It Was Great Fun Until the Fight Broke Out

When I was 10 we moved to a house that was next to a church. This church had a softball field, an outdoor lined basketball 1/2 court, Tennis courts, and an extra large playground. This provided hours and hours of fun unsupervised play. Most days there were enough friends there to keep the peace when one of us preteens/teenagers lost their temper for any number of reasons: bad day at home or school, a crazy hormone spike, or some hypoglycemia from our school lunch running out. We had no major injuries, but sometimes had some hurt feelings when we or our team lost. But the next day was a whole new day, injuries were scabbed over, relationships got a do over, and redemption for yesterday’s loss was possible. One day it was just me and a new friend. All that we found on the playground was a rubber playground ball that we usually played kickball or 4 square with. As per usual, a lack of other players didn’t stop us from making up a game. We played a simple version of wallball, only we did it down a set of stairs. We would throw it and scramble for it when it bounced off the wall and back up the stairs. This new friend was from another part of the neighborhood and a couple of years older than me. Somehow, this game grew very competitive quickly… go figure one teenager and one preteen boy with turf to defend, and something to prove with a new acquaintance. This new friend soon went from new acquaintance to now rival. I was a little smaller and quicker, so I used this to my advantage when possible. He was larger and stronger which he used to muscle me out of the way. We played for several minutes, sweating, breathing hard from running up and down the steps, and probably dehydrated (this was back in the day when we didn’t run around with water bottles). The ball  bounced off the wall, hit a step and headed back for the wall, we both ran down the steps, jumped the last three and headed for the ball. All four collided at once… and three of us bounced off the wall. We scrambled for the ball that continued bouncing around. I held my own for a moment but my quickness was no help in what became a test of strength. He eventually put me in a headlock and yanked the ball away. My pride and feelings were hurt, so I did what middle schoolers do, I jumped on my bike and rode home to lick my wounds. There was no attempt at reconciliation, no “see you tomorrow,” no “let’s play again,” just “game over” and some brick wounds with salty sweat in them. No more playing together, just competing and survival of the playground fittest. Then it was just awkward whenever he came to our side of the neighborhood again. No love lost between us.

How is it that what is supposed to be a community, so easily turns into “us” versus “them.” This happened at the church building, mind you, a place built to gather in Christ. This still happens in church communities around the world. Instead of us having fun, enjoying connection with our Christian brothers and sisters in Christ, feelings get hurt, isolation happens, it becomes “us” against “them” and community is lost. We begin acting like immature preteens, sacrificing community for our own wounded pride or a turf war. I am sure this is not what Jesus had in mind when he created the church.

The Apostle Peter who was familiar with church conflict and hurt feelings reminds the church. “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 ESV) He may have been remembering the words that Jesus had told His disciples, “you will be known as one of My people because of your love for one another.” We are not known as Jesus’ disciples because we are the apex alpha who always wins: the debate, disagreement, skirmish, or kerfuffle.  God’s Word reminds us to “grow up, ” give each other a do over, and keep community.

Hang in there people. God is glad to be with us. I’m praying for us all.

No Sleep for Your Eyes Until You Repent

 Photo Credit: OnlineSafetyTrainer.com

I was reminiscing with Chad, a co-laborer in Christ. He had joined my adult leadership team in my first ministry out of seminary. I was the student minister, he was a big hearted skilled craftsman, whose faith had recently been radically revived. The church had an exceptional group of kids and an adult leadership group that was fantastic. On our first mission trip, I took these kids to Cordele, Georgia to help a seminary friend, Ira, who was a church planter. His church start was in the government assisted housing neighborhood he had grown up in with a single mom. The first night of this mission trip, Ira took us to his old neighborhood in our church van towing a trailer and had us park right in the middle of the community. He asked if he could stand on top of the van and borrow our portable sound system to address the crowd. We said, “sure.” We all prayed and he instructed us that when he finished a short sermon we could go meet the neighbors and invite their kids to our Vacation Bible School. But the moment he climbed on top of the van and people began to come outside their apartments to listen, he said the Lord overwhelmed him and he began to prophesy against some of the people in that community. He called them by name and told them to repent. One man in particular, he called by name and told him if he did not repent the Lord would prevent him from sleeping. Ira said, “no sleep will touch your eyes until you turn to the Lord, and repent from your sins.” That man and some others yelled back at Ira, telling him to shut up and go away.  Once my friend came down from the top of the van we sang a hymn and left quickly. Obviously, after that our VBS plans were changed and we wouldn’t be going back to that community. We completed our week helping my friend clean up his rented building, hosting a very small VBS, and helping him host a revival night at his church. Some people came to Christ that revival night, but I never knew what came of those he had prophesied against, until now, 30 years later.  Chad told me that several years later, he was at a gas station somewhere in Georgia when a man came up to him saying he needed a little money for an alternator for his car so he could get home. Chad helped the man and as they talked and walked to the auto parts store, Chad discovered that the man was from Cordele, GA. Chad told the man he had been to Cordele on a mission trip. The man stopped him and said, did you have a preacher on top of a van with a trailer behind it? Chad said, “yes!” The man said, “that preacher on top of the van told me I wouldn’t sleep until I repented. It was true, I was a drug dealer and a pimp, I was a bad man.” He said, "I couldn’t sleep, no matter what I tried. He said he tried lots of alcohol… no sleep! All kinds of pills… no sleep! He said became so miserable he tried overdosing, but he didn't die, nor did he sleep! He said he finally went to the church and repented from his sins and was saved that day. 

The biblical prophet, Jeremiah, tells us that true prophets of God are known by their prophecies coming true (Jer. 28:9). And when God is speaking to Ezekiel about what he should tell the people, He tells him: “When all this comes true—and it surely will—then they will know that a prophet has been among them.” (Ezekiel 33:33) Wow, I hope we listen to God’s prophetic reminders of how we are to treat Him and other people if we really love them. God loves us too much to let us continue in sin, so He is gracious to pursue us and give us grace when we repent. 

Hang in there people! God is glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!

A Wonderful Honeymoon in Paradise, but It Was What Happened Next that Changed Us More.*

Contentment? We were on our way back from our honeymoon in “Paradise,” when, as planned, we flew into DFW airport to make a visit to Southwestern Seminary where I would be starting classes the next semester. We went from the creature comforts of beautiful island scenery, pleasant accommodations, transportation, and a relaxed pace, to the hot, dry, hustle and bustle of the Dallas-Ft.Worth metroplex. The seminary was beautiful, but noticing the grand scale transition in physical comfort level was unavoidable. From driving a sporty red convertible exploring the tranquil beauty of an Hawaiian Island to a tiny red compact car, contemptuously named “Jellybean.” We were trying to survive navigating Metroplex traffic while looking up from our diminutive vehicle to speeding cars and trucks on converging interstates from every part of the country. We went from a comfortable condo with an ocean view, the sounds of peaceful waves breaking on the rocks and sand and cool breezes, to a dirty hotel room, with sticky carpet, threadbare sheets that your toes stick through and a view of a sweltering blacktop parking lot foreground and interstate background and all the sounds that go with them, as well as, a part-time air conditioner. Anita and I chuckled together at the stark differences that we wondered if they foreshadowed what lay ahead the next few years. God blessed us with a marvelous church, wonderful friends, our own little fixer-upper, and wonderful mentors, who taught us a deepening faith, but most importantly, God assured us that He was With Us. The faith I had known to that point was faith in a middle class home and church with the comforts that go along with it, but I didn’t know what it was like to have to trust God for the next mortgage payment or car repair bill and still trust Him enough to tithe on our meager, but adequate income. I continue to find that God is faithful to be with us in all our circumstances whether with ocean breezes or sweltering dry places or cozy accommodations or freezing cold winters… Christ is still teaching us how to be content in Him and to see His marvelous provision and presence and the comfort of connection to His wonderful people.

The Apostle Paul had survived all kinds of hardships, from shipwrecks, to beatings, to running for his life. He had known privilege, a great education, popularity, and power but he came to know that life and faith were much more than circumstances on this planet. He tells us,
“... for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. ‘I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content - whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.’” Philippians 4:11-13 (CSBBible) As we look at our lives and the sometimes uncomfortable circumstances we are in, we begin to understand that this world is not our permanent home that we are citizens of heaven, but while we continue to dwell here we can handle anything because we have the Spirit of “God With Us” as a reminder and deposit of what He has in store for us for eternity. We can be content in “any and all circumstances.”

Hang in there people! God IS glad to be with us! I’m praying for us all!