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!

December

Wow, so most of december passed without a post. That's the holidays for ya. I got to go home for Christmas. It was great! It was nice just to be home with family and hang out. Many of you heard about the ice storm, and lots of you experienced it. I was overwhelmed! I'd say that 95% of every tree had some kind of battle injury, and every driveway had a huge pile of branches stacked in front. It looked like a bomb went off 20 feet in the air. It was crazy.
So the big gift I got for Christmas was from my parents: an iphone. Yes, I got an iphone. Everyone seems to go gaga over it. Well, that's apple technology, culture, and advertising for you. It is pretty great, especially having the internet and google maps anywhere in the city. And thankfully, it's a great phone.
I got back to New York on new years eve, and much to my dad's chagrin, I did not go to times square to watch the ball drop. Instead, I enjoyed time with my roommate and another friend in a more quiet celebration.
While I was home, I got to go to my home church, Cedar Ridge CC, twice - which was great! It's always good to see familiar faces and have everyone ask me if it's cold here (actually this week it's been the coldest yet with highs in the 20's!).

FCP 2

Last weekend, the Foundations for Church Planting class came for their second trip to NYC. It was a great weekend. They came in Friday night (Nov. 30). We started by going to see the tree at Rockefeller Center (actually, it wasn't as big as I thought it would be).The next morning we got to hear from one of the staff members at Church of Park Slope here in Brooklyn. We were also joined by two great guys from Southeast CC in Louisville, KT. One is a big supporter of what Ozark is doing in bringing students to the city, and the other is a guy who grew up at Southeast and is now planning to plant a church in the northeast. I didn't know this before, but Southeast has a great heart for the northeast!
Next, we headed up to Queens to the neighborhood of Jackson Heights. An Indian church plant is scheduled for this area since it's the location of "little India." But we quickly found out that this area is the most diverse place in NYC! In just a few blocks, you could see Indians, Koreans, Colombians, Argentines, Thai, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Mexican, Korean, Filipino, Chinese, European American, Guatemalan, and Americans! That's a lot! All crammed into a small space. In many ways, NYC can be an cross-cultural mission ground! So, the students participated in a prayer walk for the nations in this diverse place. (I also got to try some Indian food for the first time. Wow. I had no idea what I was eating, and it looked really weird. I ate it, but I must say that it wasn't that great.)
After listening to a few more church planters, we had some free time for the night. Dave and I went with a group to the Rockefeller Center to the "Top of the Rock." At 70 stories up, we had a breathtaking view of the city. Now I don't know about you, but I think seeing the city like this is truly beautiful.
On Sunday morning we got to worship at two great churches. First at Redeemer Presbyterian Church with the traditional liturgy and preaching by Tim Keller, and second at Forefront Church with a band (where I go). It was nice to participate in some great liturgy with hundreds of people for a change.
After church, we got to hear from a guy doing some overseas mission work in NYC. That's right "overseas." Actually, he's working to reach the Albanian people. There are actually more Albanian people living in the US than live in Albania. He brought up the great point that sometimes we could use our resources better by supporting missions in the urban centers of the out own country rather than send people to other countries. Plus, when American missionaries "retire" and come back to America, they can be great resources for reaching the nations here! Great stuff.
As NYC continues to grow, most of the growth is non-Anglo, which means that if we want to reach the city we'll have to plant all kinds of churches speaking all kinds of languages and worshiping in all kinds of ways. There are so many possibilities to reach not just Americans, but truly the entire world through this one influential city. OK, less preaching. Last we got to hear from Paul Williams, the head of The Orchard Group. That night we got to eat at a great Italian place in Little Italy.
On Monday we heard from one of the church planting staff members at Redeemer Presbyterian. They are making a big impact in the city, by supporting and training church planters no matter what denomination they come from. They're doing great stuff. Last, we heard from the director of the local office of the "Jews for Jesus." Did you know that there are more Jews in America (5 mil.) than in Israel today (4 mil.) (though that's quickly changing). Of the 5 million, 2 million live in the NYC area and 1 million in the city. Now with 8 million people in the city, chances are that one our of every ten people you see is Jewish! When we plant churches, we've got be aware of what kinds of people are around us.
Once again, it was a great weekend with the class from Ozark. I am sooo glad that I'm able to be a part of it. If I was still at Ozark, I would take this class in a heartbeat. While there are many uncertain things in my life right now, I am certain that God has used me to be a part of shaping Ozark students for leadership in His kingdom this semester. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and prayed for me. Thanks guys!

Real NYC Pizza

There's a place close to where I live, J&V Pizza. Like so many places all over the city, they make great, large pieces for a great price. My favorite topping is sausage. And this is no tiny bits of sausage like big chain pizza places. These are real big toppings that are sliced and put on the pizza when you order. And as you can see they are so O delish!

That's actually two pieces there.

Chuck Norris

So, I'm not endorsing anyone, but this is about the most awesome political commercial I've ever seen. Tremble before Chuck!
Chuck Norris Approved. Talk about a way to reach that ever-elusive 20-30 something audience.

Lead/Team/People

So last week, the second class from Ozark came to the big city, and I was with them every step of the way. This class focused on Leadership/Teambuilding/People Development. They were able to hear from a number of various church planters who are doing ministry today in the city. It was a great class full of great future leaders. The only let-down was on Saturday night. We had tickets to go see Phantom of the Opera...on Broadway! But we discovered that afternoon that the backstage hands all over Broadway have gone on strike! Therefore, no show. I've seen the show before when it came to Tulsa, but this is Broadway! Oh well. Instead we were able to walk around the Times Square area in the freezing cold wind. It was probably a lot more fun for them.

On Sunday morning we went to two Orchard Group churches. Crossroads Christian Church is in Brooklyn, and has a more neighborhood focus for the people of Bay Ridge. The second church is where I go, Forefront Church in Midtown Manhattan. Both services were different in how they reached people with God's love, which fostered some great discussion about the methods of ministry. One great comment I heard a few times about both churches was the fact that the people were so excited to be there - it's like they really wanted to go to church. It's true that in the Midwest, there's an expectation that going to church is the right thing to do, so you do it every week whether you really want to or not. But in New York, Christianity is more of a minority, and healthy churches are hard to find. So when you do find one, you want to go and meet with other Christians! It's a wonderful thing. I remember when my family started going to Cedar Ridge. At first I hated it (mostly because I had a grudge against church in general). But when I let my guard down and started to become part of the community, I remember realizing one Sunday that I really wanted to go to church. It's a beautiful thing.

I was also able to produce and lead a team-building exercise on Sunday night for the class to hone their team-building skills. It was great seeing people work together and learn more about themselves in working as a team.
On Monday we were able to hear from a guy on staff at Redeemer Presbyterian here in New York. Redeemer had taken the lead in New York for planting churches wherever they can. Anyway, he talked about how in urban preaching, we cannot simply transplant more conservative, midwestern styles. People need to know how the gospel effects all of life an existence, more than three principles on how to have a healthy marriage. Sermons about a healthy marriage are great, and needed, but most people aren't asking those questions here. We must be "ruthless contextualizers" of the gospel to all of life. Actually, I think that applies to wherever you might preach.
Again I am so glad that God has blessed me to work with Dave and lead these classes as they learn in the city. Hopefully I'll see some of these students in the future working in New York City.

Survival vs. Love

I just watched the movie Crash. If you haven't seen it, it chronicles the experiences of various ethnic groups interacting in LA. It shows a raw picture of the feelings and outcomes of racism. It's a well-made, well thought out movie, and I highly recommend it. It will definitely stir your emotions.
However, by the end everything was not tied up in a nice bow. Characters learn some lessons, but in the last scene racism continues to manifest its ugly head yet again, as if to say "it will never end." It's a pessimistic ending. I hardly found any sense of honor or integrity either. Bending the rules was common place and any thought of forgiveness or reconciliation was hardly in the equation (Julia Roberts' character was a small exception). I think what I was searching for and found missing was love. Love. In the midst of racial tension and misunderstanding, no one humbled themselves, no one took the time to understand another's viewpoint, and no one tried to make amends. Instead, each character simply did their best to survive. There was a self-centered justification to their actions. Love. Where was love?
It makes me think about the way of Jesus. I sure hope that Jesus followers are known for their love - not just a lack of racism because they are trying to survive. Trying to survive because that's what society says is best, or because that's what makes them feel good. I sure hope that Jesus followers understand more than anyone else - really anyone else - how precious people are. We should understand that every person has been made by God in His image. And more than that, He showed how precious every life is when He died for them on a cross. Love.
Now in the end, everyone is a racist to a certain degree. I'm a racist. When I look at a stranger, I observe their skin tone, what they're wearing, their language, and body language, and then I make judgments. Stereotypes flow quickly. It's almost automatic. We all experience this. It's a survival technique. But we must go beyond just survival. We must own up to our stereotypes, and then chose the way of Jesus. Love. Every time. Is it hard? Yes. But that's what Jesus did for us...for you...for me.

"Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility to all men. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved up through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. -- Titus 3:1-8