This is the life.

Picking up local kids for church is quite a task at times. The young people come sometimes because they have nothing else to do and want to leave home. Many are not disciplined period. They do what they want and when they want. Not all of them are that way, though and many change and grow. One such kid is Raquan. He was never a big problem but little stuff like talking and such. At church lately he has been great. Most weeks he sits with Tom Gilliam. Instead of talking, now he opens his Bible and follows along. As much as hes growing I really wanted to treat him. I picked him up Friday afternoon and I spent sometime with him at the Warehouse as I cooked supper. We then went to the Person football game. During supper he leaned back in the chair and said "This is the life." It made my day. I was wondering if he was having a decent time and he was loving it. When we love God and give our life to Him, He will spend us on others. Matthew 25:35 "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me."

I am a rock star. OK, maybe not, but that's what I feel like when I go to lunches at the elementary school. I find this to be one of the easiest ways to speak to a kid. One of the easiest ways to let them know you love them. You don't even have to say it and they know. But I prefer to. No one else is coming to see them. No one else goes out of their way to show them special attention. Nothing else separates them from their class mates. This simple action means the world to them. This is an action that buys me their ear when I talk to them about the love of God. This is an action they recognize as love. They may not be able to explain it as that but they know it. If you want to make a kids day then visit them at lunch. Make it better and buy them ice cream.

Driving to church on the church van two kids got into an altercation. One had something that the other wanted. When the girl (about 7) wouldn't give it to the boy(just turned 5), he decided to hit her and she cursed at him. When we got to the church I took them to the side to talk about it. Both were mad. I told them both that I loved them. I told them how they both were wrong. I reminded them of my love for them and told them of a better way to handle their problems. I told them again I wasn't mad and reminded them of my love for them. We left and both were still not very happy. During the church service the little girl drew me this picture.

God has called us to love the world. 1 John 4:7 " Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." Love speaks very loud, even in the form of discipline. Take the time to get to know people and love them. The last thing a church needs is a program. The first thing they need to do is to love people.

A trip down memory lane

I journeyed to Wake Forest over the weekend to see a college friend who has served the last couple of years overseas. It was a great time to catch up with Joel and a few of our roommates. Apparently Joel has missed the snuggie craze. Watching a little football we run in to a commercial and Joel thought it was some joke. Unfortunately Chris had a Alabama snuggie available for Joel to experience. The snuggie is not all that bad but did it have to be an Alabama one?
Anyway, my conversations with Joel were the highlight of the trip. Spending two years overseas on the mission field is a big task. Verses the typical one week short term trip it seems like quite a long time to spread the word. In reality its quite hard to be limited to two years when you have more in mind than just telling someone about Jesus. When you have a desire to tell about Jesus and then make disciples two years seems very short. In fact, Jesus spent three years making his disciples. Joel had to become very intentional with his time. It was essential to seek out ones that were seeking to commit their life to Christ. There was no interest in a person who just wanted to say a prayer and believe that they weren't going to hell.
The word Joel kept saying was sanctification. The process of a believer being made into the image of Christ. Joel desired to lead that. Joel desired to disciple. Christ call us to make disciples, not to get people's names on a church role. I like the conversations that Joel and I were having. Believers being made into the image of Christ. Rethinking anything that may get in the way of that. Would you join us in our mission of seeking Jesus?

Warning: Has and attitude and knows how to use it

To know Josiah is to love Josiah. He is the child of Mark who works on staff with me at YFC. He loves to catch wild animals, fight, defend women and collect knives. Recently I went on a mission trip to Kentucky and Josiah went with us. We hard some hard labor in the heat while there. I worked all morning mowing a river bank with one crew while Mark led the other crew painting. We took a break to eat and cool down. You could tell Josiah had been working hard. He ate his lunch and then began to drink his water. He then started to get sick. I believe he consumed his water too fast. His dad decided to take him back to the camp to rest in the A/C with his mom. Three miles down the road Josiah began to cry. Not because he was feeling bad, but because he was no longer going to be able to work. He didn't want to sit inside while others labored. Mark turned the van around and they headed back to the fence to resume painting. Another reason to admire this young man of eight. Christ called his disciples to be laborers. Many people look for any excuse to not work or to give up early and head to a place thats more comfortable. But not Josiah. He's in it until the work is done. What if Christians took on the mindset of this little guy and pushed on?

Forever

Today has me reminiscing a little bit. The desire to go to a durham bulls game reminded me about one I went to this summer. A friend gave me tickets and I took my mom and a kid from church. My brother manages the sky boxes and since they weren't full, we got to spend the game there. It was the best way ever to watch a game. My brother spoiled us with endless free stuff. Chicken, pizza, ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, cotton candy, popcorn, peanuts, drinks all enjoyed from an air conditioned room, with the option to go out side too. It was awesome. The kid had never left roxboro before. He never goes anywhere and no one ever spends anytime with just him. He comes to church every week and often falls asleep. Perhaps thats the most peaceful hour he knows all week in an apartment with 6 kids. As usual Brooklyn didn't say much that day. But he took every thing in. He didnt miss any details. Not just on the field, but also watching everyone in the stands. He didnt smile much. He doesnt like to smile. But as I bought him the snow cone it was hard to hold back. We took a walk and decided to take a picture with Wool E. Bull. I wanted him to smile. He resisted. I could make him laugh, that always works. I started saying crazy things without much luck. Then it hit me. Though only 7 hes a tough guy and they dont like to talk about love. So I asked him in hopes of a smile, "Brooklyn, how much you love me?" Waiting behind the camera I heard, "Forever." I admit, I was choked up. I knew he was having fun but I didn't see that coming. I had poured out love to him all day and he noticed. Our God pours out his grace on us. And to the people God has called us to love, how can we do it any different?