Thirteenth Birthday

My son Andrew turned 13 yesterday.  His mom and sister and I were singing "Happy Birthday" to him when we looked at the clock and realized it was 7:59PM - the exact time of his birth.  Very cool!

I've heard a lot of parents talk about how they don't want their kids to grow up and all of that.  I've actually loved every stage of my kids' lives and have always looked forward to the next one.  I love seeing them grow, take on responsibility, learn how to solve their own problems and increase their character.  I even love that they are becoming more and more independent from me because I see them becoming more dependent on God.

We got this Email from Andrew's math teacher this morning.  It was the icing on the cake (bad pun I know) to what has been a great few days of celebrating our son's life.

I just wanted to let you know how polite Andrew has been to me all year.  As he leaves the classroom each day, he is always sure to say “Good-bye, Mrs. Hawkins.  I hope you have a good evening” – or something similar.  He is a pleasure to teach.

Who Needs The Church?

This week our 15-year-old dog Ali died.  We'd had her since she was an 8-week-old puppy.  The loss was difficult for all of us, probably more difficult for our kids and especially difficult for our 13-year-old son.  After all it's the first living thing that he's lost in his entire life.

And this week Marsha and I were forced to make difficult decisions and have tough conversations with our kids.  It was not an easy week.  And as I've been thinking about it and processing it (in my mind rather than  through my emotions) I've been reminded that life is hard and that having people in my life is important.

Our small group prayed with us about this on Friday night.  Staff and other friends at our church encouraged us.  And family members were supportive and even helped with some of the logistical details (the burial at Grandma and Pop Pop's house.)  All because we were losing a family pet that meant a lot to us.

Here's what I know, there's a lot of people all around me, and you too, dealing with loss.  And their loss is a lot more substantial than a family pet.

• The loss of a family member or friend.
• The loss of a job.
• The loss of health.
• The loss of finances.
• The loss of a relationship.
• The loss of a dream.

That list could go on and on.  Here's what else I know.  NO ONE and NO FAMILY should ever go through any of those things alone.  That's why the church exists; to help people make it through life when life is hard.  And there's nothing in this world in a better position to do that than the church.

So let me ask you this, who do you know that needs to be connected to the church?  They may not being going through a loss or difficultly right now, but one day they will be.  Who do you know that's disconnected?  And what are you going to do about that?

Here's a simple suggestion:  Invite them to go to church with you.  They may say "no" - it's a risk.  But they may say "yes" and it may change their life forever.

Easter is just two weeks away.  If ever there's a time when someone will say "yes" to an invite to church it's Easter.  Easter affords us an opportunity that, with the exception of Christmas, we don't have the rest of the year.  

Invite them, bring them and help them connect.

Treat People Like People

Our church is operating a homeless shelter this week on our campus.  We've done this for several years in partnership with other churches, non-profits and our local government.  The shelter is hosted each week, from November through mid-March, by a different church.

Yesterday one of our guests told one of our volunteers how much they loved our church.  He said "not just because the food is good but because of the people; they treat us like we're human."

Wow!  That blew me away.  First, I'm just so proud of the heart that our church has for people - ANY people.  And second, I know this happens, but I can't understand how any church can operate in such a way that someone would walk away and say"They didn't treat us like we're human.  They treated us like we were less than that."

Even a casual reading of the Gospels and the way Christ lived his life shows he NEVER treated anyone like a second-class citizen.

The truth is it's become far too easy and we've become far too comfortable making snap judgements about people that we don't even know and haven't taken the time understand.

• We vilify our politicians rather than seeing them as humans, most of whom just want to make a difference.
• We judge people with different lifestyles without realizing they are just like us, trying to get through life, dealing with the same decisions, the same fears and the same needs.
• We look at someone who is homeless and quickly think "they just don't want to work" when in reality they would love to have a job but just don't know how to overcome the barriers they face.
• We see the "bully" and think "they're just a mean person," when the fact is hurt people hurt people.

So how does our church do it?  How do we treat people like "humans?"  We follow Jesus' example.  He saw others, EVERYONE, as valuable first and then he dealt with their issues.

Territorialism

I read a blog post this past week by Mark Batterson by the same title as this one.  You can read it for yourself here.

In the post Mark says "territorialism is caring more about your kingdom than God’s kingdom.  Plain and simple.  It’s selfish spirituality.  It’s caring more about your reputation than God’s reputation."  

I've experienced this first hand a few times.  Several years ago when I was new to the staff of FCBC I had a conversation with a church member who told me when she was in the youth group and would go on retreats that included multiple churches, one of the churches from our area was seen as a "rival" by our church's youth group.

And then there was the time, as a student pastor, I was working with a few other student pastors to create a monthly worship experience for our groups.  We all had small to medium size student ministries so we were coming together to create an experience that had the energy and momentum that a larger group could create.  We had two goals:  create great student worship experiences and develop great student leaders to lead them.

We invited several other students pastors to join us.  One in particular was beyond excited about her group being a part of it.  She saw the value it could have with the students that she led.  But when she told her pastor about the plan he immediately shut it down for their group.  He said "I afraid our students will like one of the other groups better and go to that church."

When I heard that I remember thinking "REALLY?  You're afraid that by doing what's best for the Kingdom of God might have a negative affect on your church?"

I decided then that I would never be that kind of pastor.  I've actually helped people who have attended our church connect with a different church because it was a better fit for them or their family.

I'm so thankful that our church sees the value in partnerships with other churches and other groups.  That our staff and leaders realize it's not about getting a little bit bigger piece of the pie for us but it's about enlarging the Kingdom of God.

If there's a church down the road that I can teach something that I've learned, I'm there.  And if there's a church in our community that can teach us something that can help us reach our mission, I want to know what it is.  And if there's a church that shares our values and wants to partner with us to make a difference in this world then I want to meet them and start a conversation.

Dark Stairwells in France

This morning I watched the 40 Days in the Word Day 24 Devotional with Tommy Hilliker from Saddleback Church.  I immediately resonated with the story he opened with about getting stuck in the basement of a building with the lights out - in total darkness.

If you know me well you know that I'm mildly claustrophobic.  OK, maybe a little more than mildly; if it less than 9 floors I'll take the stairs.  I had a similar situation as Tommy this past Summer when our family was visiting friends in Paris, France.  Our friends lived on the top floor (16th) of a high rise apartment.  We were leaving to do some sightseeing and the elevator was too small for all of us to ride down, so naturally I volunteered to take the stairs.

My friend Joel told me to be careful because the light in the stairwell was out two floors down.  It turns out that the lights were out for six floors.  It was a tight spiral stairwell with NO windows and NO light - pitch black.  Thankfully I had my phone with me and was able to use the flash from the camera to see my way down.

I think Tommy's and my stories are great analogies for what it's like when we are seeking spiritual direction in our lives.  Many times in my life I've been in a place where I knew God was leading me in a new direction in some way but I had no idea what that meant or what it would look like.  The two years between when I was serving as an associate pastor and when I became a lead pastor was one of those times - like an old Polarid picture slowly developing.

I find myself in that place again - knowing that God is on the verge of doing something new, or bigger, or more challenging in or through me but not knowing the details.  It's like walking down a small spiral staircase with just the light of a phone for guidance.

I have a list of things that I do during during these times.  Here's one that been especially helpful.  I listen to people who have been there and allow their wisdom to fuel me as I wait on God to give more details.  In the day of blogs, Twitter and Facebook this is especially easy to do.

Here's a few words of wisdom that I've held onto over the last few weeks.  If you find yourself in the dark with little, or no light I hope these words help you to.

"Barriers are blessings. God said 'no' to Paul for Asia so He could say 'yes' to Macedonia and Europe and the west. God turns everything to Good." - Jimmie Davidson

"God has given you what you need to fulfill what is in your heart. Follow Him, go after what ignites your passion, and change the world!" - Tim Schraeder

"What would you pursue today if you weren't afraid to fail?  If you were given permission to make it happen?  Might be time to go do that." - Brad Lomenick

"If your dream doesn't scare you to death you haven't really come to life."  Mark Batterson

Changing The World One Child At A Time

Our church has what we call "strategic partnerships."  We have strategic ministry partners and we have strategic church partners.

A strategic ministry partner is a partnership with a ministry outside the church that we support on particular issues as homelessness, poverty, orphan care and vulnerable children initiatives.

Our strategic church partnerships are with churches that have a similar vision and similar missional and theological DNA as our church.  Since we value the local church and we believe the local church should be the "hero" in their community, these partnerships are pastor to pastor and congregation to congregation.

In Nairobi, Kenya we have both.  We have a strategic ministry partnership with a ministry called The Royal Diadem Centre for Excellence.  It's a ministry of our strategic church partner Nairobi Gospel Centre International.  We are currently working together to meet the needs of vulnerable children in community near the church.  We are partnering together to change the world one child at a time.

My friend and ministry partner, Enock Matte is the project manager for our vulnerable children's initiative in Nairobi.  He recently put together this video that explains our vision and strategy in Nairobi.  If you want to support this project or find out more about it go to our non-profits website and click donate.

Mission Trips, Shoeboxes and My Son

I love mission trips.  I think every follower of Christ should go on at least one mission trip.  They are unique windows to our world that have the power to change our heart for the Kingdom of God.  I've been a part of so many mission trips that I've lost count.  But everyone of them have shaped my worldview, enlarged my heart for other people and have given me a better perspective on what I have and how God wants me to use what He's entrusted to me.

I love shoeboxes.  Not the kind with shoes in them, the kind with toys, school supplies and candy in them.  The ones that have Operation Christmas Child written all over them.  I've seen OCC, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse, do amazing things in our church through the years and in people's lives.  It's also doing incredible things around the world as it points people to Christ.

And I love my son.  Since the first time I laid eyes on him and held him we've had an incredible bond.  We are similar in our personalities, likes and dislikes and we share the same struggle of not being able to focus when we need to (ie. ADD.)

So it's no wonder that a week spent with MY SON on a MISSION TRIP handing out Operation Christmas Child SHOEBOXES would rank as one of the best experiences of my life.  Simply put it was an incredible experience and I'm so thankful that he and I were able to share it together.