Summer is Here

So this Sunday at Forefront, the AC wasn't on when we got there. It was like 75 degrees at 6am when I left my apartment to be there for setup, and a heat advisory was in affect for the day. So we turned on the AC, and it did not much. Remember, we meet in a theater with a tall ceiling. We were pretty hot doing setup, but got it all done earlier than usual. Yes! we thought, now we can get breakfast sandwiches in the nice cool corner deli. But no, their AC was not on either (but the breakfast sandwiches as always wonderful). So back the the warm Blender Theater.
I think everyone had in the back of their minds the idea that it would be cool by the time the first service started. Wrong. The programs were thicker because of life group info, so they made pretty good fans. At the end of 1st service, Jacob and a few others went to Walgreens, bought up some bottled water and ice and passed them out as people left and came in for the 2nd service. I must have drank at least 3 as well as a bit of OJ.
Usually when there's a heat wave, you hear about fights breaking out. The atmosphere at Forefront was different. People joked about it, dealt with it, and kept going.
After church, we had some reorganizing to do of all our supplies, so a bunch of people stayed after in the heat to reorganize and eat hot pizza. It was great. By the time I left for the train, I was completely drained. When I got off the train in Brooklyn, I had to get yet another drink - Gatorade. I took a wonderful cold shower and relaxed. Ahh, what fun! God is good!
Ya know, millions of Christians worship every week with no AC at all and they're fine. So I guess we got a glimpse of what it's like for them, as well as what it was like for Christians in New York 1900.

Urban Ministry Part Du

The Urban Ministry class from Ozark was a great week! The students got here alright and on time on Saturday, so we promptly enjoyed a few hours going to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and the whole city from the top floor of the building. On Sunday, I led the students to 4 churches. That's right, 4 churches in one day, and all of them were extremely different in how they are reaching people. First @ 9:15 we went to Redeemer Presbyterian's traditional liturgical service where the quartet played a Mozart number for the prelude and postlude.
Then we went to Forefront Church @ 11:30 which targets 20-30 somethings with a band. Church is in a concert venue for rock bands. After lunch, we went to Times Square Church at 3:00 which bought and meets in a theater on Broadway! The service was spirited and had a more traditional African-American heritage, though there were all kinds of people there. After the 2-hour service, we went down to Brooklyn for Church! of Park Slope a young plant that is highly relational and highly focused to reach their neighborhood. Each church is so different! It makes you realize that you need more than one kind of church to reach the many cultures of a city.
During the week, Gordon Venturella taught classes in the Empire State Building. You may remember that with earlier classes, we met in a classroom in the basement, but this week we were on the 15th floor with a great view! Gordon is on staff at Lincoln Christian College and Seminary and used to be on staff at Ozark. He did a great job of raising good questions for students to ask about the city, about themselves, and about what God thinks of it all.
In between times of teaching, the class visited several organizations in the city:
NYC Rescue Mission - reaches the homeless; those at the bottom
Teen Challenge - Started as a youth discipleship program for gang members, but today also reaches many with substance abuse.
Jews for Jesus - reaches the 2 million Jews in the NYC metro area; 1 million in the city.
The students also heard from several pastors in the city - from Forefront Church (Midtown Manhattan), Church! of Park Slope (Brooklyn), Community Christian Church (Upper East Side/Harlem), and Crossroads Christian Church (Brooklyn).

Because of some generous supporters, we were able to see Phantom of the Opera of Broadway! Trae, Mom, and I have been huge fans since we saw it in Tulsa with Trae's junior high literature class. It was a great show, and it reminds the students of what kind of people they may reach in NYC - those who enjoy the best of the arts and culture all the time.
All in all, it was a wonderful week. We enjoyed temperatures in the 50's and 60's (NOT the norm) and only had rain as the class was heading to the airport to go back to Joplin. Once again, I am so glad that God has blessed me with such an opportunity to be a part of building the future leaders of His church. Hopefully more and more will have the cities of the world on their radar screen as they seek to spread the gospel of Christ.

Urban Ministry

Tomorrow at 5:45 (hopefully!) a plane will land with 16 students from Ozark Christian College ready to learn about doing ministry in an urban context. They'll be here a whole week for the Urban Ministry class. Gordan Venturella will also be with us to lead most of the teaching times. Dave and I will be more of facilitators this time around, arranging travel, guest speakers, and events. The class will be visiting various churches, ministries, and non-profits in the city to learn and evaluate how they minister in an urban context. It will be a challenging and enlightening experience I'm sure. Would you please pray for the 16 students that they would be sensitive to God's Spirit this week? Would you pray that they would be stretched? And also that they would be safe.
Would you also pray for Dave, Gordan, and I? This will be our first week-long class to come out, so it'll be a little different. Pray that we would lead well and be sensitive to God's Spirit ourselves. I'm really excited about what God is going to do in some students' lives to effect his kingdom for years to come!

Learning from the Monks

I think that if I was born in the middle ages, I would be a monk in a monastery. I know they had their flaws. I'm not so much attracted to the simple life, but the focused one. Being a part of an entire community where everyone is seeking one kind of life together. When I look at American society, I often hate it. Each person must fight alone - against everyone else for the mighty dollar, or whatever else the individual wants. However, I know that every culture and society is imperfect with its flaws. But what about the church? Shouldn't it be the best society/culture - a different people living within a people? American/Western Christianity is still so individualistic to me. It's believers getting together as individuals - not as a community together focused on one kind of life together. That's what I want. That's the kind of church I look and strive towards.
And so here I am writing about it on my own, personal blog. Ironic?

Ozark in New York City

On September 21-24, 26 Ozark students invaded the big apple. It was great! This was our first group of students to come the the city - Dave Smith's Foundations for Church Planting class.
I remember taking the class in the downstairs of the chapel accumulating Dave's many many many handouts. I remember the class when we talked about the northeast, New York City specifically, and the great influence it has in the world. That's when God first began to prick my heart to come here to plant churches. I hope that God pricked some students' hearts this past weekend again!
They got here late Friday night, and experienced a NY taxi ride from the airport to the mission house where they stayed. (random fact: about 80% of cab drivers speak English in NYC). Early the next morning, we made our way to midtown to the historic celebration of the Fulton St. Revival. Jack Hayford and Henry Blackaby spoke, and then we were able to go to a church planting workshop. That night, the students were able to take the Staten Island ferry and see the whole city. Dave organized a seaside dinner back in manhattan at a great Chinese restaurant. Finally, we heard from the church planter of Mosaic Manhattan church.
On Sunday we were able to go to a new campus of The River, a church on Wall St.! We heard about it at the Fulton St. conference. It was a great, externally focused church. That afternoon we went to the Empire State Building where we used a classroom from the King's College. The students heard from the church planter of a church in the Boston area. We ended the night by watching a Broadway show, Mamma Mia! (my first broadway show).
On Monday, we went to Crossroads Church in Brooklyn to hand out pop tarts to people. Then we heard from the church planter there. Finally, we made our way back to the Empire State Building to hear from the planters of Forefront Church and Church! of Park Slope. With that, they headed off to the SuperShuttle vans that took them back to the airport and back to Joplin, MO. Wow! What an experience.I'm so glad that I was able to help Dave make this trip a success. This class will come out one more time in November/December. Another class will be coming at the beginning of November. So, we'll be getting ready for them. I'm glad that God brought me back to the city to be involved in such a worthwhile and purposeful program. May the Lord of the harvest raise up his workers to bring Good News to this influential city. Ever thought about coming to the city?...

Mike

So tonight, Tim invited me to eat dinner with a friend of his from church, Aaron, who is moving to Arizona tomorrow - a sort of "last hurrah." (Tim payed for me (thanks Tim!) so I happily went). We ate at a place called Dallas BBQ in Times Square. The craziest part was listening to Tim and our friend argue about computer operating systems (Windows vs. Mac), programing stuff, and binary code. They were getting pretty passionate, and I didn't understand a lick of it. They were definitely being nerds - but where would we be without the internet and their genius creating it?
Well, that was just for fun. Here's the really cool part of the night. On the way home from dinner, we met a guy named Mike on the subway. He was sitting beside us and heard our conversation. I guess he's a friendly guy, so he threw open the door and added a comment. We ended up starting a conversation about what we do and where we're from. Then Mike asked how we knew each other: from Forefront. He said that he was Lutheran and had been looking for a church. We told him about Forefront, and he asked for the address twice to make sure he got it. So, maybe he'll be there on a Sunday.
Earlier in the evening our friend Aaron used a phrase to speak of New York: "a community of strangers." That's really what New York City can be, a community of strangers. I really think that this can be the loneliest place on earth. With all our wealth, we don't need anyone and can fade into the crowds.
Pray for Mike, that he may get involved in a church. Pray for me that I would not become secluded, but would reach out to others.

The end is near

The summer is coming to an end. We had our last mission team with us this week from Plainview, IN. They are a great team, and have done a great job serving the city of New York. It's kind of neat that they have a diversity of ages from 20's to 60's!
Tomorrow is Forefront's first time in the new space at the Blender Theater. We had a "run-through" of all the setup on Thursday night, so that on Sunday it's not total chaos. There's a lot to do - set up all the chairs, the stage, communion tables, welcome stuff, coffee and bagels, all the kidstuf and nursery, and signs - to name a few. I'm pretty excited. We had 250 last week (a record I believe) and we're hoping that the momentum will continue into the move.
It's really starting to get to me that I'll be living in New York after the internship is over. A few days ago, Tim found a dresser on the sidewalk that was destined for the dumpster. It only has some minor things wrong with it, most of which can be fixed. And it matches the wooden wardrobe that Tim has let me use. (Yes, they're both Ikea)! It's exciting, but the only thing is that I still need to find enough work while I'm here. And of course, we're on the apartment hunt.
Moving to New York also makes me think about other things. I feel lonely sometimes. I really feel it as school is starting soon. College seems almost like a dream sometimes. I'm far from home and will have to continue to build relationships. But Jesus never said that following him would be easy or that everything would go my way! I know that what he has planned is best.
Thanks everybody for all your prayers.

Forefront Church Setup Video

Here's a video that the church made a while ago to encourage people to get involved. It makes me really excited when I watch it. Anyway, it's a snapshot of what happens before services every Sunday.

Forefront Church

Some of you may be wondering, "so what's church like there?" We start out each Sunday morning with coffee and bagels (I used to not like bagels, but New York bagels are the best in the world I'm told). There's also orange juice for all the non-coffee drinkers out there with me. Whenever the band starts playing, people start to go in the auditorium. I don't think that most Christians I know would be thrown for a loop by our service. It isn't crazy progressive or anything. We are definitely externally focused, communicating with relevance and without the "Christian-ease." Here's some pics of what the stage and service looks like.


(That's Jacob, the community outreach pastor, giving announcements!)

MMMmmm...coffee and bagels...and orange juice

So what are you doing after the internship?

This is the question I'm often asked. It's a bit reminiscent of "what are you doing after you graduate?" that I hated not too many months ago. Up until the past week the only answer I've given anyone is "I don't know...I'm looking for a ministry somewhere...I might go home for a while until I find something." Then I had a conversation with my roommate (shout-out to Tim for giving me a wonderful place to live for the summer!!!). He said something both obvious, but also pretty profound. He told me that since I'm already here and I have a heart for church planting in the northeast, why don't I just get a job, stay a little longer, and see where God will lead me. I mean, I'm already here. And coming from Tim it was even more powerful. Tim is one of the original people from the launch team that started Forefront Church. Right after graduating college, he followed God's call to move from Indiana to New York to help start a new church. His friends thought he was crazy, but he followed God's call.
So, I'm seriously considering staying in the city for like, 6 months or so after the internship is over on August 6. I'd have to get a job. I'd need to find a place to live (which might be with Tim). It would be quite an adjustment. It would also be super exciting! New York really is a great place to live and I have fallen in love with it. I highly recommend experiencing it sometime in your life. Maybe next summer your church could partner with Forefront by sending a team to serve the city.
Would you please pray that I would have wisdom as I decide whether to stay and what will go into all that (job, housing, etc.). You can also just pray for my future in general; where God will use me in a more full-time capacity (if that's what He wants). Thank you so much for all of your prayers. I truly do not realize how insignificant, but blessed that I am by all of you, my prayer supporters. Thank you!

Hermon

So today, we were working with the youth group team from Tri-Village Church in Columbus, OH. We had them make PB&J sandwiches and then go around and give them to the homeless. We encouraged them to talk with them as well. I see at least 5-10 homeless people every day, if not many more. I don't really count. Whether it was the loss of a job, a drug addiction, divorce, or something else, many people have lost hope and live as homeless, thinking that they can never recover. So they ask for money on the streets. They really are everywhere, so New Yorkers quickly learn to ignore them as best they can. They don't get looked at in the face, listened to, hugged, touched. They get used to being seen as insignificant. It reminds me of when the leper ran up to Jesus in Matthew 8. He was an outcast, untouchable, freak of society. But Jesus came close to him, looked him in the eye, and went so far as to touch him. And Jesus healed him. This morning we didn't want to just hand out sandwiches, but to help restore dignity to the homeless. They are people created in God's image too. They are loved by him too. God sent his Son to die for them too.
As the team from Tri-Village spend time with the homeless, I decided it would probably be good to practice what I preached. There was a man sitting at a picnic table close to where we were meeting, and he had been there for quite a long time - obviously he had no where to go. So I offered him a sandwich that we were giving away, and we had a nice conversation. He grew up in NYC, in Brooklyn. We talked about how apartment rent keeps going up. We talked about cars, and how no really needs them in NYC. His name is Hermon. He's in a program where he's staying in a shelter and recovering from a drug addiction. It sounds like things were going well for him. He even got one of the free newspapers that the previous team handed out two weeks ago!
Tomorrow, we are going to be feeding the homeless breakfast at "Father's Heart," a local soup kitchen. I invited Hermon, and I hope he can make it. I pray that Hermon will know that he is greatly loved by God. Are there any homeless people around where you live. I bet there are. They may not be asking for money on the streets like in NYC, but you will always have the poor with you. Help restore the dignity to those who have fallen on hard times by sharing a conversation, and even your possessions (Acts 4:32, 34).

What am I doing this summer?

Some of you may be wondering what exactly I'm doing this summer in New York City. I'm doing "some church thing, right?" Well, something like that.
I am one of the three interns at Forefront Church in Manhattan, NYC. I'm working directly under the community outreach pastor. Our main job is to lead several missions teams in service to the city that will be coming to the city throughout the summer. They come from various churches in the U.S. - some will be all adults, some will be high school students. We will lead each team on servant evangelism, service projects, and prayer walks in the city.
Servant Evangelism - this is a way of sharing the love of Jesus with someone by serving them (profound definition, huh?). Since many have preconceived ideas of Christians (that they are right-wing Republicans who love Bush, hate homosexuals, and love war), service is a way to break down those barriers. We pass out free bottles of water, granola bars, gum, or newspapers on the street - completely free. We also give a small card that says we hope that the gift brightens their day and lets them know that God loves them. On the back, it tells when and where Forefront meets. Most people are pleasantly surprised the it's completely free, though some are skeptical.
Service Projects - these are more specific ways to serve the city of New York. We take about an hour and pick up all the trash down 23rd St., or another street (with gloves of course). We partner with Father's Heart, a local mission, and help serve a free breakfast to those in need (this week 450 people showed up!). We make PB&J sandwiches for the homeless.
Prayer Walks - these are focused prayers for certain areas on location. We go to the United Nations building and pray for the flags of every nation, for the purpose of the UN (peace and human rights), and for Christ's message to be proclaimed to the nations. We go through Union Square Park (a popular hangout in midtown) and pray for the thousands of people there. We go to Wall Street and pray for the companies and our nation, that we would use our wealth for God's purposes. We pray where Forefront meets, that the church would "live by faith, be known by love, and be a voice of hope in the city."
We'll also do some other random stuff, but that's the bulk of it. There's a LOT of planning and preparation that obviously must go into all this. We also lead in some devotions and debriefings. Last week we had out first team from Connection Point Church in Indiana. They were a high school group, and they had great servant attitudes from the very beginning. They were effected as they brightened many peoples' day, learned humility, found a heart for the lose in the city, and prayed. One guy we gave a granola bar to was at church on Sunday. They were a great group to start out the summer with.
We'll be able to reach thousands in the city with a simply message - God loves them and there is hope. We're just doing this work as it seems to work in this context. We trust in God to bring the increase. Thank you to those who have been praying for me. I am only worthy as a servant of Christ. Thank you. To Him be the glory!
(Oh! I also put a bunch of pictures online. Just follow the link on the left of the blog)

Is Anyone Listening?

As a preacher, I sometimes think during a sermon, "Is anyone really listening?" - not just hearing my voice. I've seen my share of droopy eyes and the sounds of heavy breathing. But to those who are awake, am I really communicating with them? Since I've been in New York, I've seen quite a few evangelistic efforts by Christians. And you really can find just about every flavor in New York City. Yesterday I saw three.
First, walking down the sidewalk there was a man with the classic sandwich board over his shoulders. I don't remember exactly what it said. Something like "Repent Now." I know it said "repent." He was handing out tracts that were "miniature Bibles," the contents of which basically said: "you're a sinner and need to repent now or you're going to Hell", with a few KJV Bible verses thrown in. The man who handed it to me didn't have much of an expression, and I just kept on walking. Was anyone listening? (I didn't)
Second, I attended a small, old church for their evening Bible study. It seemed like a time/culture warp. The 15 of us sang out of hymn books, sat through a disjointed Bible lesson, and ended with prayer. I could tell pretty quickly that this church had been doing things the same way for a very long time. Was anyone listening? (I hardly listened)
Third, in the subway on the way home, two women stood up and sang a gospel song about victory in Jesus. People often sing or play instruments on trains for money, so that wasn't anything too unusual. But then a third woman stood up and started preaching to the people in the train! She told us that we needed to call on Jesus, and he would answer our prayers. She spoke as if she was in a black church. She was definitely not. My stop came before she was finished. Was anyone listening? (I tried to ignore her)
Now I don't want to say that these evangelistic efforts did not produce any fruit. God is the one who brings the increase. However, I doubt that many responded to these efforts, as they all were presented so poorly. I'm sure that there are a lot of opinions out there, and I encourage you to make a post if you want, but many of our evangelistic efforts completely ignore the people to whom we're speaking.
It makes me think of Jesus. How did he share the good news? I usually don't see him with a condemning attitude (unless he was speaking to the already "religious"). I see him giving sight to the blind, making the lame walk, casting out demons, and bringing good news to the poor. The crowds were drawn to him. Did Jesus speak of sin? Yes! But he also brought a kingdom of freedom from the effects of sin.
When Jesus spoke to people, he used idioms and illustrations that they could easily understand: a field, soils, a woman kneading dough, a vineyard, two sons, a rich man and a poor man. When the apostle Paul preached, he was strategic as well. He first went to the synagogue of a city, and if the Jews would not listen, he would move on to the Godfearers and Gentiles. In Athens he started his sermon by talking about creation, not exegeting scripture that his listeners didn't know or care about. He spoke in a way that people would understand and listen.
Those who I saw yesterday and many others in the city are my brothers and sisters in the Lord. We are all part of Christ's body, and He can use us all for his kingdom. Do some people need to be confronted with Hell? Yes. Do some people need the old church they remember? Yes. Do some people need to be preached at? Yes. But I believe that MOST won't even listen. I pray that we would be relevant in the way we speak. Let us communicate in a way so that people will really listen and understand.
The hardest part about writing this blog is that the three I saw yesterday were actively sharing their faith with boldness. For much of my life, evangelism has been my weakest discipline. Pray for me this summer, that I would grow in the area of evangelism. And pray that both of us would do it in a relevant way so that people will listen and truly understand the good news of Christ.

Homeless Guys

On Sunday night, I got to spend the evening with some homeless guys. I don't know a lot about the shelter, but Jacob (the outreach minister) often volunteers at the small shelter and spends the night there. There were about 1o homeless guys that showed up. Most of them were older and may have jobs, but either way they don't have a place to live. The cost of a place to rent is extremely high here. We had some sandwiches and cookies for dinner, and most went to sleep quickly. Most of them were easy-going guys. A few of us stayed up a little to watch some of the Yankees game. I didn't spend the night, but I'm hoping that I can go back a few times over the summer.
Jesus often hung out with the poor. I realize that I rarely do. I remember a sermon where the preacher talked about 1 Timothy 5:6-10.
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
The preacher said to keep from falling into the trap of wealth, we must constantly be giving our wealth away, and we must constantly be around the poor.
I think that's good advice. I definitely need to spend more time with the poor and hopefully this summer will stretch me.