Gospel Bashing

It’s exciting to watch God work through prayer!  In this venture of church planting there are so many mountains and valleys, yet God is at work in all of them.  As I have walked the square, the neighborhood, and spent time getting to know my mission field, God has taught me that He is in control.  As I meet people and pray that God would be doing a work in their lives I am reminded that I cannot change hearts, that is the work of the Lord.

I met a guy the other day who told me a bit about his desire to reach the people in his community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I was encouraged as I listened to his desire to love his neighbors and do works of service for his community.  The conversation took an uncomfortable turn when this believer told me the purpose of serving.  “We want to come into our neighborhood under the guise of service and love, and then we will bash the people over the head with the Gospel.”  I know my brother ultimately wants people to know Jesus but I am afraid that bashing people over the head with the Gospel may not be the right motive for loving our neighbor.

It reminds me of a game I used to play at the local skating rink in middle school.  Some of you may remember the game where the gophers would pop there heads up and you would have to bash them with a club before they went back underground.  I was never very good at this game even then…

We love people because Jesus first loved us. We love people regardless of whether they will ever trust in Jesus.  Our motive in loving others is to be more like Jesus.  Yes, I pray that others would come to know Jesus and I share my faith when I find opportunities to do so.  But thankfully I don’t have to bash anyone on the head with the Gospel, I just live my faith and share my faith, then I don’t feel like I am in a war “us against them.”

“The Good News is not just good- it pasionate, compelling, and inviting”

A compelling question

The streets are almost always glowing as the sunlight relects off the shards of broken glass.  A rainbow of colors draw you in and each broken beer bottle reminds me of a world that looks to almost anything before Jesus.  It is Monday morning in Canton and another weekend of partying on O’Donell square has passed.  The square is a lot slower, a lot quieter, and lot more subdued as people are moving ahead into the beginning of a week.  Many are still reflecting on the weekend, wishing it were a never ending roller coaster.  Others are regretting another weekend on the roller coaster which inevitably ends with nausea and that question… “why do I love the roller coaster?”  Still others can think of nothing except getting through the next five days to jump onto the roller coaster once more.  It seems that many in Baltimore have reserved themselves to the fact that we do what we must during the week and then we live life on the weekend, and even that isn’t always fulfilling.

As I look at the church located directly on the square I find myself confronted with 2 disturbing questions.  First, how does life look different for a Christian who pushes through the week to make it to a Sunday church event on the weekend? Second, and perhaps more disturbing, why would someone want to give up the one thing they enjoy (weekend roller coaster) for a Sunday morning church service?

Today I begin a week long stroll around O’Donnell Square just three blocks from our home.  Each day I plan to walk around the square 7 times.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not planning to blow any trumpets and it is not my hope that all the bars will fall down.  Rather I am praying that God will open doors and opportunities to enter in to people’s lives and share the Gospel.  During my time I will be praying through these two questions.  Honestly I don’t have the answers right now and would love to hear your thoughts. Regardless, I look forward to hearing what God might say through this time.

Easter- Bunny or Jesus

It was just another beauiful day in Baltimore with the sun shining and a light breeze blowing in from the west.  Most of our friends in other places had been in church that day but the friends we had coming to our cookout were not among the crowd dressing up to celebrate the ressurection of Christ.  Instead of dressing nice, going to church, and having a ham, we met in the local park, had burgers and hotdogs, and had an easter egg hunt.  Over the course of the morning we shared some of what Easter means to us and gave out a history of Easter explaining the bunny but more importaly Jesus.

It turns out that a lot of people don’t know why the church celebrates Easter.  Many know it has something to do with Jesus but I think the resurrection has often gotten lost to those who don’t know much about Christianity.  The great thing about the resurrection is that it gives us hope!  The death of Christ without the resurrection is pointless, but with Christ defeating death we are given hope!  And so, I love Easter.  It reminds me that there is a God who has given me the hope of eternal life.  A God who will restore my body and my soul.  A God who not only died for me, but who lives for me even today!