Heroes of the Faith

In the book Crazy Love, the author Francis Chan moves one step beyond the surreal inspirational figures of faith commonly referred to in Hebrews 11 by describing current day Christian celebrities and some yet-unknown amazing servants of Christ. Assuming that it may be hard to relate to and be motivated to take risks by characters from thousands of years ago, he details stories of everyday people from this generation. People like Shane Claiborne of Irresistible Revolution, and Rachel Saint of End of the Spear definitely inspire me to dream big, but they're still so far away that it's easy to distance myself from their radical lifestyles.

Last week, however, I traveled to Kansas City, for a Christian Veterinary Mission conference. I was so blessed to be surrounded by my own 'heroes of the faith', missionaries to Thailand, Haiti, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, with up to 27 years of service on the field in long-term veterinary missions. It's hard not to be moved into action by these undeniably real and huggable superstars. Not only did I get to practice working on pigs, goats, calves, horses and chickens, I also got to relish in the first hand experiences of my heroes. My faith was encouraged by the lives of worship and service these men and women have enjoyed and my dedication was challenged by the pungent (and lingering) aroma of goats and the deafening squeals of the pigs. I think I'll be investing in some earplugs soon.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:1-2

Predicting Forgiveness

I've arbitrarily assigned significance to the number three. If something happens once it's random, twice probably a coincidence, but three times and it grabs my attention. So, Sunday morning when the pastor started his sermon on the book of Philemon I sat up a little straighter in my chair, as this was the third in a string of forgiveness themed messages I'd been hit with in two days.

Friday night I watched As We Forgive a documentary on the post-genocide reconciliation of Rwanda. A remarkable story of the unthinkable forgiveness being asked of the Tutsis as over 40,000 Hutu murderers are released from prison back into their communities.

That same day I had finished the wildly popular, yet mildly controversial new book "The Shack" by William P. Young. A compelling novel that invites you to re-evaluate your intimacy with the Father, and reconsider your understanding of His expectancy, not for performance, but for a relationship. In the book, the main character is faced with the opportunity to forgive wrongs done to him the likes of which I cannot imagine.

In both of these stories forgiveness is counter-intuitive, counter-cultural, and seemingly impossible. But in the non-fiction as in the fiction forgiveness once granted, brings reward not only to the recipient, but also peace and healing to the giver. What less would you expect from an act so closely resembling the love portrayed in the ultimate act of forgiveness God lavished upon us through Jesus' sacrifice?

So, Sunday as the lesson in church unfolded I began to put 1 and 1 and 1 together and wonder, "hmmm, am I supposed to be learning something about forgiveness?" After some consideration, I realized I don't have any torn relationships in need of this new found radical grace. And then it struck me that maybe I'm being prepared to forgive in the future. An alarming thought, but as much as I've been forgiven by my Papa, it shouldn't be asking too much of me to imitate His mercy on such a minor scale.

A Tribute to Mosaic's Mission Teams

Summer Volunteer Accomplishments:
2,800 pounds of food collected for the very grateful Maryland Foodbank
~3,000 Packs of gum distributed in our community
~4000 Mosaic-labeled water bottles handed out to thirsty locals
~50 "Mosaic is Coming" signs posted around the neighborhood
~35 hours put in serving at the Samaritan Women's House

This list is not meant to focus on the numbers, but to emphasize the enormity of the blessing that the financial and time sacrifices from each of our guests has been to us. And there's no way to quantify the prayers, the hugs, and the laughs they have also brought to our ministry this summer. In an area where we sometimes become disheartened by the reaction people have when we tell them why we moved here, it's been such an encouragement to know that so many people are supporting us. Ultimately, each of Mosaic's core members knows that God is the only one with any power over our impact on this community, but He seems to be using His servants to remind us of His involvement in this work. It sure doesn't feel like work with servants as humble as these:




Connection Point
(our guinea pigs)
Thank you for your flexibility!

The Post
(our firecrackers)
Thank you for your enthusiasm!

Okolona Christian Church
(our whippersnappers)
Thank you for your energy!

Not yet pictured... Cornerstone Class (our sages) Thank you for your wisdom!

Forefront Church
(our ladies)
Thank you for your compassion!

Side Hugs-the real reason I love mission teams!

P.S. Our first preview service, Sunday the 10th, was amazing. Seconds before we were supposed to start, as the chaos of preparation was winding down, I looked around the theater and saw many faces I didn't recognize. My heart jumped at the realization that it's all really happening... and I'm not the only one excited about what God's doing here!

Retraction/Reprieve

"Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." -Philippians 4:11-13 The Message

Whether in Bolivia, Florida, Oregon, or Baltimore this summer God has given me a great peace and almost a supernatural lack of homesickness. Whether Mosaic's interim Children's Minister, a veterinarian, or a weekend Bed and Breakfast host, the Lord has been teaching me to be content in all circumstances.

After an emotional roller-coaster of a week since my last post, Mosaic has hired a permanent, qualified children's minister, Lisa Molite. My tenure was short and sweet. I didn't have time to do any harm, and just barely had time to grow a little fond of the position. Thank you for your encouragement, thoughts, and prayers this week, they meant so much to me.

One may wonder what God's purposes were for the events of this past few days, and I could never be sure. But would venture to guess He was asking me just how flexible and use-able I was really planning to be when I joined Mosaic and said 'use me in whatever way you can.'

I may not have mastered the secret of being content in every situation, but I appreciate the lessons God has had for me in this area and the serenity that feels as if it only could have come from Him.

For those of you wondering where this leaves me as a volunteer with Mosaic, I'm heading back to my comfort zone, behind the scenes. It looks like I'll get to work with tech during the service, and then mingle with our guests in the First Steps area afterward. But I hope not to get too attached to any one position, so I can hold true to my purpose for being here and serve wherever most needed.

With Fear and Trembling

All children are as sweet and innocent as my cousins, right?

Having served with a church plant for four years in the past, I thought I was signing on to the Mosaic Christian Church team with something to offer them. I think God finds it very amusing when I feel that I have anything to offer anyone.

"The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know." 1 Corinthians 8:2 NIV

I really thought I was ready for whatever they could throw at me: bookkeeping, the tech crew, service or missions teams, shepherding small groups, assisting on the Sheet Cake and Punch Committee, serving breakfast to 25 hungry high schoolers, allowing my car to tow loads two-three times its weight, Worship Leader, Choir Director...

But when presented, last week, with the offer to lead the children's ministry, I had to admit 'now there's something I wasn't ready for.'

"You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail." Proverb 19:21 NLT

It will be an awesome challenge and an invaluable learning experience. As my mom said the other day, "there are kids everywhere." Technology, budgets, and bands may be important to the American church experience, but no matter where God takes me to serve Him next, there will be children.

Don't worry parents, there's one guarantee that Mosaic's children's ministry will be great; Reagan Kuhl will be there every Sunday!

"(Jesus) put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, "Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me—God who sent me." -Mark 9:36-37 The Message

Causes I Care About

"No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." Isaiah 58:6,7

I stumbled across some definitions recently that made me stop and think twice. Thought I'd share them with you in case you're due for some thinking.

• Stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care.

• Compassion is not sentiment but is making justice and doing works of mercy.

I've never considered myself a very compassionate person, but this is a definition I can work with. Using this view of stewardship as a filter while making purchasing decisions can help us manage the resources God has blessed us with to contribute to justice and mercy. Here are a few of my favorites if you're looking for a great opportunity to be responsible with the resources entrusted to you:

SOZO International - Recently in a refugee camp in Barek Aub, Afghanistan inflation increased the cost of feeding the people from $30,000/month to $60,000. Consequently, many are currently starving. It costs only $94 to feed a a family of seven for a month.

Compassion International is well-known for its outstanding global child sponsorship program. But recently I learned of their AIDS Initiative through a heart-wrenching book called Red Letters. Every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS...

Christian Veterinary Missions - Nearest and dearest to my heart, this organization is empowering veterinarians to live out their Christian faith by serving others through their profession.

Samaritan's Purse is more than just Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes, a relief organization that is often first on the scene around the world in disaster situations.

"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed. We have refused to be instruments of love in the hands of God to give the poor a piece of bread, to offer them a dress with which to ward off cold. It has happened because we did not recognize Christ when, once more, he appeared under the guise of pain, identified with a man numb from the cold, dying of hunger, when he came in a lonely human being, in a lost child in search of a home." -Mother Teresa, Red Letters

Hugging the Post

Last night after lots of hugs, I put the Post back on a plane to Louisville. A group of eleven college age/20-somethings from Southeast Christian Church's Post ministry joined Mosaic this weekend in an attempt to reach out to our community.

They were a blessing to the thirsty 4th of July crowd in Columbia, MD as they handed out over 3,000 free waters and 1,500 packs of gum. They were a blessing to The Samaritan Women's House and its future residents as they left their fingerprint on the rehab of that work in progress. They were a blessing to Community Christian Church of White Marsh, MD as they served in the children's ministry for three services. They were a huge blessing to our Mosaic team as they helped us with many things that would have taken so much more time without them. But most of all, they were a blessing to me. I wonder if God sent them just to encourage me, and the other blessings were a bonus.

Someone asked me this weekend if I've had that "Oh no, what have I done?!" moment since I moved here. Without hesitation I was able to say nope. I remember daydreaming about a job that would allow me to go on every shortterm mission trip that caught my eye. This summer I have that job, I get to join every mission team from Mosaic, it's amazing!

I've never felt more at peace about where I am, than right now. I wonder if this is what the center of God's will feels like...

During the last hug at the airport, one of the guys said, "I'm a little jealous of you right now." You probably should be.