Departing To Plant Again

Shaun, Marci, Macayla, Clayton, Mason, August

About a year and a half ago Marci and I began to feel a tug. It wasn’t strong. It wasn’t clear, but it was there. As we felt this tug on our hearts we approached the leadership of BCC about it and asked them to engage in a season of discerning with us. We did not want to fabricate our own future (tried that before) or make any decisions that were not of the Lord. We wanted others to look into our lives with us and be prayerful and honest about what they saw. Others outside of BCC were sought after as well. We knew we could not keep these thoughts and feelings to ourselves because we might just convince ourselves of anything- that’s what happens when we isolate our thoughts and desires from the rest of Christ’s body. Instead, we wanted to hear God’s voice in some way. Throughout this long discernment process the Lord provided various confirmations that I will not go into here. Suffice it to say that the tug on our hearts ended with this message and confirmation: Move back to NH and share the Gospel there.

Outside the North Brunswick Municipal Building there is a memorial of Fred J. Hermann who was Mayor of North Brunswick, NJ for 20 years. Underneath Fred Hermann’s profile are the words, “These are my people”. Fred J. Hermann remained as Mayor of North Brunswick for 20 years in part because the people wanted him to remain as Mayor that long, but also because there was something in Fred Hermann’s heart which said, “These are my people, I must serve them”. Marci and I have loved the people of NJ for the past 9 years. I mean that completely. We have sought to give our lives for them. We have developed friendships with the church here that are as strong as an family ties can be. However, if we are honest we do not feel of NJ the same way we feel about NH. We do not feel like the people of NJ are “our people”- the people we are called to. Instead the Lord has placed on our hearts an affinity for the people of NH.

Marci and I make this decision to move to NH in January 2014 for this simple reason: We feel like the people of NH are our people and we want to be faithful to what we believe the Lord is calling us to. Annoying NJ traffic has nothing to do with it. Cost of living has nothing to do with it. Desire for change has nothing to do with it. Difficulty of ministry in NJ has nothing to do with it. Church dynamics has nothing to do with it. At the very root and base of this decision is the strong belief that the Lord has called us to be a part of planting new churches of Christ in NH much like we have been a part of in NJ. That’s all.

So what’s next for BCC then? Well again, we did not make this decision alone. The leadership of BCC has contributed to this conversation from the start- not telling us what to do but contributing. BCC is going to press on! Part of the reason Marci and I felt like now was the right time to transition was because we felt like BCC is better prepared now to handle our transition than they have been before. With the addition of Moses and Elizabeth to the leadership team we believe BCC is strong. BCC is caring for each other well. She is unified. She is focused. Though she may not be large in number she is, as I have always said, the best congregation I have ever been a part of.

So for those of you who are uneasy about the transition let me encourage you by reminding you that you are in the hands of able men of God. They love you. They have proven their love for you and they are deserving of your following- you know who these men are. But more than that; we believe God is orchestrating all of this. This is not our own making. 2 years ago Carl and Alicia Williamson left BCC to start the Gateway Church of Christ. Equal feelings of uneasiness were felt upon their departure. But 2 years later we look back and conclude that had Carl and Alicia not departed when they did, the Gateway Church of Christ would not have existed and the amazing work of God that is happening on the Jersey Shore right now would not be happening. We believe God placed Carl and Alicia and the Gateway church in Holmdel, NJ at just the right time. They could have planted a church in any other NJ city at any later time, but they didn't. Why? Because ultimately that’s where the Lord wanted them to be for such a time as this.

Through the uneasiness of this transition we press forward with the conviction that God is orchestrating it all. As a member of BCC, therefore, you are part of what God is orchestrating. You are now a part of a church who has participated in the formation of not just one new church of Christ, but 3. Praise the Lord.

Marci and I will depart NJ on January 15^th, 2014 but we are fully present in NJ until that time. We have much work to do as a church this Fall: A Fall Festival, Thanksgiving Food Delivery, Spiritual Cookouts all over town, Leaf Raking for our Elderly, Christmas Caroling at the train station, the daily work of redeeming the Marketplace for the Lord. We have numerous things happening which will put us in contact with God’s lost people whom He loves. Let’s work! Let’s press on! As Paul the Apostle said, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal.6:9). Let us not let the Devil deceive us; this is God’s work. He is leading the train.

In great love for you all,

Shaun & Marci

 

Spiritual Cookouts: A Congregational Practice

I touched on this idea in an earlier post but I want to attack it again here. What would happen in our city if every family, every other night, from 7-8pm, turned off all other sources of entertainment (the TV, computer and phones), opened the Word of God together and let it speak into their homes? What would happen in one year’s time? Let’s take this concept outside of our homes and ask what would happen in our city if every time you walked into a Dunkin Donuts, or a Panera Bread, or a Starbucks you saw groups of 2-6 people sitting at a table sharing the Word of God together? Someone might begin to ask, “What is going on here? Everywhere I go I see people sharing the Word of God together?” At our congregation we are calling these gatherings of 2 or more people, Christians with non-Christians, “Spiritual Cookouts”.

When tempted in the wilderness in Matthew 4 Jesus told the Devil, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” For the Christian opening the Word of God with others is like having a cookout. It’s a feast. It is food for the soul. It is bread. It is something we should look forward to eating and sharing each day. But truth be told, in the past 2 generations we have replaced the true entertainment of the soul with bottomless boredom.

How many people go to work on Monday morning saying, “Boy I sure am glad I watched 3 hours of television last night- my soul feels full today?” I doubt that anybody feels truly full inside when they watch TV or browse the internet. For most people watching 3 hours of television or surfing the web for just as long makes us feel bad. We say to ourselves, “I just wasted 3 hours of my life and what did I really gain for it?” It does not matter what show is being watched or what new toy is being sought after on Craigslist, modern forms of entertainment are bottomless pits in comparison with the feasting that is possible when 2 or more people get together to listen to God’s Word.

It is my conviction today that unless we restore true entertainment to the soul through regular spiritual cookouts- through a regular sharing of God’s Word with others- we will not see cultural change. History has proven that the human heart follows its source of entertainment. The human heart follows its desires, and God help us if all we can find to desire in this life are the things which satisfy our flesh.

At our congregation we have been challenging each other to have regular spiritual cookouts with others. I have asked the congregation to identify non-Christian people in their lives with whom they have a cordial relationship and to invite them to join them in feasting on the Word of God. I am meeting with 2 groups of people right now for that very purpose. I am not the teacher in these cookouts. Teaching opportunities always arise but teaching is not the goal; listening is. My role is simply to invite people to the cookout and provide the food and fellowship. So on our October 9^th cookout we will we will chew on Genesis 2:4-18 and on the October 16^th cookout we will chew a few more verses. We have in the Word of God the food that truly fills. The only question is how do we get others to chew on it with us? One way we are doing it is through hosting spiritual cookouts in safe places for everyone; kitchen table, Dunkin Donuts, Panera Bread, etc.

The pre-requisite for having spiritual cookouts of course is our own personal pure enjoyment of the Word of God. If we enjoy feasting on God’s Word it will be easy and natural for us to invite others to feast with us. But if we do not enjoy feasting on God’s Word, or never do it, we cannot expect others to join us either. Just imagine if you went up to someone and asked, “Hey I am having a cookout at my house this weekend with all kinds of food I don’t like. You wanna come?” Not real persuasive is it? Let me recommend that you do not invite anyone to a spiritual cookout if you do not love cooking-out yourself.

Folks, the Word of God is sweet. It is reviving to the soul. It is true entertainment. David said, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps.119: 103). He said, “My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times” (Ps.119:20). For David, God’s Law was his food. It was sweeter than honey. It was water from a well that never runs dry. It was true entertainment to the soul. So should it be for us.

When are you having your spiritual cookout this week and who are you inviting?

Creating Safe Places for God's Lost People

This past Sunday we looked at Luke 5:27-31 a little differently. Luke 5 reads,

“After these things [Jesus]went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. ²⁹ Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. ³⁰ And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

In this passage Levi, a tax collector, decided to follow Jesus. Upon making that decision the first thing he did was throw a big feast (or party) and invited all of his other tax-collecting friends over to his house. Without noting the obvious lesson here of the spiritually sick needing a doctor, Levi set forth, by example, a simple outreach strategy that I had not considered before. Levi’s party was simply dinner at Levi’s house with Jesus as His special guest. Levi created a safe place for his tax-collecting, “sick” friends to come and interact with Jesus for a time. Nothing fancy, but oh so special- Jesus was there!

 

At BCC we are actively re-considering outreach. Is outreach, at its base, simply creating safe places for lost people to come and rub shoulders with Jesus? The church is Jesus’ body (Col.1:24) and every time we welcome others to walk alongside us there is the potential that they will rub shoulders with Jesus too. However, we cannot expect them to come discover Jesus if we do not provide them safe places to do so.

 

This Sunday we are seeking to create a safe place for God’s lost people whom He loves to come by throwing a back-to-school cookout. We are going to dumb down the religiosity a bit. A prayer, perhaps a testimony or two, but otherwise it will be simply friends hanging out with friends and sharing Jesus in casual conversation.

 

Please pray that many of our friends will come and be curious about the source of the loving life of our people.

I Think They Will Join Us If They Trust Us

Back in February I wrote a post called “Are We Trusted”. In that post I talked about the need to establish trust with people in the community. I asked, “How do we as Christians establish trust with our neighbors when time and time again people are finding their first impressions about their neighbors so wrong?” I then talked about the trust that has been built with a certain leader in our community and how the trust developed over time.

I firmly believe that trust provides a solid bedrock for any relationship. If people cannot trust each other, in marriage, friendship or other, they have no solid ground from which to build their relationship. In this post I would like to consider how the bedrock of trust enables our relationships with our non-Christian friends to potentially grow into the highest form of relationship; that of Christian brothers and sisters.

I am learning that the bedrock of established trust empowers me to ask meaningful, even pinching questions. Trust grants me the authority to go below the surface of relationship. If I am not trusted I will not be granted that right. Trust must be earned, and once it has been earned any number of conversations can be had because the person trusts me. They know they are not being tricked. They feel as if I have a right to know. They believe I care for them. Trust takes longer to build with some than with others. Trust may take a great long while to establish with someone who has been repeatedly hurt by people. But again, once it has been established the ingredients are there to build higher and higher and higher until we both become devoted followers of Christ.

Here’s how this has played out recently; A number of months ago a non-Christian friend of mine informed me of a friend of hers who was going through a tough time- we will call her friend Ed. Ed was taking care of his aging parents and finding it incredibly stressful on other aspects of his life. I stopped by his office one day because I happened to be in the same building where he worked. My non-Christian friend had encouraged Ed to talk to me even though he had never met me so my arrival at his office was not a complete surprise. We talked in his office for about 15 minutes that day wherein I told him that if he would like to grab coffee sometime I would enjoy it too.

A couple weeks later we met for coffee. It’s been a slow-growing relationship since then. Some weeks it was just small talk and enjoyable coffee. Other weeks it was deep. We are at the point in our relationship now where he trusts me. He knows I genuinely care about him. He knows I am not trying to get anything from him. Because of this bedrock of trust I sensed was there I invited him into a Bible discussion group with me and a few others and he quickly agreed to be a part. Is he actually curious about the Word of God? I don’t think so; at least not yet. But he trusts me and was therefore not afraid of the invite.

Ed and I are set up now to have the highest form of relationship- that of brothers in Christ. Ed may end up rejecting the Word of God and thereby disallow brotherhood through Christ; but the necessary ingredients are there for him to find Christ. He trusts me. He is reading the Word of God. My only prayer now is that the Lord will convict His heart through the Word to repent and turn to Him.

I believe that if we will build trust with people they will join us if we invite them along.

Opening the Word of God With Our Friends

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb.4:12).

What would be the sociological result if every family in our community opened the Word of God together every night and let it speak into their lives? What would happen if every household shut off the TV and phones from 7-8pm and just let the Word of God speak into the room? What would we see happen? What would begin to take place in our city? In 10 years I believe we would see upside-down change. We would hardly recognize the place anymore.

Of course this assumes that there are people in every home with sincere hearts who fear the Lord enough to accept what He says. But if we could just imagine the implications for a moment I think we would agree that the results would be astounding. The Word of God is living and active. It cuts and pierces and gets at the deep dirtiness of our hearts. It has the potential to bring about world-wide change because the world-wide problem is the dirtiness of our hearts. And if instead of all the radio, TV and internet junk we feed our minds every day we would begin to channel in the Word of God, even in small increments, the personal and societal changes would be more than could be predicted.

I was recently challenged by an Elder in the church to gather my non-Christian friends together, 3-6 in a group, to read the Scriptures and talk about its meaning. Since daily Scripture reading was already a habit of mine I thought this challenge very doable. So I approached Tom and said,

“Hey Tom, what are you doing on Tuesday nights?” (Let him respond). “I was wanting to get a group of guys together to have coffee, read a passage of Scripture, talk about what it says and maybe take prayer requests for each other. Whenever I have done this in the past it has always been transformative for everyone involved. I want you to be involved. If I could arrange a good time for all of us would you be a part of it?”

Out of 9 people I have asked to be involved only one person said they would not be interested even if they had the time. I currently have two groups of friends gathering every week to read the Scriptures and discuss them and so far everyone has enjoyed it very much. One guy even said, “Knowing that I am created in the image of God I think can help me a ton when I get depressed. It’s like I know I am special.”

I want to encourage you to make daily Scripture reading a habit for you. Then, I want to challenge you to invite your non-Christian friends to participate with you. In your gathering time(s) you do not teach, you do not preach. You just let the Word of God speak and facilitate the discussion accordingly. In order to see personal and societal transformation we must get the Word of God into people’s hands so that it can begin to cut deep into their hearts. I am learning how to do this now; you can learn too.

The Power of Testimonies in the Church

An Atheist friend of mine once said to me through email, “There’s no evidence for religion”. I could hardly believe he even said it. I think it would have been appropriate to reply (although I didn’t), “There’s no evidence for Atheism”, for what my friend does not understand is that everything in the world is evidence for religion. Everything points to something beyond itself. The good, the bad, the atrocious, whatever…it all points beyond itself. Nothing touchable in your office right now appeared there all on its own. Every pen, every marker, every paper-clip, every stapler points beyond itself. By its very existence it gives evidence of a maker, a manufacturer, a designer, and it need not say “made in China” for you to know that.  The trouble with modern-man’s lack of faith is not in a lack of “evidence” for religion. The evidence is every bit as much there as it was a thousands of years ago. The trouble is with our eyes.

I find this true in the church as well. It’s not that the Lord is not working in our lives as a depressed Christian might say; it’s that we oftentimes do not have eyes to see Him working in our lives. We fail to recognize all He does because we do not make it a habit of identifying and naming His movements. I suspect we shall arrive on the other side of Eternity to have the Lord ask us, “Why did you not thank Me more for all the things I did for you?” To which we will reply, “I didn’t know You were doing those things”.

I believe regular times of testimony in the church are a great way to foster a habit of identifying the movements of the Lord in our lives, both big and small. The big testimonies people offer are really encouraging because they are hard to deny. There is a temptation, however, to hear the small testimonies and ask oneself, “did God really do that?", to which I try to tell myself, “try proving He didn’t”. This past month at BCC was a month filled with big testimonies. Here’s a recap;

• We had a baptism!
• One member received a spontaneous check for $24,000 from a family member to buy a new car. Their former car managed to make it to the dealership for trade-in where it basically died in the parking lot.
• Members from India received a Visa extension from the Government after months of prayer by the entire church. This news came on the heels of their mother’s death in India (literally the next day). Deep sadness followed by exuberant relief.
• With tears in her eyes a wife praised her husband in front of the whole church for his rapid growth in faith. This was powerful because we all knew that their marital resurrection is a direct result of their new mutual faith in Christ.
• The last week of school my High School students bought me (Shaun) a brand new Kindle Fire HD. I saw the Lord’s hand in this because it was not their parents who bought it for me but them. I have been trying to put into practice our "Kingdom of God" series of lessons by submitting everything I do to the kingship of Christ, even bus driving. I believe the Lord rewarded me for performing that job for Him and not for money.
• The Lord brought my daughter August into the world in an unexpected way. Since the doctor and nurses were not in the room at the time I had no choice but to deliver her myself! I wonder if this is an indication of the sort of woman she shall become- she acts when she is ready whether others are ready or not ;).

I pray that you, your congregation as a whole or your small group will make it a habit of identifying and naming the movements of the Lord in your life; it really fosters faith.

"Go"- The First Response To The Great Commission

In their book "Building a Discipling Culture" Mike Breen and Steve Cockram argue that the mission of the Christian Church today is to "make disciples" (Mt.28:19) not build the church. They wisely reason that if we focus on building the church, we may get some disciples out of it. But if we focus on making disciples and succeed, the church automatically gets built. The formation of a church is always the automatic and natural result of having made disciples of Jesus. Wherever disciples are made a church is formed. For this reason we must make it our focus to make disciples not build the church.

Ask the average Christian gathering, however, how to go about making disciples and the response will be, "I don't know". At our Christian Community FG last Saturday we asked the same question; "How do we make disciples?" We wrestled with this question. By the end of the night we surely did not answer the question conclusively but we did arrive at this point that I think is important: In order to make disciples we must first respond positively to the command to "Go".

The first part of the Great Commission is to "Go..." (Mt.28:19). I believe many disciples have been made in the history of the church simply by members going and making themselves available to be used by the Lord;

• We spend extra time outside during the summer so that we can talk to our neighbors.
• We join new social clubs just to be among new people.
• We eat in the breakroom at work because we hope to be present for people who need to talk.
• We make our presence felt in the worst sections of town just to shine some light.

I have found that so much of making disciples is going and being present in the places where God could work. It is going but not always knowing what you will do when you get there. It is listening but not always knowing how you will respond. It is interceding for those who are mistreated all the while uncertain of what sort of fight others may pick with us. Being used by God requires that we first "Go". If we do not go we cannot be used.

I want to close by thanking a couple members at BCC for positively responding to the command to "Go".

Thank you Ron for going to help your non-Christian friend in Linden who was going through a tough time. I know you didn't know exactly what to do besides loan money but you went anyway.

Thank you Joann for going to sit with your girlfriend who lost her husband recently. I know you did not always know what to say to her but you went anyway.

What about you today? How are you making yourself available for the Lord's use on a daily basis? Are you going to be with people or are you isolating yourself? Are you going to listen to people or do your conversations revolve around you? Are you going to those you know are struggling and praying with them, or are you expecting someone else to do it instead?

How can you respond positively to the command to "GO and make disciples..." today?

What I Love About Our Fellowship

We have a student from Princeton Theological Seminary doing his Field Education with us in the Fall. We are excited about the opportunity to help a future Minister learn the ropes of shepherding. As a preamble to the Fall semester I was required to attend a Field Education Supervisor Orientation at Princeton Theological Seminary. For those who are unfamiliar with Princeton Seminary, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian denomination and has been for more than 200 years now. Simply walking the campus is a humbling experience to think of all the influential men and women of the past who have learned in those buildings. However, when I left the Seminary that day after the Orientation was finished I did not feel out of my element. I did not feel inferior to the many learned people I was around. I did not feel like I was just a young lad with nothing of value to add to the conversation. Instead I felt grateful for the spiritual platform I had been given in the fellowship of the Churches of Christ.

My renewed appreciation for our fellowship was set off by the response I received to a question I asked in the orientation. A stretching part of my full-time work with BCC over the past 7 years has been learning to create ministry when ministry is not coming to me. People come to a minister for counseling, prayer, clarification on the Scriptures and a number of other things. However in new churches and smaller churches the minister must also learn to create ministry when ministry is not forthcoming. Some days there is no one on my schedule to minister to or meet with. It is in these times when I have to go create ministry opportunities. I cannot sit back and wait for ministry opportunities to arise. I must go find them. Some days my efforts fail. But other days great things happen simply because I went. This has been a deeply stretching part of my responsibilities as Minister and likely a stretching part of any Minister in the fellowship of the churches of Christ.

With this in mind I asked the orientation class a question. I asked, “In your opinion, is it ok to allow students some unplanned, unscheduled time to go create ministry for themselves?” One gentleman who was a former supervisor of Field Ed students answered that with the student’s coursework and field work responsibilities there is very little time that is unplanned or unscheduled for them. The question, however, he thought was a great one. One lady at lunch referred to it as the "million dollar question" of the day. But why?

I think I later understood why. I think it has to do with our theologies. Many reformed theologies conceptualize ministry as that which the Priest or Pastor does at “church”. They believe people go to "church" to be ministered-to by the Priests and Pastors but do not heavily emphasize the church leaving the building to go and minister as a whole. Some church traditions have put so much effort into training their Priests and Pastors to "do church" correctly that the outward obligations of ministry have been neglected. Ministry definitely happens within the church, but it must also happen outside of it. The Great Commission was performed by those inside the church in order to bring those outside the church into the Kingdom of God.

Don't get me wrong even the Churches of Christ have fallen into this inward-looking trap. However I think it has happened with confident irregularity. As a member of the Church of Christ I have always understood ministry to be that which happens both inside and outside of church gatherings. For this reason it has been natural for me to think that part of my responsibility as a Minister is to go and create ministry when none is there.

I was really grateful that day for a fellowship of believers who have helped me accurately conceptualize what ministry is. I felt free of stifling tradition and liberated to “Go” and make disciples. Thanks church!

"I Want To Become A Leader...But How?"

I had a young man approach me on Sunday with this question, "If someone wants to become a leader for the Lord how does it happen? What's the process he or she goes through to become influential for the Lord?"

I can't tell you how excited I was to hear that question asked me from such a young person. He was thirsty to be used by the Lord but just didn't know how. I love it.

I remember the same question running through my mind when I attended the Tulsa Workshop in Tulsa, OK in college- it's one of the largest Church of Christ lectureships in America. I listened to a young man speak at that workshop and found myself having great admiration for him. In fact I remember trying to convince myself to approach him afterwards and ask, "I want to lead people like you are leading people, but how do I do it? What's my first step?" I thought it was a stupid question to ask at the time but now I'm wishing I had.

So what's the answer? How does one become a leader for the Lord if the desire is there? I will share what I shared with my friend on Sunday with a short preface that I did not share.

It begins, I believe, with a close, intentional walk with the Lord. The Lord is the One who creates people for influence. As Jesus said so strongly, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing" (Jn.15:5). The Lord exalts people to influence not ourselves. It is our responsibility as Christians to "humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God" (1 Peter 5:6) not to seek to be great. The more we seek to be great the less great we will be. Let us therefore seek to be nothing and Him be everything and perhaps He may just favor us with influence.

Secondly, becoming a leader for the Lord continues with absorbing the right information. 200 years ago most of the schools of Higher Education in America had as their initial purpose the building of leaders for the next generation. Over time, however, the purpose of Higher Education became to increase one's earning potential. The right information learned through education has always been effective in building leaders for the Lord. But not just any information will do. No person can have a close walk with the Lord without a solid understanding of the Word of God, and no person can become a leader without it either. The Word of God is primary and indispensible if one would become an influencer for the Lord. It's the Truth. It's Heavenly information. It is Holy Spirit inspiration. It is a must for the Christian influencer.

Other things people have always studied are the Classics. Classic literature tells the stories of people who have gone before us and have influenced. These stories are also very forming for the character of the next generation.

Thirdly, becoming a leader for the Lord concludes with finding a mentor who is himself closely walking with the Lord and solid in the Word of God. At some point all of us need someone to model. Paul told the church at Corinth, "Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Cor.11:1). A mentor shows a mentee what influencing people looks like in person. He/she is someone to follow because they are devoutly following Christ. Worthy mentors are sometimes difficult to find and they will not often come to you and say, "Come follow me as I follow Christ". That would be great if they did though! You will have to seek out worthy mentors if you really want to become a leader for the Lord.

May the Lord give us more young people who are thirsty to be influencers for the Lord.

Governor of MA: "Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness; Only Light Can Do That"

Deval Patrick, Governor of Massachussettes, gave a speech at the Prayer Vigil in Boston on Thursday (4/18). In that speech he quoted from Martin Luther King Jr and said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that". I agree.

When Jesus came into the world He was the light of the world. As the light of the world He dispelled darkness. Darkness could not remain in Jesus' presence. Demons were terrified of Him. If Jesus was there the demons asked to leave, and quickly! (see Mark 1:23-26). The darkest things on Earth can only be expelled by Jesus and to talk about fighting the darkness without talking about Jesus is to talk about fighting Mike Tyson without arms- good luck.

It is the role of a Christ-follower to dispell the darkness wherever we go. Darkness runs away from light. This I believe is the perspective we should have about every aspect of our communities. We should not let the Gentiles, so to speak, do their thing in government and business and education while we confine ourselves to religious matters. No, we as Christians are given the power and the call to invade all areas of society and dispense the light of Jesus Christ in them. Our call is not to take over places by force but to quietly invade our schools, businesses, municipalities and social networks and shine light from within them. We call this process transformation.

One of our members, I must boast, is transforming her workplace one work-day at a time. Sarah (not her real name) works in a Senior housing building in North Brunswick. She got hired in November and has been quietly dispensing light ever since. She notices the politics in the workplace but refuses to get involved. She hears the gossip but does not participate. She sees what's wrong with the system and a few within it but she keeps her efforts focused on working in a way that pleases the Lord. The residents know about her strong faith and they love her. She brings the names of certain residents to our prayer meetings so that the church can pray for them. The best part is that Sarah turned down a job making 6 figures in order to work where she is working instead. She felt it was a better place from which to dispel the light of Christ.

Sarah is bringing Christ to the workplace and the Lord is blessing her. Let me challenge all of us as Christians that it is our job not to run from darkness but to invade it and by the power of the Holy Spirit drive it to the door. I envision a time when every business owner in our city will find Jesus and use their mode of employment to dispense the light and truth of Jesus into our community. Oh what eternal meaning this would bring to our vocations which we so often think have no eternal value at all.

I can see the light of Jesus dispensing our community because I have seen it in our own members. I also know it can happen in every city nation-wide, especially Boston now. But if Jesus Christ is not the Light we shine then the darkness will not leave. We will find ourselves in a ring with a world champion boxer having no way to defend ourselves. The darkness surging in the person(s) heart that detonated those bombs on Boyleston St. on Saturday can only be eliminated through Jesus Christ. There is no other defeater of evil. There is no other preventer of evil in society than to everywhere dispense the light and truth of Jesus Christ. Let us not think that policies, good intentions or kind words about camaraderie or Patriotism can solve this problem of evil. Only Jesus can.

Keep invading the darkness folks, and let us pray for our Boston brethren that now more than ever they may dispense the light of Jesus into their beloved city.

Do We Want To Get Well? (lesson excerpt)

Shawshank Redemption tells the story of Andy Dufrense, a banker charged with the murder of his wife and her lover. Andy spends nearly 2 decades in Shawshank State Prison. While in Shawshank Andy becomes the assistant to the prison librarian, elderly Brooks Hatlen. After 55 years in prison for a murder he committed, Brooks is up for parole and learns that he will be released into a halfway house. But after 55 years in the prison Brooks is more afraid of the outside world than the prison and so in an effort to remain incarcerated for the rest of his life, he attempts to murder another inmate. Brooks’ behavior comes as a shock to everyone in the prison, including the guards. Brooks has a good reputation. He is known as an educated man and holds a well respected position in the prison. It comes to be discovered that the reason Brooks attempted the crime was because he feared release. As a result the authorities have mercy on him and even release him. But after 3 weeks in the outside world Brooks is unable to adjust to freedom and hangs himself in the halfway house.

Word gets back to his friends at Shawshank about his suicide. In one scene Red, the wise sage in the circle of friends, offers his explanation for Brooks’ actions. Here it is. “There is something funny about these walls. First you hate them. Then you get used to them. Then you depend on them. That’s institutionalized…They put you in for life and that’s exactly what they take; the part that matters anyway.” We will come back to this.

In John 5 Jesus is in Jerusalem. He comes to the healing pool called Bathesda and fastens His eyes on a man sitting there who had an infirmity for 38 years. This man had been crippled for 38 years- living longer as a crippled man than many well men lived in that time. He was probably the most senior sick person around the pool.  Likely everyone knew him. He probably had life-long friends that he met at the pool regularly. In fact his longevity as a crippled man may have been the reason Jesus approached Him and no one else. Now we do not know how long he had been frequenting this pool, but what we do know is that he missed the stirring of the waters a number of times.

It is in this context that Jesus asks the lame man a seemingly rude question; “Do You Want To Get Well” (v.6).

‘Hmm. I’m sitting around a healing pool because I like it. I just enjoy hanging out with sick people in my spare time.’ You can imagine what may have gone through the lame man’s mind here.

But in asking this question maybe Jesus knows something we don’t. Maybe He knows “there is something funny about sickness. First you hate it. Then you get used to it. Then you depend on it…” You become institutionalized by it. Psychologists have found that, ‘It’s possible to be in the same condition for so long that at once you thought of your condition as subnormal you now believe it to be normal, even comfortable.’ So the question arises, what if this lame man’s ultimate problem was not his paralyzed body, but his paralyzed will? What if his main problem was not that he could not walk but that he did not really want to walk anymore? After 55 years in Shawshank ask Brooks if he really wanted freedom. And so the cure for a paralyzed will begins with a gut check from Jesus: “Do you want to get well” (v.6)?

On Saturday Mason had his first baseball game in the Franklin Twp, South Bound Brook Little League. Each year the league kicks off opening day with a parade and each team in the league gets to walk in it. As we were walking in the parade I had a conversation with a coach. This coach played in the same league when he was a boy and had grown up in the town his whole life. In fact his wife even played in the league as a young girl. As we walked we talked about his family some. We talked about the league a little. We talked about what we both do for a living. But the best part of our conversation was toward the end of the parade because we talked about how the community has changed in one generation.

He talked about how he used to ride his bike all over town and how the parents trusted each other to look after one another’s kids. He talked about how people used to trust one another instead of fear one another. He talked about how quickly things changed in just 20-25 years. I could sense in his voice a discontentment with the way of the world today but also some uncertainty of how to change the way of the world and even doubt that it could be done.

That conversation is a conversation I could have had with 1,000 other people on Saturday and it would have gone much the same. Everybody notices the change that have occurred in just 1 generation. Everyone is discontent and frustrated with those changes, and everyone is fairly pessimistic that things will ever change for the better. In fact most people I talk to end up complaining about the way of the world instead of talking about solutions because they have no good idea what the solution really is. In fact in my estimation people have lost hope that it can ever change.

My deep concern for my generation is that we will live the way we are living for so long and eventually lose hope that things can ever change. You see when society first gets sick, people hate it. In fact at first they will do anything to change it. But if enough time passes and society only gets sicker people sort of get used to the sickness. And then as more time passes they learn to depend on it. And when we surround ourselves for 38 years with people as hopeless and pessimistic as ourselves then we never get a new vision of the future for we are never around anyone who can offer us hope for the future. And over time we begin to think that our new way of life is normal. Normalcy gets redefined as year after year we associate with people just like ourselves. And it is at this point where it is appropriate for Jesus to come to us and ask, “Do you even want to get well?”

Our Vision

A few years ago in 2010 we came up with a vision for our congregation. But it wasn’t just a vision for our congregation- it was a vision for our community. That vision was birthed out of this same discontentment that my friend and I spoke about on Saturday. It was birthed out of a holy discontent with the sickness of our society and out of a deep conviction that Jesus is the cure for it. What we said was that “We Envision A Whole Community United To Build Life Around Jesus” again. Not around money. Not around career. Not around self-advancement. Not around capitalism. Not even around family. But united around Jesus. For we believe that Jesus is the answer to the sickness of our society.

• He is the Great Physician.
• He is the One who transform
• He is the One who rebirths
• He is the One who regenerates
• He is the One who restores
• He is the One who saves and who revives the human soul.

In Jesus, folks, is found all the power and all the hope mankind needs to turn the world upside down, and it is the church of Jesus that has been forever commissioned to do it. The church is the only one on earth with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to actually do impossible things. But let me ask us: “Do we still want to get well or has the struggle to unite our community around Jesus defeated our vision of wholeness?”

It is the view of almost everyone that I run into today that a radical, societal transformation is now impossible. But I disagree! In fact I see great hope. But it will not be the politicians or the media or doctors or psychologists who will bring it; it will be the church of Jesus that brings it.

I believe the impossible is possible with Jesus. Nothing is too difficult for our Lord. Nothing! But do we still want to get well or has the struggle to unite our community around Jesus defeated our vision of wholeness?

What are you doing to build life around Jesus today?

• Are you fervent in prayer daily?
• Are you constant in the Word of God daily?
• Are you interceding for your neighbors daily?
• Are you bringing Jesus into every sector of your life- your job, your recreation, your family?
• Are you doing nothing for selfish ambition or vain conceit?
• Are you running away from the pursuit of money?
• Are you running away from the desire to climb the corporate ladder?
• Are you getting to know your neighbors?
• Are you living a holy life by denying yourself the lusts of your flesh?
• Are you sharing your possessions with your church family?
• Are you offering the people you run into the hope of Jesus or are you succumbing to societal pessimism as well?
• Are you ministering to the people who come in your path or are they simply a means for you to get ahead?

Do we still want to get well? I Do!

What They Really Need

Single, 2 children, working full-time, barely paying the bills, no family support, struggling with depression, always stressed, always on edge, never able to give her children all of her self for she always feels spent, dead end job, broken relationships, hopeless heart- what does this person need? The pat answer is "she needs Jesus" and I won't for a moment disagree with that. But how specifically does Jesus help her?

There is this flat belief in NJ today that as long as a person has food, clothing and shelter they have all they need. It's not a spoken belief but it is a practiced one. As an example, I got to visit with Violet on Friday. Violet is 87 years only, she has lived in the same house for 51 years and by the looks of things she lives a pretty comfortable life. I would venture to say that 90% of the world's population would opt to trade places with Violet if they could. She's living in America in a comfortable house in a safe neighborhood with enough money to live on. What more could a person ask for? However Violet does not have all she needs to survive. At the end of our brief visit on Friday Violet broke down and cried because she is discovering that the tangibles are not all she needs.

Violet will probably die in the next few years not because of an illness; not because she does not have everything the body needs to live on; not even because old age has set in. Violet will die because of purposelessness, loneliness and despair. Violet's tears were tears of pain. She feels useless to her family and her society. Her daughter checks in on her to make sure she is eating but that's about it. Violet is a testimony to the fact that what mankind needs is not bread alone.
Mankind needs Jesus. But how? That statement means the world, but only if we see how it connects to our experience of the world.

First of all mankind needs Jesus because there's not a single one of us that could ever stand before God, look Him in the eyes and not have our faces instantly burnt off as a result. No one has ever seen their Maker and lived and for this reason we all need a Mediator. We all need Jesus. A go-between. Someone to present us to the Father unblemished and prepared for Him. We need the blood of Jesus. We need His redemption. We need His forgiveness. In the globalest sense of the phrase we need Jesus because there is no way to the eternal Father except through Jesus (Jn.14:6).

Secondly though, we need Jesus because of what Jesus alone provides on earth. The single lady mentioned above and Violet, my 87 year old friend, need the same thing. They need a family of believers to walk with. What Violet knows better than anybody right now is that we cannot live alone. But what happens when, like the single mother above, the family breaks down? A deeper question is "Why did her family break down in the first place?" It broke down because at least one person in the family, probably the father or whoever was the leader of the family, did not have Jesus. That person lived selfishly. He aborted his family. He did not crucify his will to the Father's but followed his own evil desires. As a result his whole family broke down under his poor leadership. History is filled with examples of the long seasons of drought families and whole nations have experienced at the expense of one leader who chose his own will above his Maker's.

Let's ask the same question of Violet. Why is Violet living alone and feeling purposeless? I think we could identify three likely reasons: 1) Her children may actually believe that all their mother needs is food, clothing and shelter and have not considered the higher needs of love and purpose she is needing. 2) Violet and her husband lived without Jesus and so broke down their family over time- resulting in #1 above. Or, 3) Violet's family say they follow Christ but are not considering what "honor your mother and father" (Ex.20:12) means for their context. If Jesus were placed into any or all of the 3 scenarios above Violet's problem would be solved. People who love Jesus know there is more to life than food, shelter and clothing. People who love Jesus seek to remove all obstacles to spiritual growth for their children instead of creating obstacle by their own behavior. People who love Jesus will honor their mother and father even when their parents are grouchy, rude, obnoxious and down-right hard to live with. Jesus is the answer for them all.

The Lord Jesus designed His church in such a way as to provide for the needs of every orphan, every widow, and every handicapped person if they will but bow to Jesus and live as a functioning member of His family. Jesus has provided a place in His kingdom for every person who humbly submits to His kingdom laws. Under loving shepherds each church can effectively meet the needs of one another if they will "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ" (Eph.5:21). In His church Jesus provides every believer with a family, an economic backing (Acts 2:40ff, Acts 4:32-37), a village from which to raise children, a mission to seek and save the lost ones, and the reaffirming hope that Jesus is returning soon to take us out of this broken world.

What the world needs straight up is Jesus. Jesus is the answer. Jesus has not come to make the world Heaven, but He has come to redeem those in the world so that they can be with Him in Heaven. Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you" (Mt.26:11). Yes, so long as there are people on earth living for themselves instead of for Jesus, we will have the poor among us. There will always be people who do not follow their Maker and therefore there will always be the poor. But Jesus did not mean by this that we should ever have destitute church members. In fact "Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Tim.5:8).

I need regular reminders that in all the chaos and complication of the world Jesus is still the answer.

Rethinking the Lord's Supper and the Eldership

This new way of church-life (in our homes) is causing us to rethink some familiar church practices.

For example it is causing us to rethink the Lord's Supper. In the Hebrew culture the breaking of the bread was the official start of a meal together. It was the waving of the white flag to start the race. We can imagine that the father of the family, much like Jesus with His disciples on that betrayal night, held up the bread, gave thanks, broke it in view of all at the table, and dinner began. The father then passed the bread around the table as Jesus passed the bread to His disciples, but it did not stop with the bread; other foods were likely consumed as well. It was a meal. They would pass the potatoes, the squash, the pumpkin pie and the salad. And at the end of the meal the wine was passed for all to drink. The wine was like the checkered flag at the end of the meal stating, ‘our meal is now finished’. And if this were the way the majority of Hebrew families began and ended meal-time then Paul’s words in 1 Cor.11 make a lot more sense;

“In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor.11:25).

The power of this regular meal was not the actual bookends themselves (bread & wine), but the communing that took place between the people and their Lord and between the people and one another. As they ate and supped with Jesus so they ate and supped with one another. At the dinner table they would share about Jesus together. They would pray spontaneously as the need arose. They would confess to one another their struggles. They would give testimony to the Holy Spirit’s working in their lives, and as they did this the children probably chimed in with, “Mommy can I have more please”. We are not at present practicing the Lord's Supper as a meal on Sundays; however in this new context of ours it is clear to see how this might have been the way of the church in the beginning.

Church in our homes is also causing us to rethink the eldership of the church. In Acts 14 we read of the Apostles appointing elders in every church in the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (see Acts 14:21-23) and it is common to assume that the Apostles went to specific church buildings in these cities to do this; but this is not how it happened. The Apostles went house to house because each church resided in a house. To appoint elders in every church in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch was to appoint elders in every house-church. These elders were the spiritual fathers of the church family and would be responsible for identifying "faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim.2:2).

Paul's instructions to Titus makes more sense when we consider that the church met in their homes. Titus 1:5 says,

"For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—"

If each house-church had an elder or two as seems to be the pattern chosen in Acts 14, then to "appoint elders in ever city" simply meant to appoint elders in every house-church in the city. The modern day problem of having too many people for one pastor to care for disappears when a church is a house-church, A house-church likely consistsed of approximately 20 people and one elder can certainly care for 20 souls responsibly.

These things and many more we are rethinking as we practice now the house-church model at BCC. Please pray for the Lord's guidance as we experience many new changes which, we pray, will be advancing for the kingdom of Christ in NJ.

Church Planting 9 Years And Still Learning

9 years after starting a new church in NJ and we are still learning lessons. Here are some things we are finding ourselves reinvigorated by 9 years later;
 
The church as family
 
In our early years in NJ we were family. We lived within a mile of everyone on the original team. We borrowed each other's stuff. We hung out together regularly. We shared our goods and resources. We fought together like any good family does. We made peace again. We laughed, cried, wondered a lot about what the future might hold and did our best to keep Jesus front and center.
 
9 years later we are trying to do those very same things afresh with new people. It is a challenge with new people because living as family requires we build a healthy level of trust first. None of us are willing to offer ourselves whole-heartedly to a church family unless we trust the people. Trust, however, takes time especially if we have been hurt by people before. Most people would rather cocoon themselves from close relationships rather than experience the pain of broken trust again. Thankfully church in our homes has seemed to catapult us into closer connection with one another. We are finding this new context makes church as family seem easier to get to.
 
The need for a Jesus economy
 
Over the past 9 years we have come to rediscover the need for the church to live under the economy of Jesus again. The economies of capitalism, socialism and communism are insufficient for the church of Christ. The economy of Jesus says: 'those who have shall, out of the overflow of their hearts, give to those who have not.' Generosity is practiced in the church because it is the natural expression of having received such a generous gift in Jesus. When a congregation lives under the economy of Jesus we find that they have “no needy persons among them” (Acts 4:34) and, I believe, the Holy Spirit responds as He did in Acts 2 by working powerfully among them. Obedience always brings blessing.

The church of Christ in our present age has not been obedient to the Jesus economy. Even though we know theologically that we ought to live this way, we still treat our stuff as if it were our own and remain obnoxiously private with what the Lord has given us. This is often the case because it is preceeded by a failure to live as church family (#1 above). Many generous people exist in the church today but we are not close enough relationally to one another to know the needs of one another. Because we do not know each other we do not trust each other, and the majority of us will find it difficult to give to people if we have not yet built trust with them. On the other hand, having close relationships with one another we would readily give our shirts for each other. I believe it. I've seen it. This past Sunday a brother in Christ secretly handed me a card. I opened it later and read, “I always said when I’m blessed others will be blessed and when I’m not feeling God’s blessing, I must look to bless those around me...” Inside the card was $250 cash!

 

We are re-learning the need for the church to live under the Jesus economy. I suggest that it is our disobedience in this regard which most hinders the work of the Lord in America today.
 

Discipleship as Spiritual Parenting

This is something I have been learning in the past 3 or 4 years. Before that time I was not old enough or wise enough to spiritually parent anyone. Discipleship at its core is spiritual parenting. Protestants harp on the Catholics because they call their priests “Father”, and I think rightly so. This conviction comes from Jesus’ command in Matthew 23:9, “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.” Jesus gave this command against those who placed others on spiritual pedestals. It was against those who liked to be seen in the marketplace with their special clothing and special titles and who took the best seats in the synagogues because they thought they were somehow more worthy than others to sit there. To these Jesus said (paraphrasing here), “don’t call them rabbi, teacher, or father for you have one Father worthy of that kind of respect." However the idea of having a spiritual father that you follow is also very Biblical.

 

Paul the Apostle said to the church at Corinth, “I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. ¹⁵ Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me” (1 Cor.4:14-16). Paul the Apostle clearly saw himself as a spiritual father to the church at Corinth. He considered them his spiritual children. However Paul was a spiritual father in affection not authority, and I think that's the necessary distinction. He would say elsewhere, “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, ¹² encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thes.2:11-12). Paul was absolutely a spiritual father to many in his affections toward them.

 

Spiritual parenting (mothering or fathering) is as simple as it sounds. It is taking responsibility for the souls of new Christians and nurturing them to spiritual adulthood. For Jesus that took 3 years with 12 men walking with them on the roads of life, teaching and modeling as He went. Spiritual parenting involves asking others to walk alongside you for a time or it can involve your choice to walk alongside others who need a spiritual parent. Many adult Christians are weak and wavering today because they never had a spiritual father or mother intentionally come alongside them and nurture them. I know we are all busy in America but if we are too busy to mandate time to raise spiritual (adult) children then we are too busy to make disciples.

 

“Do you have a pulse?” or “Do you want to follow Jesus?”

 
Our perspective on church growth in the first few years in NJ was ‘if you have a pulse, come join us!’ For a long while we thought any increase in people was a good increase in people. We thought we were progressing as long as we were seeing new faces. However if you spend enough time with people you come to discover those who truly want to follow Jesus and those who just want their spiritual fill for the week or some other easy handout. When Jesus elected 72 persons to bring the message of the kingdom of God to the surrounding region He was very selective. A pulse was not enough to get you elected. Instead Jesus rather sternly weaned out those who were divided in heart. Jesus said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” ⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Lk.9:59-62).

 

It appears to me that Jesus recruited people to accomplish His mission not by begging just any adjacent soul to join in- as if He could not accomplish His plan without them. Instead Jesus said, “I’m going. Who’s coming? If you are not in then get out”. As I have been time and time again frustrated by people of low resolve I have come to the conclusion that the best way to move forward in spreading the Gospel through the planting of new churches is to say, “I’m going, who’s coming?” There are those who are not ready to follow the Lord. Fine. We will pray that the Lord convicts their heart later on down the road before they die. But there are some who are ready now. To them we say, “I’m going. You coming?”

 

Maybe something we have experienced is helpful to you on your journey.

Are We Trusted?

Trust is a hard thing to establish with people today. The more media we consume the less we trust in mankind. What filters into our sensory organs everyday is mostly the stuff which leads us to distrust our neighbor. We grow to believe that everyone has some dark secret under their sleave which only the process of time will reveal. "He seemed like such a kind man whenever we spoke", is a familiar phrase to describe the serial killer after he is caught. How do we as Christians establish trust with our neighbors when time and time again people are finding their first impressions about their neighbors so wrong? It's an important question to consider for unless we have their trust we shall not gain their following.

Here are a couple suggestions on buildling trust in our communities that I have found effective for the church today.

1. Do everything for the glory of God

As Christians we are to do all things for the glory of God (see 1 Cor.10:31). When we do all things for the glory of God then we will do all things well and with the upmost of integrity and honesty. When we begin to do things for lesser reasons (i.e. because it feels good, in order to make money, because we have to, etc.) we will inevitably do those things with less diligence and genuineness than if we did it to glorify God.

2. Do not have alterior motives

A gentleman comes into the Foodbank every so often to "get food for my neighbor". That is the pat reason he gives for coming to the Foodbank anyway. The real reason he comes is to find opportunities to use his gift of evangelism to speak to people in line about Christ. Praise God for his desire to make Christ known! However this man is distrusted by the Foodbank workers because they know he is not being truthful as to why he is really there. They believe his story about "food for my neighbor" is a crock. It's made up but they can't prove it. Since he has not made his primary reason known but is instead using the Foodbank for other reasons, he is not trusted by the Foodbank workers. Consequently he has hampered his ability to share Christ with them. They don't trust him.

3. Genuinely love people for no other reason than that Jesus loves people

If we want to build the trust of people we cannot engage in relationships with people for any lesser reason than to love them as Jesus loves them. As we genuinely love them without conversational tricks we will build their trust and create a platform for ourselves from which to say, "I hope you know that I care about you and pray for your soul often".

Here's how trust has been built in my life recently: I have been serving at the Foodbank for about 8 months now. When I am there I am very curious about the lives of the Foodbank workers. I ask them about themselves. I continue conversations about familiy members we had from last time. I tell them "I will be in prayer about that for you", and I am. I hide nothing. I say I am there to help out and help out is exactly what I do. I work hard to make them appreciate my help. I inquire about them because I genuinely care about them. They all know I am a preacher and they respect me for it. The Lord has given me their trust now and I see cool things happening as a result;

• The head lady at the Foodbank now introduces me to people who are in need of more than just food

Last Tuesday morning she pulled me aside quietly and said, "Do you know the lady that is at the desk right now?" I did not know her. She said, "I want you to go talk to her; she needs more help than just food." I helped her to her car and learned that her daughter in law had just passed away 2 weeks ago and she now had custody of her grandchildren. Her heart was greatly burdened by this sudden change in life. We talked for a bit outside and then I gave her my information. I let her know that if nothing else I had two good ears that were always available to her. I hope she will call.

• The head lady at the Foodbank also informs me about other people she knows, not affiliated with the Foodbank, who need spiritual guidance

She recently introduced me to Joe who works for the Township. One Tuesday morning she pulled me aside, told me about Joe, told me where his office was, and told me to get out of the Foodbank and go talk to him for he was really struggling. Fearing her reprimand if I did not I went! I had a great conversation with Joe in his office and we set up to have coffee together at a Dunkin Donuts to talk more. Joe came to our SuperBowl gathering recently where he and I connected and talked a lot about faith and life.

I believe these opportunities are open to me right now because the Lord has helped me establish the trust of the Foodbank workers. If I was not trusted by them people neither would they entrust to me their burdens, their souls, their experiences or the counsel of their friends.

How can you establish the trust of those you are with regularly? Once trust is established I think you will find evangelism rather natural.