Worship=Missions=Worship

Missions exist because worship doesn't.

-John Piper

I read this quote in a class last year and it has stuck with me ever since then. I have even gone back to read that article several times since the class has ended. I have marked and highlighted something in nearly every paragraph. The gist of the article is this: God is ultimate, we are not. Piper says that worship is the goal and fuel of missions. I find this to be resoundingly true. We do missions because of the passion we find when we worship, thus it is the fuel. Because of the passion we have for God we desire that others may experience the same, thus worship is the goal. 

When we do not have a passion for God, we do not have a passion to go out into the mission field. When we do not have a passion for the salvation we have received we do not have passion to see others saved. We have this passion only when we spend time in worship, reflecting on the beauty of God. Our time in worship fuels our excitement for missions. 

A "good" missionary isn't a "good" missionary just because of their methodology or the ministries they lead. No, a missionary can have the best plans and ideas for ministry but without God's heart for the lost their work will be in vain. When compassion for the lost is lacking, it is likely that our worship is lacking. Missionaries must share the passion that God has for those who are lost. The more we worship, the more we  grow in appreciation for our salvation and desire for others to be saved.

I gravitate to the Psalms when I am not sure how to worship. When I don't know how to pray, I find that some of the best prayers are already written for me...

 ^"May the peoples praise you, O God;

    may all the peoples praise you.May the nations be glad and sing for joy,    for you rule the peoples justly    and guide the nations of the earth. May the peoples praise you, O God;    may all the peoples praise you."
-Psalms 67:3-5

"Sing to the Lord a new song;

    sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, praise his name;    
proclaim his salvation day after day.
 Declare his glory among the nations,
    his marvelous deeds among all peoples"

-Psalms 96:1-3

The Love Offering

A man and his wife sat quietly in the pew as the preacher spoke compellingly about missions. When the preacher was finished with his message he called for the ushers to come forward. He sent them out to collect an offering. The man, sitting by his wife reached into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. The wife looked at him knowing that inside the envelope was his two week pay check. The ushers reached their aisle and the plate was passed to the man. Without hesitation he placed the envelope in into the offering plate.

The woman was rightly concerned. Though they were not poor, she wondered how they would purchase groceries for the next two weeks. What would they eat? What if they needed something? But she said nothing.

Once the ushers had returned to the front they emptied the plates and the preacher stood up. This time he said, "Men, many of you are wearing gold watches. In these offering plates are tin watches. They tell the time just fine so I'm asking you to take off your gold watch and replace it with a tin one. We will sell your watches and use the money for missions."

Once again the plate reached the couple and the man removed this watch and replaced it with a tin one. The wife again watched in silence as her husband put on the new tin watch. She said nothing but was wondering what had overcome her husband.

The ushers reached the front of the church again and emptied all of the watches out of the plates. Again the preacher stood up. This time he said, "Ladies, many of you are wearing expensive jewelry that you really do not need. Take it off and place it in the offering plates. We will sell it and use the money for missions."

The man quietly took his wife's hand and she was comforted. When the plate reached their row, he lifted her and gently slipped off her diamond engagement ring. Stunned, she sat in silent as her eyes filled with tears. With a quiet "plink" the ring dropped into the offering plate.

One last time the ushers emptied the plates at the front of the church and the preacher stood up. Now he said, "For this last offering, I will not send the ushers out. Instead, this time you will offer yourselves. If you are led, come to the front of the church and give yourselves to missions."

The man took his wife by the hand and together they went to the front of the church. They knelt beside a Japanese couple and prayed.

The man and his wife were Charles and Lettie Cowman. The Japanese couple were Juji and Katsuko Nakada. Together with E.A. and Julie Kilbourne they would later form Oriental Missionary Society which is now known as One Mission Society.

Three Things Thursday: Orientation, Church Visit & Newsletters

One: Orientation was great! We spent two days with eight other missionary candidates learning more about OMS and getting to know each other. Most of the time was spend going over our Birkman tests and discovering how our personalities will effect us in our ministry on and off the field.  It was  also interesting to see how Jeremy and I work together according to our results. While I tend to be a "let's go" leader, Jeremy is a "let's be careful." So, while I am pulling us ahead, Jeremy is making sure everything is done well. I guess we are a good complement for each other!
It was a great time to spend with each other and the other candidates as we continue to work on raising our support.

Two: We drove up to Salem EMC in Salem, VA early Sunday morning. The congregation  graciously welcomed us to share the story of our call to Spain. We are so thankful for those who gave and supported this ministry. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Orientation group with Dr. & Mrs. Wesley Duewel

Three: Newsletters! If you are interested in receiving our newsletter please click the page above to sign up! We hope to send these out regularly to keep everyone updated on our progress. We will keep an archive of past newsletters so that you can catch up if you missed anything! I promise not to spam you or send you an inordinate number of chain emails.

Update-Praises and Requests

This update is long overdue! But, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind. I returned from Spain nearly a month ago and since then we have visited three churches and will be at our fourth presentation tonight. At each service we have been blessed with the encouragement and support of everyone in attendance. Several people have made faith promises and become partners with us in this calling. 

We cannot say thank you enough to those who have already partnered with us. But, we do want to say that we have confidence that God will use your gifts to bless the work He is doing in Spain. This journey is just beginning for us but we know that God has already gone before us and prepared the way. We are trusting in His timing and provision for all of our needs. Now, we do pray that you may do the same.

This weekend we will be sharing with Salem Evangelical Methodist Church in Virginia and from there we will make the drive to headquarters for orientation. Because of the timing of our interview and acceptance, we missed the last orientation so we are going a little later in the process than most. Our good friend Mark will be joining us on the drive as he is going for his interview! 

Jeremy and I are nearing the end of school this semester! In a couple of weeks I will finish my final undergrad class leaving only one project and one CLEP test to cover my last credit hours. Jeremy is completing his master's degree with independent study classes in the next couple weeks as well. It is exciting to think about a time when neither of us will be in school!

We have all of this to thank God for but we also look to Him with some requests. Please pray for-

-Safe travels as we drive tonight and this weekend.
-The hearts of those we will share with to be open to God's leading.
-Us to trust in God's timing and sovereignty. 
-More opportunities to share with churches in group settings and also individuals.
-(as always) for the hearts of those in Spain to be softened and prepared for God's word.

The Quilt Maker

Mel is in Spain right now. This weekend, her and the team she is with had a conference for a group of unchurched women. The conference was based around quilting. Mel led one of the conference sessions, so I wanted to share the presentation that she did. 

What is the purpose of a quilt? For some it may be simply decoration - something pretty to look at. For others, quilting is a hobby that brings joy to them. But the quilt itself was designed with a purpose.

I like to think that the very first quilt was made of leftover scraps of fabric from other projects or even clothes that had reached their useful end. The fabrics were not chosen because they were pretty, or the colors coordinated, but instead they were chosen because they were available. The quilter arranged them so that they fit together and could be sewn without wasting any piece. There was also a fabric was chosen for the back portion of the quilt. The part of the quilt that I want talk to you about now is the batting, the stuffing, the filler of the quilt. The batting of the quilt is what really gives it purpose. If it were not for this important part of the quilt, it would simply be limp scraps of fabric sewn together. The quilt would have no substance. It would serve no purpose. The quilt may look pretty, but without the batting it would not protect anyone from harsh winds or cold winter air.

Now, we can’t fill the quilt with just anything. It has to be the proper material. We can’t just toss some rocks or glass in there and call it finished. That would do more harm than good. It would bruise and cut whoever tried to hold it. We can’t fill the quilt with rose petals, those are too soft. They will quickly break down and lose
their form in the quilt.

Just as a quilt must be filled with the right materials to serve its purpose, we must be filled with the proper things to serve our purpose.

As I look back on my life, I can see where God has filled my life with experiences that have prepared me for the purpose He has for me. The patchwork of experiences from my life may look different from everyone else, but the material that He fills me with is the same material He fills everyone else with. My patchwork is filled with happiness, sadness, good choices, bad choices, times of clarity and times of confusion. My patchwork is
different from yours, but what fills the void in my life is the same thing that can fill the void in your life. See, just as the patchwork and the backing of a quilt are next to useless without the batting; so are the experiences of our lives if they are not accompanied by the God who is our quilter.

Now, we could choose to fill our lives with many things. Good things, or bad things. There could be things that make our lives look good from the outside, or things that are good for a while but eventually turn bad. The bad things that we could fill our lives with are usually easy to spot. Addictions, unhealthy relationships, the list could go on and on. Some people fill their lives with things that seem good and healthy at first but eventually turn bad. Think about people who work to support their families but eventually become so consumed with the career that they abandon their families for their jobs. Sometimes people even fill their lives with things that look good, but they are doing them for the wrong reason. They are filling their lives with good deeds but they do them simply to make themselves look good. These are not the kind of things we want to fill our lives with.

I was always a "good" person. I was good in school. I listened to my parents. I never got in trouble. When my friends got in trouble at school, I was the one there shaking my head and thinking, "I told you so!" At that time, I had never thought that a prayer I said when I was seven could have such an awesome effect on my life as it does now. Now I know that because Jesus has given me life, he has given that life purpose. I had not grasped the idea that my purpose was not found in myself and what i did. I had to learn that my purpose was found in what God had for me to do. When I was 15 years old,  this realization came to me. I was standing in the school parking lot with a friend and it was then that I shared what I believed for the first time. I shared my love for Christ and what he had done for me. My words then were not just for the benefit of my friend but God was speaking to me also.

Since then, God has lead me to discover His purpose for my life. I no longer fill my time with "good things" but I fill my life with HIS "goodness." I have learned that he is my goodness. He is my purpose. He is the batting of my life.

Just as a quilt must be filled with good material by the quilt maker, our lives must be filled with goodness by the life giver. These things will sustain our lives so that we may fulfill the purpose God has for us.

Pray for Mel as she finishes up her time on this short term trip and travels home. Our first email newsletter will be coming out soon, so if you would like to receive that, you can subscribe using the form on the Jeremy and Mel page. Thank you for your continued support!

Our needs...His Glorious Riches

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

- Philippians 4:19-20

We are just in the beginning stages of fundraising for our ministry but already we are seeing how God is opening doors of opportunity. God is demonstrating His faithfulness as we begin to make calls and contact friends, family and churches to share our story and calling. 

He has already shown us how He will provide by giving us our very first monthly supporters last week. We had not even planned to present our story that night but because He is good, the opportunity was given. We sat across the table from a couple who had "adopted" us while Jeremy was  a youth pastor. They have consistently opened themselves up to us as friends and mentors. They are two of the most giving people I know and we are so grateful for the way they have promised to support this ministry. 

I have been sitting here filling in dates that have already been booked at churches I know and ones I don't. As I see our calender already filling up, I can't help but become overwhelmed. Not overwhelmed with stress or anxiety but with gratitude and thankfulness knowing that God has already prepared the hearts of those who will hear our story. 

Long before this calling was revealed to me or to Jeremy, God knew. He knew the needs we will have and the goals we will need to reach. He knows the exact dollar amount that we will need so that we can be on the field. As big this challenge as it may seem to us, God is bigger. He has a plan as to how we will meet this goal and He is making the way for us to meet it.  I have faith that the right people, at the right time will feel lead to support the ministry God called us be a part of. 

It has become clear to me how important it is for people to realize who they are really supporting when they pledge to our ministry. They are not giving money to us each month. They are not giving money to One Mission Society each month. No, instead the individuals, couples and families who will financially partner with us are giving to God. The money that we receive is a gift from God. You give to God and God gives to us. 

Thank you to those who are praying for us. Thank you to those who have supported us along the way. And thank you to those who will give to God as He gives to us in this ministry.We are blessed to be called to this specific ministry just as each Christian is blessed to be called to his or her own specific ministry. 

We are a Patchwork.

Three weeks from today I will be in Madrid with a group of eleven other women. Together, with several others Spanish ladies, we will be doing a conference for many unchurched women at Peña de Horeb. The conference will use the pieces of a quilt to depict our relationship with God.

The front of the quilt displays the patchwork of our lives. The experiences and times that have made us who we are today. God uses these experiences, as chaotic and as unplanned as they may seem, to mold our hearts into what He needs them to be.

The batting of the quilt is what we fill our lives with. Do we seek God each day or do we fill our lives with junk? Do we desire things that will be good for us (keep us warm like the batting of a quilt) or bad things that in the end will do us no good (imagine if a quilt was filled with rocks or glass)?

The back of the quilt is Christ and our Christian fellowship. Christ gives us support, covers our sins and makes us complete. The Christian friends we surround ourselves with are the ones who will be there to hold us up and encourage us. They will help us grow and encourage us in our walk with Christ. The back of the quilt is important because without it, the batting would be exposed to the world and ultimately be destroyed.

Lastly, the binding of the quilt is the Holy Spirit working in our lives. He weaves all things together so that we can see how God has worked. Although the binding may be difficult to see, we know it's there because when a quilt is folded, unfolded, thrown around it remains in one piece. The Holy Spirit is the binding is our binding that is stronger than any wind or rain and will keep us together.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?" Psalm 139:7

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

I am so excited to have the chance to get  a small taste of the work Jeremy and I will be a part of. As we prepare to begin fundraising (our class ends this week) the reality of our calling is becoming clearer and clearer. I have no doubt we are doing what we need to do and we are going where we need to go. 

I can clearly see the hand of God working in our lives as we look forward. 

I am setting my mind on good things. I am claiming Ephesians 3:14-21 as my prayer for Jeremy and I as well the team already working in Spain. 

"For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." 

Ephesians 3:14-21

I am learning to pray big. As we look at the next 9-12 months, we have a big task before us. But it is nothing bigger than anything that has already been done. I have faith that we will accomplish all that must be accomplished in the right timing. Our God is faithful and He is punctual. 

Please continue to pray for us. We are so thankful for all of the support and prayers we have already received.

...I go to Spain.

Learning and growing in our calling has been a process. It has been a process of learning to sacrifice, learning to trust God and each other, and learning to stop and listen. It has also been a process of growing as a couple, growing as students, and growing in Christ. 

As we reached the point where we knew God had called us into overseas missionary service, that was where the real seeking began. We had to wait for God to present the place. We looked at Great Britain, Colombia, and Ireland, but the doors continued to close. God laid a burden on our heart for Spain, but, as we have learned, we have been burdened for the lost in other places as well, so we could not take this as confirmation, but as another avenue to seek an opening.

Through the next couple of months, we received confirming moments and began to set our hearts on this place. The confirmation that I truly needed came through a desire to read God's Word while I was at work on September 14, 2012. I was flipping through the Bible, not really sure what I was seeking, but just knowing that God had prepared something for me. In my turning, I stopped and began to read.


"But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain." Romans 15:23-24 


There it was, simply laid before me. I have read through the Bible cover to cover several times, and generally a passage like this would be one I would read and move on. I know this little bit of Scripture doesn't seem like much, but it was to me. I have been involved in some form of ministry for a few years now (although as Christians, we are all in ministry). For a few years, I was a youth pastor. Since then, I have served as an Admissions Director for a Christian University, giving me more opportunities to reach out to people than I could have asked for. 

I have loved the time I have served in ministry here, and I have met so many amazing people who have been of great encouragement in this calling pursuit. Now, God has called my wife and I to a new ministry - a ministry to a population that is starving for, while also resisting, the Gospel. Check out this article to see just how resistant Spain truly is. A population where most consider themselves Catholic, yet only 10% regularly attend a worship service. As I've mentioned before, 47 million people live in Spain, yet less than 1% claim to be evangelical Christians. Spain has some tough soil to plant on.

Anyways, back to the passage. While there is much work left to do here, God is revealing that this is not where He wants us to stay. So here we go, we're moving on to Spain. 

Sadly, I know that we have not seen many of you who read this blog in some time. We hope to do that as we continue through the process. We want to visit you, we want to talk with you, we want your prayers and support, and we want to build our relationships here. I am learning, as I speak with veteran missionaries, that our relationships with you will be more and more important while we are on the field.

If you have not already, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter. We'll start sending out regular newsletters soon, and we want to make sure we are sending information to the right address and email. Also, our OMS profile page is now live, so check that out. 

As always, thank you for your prayers and support. Mel and I are trying to open ourselves up as much as possible for God to use us freely. We'll both be finishing school a semester early, so that is requiring more work in a shorter amount of time. We'll be starting Spanish language training soon and scheduling appointments to develop partners for ministry. It's going to be a busy year as we hope to be on the field early fall 2013, but God is faithful. 

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of a small baptism service that just happened Tuesday where a lady named Veronika wanted to profess her faith through baptism after a Sunday morning invitation. This happened as a result of one of the house churches that were planted by the team in Spain. As Mel said in her last post, it is great knowing our assignment (Vision Sierra Oeste church planting team), and knowing that efforts already established are working.

Weekly Update #2- Funding Class Cont.

The past week of OMS training/prep in list form:

1) Week two of funding class. Everything is great!
2) We have officially received our assignment to Spain!
3) Our status has been changed from Extreme Walk missionaries to career missionaries.
4) Our profile is up on the OMS website.
5) I have had one meeting with the Spain team for the trip in October and have one this Friday.

Prayer Requests:

1) Time management as we balance work, school and OMS work.
2) That the preparation for October's trip continues to go well.

Weekly Update #1- Funding Class

Each week as we prepare for Spain I plan to post a quick update about where we are in the process and how things are going. Please check back to keep up with us! 

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" 
-2 Corinthians 9:8

Jeremy and I started our fundraising class today. This class will prepare us to reach out to potential supporters and be fully funded in (ideally) nine months. We are excited for this class because not only are we going to learn the best way to raise support but we will also be connected with one other missionary couple and three single missionaries. The seven of us will be journeying through our fundraising and preparation together.  

The class is three weeks long, meeting for an hour and half, four days a week. Additionally, there is reading and prep work to be done outside of our meeting times. We know that this class will be extremely beneficial but we also know that it will require many hours over the next few weeks. But this is only a taste of the busy times that are to come as we continue to prepare. 

We are already so thankful for the support of One Mission Society. We are so excited to connect with other new missionaries. We are so excited for the support we have already received from friends and family. We are so blessed to have friends and family who are as excited about our calling as we are. 

As I look ahead to what God holds for us I am not scared. I'm certain there will be days I am frustrated or even discouraged but I am declaring now that I will not let fear become an obstacle in our preparation. 

Prayer Requests-
That God will continue to guide our steps.
Time management as we work through this class as well as work and homework for school. 

We Are Not Our Own

It was no coincidence that this morning’s reading from My Utmost for His Highest began with this quote, “A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” While the context of this verse is actually talking about sexual immorality, it can pretty easily be applied to every area of our lives.

The control we believe we have in our own lives is so very deceiving. If our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, they can serve only that singular purpose. If the Holy Spirit is to inhabit our bodies, then we must relinquish all control over what they do. We must forfeit all say in our own lives because even the life we live is not really our own. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

My lack of control over my own life has manifested itself in many ways over the past several years. The first significant time was when I was 15. I had plans to be part of a three week mission trip to Curitiba, Brazil. Thanks to several setbacks along the way, the trip fell through. Instead, I ended up in Nicaragua with a youth group from a different church, an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. Since that year I have been on several other short term trips and begun a degree in Intercultural Studies and Global Missions.

Over the last one to two years, I have wondered if my call to missions had been misread or misunderstood. I have been frustrated and confused. Maybe full-time missions was never my call. Maybe I had missed a sign along the way. Surely God wouldn’t have changed His mind on me. No, that wasn’t it. Our time had not yet come. It wasn’t until March of this year that Jeremy finally told me he was ready to pursue our calling. As soon as I was ready to be content with a life of short term trips and American living, my husband was on board to sell our possessions and dive headfirst into a new culture.

This August we interviewed with One Mission Society in Indiana. We received the call confirming our acceptance and now we will begin the process of preparation. Together we were called and together we will journey to minister to the hearts of Spain. 

Our Purpose and Our Passion

“I set myself on fire, and people come to see me burn.” – John Wesley

This quote has come to my mind a lot recently. When I think about it, my immediate mental interpretation is that I would certainly run to the person on fire, but I would probably bring a hose. It’s not a statement that you generally hear someone say, but this was Wesley’s response to a question about why such large crowds of people would travel for miles to hear him preach.

Wesley had lived much of his life clinging to an outward Christianity - the Christianity where the works you did were the focus. He said that he hoped to be considered a good Christian by following three basic principles: “(1) Not being so bad as other people, (2) Having still a kindness for religion, and (3) Reading the Bible, going to church, and saying my prayers.” To have an enthusiastic passion for Christ was a distant concept, because salvation came largely from the works you did.

Mel and I came together with two separate thoughts of how our lives would go, but through the process of becoming one flesh, we have spent time with God trying to find our combined purpose. This quote comes to mind because at times it has been difficult for me to find the burning passion of following Christ. I have been in ministry for a few years, and in that time, I have had highs and lows, but I don’t feel that anyone ever rushed to watch me burn. Until recently, I still had this feeling that the spark was missing from my relationship with God.

On a recent trip to Medellin, Colombia, I found my passion. In an individual prayer time, I had to break away from my wife so that God could speak to me individually. As many of you know, Mel has had a passion for missionary work since she was 15 years old, and our marriage had left both of us confused about the calling on our lives. I was resisting the combining of our gifts and abilities and Mel had times where she wondered if her calling was lost or misunderstood.

I realized during this prayer time that I need to quit being resistant and just be open to His leading, so I asked – “God, what do you want for us to do?” And then the answer came – “Go.” I’ll be the first to say that God doesn't speak audibly much, but I think sometimes it takes a life changing moment for Him to clear His throat. In that moment, I found my passion. In that moment, I found the burning desire to follow Christ with all that I have. In that moment, I found hope and a purpose.

After much prayer and conversation, Mel and I took this message and redirected our path. Questions began to surface – Where? When? What organization should we go with? How long? What about our friends and family? – but these questions seemed minor in light of God’s plan. If He has told us to go, then he’ll reveal the path to get there.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

A couple of weeks ago, Mel and I went to Indiana to interview with One Mission Society. We had been working through the application process for several months and had finally reached this pivotal point. We spent a day getting to know the inner workings of OMS and the expectations placed on us as missionaries. We met people from different offices and learned more about the philosophy of ministry that One Mission Society has had for over 100 years. Today, we received a phone call notifying us that we were approved as Missionaries with One Mission Society!

Over the last few months, God has laid Spain upon our hearts. This is the country where we feel that God is calling us to serve. 1% of the population of Spain consider themselves Evangelical Christians. 1% of 46 million people… and this is where faith comes into play. How exactly does around 500 thousand people reach out to over 45 million others with the Gospel of Christ? “I set myself on fire, and people come to see me burn.” The Gospel of Christ is attractive if there are followers that are serving Him passionately. I want to be one of those followers, and I believe that passion comes from purpose. With Christ, we all have a purpose, and I’m excited that Mel and I have reached the point of understanding that purpose.

More updates will follow, and I believe Mel will be posting something really soon. If you have any questions about the process or any questions for us, feel free to post a comment or to email me at reese.jdr@gmail.com. 

Disruptive.

"Until I see homeless people through the eyes of Jesus, I'm free to put them in a box and leave them alone. All that changes when God opens my eyes. Suddenly I'm called to compassion (which means "to suffer with"), generosity, solidarity. This is disruptive." 

The Colors of Hope (Richard Dahlstrom)

I've been reading The Colors of Hope by Richard Dahlstrom a book that takes Micah 6:8 and breaks down the three commands given by God into a strategy for missional living. It's simple: Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly (with God). These three things are disruptive. 

It's easy to be held captive by our own world, our own mind, our own desires. It's easy to see a man holding a sign on the highway and think, "what a lazy bum." You know you've thought it. It's easy to look at them and see sin or "bad." You label them rather than seeing them as a person created in the same image as yourself. You look at them and see sin  in

It's not easy to look at them and see someone who needs Jesus just as much as you do. It's not easy to look at them and know that Jesus died for them as much as He died for you. Our assumptions about their intentions could be true. But what do we know? What if the few bucks you have in your wallet could be the only chance they have a meal today? This week or this month? No matter their intentions isn't their life worth just as much as ours? 


This isn't just about homeless people. This is about anyone we have put labels on and cast aside. This is about the adulterers, the democrats and the republicans, the drug addicts, the homosexuals, the alcoholics, the murderers, the liars and the thieves. The ones we can easily lump together and assume they all have the same story and the same destiny. We can say that they won't ever know Jesus and they can't ever be saved, so what's the point of trying. The point is that Jesus believed that we were worth it. What makes me so much better than anyone else? 


There is sin and there is punishment for sin. A sinful person (read: everyone) must confess and repent of his/her sin in order to be receive the gift of salvation. But that is not the point of this post. The point is that our life and our salvation is no more valuable the next person's. Since that is true, if we sit comfortably in our own salvation instead of reaching out we are not fulfilling our calling to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly (with God).


Are we willing to let God's calling disrupt the lives we have for ourselves? Are we willing to break out of our routine or to see people differently?