am and I can't remember much after that point..)

I made a statement a LONG time ago about how there would soon be a world proceeded with a lower-case I. I like predicting the future.

Suffer

Went to the Richmond Outreach Center last Saturday night. I'll say it was different from my expectations.

Let's understand the physical structure before we get too far. It's more of a complex than a church, and actually more of a bunch of sports centers. Lots of parking, lots of buses, lots of people. Baseball field and skate park out front. College to the side (small college) as well as a cafeteria with free meals. Someone also said they house homeless pregnant women. So on the side of the main meeting building (which is a huge gym) is a mural - we're talking the whole side of the building - of Jesus with his arms out. Amazing quality. Going in the front door, I felt like a movie star or the president: EVERY man in the Biker Gang was there, lining the walkway, shaking my hand. EVERY man. Walk in, a small foyer with a bathroom and snack bar. Into the main room was a ton of chairs and bleachers, with a cut out at the far end for the musicians. We had to call ahead and make sure we had a place to sit cause they fill up so much they have to turn people away. We sat on the right side on the bleachers.

Right away, the band starts playing a familiar song (can't remember what it was). There were 3 songs, all of which you would know even if you've never been to a church before (like a rendition of 'Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey) Most of the songs had a old country theme, so everyone was dancing and clapping. One thing that's cool is the quality of everything. Even though it wasn't a bunch of professional musicians, they were all WAY good.

So the rest of the service was also interesting. There was a part where the pastor read a list of all the people that had become Christians in the past 7 days (which took about 5 minutes to list them by which ministry team had how many cards [they have every 'convert' fill out a slip so they can keep track]) The total was almost 550. There was a dance group that did a rap song and danced to it. Very cool. Also had two men share a story about their life and how they became a Christian/came to be at the ROC that night. The pastor told about Jesus (a common theme among these people) and how he lived a life of suffering on purpose. It boiled down to the conclusion that Jesus lived that way so that he could understand us, completely provide salvation, and so that we could copy him in being a suffering people.

Hope_part 2

Not exactly the sequel you'd expect, more like the prequel. These are just some notes/thoughts I had of David H.

I like this little phrase he had. He would get so used to hearing people say, "You're not going to believe this.." so now he answers with, "Oh, yes I am."

He talked of this intense training camp somewhere up north. This group of people steal little kids and put them deep in the woods for a week, with nothing but the clothes on their back. Naw but, they just lead them in (no kidnapping). It's some kind of camp that teaches reliance on God. They tell every applicant (and their parents) "We will return your child, and when we do, they will be ready for anything." I think I want to go try that.

Another interesting point he brought out was how Christians tend to settle down in a comfy spot. That is not a good thing to do. The words 'Christian' and 'Transition' are synonymous: cause somewhere someone said, "God is always moving". "There is grace for preparation; There is no grace for 'What If?'" said David H. Mostly this covers the part about how some would rather wait and do nothing until they are 100% sure of the God ordained direction. Thinking about this, the God who would have Christians act on His behalf would probably not let Christians, bent on doing the works of God on earth, get too far out of line. As Mr. Mr. Wiedel (yeah, that's J-bird's daddy pops) said, "In order to turn a boat around, you have to engage the engines first. The rudder does no good while sitting still." Since we are still on the RFA (ready for anything) line of chatter, he mentioned always being ready for God's plans of change. Someone once said, "If a person is in constant connection with the Holy Spirit, they won't have to worry about making errors." Guessing nobody these days happens to be in that constant contact..

Ah. "Christians are not a perfect people. We are a people being perfected." David H.

So heres a list of the crucial ways one can be RFA
1) Fix on Jesus - To fix actually means to remove one's gaze on a certain object and affix it on something else. Comes from Hebrews 12:2
2) Be a friend of Jesus - comes from John 15:14-15. He spoke a while on the difference between a servant and a friend. The basics are like this: A servant serves because he is told to serve. A friend is a servant with the addition of understanding the 'why'.
3) Keep active in God-focused / kingdom relationships
Stay clear of negative speaking against the changes in the Kingdom.
I don't think I was paying attention at this point, but I got the whole title of that section so maybe it got lost in my mind..
4) Keep relationship accounts up-to-date - making a point to make wrongs between friends right. "Don't stuff them inside somewhere; go fix them"
5) Don't hide concerns, but talk to the right people - this is in reference to issues or misunderstandings to the direction of the 'church'; not to complain among yourselves but rather to a position of authority.
6) Meet often to keep things up-to-date - that's talking about Christians meeting to discuss past victories and failures.

Oh, how I long for those days. Think of every time you hear a story of someone's triumph. Doesn't it inspire you?

One last little note:
When the body has physical problems, the output is hindered. As such, we find our bodies in a similar condition as our spiritual 'body of Christ'. The body can't function when ill / injured.
Fix the sickness / brokenness.
Like veins and arteries, relationships in our 'body' must be mended.
Can't you see how everything increases with more happy people? :)

"K - I - S - S I'm in distress! I need someone to spell it out"

Tonight's dinner might have been the most ridiculous meal I've ever worked.

Serve time was 5:30. Everything was perfectly fine at 4:15. No kidding. Then sometime around 4:20, we realize that there would be several complications: 15 more people would be eating than the previous count (total of 118), and somehow the pizza quantity was overlooked leaving us with only 54 'Tonys' and about 30 'Red Barrons' - thats only 84, if you can't add. Somewhere in this process, I notice that the deep fryer was never turned on, meaning the oil would not be hot enough to fry apple fritters.

And then this stupid thing called, "Hope" had to show up and make it so we couldn't curl up and die.

We cut the 'Red Barrons' in halves, and found some chicken that wasn't being used (Sarah and Marie cut up some potatoes and added a bunch of seasonings to them) And the deep fryer heated up in time for me to get 3 batches completed before the group came through the line.

So I would attribute the absolutely amazing recovery of meal-almost-not-doable-ness to my God.