The Summer Slump

 

The Summer Slump is a phrase pastors and church leaders use to describe the decline in attendance and giving that typically happens in churches during the summer months.  As soon as school gets out for the summer, families start leaving town for family vacations, trips to grandparents' houses, summer camps, and trips to the lake.  And most of the time, attendance at worship on Sundays is the victim along with regular giving.

While most families are not gone the entire summer, each week there are regularly at least a couple of families out each week.  As a result, many church activities often take a hiatus during the summer.  Activities for kids and students may take a break for the entire summer or at least a few weeks.  Men's and women's bible studies and other small group Bible studies often pause for a season.  Church budgets often have to be adjusted for the end of the year based on giving trajectories because of the Summer Slump.  

All of these issues are concerning realities that pastors and church leaders have to contend with.  But there is another Summer Slump that I want to encourage you to get out of.  That is the Spiritual Summer Slump.  

When the dog days of summer hit, we get lethargic about a lot of things in life.  We don't want to go outside to do work on our house or in the yard.  We stop going to the gym or going for a walk or taking a bike ride.  We spend more time in the air conditioning.  We may sleep in a little later.  And, if we are not careful, that same lethargy can extend to our spiritual exercises.  We get lazy about having our quiet time, going to church and worshiping and fellowshipping with other believers, spending time in faithful prayer.

So, let me give you three simple ways to maintain your spiritual health and avoid the Summer Slump: 1. Stay hydrated.  Jesus said that he is the water of life, so when the heat of summer comes, don't spend less time drinking the water that is Jesus.  Spend more time with him, time in the word, and time in prayer.    2.  Eat healthy meals that won't weigh you down.  Summer may not be the best time to do an intensive study on a deep theological issue, but that doesn't mean you quit studying the Bible altogether.  Do a short Bible study on your own.  Find a book that is encouraging and light-hearted.  Read through some short books of the Bible.  Pick out a short video series on Right Now Media to watch.  Pick back up with the Gospels in 30 Bible reading plan on Youversion.  3. Get in regular but scaled-down exercise.  When you are on a family trip, you may not have the same rhythms of Bible study, family devotions, or worship as you normally do, but you can still get in some meaningful times of worship.  While you are on the road trip, let the kids introduce you to some of their favorite worship music and rock it with them.  Listen to a Christian classic on audio like C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.  Find a Christian concert to take the family to.  Take a weekend to binge watch "The Chosen" or The Lord of the Rings.  Have a family discussion about plans for growing together spiritually once the summer is over.

Stay hydrated, eat healthy and light meals, and get regular but scaled-down exercise and avoid the Spiritual Summer Slump.

A Vision for the Future

 

One month ago, I shared with the church a renewed vision for The Crossroads as we celebrate our first fifteen years as a church and move forward into the future.  The new vision, giving our lives away to build God's Kingdom and to bring God glory, came about as a result of extended times of prayer, seeking God's direction, and evaluating the vision statement that has guided us for the last fifteen years (Loving God, loving people, and rocking the world).  

For the past thirteen years, when someone asks me about our church, I have told them the same thing: "We are going to give you an opportunity to give your life away for something that matters for all eternity."  That response came about based on a desire to stop fueling the consumer mentality about church that has become a cancer in the American church.  

You see, in America, when people ask about a church, the question they often ask is, "What does your church have to offer?" or something similar.  By that question, what people typically are wanting to know is what programs do you have to offer for me or my family; what cool, fun, or exciting things do you do; what kind of music do you have; what kind of kid's activities do you offer; what events do you offer that will entertain or engage my family.  And if you respond to those in a way that says you are the church that has the best to offer in all the things they are looking for, they will come to your church.  At least until there is another church offering something bigger, better, more fun or engaging or entertaining.

If a church pursues that approach, you can draw a crowd, but you continually have to offer something new, different, and bigger than you did the last time, and something better than what is being offered by other churches in the same market.  In our market in North Texas, there are megachurches with multi-million dollar budgets, programs for every segment of the family, and musicians that have songs played on Christian radio.  The consumer mentality is alive and well in our area, and it actually is destructive to the long-term good of the kingdom of God.

So, I decided that we were intentionally not going to do that, not going to pursue that, not going to fuel that in people.  Not that we don't want to do things with excellence, not that we don't want to provide things that are fun and engaging and life-changing, but that's just not going to be the core of who we are.  So, I came up with a response that would intentionally deflect those kinds of questions and point people to the heart of who we are as a church.  Which is what prompted me to start answering with, "We are going to give you an opportunity to give your life away for something that matters for all eternity."

Over the past year, as I have prayed about the future vision for our church, I've come to realize that is the real vision for The Crossroads.  That is who we are, why we exist, and why we want our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and community to be a part of it.  As I prayed and thought through this vision, seeking clarity from the Lord, I realized that statement needed just a little bit of tweaking to be a clear, compelling vision statement.  What needed clarity was, "What is the 'something that matters for all eternity'?  What is it that we really want people to be giving their lives away for?  Two things really became clear: God's Kingdom and God's glory.  So, the resulting new vision statement for The Crossroads was born: Giving our lives away to build God's kingdom and to bring God glory.  I'll share more details about the specifics of what exactly that looks like and how we will live it out in the rest of this series.

For now, two thought questions for you to close: What are you (or your church) giving your life away for?  How are you giving your life away?

Hungering, Thirsting, and Holding My Tongue

 

At the beginning of this year, I engaged in an extended time of complete fasting for spiritual growth, seeking the Lord's direction for The Crossroads, praying for an awakening in our nation, and asking God to raise up an army of church planters to reach people with the gospel. During that same period of time, I also was on complete vocal rest (That means I couldn't talk at all!) for two and a half weeks.  Silence is a historic Christian discipline, and it is something that the Bible encourages us to do in numerous places.  For instance, Habakkuk 2:20 says, "The Lord is in his holy temple; let the whole earth be silent in his presence."  Thus, there certainly can be legitimate spiritual reasons for engaging in times of silence before God, whether that is for a brief time daily (a quiet time), a quiet walk with the Lord in a peaceful place (throughout Jesus's ministry, he would often withdraw to a quiet or lonely place to be alone with the Father), or a more extended period of silence.

So, while there are great spiritual reasons to engage in the discipline of silence, my reason for going on vocal rest was much more practical.  Through years of speaking to a large group of people at least weekly as well as loving to sing loudly during worship, and using poor vocal technique, I had developed nodules on my vocal cords.  You can google them if you want a detailed explanation, but basically it's like having callouses on your vocal cords.  The result is always sounding hoarse and having a minor sore throat after speaking for a long time.  The first remedy for them is simply not talking for a period of two to three weeks with the hope that they will heal during that time.  So, that's what I did.

Now, I wasn't totally without any means of communication during that time. I carried around a small whiteboard and dry erase marker with me (when I remembered them) that I could use to write messages.  I also used a weird version of charades and a tiny bit of sign language.  One of the things we learned is that LaRissa is horrible at charades!  I could send text messages, and I also found a couple of different tools on my tablet and phone that would convert text to speech.  None of these solutions were great, though, and made communication slow, cumbersome, and ineffective.  So, mostly, I was just quiet. 

Although I was not doing this vocal rest as a spiritual discipline, keep in mind that it overlapped with an intentional extended period of fasting and seeking the Lord.  And God did use the silence in correlation with the fasting to graciously reveal himself to me.  Being silent allowed me to be more attentive to the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit and to be more focused on meditating on Scripture and spending time in prayer.  The biggest "Aha!" moment came for me when I realized that not talking was harder than not eating.  I mean way harder!  

Think about that with me for a moment.  Eating is far more important in the long term for life and my physical well-being.  At some point, you cannot go on without eating.  Nutrients are necessary for life.  On the flip side, speaking is not necessary at all for life.  There are people who cannot speak, and yet manage to have a long and fulfilling life.  I know plenty of people who are extremely introverted who are perfectly content to go for hours on end without saying a word.  But that's not me!  While not eating involved some difficulty, not talking was incredibly difficult for me.

And that's how the Lord spoke to me.  What if I (what if we all) had the same attitude toward the voice of the Lord and the word of God as I did about my own voice?  What if I desired to hear the voice of the Lord more than I desired physical food?  What if I looked forward to time in prayer and time in the word as much as I look forward to my next meal?  What if I hungered and thirsted for hearing from Jesus as much as I do food and drink.

Thinking about that brought new light for me to a statement by Jesus.  Jesus had been in the desert fasting for 40 days when the devil comes to tempt him, and the Bible specifically tells us that he was hungry (Mt. 4:2).  So, the first temptation that the devil offers was for Jesus to turn a pile of stones into loaves of bread.  It was a temptation to use his power to fulfill his own personal desires, to satisfy his physical hunger, to place his need ahead of the purposes and direction of the Holy Spirit and God the Father.  Jesus's response is what the Holy Spirit illuminated to me: "It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Mt. 4:4).

Jesus understood that physical food was not all that was necessary for the thriving of human life.  While bread can sustain our physical bodies, bread cannot bring true life.  Only the word of God, only hearing from the Lord, only listening to the voice of the Lord can ultimately bring life to us.  So, for Jesus, the voice of the Lord was far more important than physical food.  Jesus knew that he could not carry out his mission on earth apart from the presence, the direction, and the empowerment of the Father and listening to his voice at every moment.

So, my big takeaway was this desire and this prayer: "Father, I want to live my life hungering for your word, to hear your voice, to know your voice, and to follow your voice more than any other desire in my life.  I want to hunger and thirst for righteousness.  I want to look forward to hearing from you more than I look forward to eating a great meal."   Maybe you would pray the same prayer today.

Praying at the Pump

 

Earlier this week, I stopped in at a gas station to fill up my truck.  With the historic increase in gas prices over the last several weeks, it is an understatement to say I was not looking forward to this.  As the pump ticked away the cost of the tank of gas, I experienced a range of emotions that most of us are likely familiar with as we buy gas: anger and frustration at the skyrocketing prices; anxiety about what this will mean for the global economy, already stressed supply chains, the cost of goods, and my own personal finances; casting blame on various parties all around the globe.  I was really getting myself worked up into a first-class bad mood.

But then God reminded me of the primary cause of the current pain at the pump.  An evil ruler has led his military to unjustly and without provocation invade and wage war against another nation.  So, I've decided instead of focusing on myself and my problems when I go to the pump, to use the pain at the pump as a prompt to pray.  Now, as I pump gas, I will thank God.  I will thank him that I have a vehicle to drive freely back and forth to work and home and that the roads to and from are passable.  I will thank him that gas is readily available to put in my vehicles.  I will be thankful that my wife and I are not huddled in a basement with other families seeking shelter from bombs and hypersonic missiles.  I will praise God that I have not had to send my children away as refugees to a foreign land for their protection.  I will be thankful that my son is not going off to war to defend our home.  I will thank God that I have a roof over my head, food on my table without any concern for when it will run out, clean water to drink, clothes on my back, and shoes on my feet.  

And I will pray.  I will pray for the people of Ukraine, for their protection, their strength and resolve, for their provision.  I will pray for the millions of children who are now refugees, separated from their parents, in foreign lands dependent on the kindness of relatives or even strangers.  I will pray for my fellow believers in Ukraine to be able to share the hope and love of Christ as well as the message of the gospel with their countrymen and even Russian invaders.  I will pray for the failure of the Russian invasion, Russian military equipment, supply chains, and communication lines.  I will pray for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.  I will pray for a change of heart for Vladimir Putin or for his removal from power.  I will pray for Western nations and our leaders as they seek to make hard decisions to secure peace in our world.  I will pray for the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords.  I will pray for peace.

How to Deal with Debt

 

One of the most common approaches to life, happiness, satisfaction in modern America is materialism.  Materialism is the idea that value comes from material things, from stuff: cars, houses, clothes, money, electronic devices, and all of our possessions.  Materialism says that the key to happiness is the accumulation of possessions.  Much of the marketing industry in America is founded on this exact philosophy.  If you want to be happy or fulfilled or popular or attractive, you need to buy their product. 

In many ways, materialism is the god of modern America.  And if materialism is the god of modern America, the worship that god demands is debt.  If you must have more, newer, better stuff to be happy or fulfilled, and you don't have the money to buy it, what do you do?  You charge it!  Debt has become an accepted way of life for many people today.  U.S. consumer debt now stands at over $15 trillion!  Compare that to our total personal income of $19.6 trillion, and you understand that most of us are in debt.

So, what does the Bible say about debt and what should our views as followers of Jesus be when it comes to debt?  There are really three basic principles the Bible has in relation to debt:

1. Be cautious about getting into debt.  While the Bible does not condemn or forbid going into debt, neither does it encourage you to go into debt.  It gives cautions about the dangers of debt.  Prov. 22:7 says,  "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender."  The truth is, if you are going into debt, you have to know that you are placing yourself under the control of the lender.  You are giving someone else a measure of control over your life, and that can be a dangerous thing. 

Debt produces all sorts of problems in life.  You begin to be controlled by your debt.  You have to have a certain job, making a certain salary to pay your debt.  You have to work extra hours and extra shifts just to keep up with your debt.  You worry and get stress and ulcers trying to figure out how to pay your debt.  It produces strain and arguments in your marriage. You have debt, but you also have to maintain a certain lifestyle, do certain things, provide things for your kids, and so your debt continues to increase.  It becomes this monster that controls your life. 

Now, one thing in particular that the Bible warns against is borrowing against surety.  Look at what Prov. 22:26-27 says,  "26 Don’t be one of those who enter agreements, who put up security for loans.27 If you have nothing with which to pay, even your bed will be taken from under you."  Borrowing against surety means I am borrowing with nothing to secure my loan.  I am borrowing simply on my promise to repay.  It’s called credit cards.  Credit cards represent a great danger, because if you don’t pay, they are getting their payment somehow. Be cautious about getting into debt.

2. Pay all your debts.  You pay what you owe.  Rom. 13:7-8 says,  "7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."  The only continuous debt that we need to carry in our lives is the debt of loving other people.  Everything else we need to pay off in a timely manner. 

 We need to pay our debts.  So, how do you do that?  Well, this is pretty complicated.  You have to spend less than you earn.  If you are going to pay off your debt and not accrue more debt, you have to spend less than you earn.  It’s a fiscal diet.  That means you have to think through your spending.  It’s called a budget.  Thinking through a budget is not hard to do.  You simply come up with all the sources of income you have.  You write those down.  Then you think through all your expenditures.  You start with the most important ones.  You take those out first.  Then come all the other expenditures.  And you don’t spend more than you earn.  Budgets aren’t always fun.  They aren’t always easy, but they are necessary if we are to get debt under control. 

Another thing you can do to eliminate debt is pray about your purchases.  Anytime you are going to buy something that costs more than say $100, pray about it before you buy it.  Give God a chance to either supply that need or tell you no before you go buy it.  Give yourself at least a day to pray about it before you go buy it.

3. Lend freely to others.  While the Bible cautions against borrowing, it actually encourages lending.  Look at Dt. 15:7-8,  "7 If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be."  Biblically, lending is not a business decision.  It’s a compassion decision.  It’s about caring about someone else and providing a means to help people who have less than us.

A lot of people are hesitant about lending to friends, family, church friends.  Why? Two reasons.  First, because we approach it as a business decision instead of a compassion decision.  We get upset because the money is not paid in a timely manner.  We hold it over them about how they use the money we lend them.  We worry about if we will ever see it again.  Those are business decisions.  But if we give based on generosity, if we give because we care more for the other person than we do for our money, then those concerns don’t really matter.  I encourage you to help other people with the things that God has given you.  But here’s the way you should do it.  View it as a gift.  That way, if you don’t ever get it back, then that’s okay, and if you do get even some of it back, then it’s a bonus.  Also, realize that it may be someone else who pays you back.  It may be at some other point sometime down the road that God uses someone else in your life to supply a need, and you get repaid.  God is going to take care of you particularly as you share his heart of compassion for others.  Then, let love and wisdom guide you.  Sometimes, lending to someone else is not the most loving, most compassionate, or wisest thing to do.  Because, the reason they are in need is because of some bad decisions in their lives.  Maybe they are in financial need because they refuse to work.  Maybe giving them money will only further some of their destructive choices.  So, you have to let love and wisdom guide you.

Then, the second reason we are hesitant to lend to other is because we don’t really have the money to lend because we are stretched to the limit.  Again, we have to get our debt under control so we are free to use our money the way God wants us to use it to impact other people.

Ultimately, we need to learn to rely on God more than on our credit cards.  We need to trust in the fact that God loves us and cares for us and is going to take care of us.  That is the real danger of debt, that we can come to depend on our credit more than our God.  God has already taken care of the biggest debt in our lives when Jesus paid the price for our sins on the cross.  Col. 2:13-14: "13 And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross."  If we can trust God when it comes to meeting the greatest need in our lives, paying the greatest debt we ever owed, then we can trust him with the rest of our life as well.

Preparing Your Kids for Back to School 2020

 

Every year for the past forty-two years, back to school has been a significant time in my life, either as a student, as the husband of a teacher, as a parent of children returning to school, or, in the last year as the father and father-in-law of new teachers.  Back to school has always been a time of mixed emotions for me.  There was the excitement of starting a new year: the expectation of wearing those new tennis shoes that you were sure were going to make you run faster, the anticipation of wearing your cool new clothes, the joy of getting back together with your friends, the excitement of your awesome new school supplies.  There was also some sadness because of the end of another summer and saying good-bye to all the fun and freedom that comes with that.  And there was some measure of fear and anxiety associated with whether you were going to get a good teacher, how hard your workload was going to be, and whether you were going to have any of your friends in your class.

This year, many of those same emotions are still going to be in place as our kids return to school.  However, in many other ways Back to School 2020 will be significantly different than any return to school in at least the last 100 years.  Distant learning, hybrid learning, mask orders, social distancing, modified seating/recess/lunchtime/hallway behavior, sanitation and disinfecting procedures, temperature scans, COVID screenings, and suspended extra-curriculars are just a few of the significant changes our children will be experiencing this new school year.  As a result, they will likely experience a new range of emotions as they head back to school: things like significant fear and anxiety, anger, stress, confusion, irritation, depression, and feeling overwhelmed.

This year, like any other, there are certain things we need to do to help our kids be prepared for school: having their school supplies: establishing bedtime, wake-up, and get ready routines; making sure they have lunches packed or lunch payment ready, etc.  This year, unlike any other, there are new things we will need to do to help our kids prepare for school: making sure they have masks, teaching them to social distance, making sure they understand good hygiene.  While those external safety precautions are important for our kids, I believe there are some things we can do to support their emotional well-being that are even more important.

First, reassure them that they are loved.  Whatever decisions you make about school, make sure they know that you love them and that every decision you are making for them is because you love them.  Maybe this year, take the time to tell them you love them more often.  Give them more hugs.  Send notes of encouragement in their backpacks or lunches.  Text them (when not in class) messages of  support. 

Also, make sure they know that their teachers love them.  This year, more than any other ever, will be the most significant outpouring of sacrificial love by teachers for their students.  They will be working extra hours, buying additional supplies out of their own pockets, observing new procedures and protocols, taking on added responsibilities, comforting and assuring children, finding new ways to educate, all while putting at risk their own health and safety.  And they will be doing it all because they love their students.  Be sure your kids know that.  

The Bible says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." (1 John 4:18, ESV) Making sure your children know they are loved will be one of the best antidotes to the fear, anxiety, and other emotions they will be experiencing this year.  Most importantly, make sure they know that God loves them.  Teach them that God cares about what they are going through and that they can talk to him anytime that they are feeling afraid or overwhelmed.

Second, encourage them that we've got this.  It would be really easy this year to focus on how hard all of this is.  Mask requirements are too restrictive.  The school is not doing a good job with their policies or keeping us informed.  Our children are being placed in danger by going to school or our family's well-being is placed in jeopardy because the kids are not in school.  Our children are struggling with grasping concepts because the educational environment has been significantly altered.  Important traditions and hopes and expectations we had for our seniors may once again be impacted.  

It will definitely be a hard school year and there will be plenty to complain about.  But if we focus on those things, we will increase our children's fear and anxiety about this school year.  We don't need to sugarcoat things.  We need to be honest with our kids that this is tough. But we also need to continually reassure them that we've got this and that we are all working together to get through it.  Support them.  Listen to them.  Challenge them.  Carve out time when they get home each day to hear about their day.  Have dinner together at least four nights a week.  Help them with their homework.  Laugh together.

Again, the Bible offers wise counsel for times like this: "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."  (Ephesians 4:29, ESV)  If we could apply those words to everything we say to our kids or in their presence this year, it will help them be much more successful this year.  Ask yourself if the things you are saying are building up your child, if they are the appropriate thing to say to help with the occasion, and if they are a demonstration of grace to everyone who hears.

Third, teach them that God is in control.  There will likely be a lot of things this year that seem beyond our control or completely out of control.  There will be questions that we don't know the answer to and circumstances that we are unsure how they will turn out.  Friends, family members, or teachers may contract the coronavirus.  School may shut back down.  Policies and procedures may change throughout the year. 

When life seems out of control, you and your children need to know there is someone who is in control.  When the storms rage in life, you need an anchor that will hold fast.  When it seems like life is falling to pieces, you need someone who can put them all together.  The only place you will find that kind of peace is in knowing that God is in control.  Ephesians 1:11 says that "God works all things according to the counsel of his will."  No matter how chaotic or out of control this world may seem, the best assurance for us and our children is in knowing that God is in control, that he is working all of this according to his plan, and that our lives are in his hands.

 

Speak Less, Listen More

God laid this post on my heart several weeks ago, but I've been holding off on writing it, mainly because I've been trying to apply the message of this post to myself.  I've been reading books, websites, and blog posts by Christian leaders on some of the hot button issues in our society; listening to friends and their opinions on the dominant cultural matters; reading posts from my friends who come from a broad spectrum of racial, cultural, political, economic, educational, religious, and geographic (both U.S. and global) backgrounds on all issues; listening to varied media outlets and a whole bunch of videos shared with me about COVID-19.  I wanted to make sure I was listening before I added anything to the conversation.

Having said that, this post is not about my opinions on race, politics, or COVID-19.  I have convictions on all of those things that range from strongly held to highly uncertain, all of which are seasoned with a huge amount of humility and grace.  I am by no means an expert in those fields, and my general approach is what Paul outlines in Romans 13 and 14: to submit to every governing authority as an instrument of God (unless submitting to that authority means being disobedient to God), to fulfill God's law by loving other people, not to quarrel or pass judgment over matters of opinion, and not to cause another believer to stumble by my actions with regard to matters of conscience over which we may disagree. 

So, this post is not about presenting my perspective on those various issues.  What concerns me is the way in which I see believers interacting with these various issues and, more specifically, putting their opinions out there for all to see.  Now, don't get me wrong, I definitely believe that as believers we need to seek to understand how our faith and the gospel interact with and direct every area of our lives.  I believe we need to do the hard work of digging into the word of God, appropriately interpreting it in its grammatical-historical context, understanding the timeless principles found in Scripture, and applying those principles in our modern context.  I do believe that the gospel has a lot to say about race, power, justice, poverty, the sanctity of life, gender and sexuality, and freedom of speech.  I believe that a biblical perspective on the kingdom of God and our citizenship in heaven has many implications for how we interact with government, politics, and our role as citizens of earthly kingdoms.  I think that a biblical worldview should affect how we view matters of individual freedom, submission to governing authorities, and religious liberty.  We should think through these issues biblically and prayerfully while seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit; and then we should enter into dialogue with our culture about these issues.

The problem that concerns me in so many of these issues currently is that many Christians are not entering into dialogue.  They are giving a diatribe.  They are hastily posting on social media their opinions and reactions to these polarizing, hot-button issues without taking the time to hear from other people or to consider how those posts may impact their unbelieving friends' understanding of and receptivity to the gospel.  

Earlier this week I saw someone use the analogy that your posts on your personal social media page are like the decorations in your home.  You put on the walls things that are an expression of yourself and your personal tastes, and if someone else doesn't like it, they don't get to come into your home and express their dislike.  I think that is a poor analogy.  Ten years ago, as social media was just beginning to take off, I wrote an article on developing "An Ethic of Social Media."    I said that posting on social media is like speaking into a megaphone in a large crowded room.  Even if your profile is set to private, anyone who is in the room with you has the freedom to leave the room and repeat what you said.  Thus, the many biblical instructions related to speech and the use of the tongue should govern the things we post about on social media.

In our current environment, God keeps calling to my mind one particular Scripture.  James gives this instruction: "My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness." (James 1:19-20 ESV)  It seems that in 2020 we have inverted God's instruction.  We are quickly angered and offended by things that are happening in the world, that our government is doing, that people of a different life experience are saying, that our "opponents" are saying.  And, we are quick to post our criticisms, complaints, defenses, anger and rebuttals to those things.  

What we desperately need right now is James's simple instruction to speak less and listen more.  On race, we need to listen to what our African-American brothers and sisters (Christian brothers and sisters, not simply an organization or movement) are saying about their experiences with injustice, racism, poverty, crime, and disadvantage.  We need to listen to what business owners, police officers, and community leaders are saying.  We need to listen to historians and political analysts from a variety of backgrounds.  On the pandemic, we need to listen to scientists, epidemiologists, infectious disease experts, and governing authorities, as well as mental health experts, economists, and the critics and counter-points to those.  On politics, I think we most need to listen to each other, our neighbors, our co-workers, our friends and family members.  We need to speak less and listen more.  I don't think we have the right to post our opinions on these matters until we have genuinely listened to other people.  And even after we have listened, maybe we need to hold off on hitting "publish" on our thoughts on these issues.

My concern is that as believers, when we post our personal opinions on these matters before we have actually listened to others, we do damage to our ability to share the gospel with people who have differing perspectives from us.  I do believe there are times when we must stand up and speak out on issues that God speaks clearly about, but we must always consider how that impacts the ultimate message that we want people to hear, the gospel.  Several years ago, I had a church member who was running for a local office in a highly charged election.  People in our community had strong opinions about the election.  One day, he came by my house and wanted to put a campaign sign in my yard.  I told him, "I love you, but I can't put that sign in my yard.  I have one message that I need people to trust me for, and it is not who to vote for."  Since that time, I have a personal policy that I will never put a political sign in my yard, because I don't ever want any other message that I communicate to get in the way of my ability to share the gospel with people.

That is the one area where we need to speak more.  One of the things that has grieved me most in 2020 is seeing professing Christians post more about COVID-19, race issues, or politics than I have ever seen them post about Jesus.  If we are going to speak up, let's make sure that before we speak up about anything else, we speak up about the gospel.  Let's share our stories.  Let's share with others that we have a good God who made us and everything else in all the universe to point to him, but that we now live in a broken and hurting world because we have all rebelled against God and have chosen to live our lives our ways.  Let's tell people that there is a consequence for our rebellion against God and that consequence is death, physical, emotional and spiritual death.  And then, please, let's share with people the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, became a man, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross to pay the price for our sin, then rose from the grave to overcome our sin and its consequences so that everyone who believes in him might have forgiveness of sin, adoption into God's family, and eternal life!  Let's speak up about that!

Social Distancing and Drawing Near

Where I live in North Texas, we are a little over three weeks in on enhanced COVID19 precautions like social distancing and sheltering in place.  In just a few weeks time, we have had to radically alter our lives, our jobs, our shopping, our hobbies and pastimes, and our interactions with other people.  As an extrovert who thrives on actual personal interactions with other people and a pastor who loves keeping up with what is happening in the lives of my people, these types of restrictions are a serious bummer!

While I definitely feel it is important for us to observe all of the precautions health organizations are advising us, I think it is also important to remind ourselves that social distancing does not prevent us from "drawing near."  The Bible advises us that if we will draw near to God, he will draw near to us (James 4:8) and that we should not neglect meeting together with other believers so we can encourage each other during difficult times (Hebrews 10:25).

So, I just want to offer a few quick reminders about what social distancing does not mean:

• Not Relational Distancing - Social distancing does not mean relational distancing.  During this season, it is important for you to maintain relational connectedness with people around you.  Even if you cannot have physical interactions with people, it is important that we go the extra mile to invest in our relationships with other people.  Make more phone calls.  Send more emails.  Like and comment more on social media posts.  Talk to your neighbors more as you see them across the street or walking around your neighborhood.  Check in more frequently on friends and family members who are at risk or who may just need more help with navigating life right now.
• Not Emotional Distancing - Now is not the time to withdraw into yourself.  We all wrestle with emotional health issues from time to time.  Right now is a scary time.  There are plenty of anxiety producing things on the news.  Maybe you are feeling grief over the loss of milestone moments in your life or the life of someone you love.  Not being able to get out and do some fun activities may be producing stress in your life.  Perhaps you were not prepared for having kids at home around the clock and having to be a homeschooler.  Your job or financial situation may be putting added stress on you.  There are plenty of things going on right now that can put you in emotional distress.  So, make sure you let others know how you are feeling.  My assistant posted this on FB last week, and I think it is a great way to check in on your friends right now: 

Tamara Baldwin Nalls

April 2 at 6:55 PM · 

Just wanted to check up on everyone.
—————————————————————
MENTAL HEALTH CHECK-IN: I’m 💚💙💛💜🧡❤️🖤today.

💚 I’m doing great
💙 I am okay
💛 I’m okay-ish
💜 Things are tough
🧡 I’m struggling
❤ I’m having a hard time and wouldn’t mind if someone reached out to me
🖤 I’m in a bad place right now

Drop your heart color and let me know how you are doing! You can message if you're not comfortable posting.

This is a repost. Feel free to do it too & find out if anybody in your circle actually needs help badly.

Let’s keep checking in on our family and friends. We’re all in this together! Keep safe!

• Not Spiritual Distancing. Finally, social distancing does not mean spiritual distancing.  You don't have to keep God at a distance right now.  In fact, now is a great time to draw near to God.  Invest in your spiritual life.  Attend an online church service.  Start a Bible reading plan.  Take an online Bible course or Bible study.  Spend more time in prayer.  

So, while we are practicing social distancing, let's make to draw near in three arenas, outward (relationships), inward (emotions), and upward (spiritual life).

What Kind of People Ought We to Be? - Relating to Each Other in Crisis

I get it. We are living through a time of crisis unlike any of us have ever experienced in our lifetimes. In just a couple of weeks' time, COVID-19 has totally transformed our world. Who would have thought just a month ago that you would not be able to get toilet paper at the local store?  Schools are shutting down.  Sports leagues are suspending their seasons and championship tournaments so that there are NO SPORTS to watch.  Restaurants are only offering carry out service.  Movie theaters are closing their doors.  The stock market is plunging.  I mean, we're just a couple of weeks away from Road Warrior.

So, it makes sense that we are all a bit on edge right now.  The newsfeed each day seems to be getting worse and worse.  We are experiencing significant disruptions in our schedules, lifestyles, hobbies, routines, jobs, education, and healthcare. As a result, people are anxious and afraid because the world is in a time of chaos and there seems to be little we can do to control the chaos.  When we feel anxious, afraid, and out of control, we often respond to other people with anger, rudeness, and selfishness.  From what people that know are telling us, we are likely just at the beginning of this crisis.  So, if we are going to make it through this time, how should we relate to each other?  What kind of people ought we to be?

Nearly two thousand years ago, the Apostle Peter asked that very question.  He was contemplating the fact that there is coming a day when this world as we know it will come to an end.  Look at what he says: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10)  Peter says there is coming a day when the ultimate disintegration of life here on earth as we know it is going to happen.  There is coming a day when the end of the world as we know it (to quote REM) is going to take place.

Now, I don't know if our present crisis is an indication that we are approaching that time or not.  It certainly wouldn't surprise me.  The point, however, is that any time of crisis ought to remind us that this reality and this world as we know it are not eternal.  Plagues, financial crises, natural disasters, wars and rumors of wars are all functions of the fact that this world has a life expectancy, and it will one day end.

So, in consideration of that fact, Peter asks this question: Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? (2 Peter 3:11a)  Since this world is one day going to be no more, since Jesus is coming back again, and since he will judge all of us on the basis of whether we have trusted in him and allowed him to transform our lives, what kind of people ought you to be?  Peter's answer: You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. (2 Peter 3:11b-12).

Peter's question is a great question for us to ask ourselves in the current Coronavirus crisis.  What kind of people ought we to be?  How should we respond to the challenges that we are currently facing, and especially how should we relate to each other as we navigate this crisis?  Peter says we ought to live holy and godly lives.  What does that mean?  Well, holy and godly are not character qualities that we can generate in ourselves.  The only way for any of us to be holy and godly is through giving our lives to Jesus Christ.  He is the only person who ever lived a holy and godly life.  So, the only way for you and I to be found holy and godly is through trusting in Jesus' sinless life, his death on the cross as a payment for our sins, and his resurrection from the dead to overcome the power and penalty of our sins. (If you've never done that, please contact me.  I would love to tell you more about how you can become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.)

Then, once Jesus changes you, you are free to live out the life that he has placed inside of you, a holy and godly life.  That's why Peter closes out by saying, Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18)  In our present crisis, I would like to recommend three ways that we could all grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:

1. Extend grace to each other.  This is uncharted territory for all of us.  Your local store managers were not prepared for massive runs on basic supplies.  Your child's teacher had no warning that he or she was going to have to try to figure out how to educate your child using distance learning and online education.  The families in your neighborhood were not prepared for having their kids at home and everyone being on some level of lockdown for weeks on end.  Your pastors and churches have little to no experience with living as the church in this environment.  As a result, we're probably all going to make some mistakes.  Things are not going to go as planned.  We're not going to get it right and we probably will sometimes get it downright wrong. So, let's all extend some grace to each other.  Let's forgive.  Let's offer kindness and compassion.  Let's take care of each other.
2. Be patient with each other.  Because this is uncharted territory for all of us, we are all figuring this out as we go.  Teachers and store managers and bosses and doctors and pharmacists and government officials and public servants and pastors and families are all navigating a new reality.  And it's going to take some time for us to figure out some of this.  So be patient.  Don't get angry.  Don't yell.  Be slow to criticize or complain.  
3. Be humble.  In our present environment, being humble for me generally means, "Don't be a jerk."  Don't act like you know it all or have it all figured out.  Don't be the person who refuses to listen to the wisdom and instructions of people who know more about the situation than you do.  Don't make snap judgments based on your opinions or some theory you read on the internet.  Don't disregard the information and instructions we are being told by epidemiologists, virologists, and government authorities.  Be humble enough to submit to their leadership and authority.  And most importantly, humble yourself before God.  Take some time to pray.  Ask him to forgive us for disregarding him, and ask him to bring an end to this virus. Recognize that he is ultimately the one who is in control, and submit yourself to him.

[We would love for you to join us for worship this Sunday with The Crossroads Community Church online at The3C.online.church.]

4 Ways to Keep Developing Your Kids while on Lockdown

With the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the implementation of protocols to help "flatten the curve," many families may find themselves with a lot more together time with no real plan for what to do.  If your children's school determines to temporarily suspend on-campus instruction for an extended period of time, you may be wondering what you can do to help occupy all that extra time on their hands.  In addition to just keeping them busy, effective parenting means helping them to grow and develop.  

If you, like the Kemp household, are not ordinarily a home-schooler with a good handle on how to do that already, here are four things we are implementing to keep everyone happy and progressing while we are on lockdown.

We always feel like it is a good idea to look to Jesus as our model for life; so, let's do that with this situation.  There's really only one verse in the Bible that tells us about Jesus' key developmental years after age 12.  Luke 2:52 says, And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man (ESV).  Luke says there were four areas that Jesus grew in from the time he was 12 years old until he was an adult: wisdom, stature, favor with God, and favor with people.  Those four areas form the basis for our strategy for developing our children during the lockdown and daily activities to facilitate that development.

Wisdom - Luke says that Jesus grew in wisdom.  There are a lot of things that go into being a wise person, but for our purposes, we have chosen two things to help our children grow in the area of wisdom.  One, each day they must do some educational activity.  They can read a book, work on math facts, study spelling, learn about another country or culture in the world, or simply keep up with work that their teachers will likely soon start sending out to them.  There are also a lot of museums, zoos, and musical groups that are currently offering free online experiences that your kids might enjoy.  Two, each day they must do some creative activity.  Play a board game. Put together a puzzle. Learn to sew. Bake some goodies to share with the rest of the family or a shut-in neighbor. Do an art project.  Practice their instrument.  Sing a song.  Have a campout in the living room, complete with a tent, s'mores, and some scary stories.  Today, my girls are doing an in-home beauty day, fixing each other's hair, doing makeovers, and practicing new make-up techniques.

Stature - In other words, Jesus grew physically.  So, each day, make sure your children are doing some physical activity.  Have them walk/jog around the block, throw a ball in the backyard, play outside in the rain, get on the treadmill, play some "indoor volleyball" with a balloon, do some simple calisthenics, pretty much anything that works up a sweat.  If you are okay with the kids jumping on the furniture, one of my kids' favorite games when they were young that got them up and moving was "the floor is lava."  If they are doing something that actually gets their heart rate up, 30 minutes should suffice.  If the activity is a little more laid back, push it to an hour.  We also don't want this time to become a time of developing some bad habits, so we are having a scheduled time for everyone to be up, cleaned, dressed, and at the table ready for breakfast.

You also want to do your best to make sure they are eating healthy foods while they are stuck at the house.  While options at the grocery store may be more limited currently, the produce section at our local markets appear to be abundantly stocked right now.  In running to the store for toilet paper, milk, bread, and eggs, make sure you also pick up some apples, oranges, asparagus, or broccoli.  

Favor with God - The current coronavirus crisis is actually a very important time for your children to grow in their relationship with God.  Right now, there is a lot of fear spreading throughout the world, and children definitely pick up on the fear they sense in us and others.  The antidote to fear is faith, so make sure you are not neglecting this area of your child's development.  We are requiring our kids to do one spiritual activity each day.  Teach your kids how to have a daily time of Bible reading and prayer (a quiet time).  Give them a memory verse to work on.  This week, our church is memorizing 2 Timothy 1:7: For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.  Once they have memorized a verse, have them spend time meditating on it, which is simply extended time thinking about the verse, what it means, and how it applies to their lives.  Turn on some worship music to listen to as they are stuck at home.  

Favor with man - The last area of Jesus growth was in the area of relationships with other people.  Jesus said that our love for one another is the evidence that we really are his disciples.  So, each day, we want our kids to do one others-focused activity.  In the practical world of our household, that is going to mean doing some chore to help out around the house.  That can be cleaning a room.  One of the great ideas my wife came up with years ago was to create a notecard for each room of the house listing out each of the things that need to be done in that room for that room to be considered "Mom approved." Whatever way you work it out, more people at home for long periods of time is going to mean there are more chores to be done.  So, develop a system where everyone can pitch in.

Others-focused activities can also include people outside your household.  We want to maintain safe protocols as far as social distancing, but we don't need to just become hermits with no concern for others.  Have your kids check on their friends and their friends family members to make sure they are doing okay.  If they discover someone has a need that your family can help with, by all means do so.  One of our local nursing homes has requested people to write letters and cards to their residents who are no longer able to receive visitors.  This would be a great project for your kids to tackle.  Also, make sure you check on elderly neighbors and family members and those who are at risk.  Your family could make grocery runs, help with yard work, walk a dog, etc.

Finally, parents, the best way for you to instill these four habits in your kids is for you to model them.  Make sure you are developing in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and people as you are encouraging the same things in your kids.  If we do so, we will come through the lockdown, not just surviving, but growing and improving and healthier.

ON MISSION CELEBRATION

Since Saturday I have been in deep East Texas at the On Mission Celebration.  Nearly sixty churches have been participating, hosting twenty people working in missions in some capacity.  By this evening I will have spoken five times to seven different churches.

My message for them has been about how they can be involved in church planting.  Church planting was not necessarily on their radar, but they have responded really well to my encouragement.  

I have enjoyed getting to spend time here.  Deep East Texas looks very much like where I grew up in Southwest Arkansas.  One of the churches I spoke at reminded me of my own home church.

But, I gotta say, I sure will be happy to be back home to my sweetheart and the kids.

Christmas and Connecticut

This week, I was meditating on the account in Matthew of the angel's visit to Joseph to tell him of the pregnancy of Mary and the coming birth of God's Son.  In particular, I was considering the two names that are given to the Messiah in this account.  The angel told Joseph that the baby would be called "Immanuel" meaning "God with us," a name indicating who the child is.  Then, Matthew tells us that when the child was born, they gave him the name "Jesus" meaning "He saves," a name pointing to what he will do.  

I was thinking on these two names and, in particular, what they tell us about the incarnation, Jesus' coming to earth and taking on flesh to become a human being, in preparation for my message this week.  You see, Christmas is about way more than a baby in a manger, surrounded by his mother and father, cute sheep, a lowing cow, some shepherds, and a few kings bringing gifts, while angels sing, and a star overhead serves as a spotlight to illuminate the whole thing.  The biblical message of Christmas is much grittier, much more real, and in many ways, much uglier than our traditional images of the nativity.

So, as I was nailing down some of the applications of the biblical message, the message struck home in a very real sense today as I received word of the Connecticut school shooting.  Already questions are coming in like, "How could someone do that to little children?  What kind of monster must this guy have been? What is our world coming to?"  And it is precisely those questions that the Christmas story answers.  

So, as you deal with the horror of yet another school shooting and process it all in your mind, let me give you a few of the thoughts from the Bible's message about Christmas.

1. Human sin is a really big deal.  It is such a big deal that God came to earth in the flesh to deal with it.  He didn't whitewash it, overlook it, or just sweep it under the rug.  He came to a broken, messed up, hurting world to deal with our sin.

2. God takes the brokenness of the world personally.  The incarnation is about God coming in person to fix what we have broken.  He came to earth, became one of us, lived our life, and died our death to pay the price for sin.  The author of Hebrews says that we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, who understands our hurts and pains and sufferings.  God takes the hurt of our world personally.

3. We are incapable of fixing what is broken in our world and our own lives.  God had to come to earth to save us because we could not save ourselves.  There is no government program, no human initiative, no amount of moralizing, no new set of rules, no social strategy that can fix sinful condition of our world.  We cannot fix ourselves.  Only Jesus can save.

4. There is a penalty for sin.  Don't forget, Jesus was born to die.  From the moment he came to earth, he was destined for a cross, because sin must be atoned for.  There has to be a sacrifice for sin to be forgiven.  God does not just overlook sin.  He deals with  it.  He pays for it.  He dies in our place.

5. God is merciful.  In situations like this school shooting, we are all quick to line up to say how despicable such an action is and how the shooter deserves to suffer the judgment of God.  I do not for a minute deny that is true.  But what we sometimes lose in offering those verdicts is the fact that we all deserve God's judgment.  None of us are righteous, not even one.  None of us do what is right.  None of us seek after God.   We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way.  Our righteous acts are like filthy rags before God.  The only  hope for any of us is not that I am any better than the guy who pointed a gun at innocent children and took their lives, as if my horrible, wretched sin were a little bit better in God's eyes than his.  The only hope for any of us is that God has mercifully and graciously provided a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And only through him can I be forgiven.  And only through him can our world be fixed.

We need a Savior.  We need God with us.  We need Jesus.  We need Christmas.

My New Five Fingers

Many of you have asked about my new Vibram Bikila LS Five Fingers.  The Five Fingers are a unique shoe designed to mimic the feel of going barefoot.  The Bikila is the running model of the shoe, and the LS means it has laces.  I have a very wide foot, so the laces give me a little more room in the shoe.  The normal model has an elastic bridge with a velcro closure.  I found these to be a little too tight for my foot.

Today, I went for my first run in the Five Fingers.  I got the shoes on Friday, and had been anxiously looking forward to my first run in them.  Because they imitate the feel of running barefoot, the Five Fingers are supposed to cause a more natural foot strike when running, striking first on the forefoot rather than the heel.  This creates less trauma on the body and produces fewer running related injuries. (Okay, that's a greatly  abbreviated description of what barefoot running is supposed to do, but that will do for this blog.)

Today, I ran the majority of my run in my old pair of Asics.  I will say, I love these shoes.  They have been my faithful companion as  I have  finally gotten my butt back in gear  and back into the world of running.  They are light and comfortable, and I've pounded a lot of pavement in them.  But, I've put way too many miles on them, and it was time for a new pair of running shoes, so I made the switch to the Five Fingers.

I only did the last 7.5 minutes in my Five Fingers today.  I am allowing my feet, body, and running motion to gradually adjust to the new feel of running in them.  So, here's  my initial evaluation.  The feel of running nearly barefoot was incredible.  My feet were very light without the weight of a large, padded running shoe on them.  I run on pavement, and my feet were not at all uncomfortable.  I had  a good feel of the road beneath my feet, but I did not cringe at the rough surface of the road.  Having my toes free allowed them to splay as I ran giving a great sensation of being able to  "grip" the road.

Running on my forefeet also gave me more of a feeling of springing as I ran.  Even though I had the Five Fingers on at the end of the run, I was able to speed up my pace.  I also had increased my running intervals today, but still had energy at the end of my run.

I will say that it takes some time to get used to the forefoot strike.  After years of running more on my heel, this takes some adjustment.  It's not bad at all, it is just going to take some time to get used to.  Also, years ago I had a serious fracture of my right leg.  This caused my right leg to turn out slightly more than my left.  As a result, I had to concentrate a little more on getting a good forefoot strike with my right foot.

The greatest sensation from the Five Fingers was after I finished my run.  Ordinarily, when I finish, my  calves are aching, I have some pain in my feet, and my lower back is aching.  Today, I had none of that.  I got home and feel great. Now, bear in mind that I only did 7 1/2 minutes in the Five Fingers, so my evaluation may change with more time and miles beneath my feet.  But so far, I am loving them!

Prayer Please

I'm sending out a request for prayer to all our friends.  Please pray for our house in Sherman to sell.  We have been trying to sell our house for the last three years, without much progress.  We have made several updates and have lowered the price three times, but still no real offers to move ahead with.

We live our lives each day in Anna.  We work there.  Our kids go to school there and are involved in numerous after school activities.  We lead Journey Groups there.  We are actively involved in the community there.  Our house in Sherman has really become nothing more than a hotel that we arrive at late most nights only to crash and get up and get going again the next morning.

The driving and the late nights keep us exhausted at all times.  We have almost no down time and little time that we get to just chill with each other.  Keeping the house meticulously clean and ready to show at all times (which we aren't always able to do) is another source of exhaustion for us.  And, the rising cost of gas makes driving back and forth, sometimes more than once in a day, a real budget strain.

So, I'm issuing an all call for prayer, serious, constant, persistent prayer.  My mantra right now that rings through my head all day is: "God, please let our house sell."  I'd love to have some of you agreeing the same thing for us.

A Home

Several months ago our church started on a new journey.  We started to care for the homeless.  Oh, I know, all churches care for the homeless, right? Well, yes, I am sure that just about all churches have a concern for the homeless and do some things to express that concern, and I don't for a minute belittle the countless things Christians all over the world do for the homeless.  I just mean that our concern for the homeless began to take on a very real expression.

As a church, we have become burdened about putting some legs to our faith and actually taking on some of the things that God says we are supposed to be about as his followers, things like bringing justice to the imprisoned, food for the hungry, clothes for those in need, releasing the chains of oppression, and providing shelter for the homeless.  I have to give my wife, LaRissa, most of the credit for being the one God has used to drive me and our church to a greater passion for these things. 

Last year we began to learn more about The Samaritan Inn, the only homeless shelter in Collin County, TX, one of the fastest growing counties in the nation.  LaRissa attended an orientation at the Inn and discovered several ways we could be involved.  One of the first things we did was just spend a day putting in some volunteer hours painting at the Inn.

The project that really inspired us, however, was the Apartment Adoption Program.  The Inn recently built the Gateway Apartments, an apartment complex to be used as transitional housing for families who are exiting the Inn and trying to rebuild a life for themselves.  Residents of the apartments pay rent on an income based scale and pay for their food and utilities.  Adopting an apartment means completely furnishing an apartment for a new resident as they are preparing to move in.

After learning about this program, we felt this was really one of the avenues through which our church could be involved in ministering to the homeless in a tangible way.  So, we signed up to adopt an apartment.  Mind you, our congregation has about 125 people in it, so this was a real challenge for our people.  We began collecting items for the apartment in early March with the goal of having the apartment ready by the end of May.

The Crossroadies did such an incredible job of taking on this apartment.  We divided the apartment by room for our Journey Groups to adopt as their mission project, and each of the groups did an amazing job.  The parents of one of our members sold their home and donated a couch, love seat, end tables, and a dining table.  All of them were beautiful pieces of furniture.  Another group equipped the kitchen with utensils, small appliances, towels, silverware, dishes, and cookware, and filled the pantry and freezer in preparation for the family.  Amazingly, even though all this stuff came from different groups and people who just heard about what we were doing, the living room furniture and the decorations on the walls and the place settings on the table and the decor in the rooms all matched perfectly.

We found out that the apartment was going to be for a father and his two-year-old little girl who had been living in their car prior to coming to the Inn.  So, one of our groups took on the room for the little girl.  They got a princess toddler bed, fairy decorations, and a beautiful chest of drawers.  Another couple built a toy chest for her, and we filled the toy chest with little girl toys.  Another person heard about what we were doing and donated a closet full of beautiful little girl clothes.

Another group took on the dad's room.  They got bedroom furniture, bedding, night stands, and awesome, manly decorations for his room.  Then, we found out that the dad got a better job in another city and would not be moving in to the apartment.  We praised God for his job, but wondered what we would do next.

Another family was waiting in the wings for the apartment.  Only problem, this family was a young mother, and her three kids, ages 5, 2, and 1.  Oh, and two of them were boys.  Our people took on the challenge, however.  We completely changed the little girl room to a boy room complete with cars and trucks and Spiderman toys and a crib for the baby.  We moved the little girl stuff into the mom's room, and once again were ready for our family.  We found out the mom and kids were fleeing an abusive relationship when she came to the Inn.

The greatest moment of all was when this family got the keys to their apartment.  Last Wednesday, several Crossroadies gathered in the apartment and waited for this mom to have the keys handed over to her.  As the mom unlocked the door and came into the apartment with her kids and her mom, we all cheered for her and this incredible step she was taking for her and her kids.  They ran from room to room with tears in their eyes as they saw the incredible home God had provided for them.  The kids went for the toys like it was Christmas morning.  We got out of the way quickly to allow this family time to settle in to their new home, but before we left, we gathered around them and prayed God's abundant blessings on them.

As we drove away, I remembered that as followers of Jesus, we are strangers here on earth without a home.  But Jesus promised when he left that he was going to prepare a home for us.  Ever since he left the earth he has been preparing a home for us.  And one day, we finally get to see the place that is our real home.  I can't wait.  And I can't wait for the next time we get to provide another family with an amazing gift ... a home.