Crossing Boundaries

On Friday, I went with the South Asian Friendship center to learn about Muslims.  It was quite an experience.  As I am writing, I wish I could just exclaim everything I want to say, but alas, having you read this will have to suffice.  I got there and my new friend Petru was there also.  He is a student in Trinity’s M Div. program.  I met him on Thursday when we took the kids out to the beach.  He and I were able to have some interesting conversation and I hope God will give me more chances to get to know him and learn from him.  Anyways, there was a group visiting so the director of the center took the 11 of us to talk about what is going on in the world with Christians and Muslims, and then we got Indian food and headed to a Mosque.  It is amazing to me how much Islam is growing here in the States and how even Christians are converting!  It is scary that in not too many more years Chicago’s main religion could be Islam.  

The Lord opened my eyes to how much I need to be on guard about these issues and to be bold and be willing to proclaim.  There was lots of good information, more that we can talk about later.  Anyways, we went to Mosque and it was pretty crazy.  They filled up a pretty large room and I was taken back.  There are things that I liked about it, but at the same time it is worship of a false god which is scary.  I learned that there is a difference from their perspective about truth and honor.  They are willing to lie to infidels if it will cause them to convert and gain honor.  It is kind of a “ends justifies the means.”  Which is scary because after we watched it all happen, they took us up for an introduction to Islam and Q and A session.  They lied about a lot of issues.  I read a book called Toward Understanding Islam before I moved here to get an understanding and they contradict themselves.  It is scary that people are deceived into these practices and such.  It motivates me more and more to spread the good news of Christ.  After that, we headed back to the center were the director helped us debrief.  

He talked about the things they changed up and allowed us to ask questions.  He was very helpful and I learned a lot about it all.  I feel a lot more compelled and challenged.  It is pretty cool.  So this evening I went to play basketball and to pray that God would give me someone to talk to or something.  I ended up playing some 32 with some guys and then 1-on-1 with this guy.  I had a lot of fun and was able to at least show him humility and love through playing.  I did not get a chance to proclaim God’s word, but I did share life and love with him, and I hope that God will continue to nurture my relationships to those guys.  I have been playing there a lot and I have been having a great time.  My prayer was that God would at least allow me to gain their respect so that they would allow me to talk with them and know me by more than just “whiteboy.”  He is answering prayer and I am blessed.  

It is pretty awesome what God continues to do with me and teach me.  I am called to be a light and a witness, I cannot make excuses anymore.  I trust God and I believe He will be faithful to me, and to this community.  I continue to pray God would give me boldness and strength to love and give generously.  I am pumped!  I cannot wait to share some of these lessons with other students and maybe I’ll even be able to take them around!  Whoo!  The Lord Saves!

Thinking Outside the Box.

So I have been here for two weeks now, and I feel like it has been a year.  God is doing some really awesome things and I am so blessed to be a part of what he is doing here.  I am learning a lot, and I feel like I am grasping the Spirit better and better which is fantastic!  I hope to continue learning and growing in this practice, so that my life will be filled with obedience to His Spirit.  I am sure God will continue to help me see and hopefully he will challenge me even more throughout the rest of my time here, as well as throughout the rest of my life.

Two things that have been very beneficial to me are my time in solitude and in worship.  I have been taking time every morning to read and pray and just wait on the Lord.  I have been challenged to be purposeful in spending time doing nothing except trying to find God.  It is interesting how he meets us and brings things to our minds when we purposefully don't do anything.  I just reflect and ask God to give me more of Him and to draw me near to Him.  It has been so life giving for me.  Worship has been another thing.  As I listen to the words and dwell on His faithfulness and goodness, I have found worship music has a whole new meaning.  God is humbling me and giving me a desire for him like I have never experienced and I am so blessed to have had these times.  The best part is too, that I am experiencing God in all sorts of ways with the community too, so I am being opened and challenged in many ways.  I am very thankful.

I have also started working at the Friendship Center where we have summer activties for the kids.  I am learning a lot about patience... I have been praying that God would break my heart for the kids and to allow me to understand them more, and just to allow me to love them greatly.  It is tough when they are disrespectful and arrogant.  I am struggling with loving them a lot, so I pray that you will pray for me in this area too.  I need patience and love, and I really want to give my all to them in an authentic way, but they are just very difficult to deal with.  I also have been trying to play basketball with some of the neighborhood, and I am finding some surprising things.  I thought for sure that all the guys out there would give a hard time for people who are not that good, and that I would stick out so much and it would be difficult in the atmosphere that is there, but God is faithful even in that.  They have been kind to me, and even when I miss a few shots they encourage me and I them.  It is a really cool thing, because when I think of playing in the "hood," I think of ball hogs and people who are just too competitive for their own good.  I am learning from all people in all their walks.  It is truly profound how God is taking me on this journey to find His people who he loves, and to try and share him with them any way that I can.  What a blessing and a purpose!  I need to be very careful not to place people in boxes and judge them.  I need to make sure I am seeing God's truth in all humanity.  A calling much needed in my life.

Thank you for your time and energy spent praying.  Praise be to God for this wonderful community and blessing!  May peace and joy follow you throughout your days!

Chicago: Moving Beyond?

Hello everyone,

So I am in Chicago now, and I am working on figuring out what my weeks will consist of.  As mentioned in the first email, I will be working with South Asian Friendship Center, and at different parks, but those are not all day by any means.  I have a lot of free time, and Bob just kind of wants me to hang out in the community and build new relationships.  I am trying to understand what that looks like as I sit in a coffee shop waiting for God to burden me, or let someone come to me.  This week I could really use prayer for who I am and who is God calling me to be.  I am not a super outgoing person, and more often than not, I don't want to bother people, but being here makes it seem like God is wanting me to step outside of myself and to meet and instigate more.  So I am having a hard time understanding if that is who I really am, or if that is what God wants from me.  I just am not your typical bubbly individual, and I don't even know if that's what I want to become, so I just need prayer to understand how God is using this time in my life.

On other notes, God has been faithful in allowing me to meet some different people who will be great contacts for me throughout the summer.  Hopefully I can get with some of them and do different out reach activities at the parks or something.  So prayer that God would develop those things also.

And for my theological push, on Sunday night the YWAM base that I am staying at has a fellowship gathering for people in the community to come to.  This past Sunday I went, and I got talking to a man from India and a graduate from Moody who wants to be a missionary.  The man from India, John, basically said that there is no need for Westerners to go overseas anymore.  There is a project called Gospel for Asia, where people invest money to train Indian people or whichever group to teach and disciple.  John says that it makes much more sense because someone like me cannot even drink the water nor speak the language, nor do I even know the customs.  He also said the governments are very suspicious of Westerners, and that it is best for them to just come for a week or two to train and then leave.  So, I am not sure I entirely agree with him, because if God calls anyone to go somewhere, they need to go; however, it really made me think about my life and if I should go overseas or if I should just stick around in the states where I understand the culture and know the language.  I am not sure how God is calling me exactly, but I do feel like being in the US for my mission work is good.  I'd still like to go abroad, but I do see a lot of needs in the states, and I want to use what God is giving me to give to them.

So yes, so far I've been challenged and am growing.  I have a lot of time during the morning and afternoon because a lot of places do not even open up until after 11.  So God is doing some cool things as I offer up my time and energy to him.

So I would just ask for continued prayer in how I should live and work, and how I should use my days.  Thank again everyone!

Kingdom Culture

So as I read 1 and 2 Peter I've been thinking a lot about what it means to truly live like Christ.  The idea of culture has been on my mind lately and it's interesting to see how much culture really affects all people.  Why do we have a desire to be the best at everything and get defensive when we make a mistake?  Why do we want positions of power and why do we have to prove ourselves all the time?  Culture has affected us in so many ways it is ridiculous.  We are overcome by the spirit of the world, and it has changed us to a great degree.

1 Peter talks about how as followers of the Way, we need to live in ways above reproach.  In a way that we live at peace with everyone around us, yet not submitting to the practices they do.  One of the church fathers wrote about these scattered believers and how they did follow the way they were meant to.  He talks about how the people hated the Christians because they were so different and it is interesting because Peter told them that if they would be faithful to God and to live in ways pleasing to Him, then the people around them would repent.  He wasn't quite on with that prediction, but it is interesting to note that it is our relationship to God that matters more than anything.  It is about us being faithful to what he calls us to do, and then just giving the cold cup of water to the others.  It is between me and God, not anyone else.  I have to be faithful to what I am called to do and live in a way that submits to a higher culture.  This has been a struggle lately because I don't really know how to not be influenced by others around me.  I want to just ignore all the comments that bother me, but sometimes I cannot.  So I guess, God I really need you to teach me what it looks like to submit to a new authority and a new culture.  What does it mean for me to ignore what others are doing and what does it look like for me to try and challenge others to the higher calling.  I pray I will remain faithful and adhere to the Kingdom culture rather than that of this world.

Continuing on with this idea, we were reading James yesterday as a Bible study and we were looking at chapter 3.  It is James talking about how the people he is writing to were not taking care of one another and how they were not speaking well towards each other.  He uses a lot of metaphoric ideas to help not be super blunt about the sins of the people.  It is interesting to me because he is even using his own tongue to not set fires or anything.  He is approaching a delicate situation in a delicate way.  It is encouraging to know that even James of the Bible knew he had to be careful with how he spoke to people and so I guess I just pray that I would have the same wisdom.  That I could live and speak in ways that are uplifting and not demeaning. I pray that I will be obedient to what I've been called to and that I will fully trust that God really has my best interests in mind.  I want to go on the rocket, not the jet plane.  Give me wisdom and guidance in all things God.  I trust you and I believe you are making me perfect.  Help me learn my eschatology and live up to the purpose set for me.  Thank you for the journey we have already experienced.  I am so excited about how you take care of me and the things we get to do together.  I pray I will walk closely with you always.  Help me discern your spirit and fill me with it in ways I never would have expected.  I want to submit to Your authority and not to the powers of this world.  Give me strength and courage amidst the craziness that my life will certain entail.

Good to Great

The book I am reading currently is helping me understand some very helpful insights into leading a life guided wisely.  Level 5 leadership is a key role in my life.  The level five leader is a blend of personal humility and professional will.  Help me understand how to stay humble and help me understand grace.  Help me to find the things that I am passionate about and push through to see the dreams come true.  Help me understand vision and how to take care of the now also.  I want to be a dreamer but also someone so focused on the present that I am always aware of how I can meet others needs.  God help me find people to surround myself with who are like-minded and yet creative and filled with different perspectives.  Help me find the right people and get them in the right places, or help me to submit to the right place.  Help me confront the brutal facts.  The Stockdale Principal which talks about how a man who was a POW for 8 years dealt with trying to work through the crap realizing and truly believing he would get out.  To face the fact that he was in prison, but to also see the future that there would be a life beyond his present circumstances.  Help me follow the hedgehog principal also.  Which says there are three circles and they all need to line up for purpose to be understood.  The circles are passion, economic possibility and what can I be the best at.  Help me take these principals into my own walk and help me focus on actions and course of life through these three things.  Help me to have a to-do list as well as an un-do list.  Help me develop a culture of discipline where people are excited to do the work they have and that they have enough drive to make it happen because they are in the right position.  As things move forward in my life Lord, I pray that I will stay faithful to these concepts and that I will live a life filled with your spirit and the care to make sure I am following every step of the way.

Graham Cracks

So, I had misjudged Billy Graham when I first heard about what he did.  I thought as an evangelist he was extremely unsuccessful and I thought he used his gifts poorly.  I could not have been more wrong.  He was a visionary far beyond his time.  He was extremely wise and filled with the spirit.  He was a leader who was willing to look at what God was really asking of him, and he did not fault away from that.  He was dedicated to seeing God move even when it was less than comfortable and everything else. He went places that many people told him he shouldn't go, but he did because he felt God calling him to do so.  He was always in tune with what God was saying and he was a very spirit filled man.  It is amazing to me how he took care to make sure he was accountable, surrounding himself with good people, and how he took God at his word.  He spent lots of time preparing and he started the battle of unifying the church.  What a great man who really changed the course of church history.  I want to be like Billy.