A Little Sentimental

I was thinking about sharing a story that moved me yesterday, but in reflecting on it, other recent gestures that have touched my heart came to mind. So, I'll share them all.

• The compassion of a co-worker who was bit in the face so badly by a dog that we spent six hours in the emergency room, but her questions continued to focus on the dog's well-being.
• The obedience of a couple who gave to the church sacrificially in the face of daunting medical bills.
• The sovereignty of a case of Mosaic water bottles I took to my apartment's office two months ago just now reaping fruit in a way that clearly looks like God's perfect timing.
• The love of a friend from Jefferson Street Baptist Center, a homeless shelter in Louisville, that has contributed to my Bolivia fundraising not once, but three times!

And finally, a connection on the drug-infested streets of Southwest Baltimore yesterday. As we ventured back out to share the gospel and cookies with the ladies (refer back to my blog entry from Oct. 13th), one in particular stuck with me. Wearing only one shoe and proudly displaying an "I Voted" sticker she proved to be gentle, but not wholly lucid as she answered the question, "Who'd you vote for?" with the unprecedented running mates, "Biden and Palin." She then told our group that we should run for something; she'd vote for us. Later, she walked up to a couple of us talking and praying and complimented my necklace and asked if she could have it. Quickly, before I could talk myself out of it, I took it off and put it around her neck. She gave me a long hug and came up with tears in her eyes and with more clarity than I'd seen from her she said "Thank you, you touched me." As she continued to hobble around distracting others asking for anything: money, a drink, climbing into our van for a ride, I refused to let myself regret my hasty decision.

And this morning I'm still glad I did it. It makes me think of a friend who has trouble denying money to beggars, and my recent critique of his unwise use of funds. Even if we're being used, our loose grip on these possessions is admitting they're not really ours to begin with. Maybe she won't be reminded of Christ's love when she wears the necklace, maybe she's already lost it, but its absence will continue to remind me of God's unfailing love for her.

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." -Matthew 6:21

A Good Problem To Have

Problems never feel very good, but I can't deny some are better to have than others. For instance, when we realized we needed more programs and connection cards at Mosaic last Sunday because we had by far our largest attendance since the launch service, it was a good problem because it came with a simple solution; print more cards and programs and open up more rows in the theater.

A more vexing problem came up today when I found out Mosaic's enthusiasm for serving on Thanksgiving has now breached capacity. Yesterday I actually had a girl who works in my apartment complex's front office ask if she could join us with a few friends. She's never even been to Mosaic, but she heard about our plans through her assistant who came last Sunday for the first time. How could we say no to a request like that?

But, it turns out the Ronald McDonald House can only accomodate a mere 12 volunteers. Mosaic's ever-growing list now holds 24 eager servants. Getting people excited about serving is one of my life's passions, turning them away once they've shown interest is tragic. So, it looks like we'll have the opportunity to spread God's love through even more venues this November by contributing to Bea Gaddy's 27th annual Thanksgiving feast for the homeless. And now with possibly 2 different serving times we may be able to accomodate even more volunteers who had conflicting plans for the Ronald McDonald House schedule. It's so nice when problems turn out to be God's way of reminding me that He knows what's best, and He can do immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine.

Ignited

In science an experiment is successful if it is repeatable. I tend to lean toward a similar measuring stick in serving. Every Christmas when we put together a team of short term missionaries for our Mexico veterinary trip, the number of repeat customers warms my heart. If this many people are finagling their schedules to go back, we must be doing something right.

For this reason, among others, I consider Mosaic's first church-wide service project last weekend a success. Since Saturday we have had people asking when we're going back to The Samaritan Women's House (TSW), requesting the director's contact information so they can volunteer on their own time, and our growth group is already starting to plan its own trip to the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (RICA), to challenge the kids to some more contests.

Now, right on the heels of our first activity we have started moving toward November's service event, making and sharing Thanksgiving dinner with the residents at Baltimore's Ronald McDonald House. And last weekend's enthusiasm is spreading like wildfire as we're already receiving interest, some so dedicated they're changing their own holiday plans, even as far as rescheduling flights to help serve with Mosaic.

Maybe it was the thrill of using sledgehammers at TSW. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush of the the kickball, pumpkin painting, and basketball competitions at RICA. Or maybe it was the joy of spending ourselves in the way God created us to be spent...

I get so excited when I see people's attitude about service change from volunteering when asked, to taking initiative and personal ownership. Lighting Mosaic on fire for serving has been the plan all along, but I never dreamed God would ignite us so fast.

Serving Up Grace

One of my new Mosaic friends came into my veterinary office today with her daughter and puppy. We chatted about her Sheltie, her work, her move, and our excited plans for Mosaic's first official day of service coming up this Saturday.

Afterward, the nurse who had been assisting in the room said with genuine surprise and awe, "Your church really does that kinda thing?" Of course I replied, "Yeah, wanna come?"

This was the same woman who recently asked why we were starting a new church in Arundel Mills. And to my response that there aren't enough here, she said her Catholic church had plenty of room.

On Monday night at our Growth Group while studying Philip Yancey's book What's So Amazing About Grace, we had discussed the public's impression of the church. Concepts such as hypocrites, rules, and judgemental often come quickly to people's minds when asked to play the word association game with "Church" or "Christians". Our group agreed that we hope Mosaic will be first and foremost associated with grace. And this Saturday we want to continue to sow that seed of unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness that only God can offer as we branch out into the community with our new body of believers.

Against the odds of finding anything the State would allow us to do and the kids would enjoy, we'll be playing kickball, tossing some beanbags, and painting pumpkins with the residents of Baltimore's Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents. Weather permitting, or not, we'll also be tearing down some of The Samaritan Women's House and rebuilding other parts of it.

Maybe there were some churches here already, but there's always room for a little more grace.

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." -Romans 12:11

Whoops!

For those of you who received my prayer letter by mail this week, I wanted to correct an error that was edited into the fourth paragraph. It was meant to say "There are so many people due good in this world." That's why according to Proverb 3:27 I should not withhold good from them.

The corrected version can be found here: Prayer Letter, October 2008

For those of you who haven't received my prayer letter but would like to, by all means, let me know!

Baking Cookies for Prostitutes

Tony Campolo once threw a surprise birthday party for a prostitute he'd never met. At the end of the celebration, standing on a chair in a hole-in-the-wall greasy spoon in Honolulu he prayed for her. The owner of the diner's response appeared somewhat betrayed, "Hey, you never told me you was a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to anyway?"

In one of those moments when just the right words came, Tony answers him quietly, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning."

Harry thinks for a moment, and in a mocking way says, "No you don't. There ain't no church like that."

My heart quickens with excitement every time I hear this story, my heart was overjoyed when Carl shared it at a launch meeting this summer in reference to Mosaic's future as a church that could throw birthday parties for prostitutes, and my heart was in awe as I experienced this concept lived out yesterday through Bethel Church's HOPE Ministry.

In an area of Southwest Baltimore where nearly 90% of the residents have a crack and/or heroin addiction, the women support their $100/day habit by turning cheap tricks. I had heard about the HOPE ministry a couple weeks ago and waited eagerly to join them on their next outreach to these women, assuming that I had full knowledge of what I would experience.

What I had heard about the girls and the situations had been true. The women ranged from teenagers to grandmothers. They were almost all visibly high. They walked the streets in a bit of a daze and approached our van as we offered them a gift. We gave them a bag with a hamburger and drink, some homemade chocolate chip cookies, some toiletries, and some literature on recovery centers and safe places. We listened to them, prayed with them, cried with them, hugged them, and shared Christ's love with them.

But no amount of head-knowledge could have prepared me for what I experienced. I had been warned that they might jump in the next man's car that drove by as soon as we walked back to the van, but when it happened the first time it knocked the wind out of me. I knew they might be strung-out and aged far beyond their years, but I think in the back of my mind I still held a somewhat glamorous, Pretty Woman, idea of prostitution. There was no glamour, there were no red lights, there was barely makeup, barely shoes. There was no shortage however, of hurting women who knew they had a problem and desperately wanted to fix it.

I prayed, and continue to plead with God to release them from this bondage, and allow them to return to their estranged children, their sobriety, and their dignity. But I have no illusions that God doesn't want His church to be involved with their healing, and I look forward to my next encounter with my new friends, and the block party where maybe Mosaic will take its moonbounce and snowcone machine to share with God's precious children in the streets of Southwest Baltimore.

How can one church Contribute?

That's not a completely rhetorical question. As Mosaic settles in and becomes the church, the people who take meals to each other after a baby is born, we are now faced with what the details of that look like.

Mosaic is committed to Celebrate, Connect, and Contribute.For the past month we've been celebrating who God is and His awesome gift of Jesus each Sunday morning. Now we add the Connect piece to the mosaic. This Saturday we're having our first church picnic to get to know each other, and next week we start our Growth Groups to dive in and start doing life together.

But the question remains, how will we contribute to our community, and the world? For years I've envied the directors of service and missions at Southeast Christian Church. What could be more fun than to organize and serve with all of your time, instead of just your time off work? Now holding this position for Mosaic I see the hardships. For instance, on Monday preparing desserts at Our Daily Bread, Maryland's largest soup kitchen, I couldn't lick the icing off my fingers because it would be unsanitary. But seriously, there is a huge amount of discernment needed to wade through the opportunities. Should we serve the urban poor through the Maryland Food Bank, Our Daily Bread (ODB), or the West Side Homeless Shelter? Should we serve the prostitutes with the HOPE ministry? The underprivileged or abused children through The Samaritan Women's House, the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents, or the public school system? The sick through the Ronald McDonald House? Or the affluent by gift wrapping their Christmas presents at the mall?

As you can probably guess my answer to all of these is an emphatic "yes!" From the beginning Mosaic has strived to have serving in its DNA, now we hope to perfect that model through intentional partnerships that use serving as a way to share Christ's love. There are many physical needs to be met in the greater Baltimore area but the greatest of these is the need for Jesus.

My uncle was visiting the day I served lunch at ODB, and as I was touring him around Baltimore that evening I shared some of our plans for Mosaic. He said, "I think what you're doing is great, but the problem is just too big, the church can't do it all." Our political views vary in his opinion that the government should have a greater hand in solving these problems. But that's also where our faith in God's church diverges. The church is big enough! Now let's just get out of the pews and start doing something about it. It's always nice to prove Kenny wrong.