Break the package open

God's bride is supposed to be beautiful, but right now all I see is her ugliness. God  has beckoned to her through the Holy Spirit and has sanctified her through the death of Jesus Christ. It seems to be a process though... Because we obviously don't act sanctified. 

And for this thing we call "worship" on Sunday mornings; it wasn't glorifying to God and for that reason alone I am broken hearted. I felt like in my moment of broken heartedness, God spoke to me. He said, "Break open the package." The package being this "nicely" wrapped and "perfected" thing we call church; church being thought of only as something we go to on Sunday mornings, not for what it really is. The church is the body and bride of Christ. We are His church and we are His bride. We the bride have become one with Christ for he has sanctified us. We are the bride of Christ!

So break open the package for it is has been poorly wrapped. We cannot go it alone. God is wrapping this package who's contents are the Church, his bride. On the coming day of our Lord he will present his bride, beautifully adorned with sanctification and righteousness.  

We cannot go it alone! 

The Underground Revolution

The Underground Revolution exists so God can bless the homeless community. We are apart of this revolution because we desire glorify God by loving and serving those in need. We recognize our responsibility to take care of those in need, and know that taking action and being the change we wish to see in the world is the only way to take on this responsibility. We recognize that God wants this ministry to be effective more than we do and that living our lives under this idea frees us from "making things happen," allowing us to live under the freedom found in Jesus Christ.

The Underground Revolution is growing rapidly and yet I find myself feeling uncomfortable. I guess I'm just afraid that we are going to lose sight of God in all of this. I'm afraid that we are going to start acting without being lead by the Holy Spirit. Yet I feel like we are still in tune with Him, so maybe I just worry too much. I am also excited about the growth that is taking place. We have 6 cities looking to become chapters of the ministry and we even have the opportunity to move into the Midwest. A fellow intern and myself are wanting to start feeding and ministering to the homeless here in Muncie, Indiana. We also have the opportunity to start a chapter in Chicago. I am currently talking with the Director of the Cornerstone Festival about getting a booth and being able to present our ministry on stage. So even as I am uncomfortable, I am still moving. There have also been a few other ministries, record labels, and bands that are wanting to help get the word out about what we do, which is really exciting. It always makes me happy when the Church body works together as a cross-denominated unified whole. 

I am in constant prayer for my friends in Dallas that are working their hearts out! They are truly abandoned to the cross of Jesus Christ and it is beautiful to have such wonderful people in my life.

What shall we do then?

I have only been at this for a short time and yet I am already tired of keeping my thoughts to myself... Can I just be honest? No... I guess not. I'd like to be but it's just not the right time, or is it? How does one know when it is the right time? Is it ever really the right or is it just that we force ourselves to wait until we have fully coaxed ourselves into putting ourselves out there.

That's really it isn't it? Putting ourselves out there, that is. No, it's not about the right time at all, it's just about getting over ourselves long enough in order to put ourselves out there... Or is it?

Maybe, just maybe we are supposed to wait. Wait until we feel moved. Wait until we really feel that it is the right time. Because maybe, just maybe, putting ourselves out there whenever we feel like it will just result in ourselves not being well received at all.

So what shall we do then? For all I know, the answer is already "no", but maybe if I give it time the answer would become "yes."

Yes, what shall we do?  

God of the Homeless

Never would I have imagined that the night I decided to take some food downtown to feed the homeless I would have met Andre or that my heart would have been broken into many pieces!

 

Never would I have imagined that people would then join with me and also meet Andre and so many others!

Never would I have imagined that God would work so visibly in my life; in our lives. I cannot ignore the work that He is doing among us!

Never would I have imagined that every winter coat given to the homeless would fit each and every one of them perfectly!

Never would I have imagined that God would raise up people at the same time to join together in service!

This homeless ministry was birthed by the Holy Spirit. It is not man made and there is no possible way of even trying to take credit for it. 

Praise God!

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

When I was young, I pulled everything apart; namely, my toys, and my Dad’s tools.  I wanted to know what was inside; what made things tick. Of course I would be in trouble when my Dad would need to use his drill. He’d turn it on and nothing would happen. By the time he realized what was going on, I’d be as far away from him possible, knowing that a spanking was now on the agenda.

By the time I was in junior high; pulling apart my toys and my Dad’s tools had turned into pulling apart my thoughts and actions; developing a philosophy, if you will. I had no clue how to go about developing this philosophy, but I was subconsciously building on it.

As my ideals were becoming somewhat solidified, they were forming around what I would call the typical ”American dream.“ To say the least my parents were concerned. Not to say that they didn’t struggle with the ideals of the “American dream,” but they could see me going down a path my brother and sister had paved before me, a path that almost killed my sister and deeply wounded my brother.

Sex.  Drugs.  Lust.  Pride.  Depression.  Hatred.

My parents forced me to go to church (in hindsight this action saved my life.) I didn’t want to go. It meant nothing to me. I did a lot of really messed up stuff during my high school years. I will probably write about those things eventually, but this post is about my developing philosophy.

Something was missing in my church back home, specifically in the youth group. It was a social club, yet another place for teenagers to bring their high school drama. I needed more. We all needed more. We all needed to see, live and breathe the gospel of Jesus Christ. I didn’t know how to make this happen. All I could see was hypocrisy. It was suffocating. I could see my own hypocrisy. It was depressing. I’m not really sure where the blame lies. So I’m just going to blame it on the sin of our fallen world.

So I left. I had to get out. I needed to breathe. I was 18 and done. I felt as if all of the philosophy that had been pressed into me was a lie. The church was so political and I knew it was wrong. It was sin. I believed God was real, but I knew that this couldn’t possibly be what he wanted for his Church.

I began to once again pursue this “American dream.” Majoring in business, and reading/studying as many financial books as possible. I had worked my way up to Store Manager of a local business and was beginning to have ideas of grandeur. As I began to gear up to chase after this opulence; God started working behind the scenes (not to suggest that God wasn’t always working behind the scenes, but things were really moving!)

I was offered a 9 to 5 desk job, drawing for a land surveying company. It was a fun job, but I quickly learned that I was never meant for the desk and the desk was never meant for me. This was a crucial turning point in my life! I did something that was so Anti-American dream that I was almost ashamed of myself… I took a large pay cut and began working at a specialty coffee shop. This move in jobs made me view money in a totally different way. Money was now secondary to feeling happy and content. About 6 months after this, God spoke. I really wasn’t expecting this! I wasn’t following after him, but nevertheless, God spoke. He told me to go back and face the church that I despised so much. God told me to go back and live rightly among them and take a stand for what was right.

About this time a read a few books that God used to continue speaking into my life. Under the Overpass and Irresistible Revolution. These books further encouraged me to continue living rightly. Even before I read these books I felt God starting to call me into a specific kind of ministry. God was telling me to plant a church within a coffee shop (I’m still not quite sure where or even what this will look like exactly.)

Some friends of mine in Dallas told me about an internship in Muncie, Indiana that was focused on doing business and ministry hand in hand. Believe it or not their business model is focused on the coffee industry! I went out for a visit and knew that God was calling me to move there.

So here I am. I work in progress. I am a mess, but truly believe that God holds everything together (Colossians 1:17.) This post was a bit jumbled and after a while I will speak to specific views and beliefs regarding my philosophies, but this is how this post turned out so I think I will just leave it at that.

 

 

To be known

We have an innate desire to be known and God can only fulfill that desire. I realized this for the first time a few weeks back while on the phone with my best friend who lives in Dallas. I was and still am tired of the "about me" conversation. In fact, one of the things I hate most about online social networks and blogging is the "about me" section. I don't mean to say that I refuse to tell anyone about myself. I am just tired of telling my story over and over again. It would be really nice if I could just stand up and tell everyone once and for all, why I have moved all the way from Dallas to Muncie.

I have life long friends back in Dallas. Friends that know me, who need no explanation and can even sit in silence with me and not feel uncomfortable. Words are precious to me and I do not like to waste them. I do not wish to be heard for my many words or talk just to hear my own voice. I speak with a purpose.  Now that I’m in Muncie, I am realizing that God is the one who knows me.  I think I had to move away from home to see that, and now that I see it; I just want to roll around in it. 

God is the lover of my soul and I find peace and rest in that. Even to the point of feeling invaded when a girl enters the scene. This is a new concept for me to grasp but feel that I am learning quickly. I will only let down my guard when I know that she is my collaborator in Christ, and that God is also the lover of her soul.

It is good to be known by the Almighty God!