Jesus the Servant

They were often dirty and in need of being washed. They were usually tired from a long journey. What were they? They were feet. Feet that needed to be washed. Our Lord recognized the need and brought out the water basin and towel. He began to wash the feet of those who didn’t deserve it. They were the men who should be washing his feet, yet not one volunteered. Jesus then began to serve those who did not deserve it. He served the one that would deny him. He got on his knees and performed an act of service on the one that would stab him in the back with a kiss of death.

“For the Son did not come to be served, but to serve,” the words ring in the memory of all who were present. It was hard for Peter to understand and so our Lord said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Christ had to serve. He had to wash their feet, for that is why he came. He came to serve.

Christ has served you and me also. Because he recognized a need in us that no other could, or would, meet. We were in need of cleaning and so He wrapped the towel around his waist and became a servant. “Unless I wash you,” he says, “you have no part with me.”

Jesus continued by saying, “now that I have washed your feet, you should wash one another’s feet.” How can we serve each other? What area of need can you fill? Do you know someone in need of a friend - will you choose to be a friend to them? Do you know someone in need on food or clothing - can you help? Are you willing to get up, wrap the towel around your wait, and grab the water basin? Are you ready to wash some feet?

Ozark Christian College Mission Team

It was a great and exhausting week of spring break. A group of students and faculty members from Ozark Christian College came to work with Memphis Urban Ministry for the week. It was a great time of outreach and service. Sunday evening we passed out flyers and registered kids for the two day kids camp that would be taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was a good opportunity for the people to see Memphis and the neighborhood they would be working with during the week. The area of focus was Clearborne homes which is saturated with poverty. Monday was a day spent preparing chili and serving lunch to the community. Many homeless men and women came through the line as well as many families who stated they would not be able to feed their children if they did not have that meal that day. About 70 people were served lunch on Monday.
Tuesday and Wednesday was spent conducting a kid's camp. It was basically a two day VBS. About 30 kids participated in the full two day camp and there were many more who were able to attend only certain portions of the camp.
Thursday was also a great day. Hot dogs were served and clothes were given out. About 50 people came in for clothing and approximatley 10-15 more people came for lunch only.

It was a great week. I am thankful to the group from OZark who gave up a spring break to come to Memphis to serve a hurting and impoverished community. The smiles on the faces of the children and the parents who were served tells of the great appreciation.

Lessons from an airplane

Okay, do not let the title of post fool you. I will not spend time talking about the airplane. I will not write of how you are putting faith in a giant piece of metal flying through the sky at 30,000 feet and how if one wire is not properly connected life as you know it could take a drastic change. Wow, now I do not want to fly anymore. I will not talk about all the people it takes to make a successful flight from the pilot, flight attendant, mechanics, air traffic controllers, ramp crew, fuel crew, wing walker, and on and on. I think there is a great lesson there for the church about how each person has a different function but a common goal of helping people reach their destinations safely. I will not discuss those things. Wait, I already have.

I want to share about an experience I had on our way to Ethiopia to meet our son. Our itinerary was to fly from Memphis to Chicago; Chicago to Washington Dulles; switch airline in Washington and fly to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was a smooth flight all the way. When we were flying from Chicago to Washington, Kellie and I were not able to sit together. I thought I would take advantage of the situation by catching up on some reading. I grabbed Blue Like Jazz and opened the book. However, before I was able to read a single word the man sitting next to me began to ask me questions. He sat down and said hello. I said hello in return and then once again opened my book. He proceeded to ask how my day had been so far. I told him it was fine and I stared back into my book. Feeling guilty, I asked him how his day had been. He responded that it was good but that he had a long flight ahead of him. I said "Well, I wish you the best" and began to once again look at my book (I had read about five words so far and I thought I should have been finished with a few pages by now). He did not seem to care that I wanted to read. He told me he was travelling to Liberia to visit his family. I decided to put my book back into my bag and have a conversation with the man.

We talked about Africa and how to communicate cross culturally. We discussed stereotypes Americans have about Africa and Africans have about America. It was a good discussion.

He asked me what I do. I find that question funny because I have no idea what I do. I minister to people whenever I can. I teach classes at church. I do leadership development. I am a student, but not this semester. I do not get paid to work for the church. I decided to tell him that I was a minister. He got so excited. He began to talk about ministry, about how we are all ministers, about how Jesus changes lives. He talked about the need for Christianity in Africa where his family is and in Chicago where he had lived for the last 17 years.

I learned a lot from this man. I was glad to be sitting next to him. He began to tell me what he did for a living. He has a business in Chicago that cleans church buildings. He then began to teach me about discipleship. He talked about how being a janitor doesn't seem like an ideal occupation, but how he would not change his career. He said Jesus washed the disciples feet because there was a need and everyone thought they were above that job. Jesus served his disciples. He said people come to a church building and sing songs and hear good sermons and attend good events; but they often think they are above cleaning the toilet. He said if Jesus were here today, he would clean the toilet, he would mop up the vomit from the three year old classroom, he would serve because someone needed to serve. He was not above service. In fact his own words were that he came not to be served, but to serve.

I think that is an awesome picture of Jesus. Jesus serving. Jesus wrapping the towel around his waist and washing the disciples' feet. Jesus grabbing the mop and cleaning up after we get sick. Jesus grabbing a toilet brush and doing the job no one else wants to do. Jesus serving. Jesus loving. Jesus taking a cross and carrying it up the hill to be crucified because of our impurities.

I am thankful for this man. I am glad I had the opportunity to sit next to him. I enjoyed the book once I was finally able to read it. But I am so glad this man interrupted my selfish desire in order to teach me about discipleship. Am I willing to serve? Do I seek only the glory positions? Sure, I love to preach and teach and be out in front - but am I willing to scrub a toilet in the name of Jesus and consider my role just as important as the teacher, preacher, and missionary? Thank you for the lesson, Lord. Teach me how to apply it.

Jesus: The Servant

They were often dirty and in need of being washed. They were usually tired from a long journey. What were they? They were feet. Feet that needed to be washed. Our Lord recognized the need and brought out the water basin and towel. He began to wash the feet of those who didn’t deserve it. They were the men who should be washing his feet, yet not one volunteered. Jesus then began to serve those who did not deserve it. He served the one that would deny him. He got on his knees and performed an act of service on the one that would stab him in the back with a kiss of death.
“For the Son did not come to be served, but to serve,” the words ring in the memory of all who were present. It was hard for Peter to understand and so our Lord said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” Christ had to serve. He had to wash their feet, for that is why he came. He came to serve.
Christ has served you and me also. Because he recognized a need in us that no other could, or would, meet. We were in need of cleaning and so He wrapped the towel around his waist and became a servant. “Unless I wash you,” he says, “you have no part with me.” I pray that you allow Christ to wash you this very day.

American Youth: The New Mission Field

This passed weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a youth seminar by Group called Re-ignite. It was a great time to get re-energized and to be reminded of how much this generation need to know Jesus. According to the National Study of Youth and Religion, 9 out of 10 American young people do not have what social researchers call a devoted faith. Their faith in Christ is not central to their life. They do not know the basics of their faith. They do not see how their relationship with Jesus makes an impact on their everyday life.

What have we done wrong? Why is there such a disconnect between this generation and the older generations? What has gone wrong?
According to Battle Cry, this generation of teens is the largest in history and current trends show that only 4% will be believers by the time they become adults. Compare this with 34% of adults today who are believers in Christ. Something must be done. Our method must be off. We have built youth ministry around a big event and big personalities. The problem is that our big events cannot compete with the other big events in life. Thepersonalities we build our programs around do not always stack up. We have focused on men and not on Jesus. We have left Jesus out of ministry. When Jesus is left out, our teaching becomes irrelevant. When asked to describe Jesus, teens described him as "nice." The problem is that we do not teach the real Jesus. A Jesus who is simply nice is not strong enough to walk with teens into the difficult stuff of everyday life. At the Re-ignite workshop, we focused on three questions that are very relevant for our world today.

1. Who do I say Jesus is?
2. Who does Jesus say that I am?
3. Who do I say that I am?

We have spent the majority of our time talking about issues with teens. We have told them not to have premarital sex, but 1,000,000 teenage girls are pregnant and 8,000 youth develop an STD everyday. We have talked to them about avoiding peer pressure, but 1/3 of all youth have been drunk and 1/4 of all youth have used illegal drugs. One in five teenagers have attempted suicide, while 1,500 hundred a year succeed.

Maybe we should spend more time teaching about the real Jesus. If nine out of ten youth do not see how their relationship with Jesus impacts their daily life, maybe we are not teaching the real Jesus. The questions are real. The trials are real. The struggle is real. It's time for youth to be able to see the real Jesus.

The Church Working Together

I spent a week at my parent's house in Oklahoma last week. It was a great visit. I went to help them clean their house so they can start rebuilding from the fire back in July. The fire happened the last Friday in July and it damaged most of the front half of the house. It has been unlivable for all these weeks.
It was good to be there working with my mom, dad, sister, brother, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, cousin, and their church family. I arrived on Thursday and enjoyed the visit on Friday a couple of us carried out the old furniture. Saturday, the church group came and helped clean out all the old carpet, tear down the ceiling, and clean up debris. It was a great time of fellowship and service. It was the body of Christ coming together to serve one of its members. I continue to learn more about what it means to be a part of Christ's church. The congregation they are a part of is a small congregation, but nearly every member was present and working.
The church working together for a common goal accomplished much. In no time, the house was cleaned out and ready for the reconstruction. I began to think of how much could be accomplished if the church would learn to work together in unity. How many more people would know our Lord if we would unite towards a common goal? How would we be different if we loved each other with a genuine love of Christ?
It seems that churches have a history of division more than unity. Sadly, many Christians would rather debate one another than work together to reach those who do not follow Christ. We would rather argue over patterns and names rather than how to reach our neighbor.
The lesson I learned was a simple one - when the church works together things get accomplished. How do I translate that into a practical missiology?

What is church?

I suppose you get various answers from different people based upon their knowledge and understanding of ecclesiology. For some, the church is simply a building - they say things like "That church has unusual architecture." They are not able to separate the building from what the church is. Others view church as the assembly or public gathering. They view church as people coming together for an order of worship that includes the leading of a public prayer, singing songs, partaking of communion, public reading of scripture, and a sermon. While I agree that part of what it is to be a church involves coming together for an organized assembly involving prayer, communion, teaching, (where do the announcements come in?), and Scripture reading - I feel there is so much more to being the body of Christ.
Yesterday, Raleigh Community Church experienced what it is like to be a church. We had our corporate assembly where a praise team led the congregation in singing, public prayers were spoken, Scripture was read, a sermon was preached, and communion was served. There were even a couple of baptisms! Praise God! But what followed was church. We left the building and most everyone who attended the assembly gathered at the house of one of the members. We had a meal together. It was a great time of fellowship. We then gathered in the living room for spontaneous worship. It was amazing. It was a time of sharing our hearts through song, prayer, and testimony. If someone needed prayer, they would take the chair in the middle and we would all gather around and place our hands on them and pray and cry and rejoice with them. Tears of pain were running down the faces of the church. Shouts of victory were proclaimed. Peace was received. I arrived for worship service at 11:00 AM, by the time I got home it was nearly 6:00 PM. We were Christ's church functioning as Christ's church. We were white, black; young, old; highly educated, and not so highly educated united in the name of Jesus. We were the church - the body of Christ. I learned an important lesson about church that went far deeper than a sermon ever could. I learned about community in a way that reading a book could never provide. I am a part of Christ's church.
The church is not an hour on Sunday, it is Christ's community of people living in unity. A church is not what happens in a building with a sign out front, the church is also showing each other love and support in a living room. The church is not just what happens within the walls of a building, it is God's people being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world around us.
Have you had an experience that taught you about what church is supposed to be?