Useful Servants but Miserable Masters

I read something very insightful this week regarding Matthew 6 and worrying. Props go to Dr. Dan Doriani's commentary on Matthew.

The passage (6:25-34) says this:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

There are a few really interesting observations that Doriani makes regarding this passage.

The first has to do with context, which is crucial to consider when interpreting and applying a passage of Scripture. The "therefore" in verse 25 should automatically signal us to consider what has come before. When we do that we'll see that Jesus has just been teaching on living for either the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of Earth (verse 19 - “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal..."), and then he specifies that argument in verse 24 - “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."

The "therefore" in 25 and the sandwiching of these two teachings is meant to make clear the connection between worrying and false-worship.

Doriani insightfully notes that the reason we worry is because we serve "weak gods" which can not deliver on their promises. If we serve and worship money we will tend to worry about our finances because money was never meant to be worshiped...it's a weak god. If we serve and worship people's perceptions of us we will tend to worry about our outfit or whether a joke was funny or not...because the fear of man is a weak god.

He then makes an eye-opening observation, at least to me.

Idols (or weak gods) make useful servants, but miserable masters.

We all know this to be true. Money, success, achievement, pleasure, etc., all bless us well when kept at the correct priority level. But when they rise above where they should, when they become idols which we worship, seeking the satisfaction and happiness in them that can only be found in God, they are miserable masters. They bring frustration, sadness, and unmet expectations.

So this week, when you worry, consider what weak god is behind that worry. And let us not forget that idols make useful servants, but miserable masters.

The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God's Story

It’s written in three different languages. It took approximately 1500 years or so to write. It has sixty-six major subdivisions. It has a host of different authors. It concerns itself with a wide variety of historical circumstances. It uses several different kinds of literature to communicate.

No wonder the Bible is often viewed as an intimidating and difficult book.

And yet it contains an overarching plot, complete with dramatic tension building to a shocking climax and an epic resolution. It boasts a large and intriguing cast of characters interconnected with one supremely compelling hero. At root, it is one long and wondrous story.

Why is this important? Because it’s entirely reasonable to say that, if you have a solid understanding of the biblical story—The Story—and its enormous significance, you’ll be well on your way toward a solid understanding of the Christian faith.

That’s why D. A. Carson has done us all a great service with his recently published The God Who is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story (not to be confused with Francis Schaeffer’s classic The God Who is There, which I've mentioned on this blog before). A professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity school (which counts our own Keith Simon and Shay Roush among its graduates), Carson is one of the most capable and prolific biblical scholars in the world. Here, though, his purpose isn’t to wade deeply into technical scholarly waters, however important they may be. Rather, as he says in the preface:

If you know nothing at all about what the Bible says, the book that you are now holding in your hands is for you.

If you have recently become interested in God or the Bible or Jesus but quite frankly you find the mass of material rather daunting and do not know where to begin, this book is for you.

If you have been attending a Christian church for many years in an indifferent fashion—it’s a nice extracurricular activity now and then—but have recently come to the conclusion you really ought to understand more than you do, this book is for you.

If you have quite a few of the pieces of the Bible stored in your mind but have no idea how the exodus relates to the exile or why the New Testament is called the New Testament, this book is for you.

If in your experience the Bible has lots of data but you do not see how it conveys God to you or introduces Jesus in a fashion that is utterly humbling and transforming, this book is for you.

This book is not for everyone. The person who does not want more than a bumper sticker introduction to Christianity may find this book a bit much. What I have tried to do here is run through the Bible in fourteen chapters. Each chapter focuses on one or more passages from the Bible, unpacks it a little, and tries to build connections with the context, drawing the lines together to show how they converge in Jesus. By and large I have assumed very little prior acquaintance with the Bible. What I do assume, however, is that a reader will get a hold of a Bible and have it near at hand. In the first chapter, I will tell you how to find your way around in a Bible.

Carson is on my “If He Wrote It, It’s Gonna Be Worth Reading” list. And having just browsed through the book this morning, my hunch is that it will be a great resource for just about anyone who picks it up. Consider the first chapter, “The God Who Made Everything.” Focusing on Genesis 1 and 2, Carson draws attention to several truths concerning God, his creation as a whole, and human beings in particular. In doing so, he begins to show their foundational importance for understanding both what follows in the biblical story and how we’re to go about our own lives. Along the way, he even manages to make some short but significant comments regarding the relationship between the opening chapters of the Bible and science—certainly a timely issue.

So if you’re interested in better understanding of the biblical story—and thereby better understanding the what faith in Christ is all about, The God Who Is There will likely be a great place to start.

The Things That Divide Us

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are." Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Acts 15:36-41 (ESV)

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One of the things I love most about the Bible is how it provides modern believers with a crystal-clear picture of the foibles, weaknesses and divisions that were rife even among the faithful. Paul opposes Peter to his face (Galatians 2:11-14), Jesus Himself promises sharp divisions within families (Matthew 10:34-36), and His hometown responds to His inaugural sermon by trying to toss Him headlong off a cliff (Luke 4:28-29)...on and on and on it goes. If the Bible were a work of fiction intended to "sell" us on Jesus as the only way to have a relationship with God (John 14:6), surely its "editors" could have done a much better job of smoothing out all the rough, messy parts where Jesus nearly gets Himself killed and his own disciples go at it with each other, right?

Personally, I find a lot of cause for hope - along with a strong apologetic for authenticity - within the pages of the Bible simply because the people that God uses most mightily are seriously jacked up and often contentious...just like me. They quarrel, they mislead, they scheme, they defy Christ's authority...again, just like me (and just like a lot of other people I run into, both within the church and outside of it). God is not telling us His story against a backdrop of impossibly-pure heroes and heroines that we can never hope to emulate; this story is nothing at all like a Hollywood movie where every shot fired by the hero fells 30 enemy soldiers. Rather, God - in His mercy - is using flawed, fallen people just like us to demonstrate that He is content to build His church using...people just like us. Unfortunately, people just like us quarrel - sometimes heatedly - and are prone to divide over quarrels.

For me, one of the most routinely-difficult aspects of trying to live out the Christian faith is that faithfulness (or even one's best attempt at faithfulness) seems to almost invariably lead to divisions, both temporary and permanent. Quite frankly, my own heart is still struggling to accept this truth...even though I see it play out this way all the time! Though I clearly see faith-related division happening over and over again, there is yet some sort of naive belief in my heart that all of us (and by "us" I now mean the church) should be able to simply "love Jesus and get along." But after awhile, it starts to look a lot like denying the little white lines on the interstate as you drive along at 70MPH. It seems obvious, then, that a denial of these all-too-real divisions ultimately helps nothing at all.

Admittedly, I don't do the division thing very well. I don't like it. I don't want it, and I for sure don't go looking for it. When it shows up uninvited on my doorstep, typically demanding an immediate response, I am almost always "surprised" at its arrival! That being true, it's normative for me to feel caught off guard, to "bobble the ball" at least a few times before finally articulating the problem accurately; left to my own devices, I still have a tendency to respond out of my emotions. Sometimes, by the time the search for a response that is God-honoring begins in my heart, the "window of opportunity" for meaningful dialogue is long gone. By the time I have come to accept the fact that I am clearly at odds with another person, I'm behind the eight-ball.

As just one example, back in 1997, I had to give up drinking altogether before I would ever be enabled to come to Christ. Not everyone needs to do this, certainly, but for me it was obviously required. In my 20 active years of drinking alcohol, I had made a lot of friendships that were primarily rooted in the love of a raucous drinking binge. As I turned my back on the one shared love that cemented those friendships, I began to watch those relationships fall away - some more difficult and awkward than others. Even the few friendships I made in those years that had more going for them than a shared appreciation for drinking have gone through noticeable change. Again and again, there is an odd tension that comes about whenever the "formula" makes itself obvious; renouncing a besetting sin causes division (small or large, temporary or permanent). Counting up your losses can become something of a hobby.

So I take a lot of comfort from the fact that Jesus assured us it would be this way (John 15:18-20; John 16:33, Luke 12:49-53, Matthew 8:19-22, Matthew 10:16-25, Mark 6:10-11, Luke 6:27-30). I try as best I can to stay immersed in God's Word so that I have some hope of maybe, possibly "thinking God's thoughts after Him." I know for a fact that my own thoughts and heart attitudes are absolutely wrecked by sin, so I must rely almost exclusively on the Bible, prayer and the interpretation of other mature Christians. Put simply, I long ago gave up on the idea that I can respond appropriately to a dispute apart from the Word of God and the advice of other believers who have been walking with Christ far longer than I have.

The Bible, prayer and the advice of other Christians. Some might judge this arsenal as one that needs to be stocked with some more "powerful" tools. In the book of Ephesians, though, the Apostle Paul begs to differ (Ephesians 6:13-19). Paul similarly exhorts us to live peaceably as best we can (Romans 12:18) while we must always be ready for conflict (Ephesians 6:10-11). Actually, Paul says quite a lot about conflict (Romans 12:19-21, 1 Corinthians 1:10-11, 3:3; 2 Corinthians 7:5-10; 2 Timothy 2:16-17, 2:23-25, the entire book of Philemon). He also encourages us to check each other's heart and motives (Galatians 5:16-24, 1 Timothy 1:5) and Luke encourages us to emulate the noble Bereans as we balance what our spiritual leaders have to say against the Word of God (Acts 17:10-12).

Honestly, I hate conflict, even though there are multiple ways in which I yet seem to engender it. Like most believers, I would (if possible) always choose to live a hassle-free life. I suppose the best I can hope for is that one day I will engender ill will in roughly the same manner as our Lord, who by His very nature rubbed people the wrong way...but for all the right reasons. I notice, though, that I am yet very much unlike Jesus in the way I respond to division and strife; may His Spirit live in me (and all of us) such that we stop dividing for all the wrong, selfish reasons, and may we all gain some lasting encouragement from 2 Timothy 4:9-11, wherein we learn that Paul, awaiting execution in Rome, has been reconciled to Mark after all.

Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs: July 25, 2010

This week's music set-list review features photos by Gerik Parmele. You'll find links in the song titles that will allow you to purchase versions of the songs as recorded by the original artists.

He is Yahweh by Dean Salyn

He is Yahweh is always a great song to sing at the start the service. It paints a compelling picture of God’s sovereignty reminding us of the glory of the One we worship.

You are holy and eternal
and forever You will reign.
Every knee will bow before You,
every tongue will confess Your name.

You Have Been Given by Bob Kauflin

We are Your people
made for Your glory
and we worship You,
yes we worship You.

His Name is Jesus - Words by Edward Perronet (1780), Contemporary chorus by Judah Groveman

This energetic adaption by Sovereign Grace Music of the hymn All Hail the Power of Jesus Name give us an opportunity to worship Christ in light of His resurrection.

His name is Jesus;
Risen Lamb, for sinners slain.
His name is Jesus
and all creation sings the praise of Jesus' name.

We heard a call to confession from Hebrews 10:19-22 (adapted by Bobby Gilles) followed by a brief time of silent confession.

Rock of Ages - Words: Augustus M. Toplady (1776), Additional chorus: Page CXVI

Our confession continued with Rock of Ages. The sobering lyrics of this hymn give us a deeper understanding of our desperate need of Christ's finished work on the cross.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to thy Cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress;
Helpless, look to thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

 

Psalm 118:5, 14, 17 reminded us that the Lord hears our prayers and forgives our sins.

The Glories of Calvary by Steve and Vikki Cook

Lord, You’re calling me to come
and behold the wondrous cross,
to explore the depths of grace
that came to me at such a cost,
Where Your boundless love
conquered my boundless sin
and mercy’s arms were opened wide.

You Are My King (Amazing Love) by Billy Foote

You Are My King was the first song during communion providing an excellent meditation on the privileges we have because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

I'm forgiven because you were forsaken.
I'm accepted, You were condemned.
I'm alive and well
Your spirit is within me
because you died and rose again.

Jesus, All For Jesus by Robin Mark and Jennifer Atkinson

We've been singing Jesus, All For Jesus for a long time at The Crossing. The simple, yet earnest, lyrics are a moving prayer of dedication to Christ.

Jesus, all for Jesus,
All I am and have and ever hope to be.
All of my ambitions, hopes and plans
I surrender these into Your hands.
For it's only in Your will that I am free.

Music Team for July 25, 2010:

Lacey Burrell - vocals
Mark Collum - vocals
Sadie Currey - violin
Nick Havens - bass guitar
Scott Johnson - vocals and acoustic guitar
Andrew Luley - drums
Josie Patton - cello
Ethan Vizitei - piano
Cortney Wright - keyboards

Follow The Crossing Music on twitter at www.twitter.com/crossingmusic

A Heart for the Face in Front of You

If you’re an ardent follower of Every Square Inch, you’ve probably read more about The Crossing’s mission trip to Harmons, Jamaica than anyone might care to. You might even be tempted to close your browser at this point, given that I just used “the J word” again.

The details are fascinating to hear, and the pictures can tug at your heart…but the real question in all of the stories you’ve read is – what difference does a trip like this make in the lives affected, whether Jamaican or American? I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can at least tell you how God used this trip in my life to effect change.

I would fall into the camp of those who talked about the infirmary as being the most intense part of their time spent in Jamaica. You can’t imagine the place reading mere words on a page. The smell is pervasive, a combination of urine, old filth, and heat. The buildings photograph well; you miss the dirt, the stickiness and the stench when you glance at a shot of smiling Americans hugging elderly Jamaicans. And I noticed that flies apparently don’t register in photos. They were everywhere, dozens landing on food and feces and a sleeping woman’s lips. Here’s what else the pictures don’t show – bitterness, anger, self-pity and despair. That’s because amazingly, these are not emotions I saw registered in a single face of those consigned to live in what I imagine any American would have called disgusting conditions, completely unacceptable to us. Instead, the gentleness of the souls living in those conditions is what I think struck many of us in our group very deeply.

I spent my second day in Jamaica at the infirmary with four others from our group, including my youngest daughter, Claire. Those six hours I spent sitting on those filthy floors, shooing away those armies of flies and holding the hands and feet of those gentle souls as I painted their fingernails and toenails.

If you have been to my house, you would know I like my environment to be clean. My soul is restored by a day filled with bleach, Windex, dusting spray and vacuuming. I may even have a borderline “issue” with cleaning, as I’m almost incapable of sitting in a room that needs work done – ask my friends. In the middle of a conversation, I’ll pick up a rag and start wiping down counters and rubbing little fingerprints off of my stainless steel appliances.

I think the point is obvious. It wasn’t me sitting in those offensive conditions loving on those people. It for sure couldn’t have been me; I am simply not one to voluntarily put myself into that kind of environment. It must have been the Holy Spirit using me that day, attempting to show me how very much God loves His people. I choked back tears time and time again that day, and then let them flow on the drive back to Harmons when our day at the infirmary was over. I wasn’t crying because of the flies and the filth and the appalling way in which those poor people live, though. I was crying because I really felt God there, loving them through my hands. I saw His heart for them, and I felt Him giving me more of a heart for His people as well.

I came home convinced that God was calling me to identify the undervalued within my own city of Columbia, and to love on them in the same way I had at the infirmary. I sensed an urgency to not let this fire die down.

Once I got home, though, I found myself immediately immersed in the needs of the ministry my husband and I volunteer in. I was called to respond to a woman whose marriage is going through a rocky season, and who wanted someone to help her show faithfulness in loving her husband through it. I had several emails from people who have taken DivorceCare or who are interested in doing so this fall, asking questions about the BBQ my husband and I were planning to host for anyone who is or has gone through the devastating break-up of their marriage. More emails, more phone calls. More hearts in pain and in deep need of God’s touch.

It took me a few days, but I began to see that maybe God hadn’t called me to Jamaica to break my heart for His undervalued people. He called me out of my life, if you will, to break my heart for His people – period. All His people. The face in front of me, whoever that is.

Jesus told his disciples shortly before his death, “If you love me, you will keep my word” (John 14:15, 14:23). He shortly thereafter clarified His statement further, exhorting his disciples to love one another as He had loved them (John 15:12). How better to obey Jesus than to love the face in front of us? Mother Teresa said of the people she spent her life ministering to, “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.”

So then, I am coming to realize that God’s plan for me through this mission trip was not “just” to develop within me a heart for the undervalued Jamaicans, though He certainly used them to work a change. It was also not “just” to develop in me a heart for the undervalued right here in Columbia, although I am open to there being a time in my life when I once again sit on the (hopefully cleaner) floor and paint little old ladies’ nails while we talk about the love of Jesus.

No, I believe God’s plan for me was far more simple. I think He wanted to “just” develop within me – and in all of us – more of a heart for people. I needed to see that I don’t have nearly the heart for people yet that He wants me to have – a heart like Jesus. And far from needing a “new ministry” in order to do this, He is showing me I need to develop more of a heart like Jesus for those He is already putting right in front of me, the souls I am encountering every day.

Do you have a heart for people, like Jesus calls us to? Do you see the deep needs all around you? People are lonely. People are hurting. They are confused and need someone willing to hold their hand and listen to them talk.

I think Jesus calls all of us who believe in Him to live out our entire lives as a ministry of love to the people right in front of us. All we have to do is open our eyes to the vast needs, right where we live, and be willing to be used when God calls us (Isaiah 6:8).

Matthew 25:34-40
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

One of the Best Books My Heart Consistently Ignores

I'm not exactly sure how I ended up scheduled to post to ESI on a day normally reserved for Pastor Keith Simon, but in his absence this week I have found myself strangely tempted to post a warm, glowing historical review of the much-beloved Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball franchise, complete with team photos and several links to the organization's website. As I said, this is all very strange, since I am not a fan of any professional sports teams whatsoever. For now, then, it's probably best if I resist the urge...

All kidding aside, it seemed good to me to follow up on a comment I received this week wherein someone very close to me forcefully reminded me of God's sovereignty and power. How strange that I can be so forgetful and blind, because (for whatever reason) I actually needed to hear someone remind me that 1) God is good (Romans 5:8, Psalm 145:8); 2) God is all-powerful (Isaiah 46:9-10); 3) God is sovereign (Matthew 10:29, Psalm 139:14-16); 4) God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:7-11, 1 Corinthians 11:27-32); and 5) God wants to make Himself the center of my life (2 Chronicles 7:13-16).

You would think that someone pursuing a seminary degree would not need to hear these reminders as often as I do, but what I find is that whenever my baser emotions are engaged (anger, fear, panic), the very first bridge that Satan dynamites is the one that leads from what I know to be true of God to the place in my heart that houses the feelings that I have toward God. I take it as His mercy, though, that He is very patiently revealing to me that I have a huge role to play in all of this. Satan may place the dynamite on the pillars that support the bridge between my mind and my heart, but the sad truth is that it always turns out to be my own hand on the plunger once the smoke clears.

I think it was a year or two ago that I read The Grand Weaver by Ravi Zacharias. I think so much of the book that I regularly recommend it to anyone and everyone who is in the middle of deeply-upsetting life circumstances, as the book did so much to help me "process" several truths about God, along with providing an arresting visual analogy that helps explain our role in participating in God's great design.

If you have not yet read the book, the central analogy is built around the process of constructing elaborate handmade wedding saris in India, where Dr. Zacharias was born and raised. In a nutshell, these saris are put together using a time-honored technique that requires a father-son team working in concert with each other. The son, operating the shuttle, moves it back and forth whenever the father nods his head. The father's job is considerably more complex; he alone selects the colors and threads that will be woven into the finished product. The son, having almost no idea what the final product will look like, simply obeys his father and waits patiently for time and mutual effort to reveal the final design, which is typically fantastic and highly-prized for its beauty, quality, and one-of-a-kind uniqueness.

Before I butcher his work any further, perhaps it's best to let Dr. Zacharias to speak for himself:

Before my eyes, though it did not appear so at first, a grand design appears. The father gathers some threads in his hand, then nods, and the son moves the shuttle from one side to the other. A few more threads, another nod, and again the son responds by moving the shuttle. The process seems almost Sisyphus-like in its repetition, the silence broken only occasionally with a comment or by some visitor who interrupts to ask a question about the end design. The father smiles and tries in broken English to explain the picture he has in his mind, but compared to the magnificence of the final product, it is a mere lisp. I know that if I were to come back a few weeks later - in some instances a few months later - I would see the spools of thread almost empty and a six-yard-long sari, breathtaking in all of its splendor.

Throughout the process, the son has had a much easier task. Most likely he has often felt bored. Perhaps his back has ached or his legs have gone to sleep. Perhaps he has wished for some other calling in life - something he might find more stimulating or fulfilling. He has but one task, namely, to move the shuttle as directed by the father's nod, hoping to learn to think like the father so that he can carry on the business at the appropriate time.

Yet the whole time, the design has remained in the mind of the father as he held the threads. In a few days, this sari will make its way to a shop in Delhi or Bombay or Calcutta. A lovely young lady with her mother will note the saris on display. This one will catch her eye and she will exclaim, "Bohut badiya [How grand]! Khupsurat [What a beautiful face]!" A sari with a beautiful face, because a grand weaver has purposefully designed it. Before long, it will be draped around her, beautifying the lovely bride.

Now if an ordinary weaver can take a collection of colored threads and create a garment to beautify the face, is it not possible that the Grand Weaver has a design in mind for you, a design that will adorn you as he uses your life to fashion you for his purpose, using all the threads within his reach?

As I mentioned earlier, I like to recommend this book simply because I think that Dr. Zacharias uses language both simple and yet amazingly profound to provide us with a memorable visual to help us grasp a larger truth about how God wants to work in our lives to create something beautiful, something beyond our ability to comprehend, and all He asks is that we cooperate with Him in moving forward His great design for our lives.

How much more awful, then, that even though I am well aware of this biblical truth, and even though I have a terrific visual image to go with it and calm my heart, I still frequently find myself kicking at the goads (Acts 26:14) and grappling with God when things do not go my way at work, an enemy routinely gains the upper hand, a child rebels, or even something as mind-numbingly petty as someone cutting me off in traffic? Wanting with all my might to have the heart that David had for God (Acts 13:16-22), I find myself time and time again back on the bank of the Jabbok, wrestling with God and refusing to let Him go until He blesses me (Genesis 32:22-31).

Striving with God is probably the most serious sin of which I am frequently guilty. My theology tells me that God is sovereign and has ordained all things in my life for good (Romans 8:28) and yet, and yet...I still show up to foolishly wrestle with Him whenever my emotions get the better of me. My prayer for myself (and several other Christians I care deeply for) is that all of us would adopt the heart attitude of the young boy holding the shuttle of the loom, trusting God to throw us the threads and colors that will somehow weave together the story He had in mind when He caused us to be knit together on our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13). I pray that all of us, beginning with me, would just stop asking questions as the threads we do not expect - or appreciate - are thrown into the fabric of our lives.

Job 42:1-6 (ESV)
Then Job answered the LORD and said: "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 'Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.' I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

"The Search For God and Guinness," by Stephen Mansfield

I recently read Stephen Mansfield’s new book, “The Search For God and Guinness.” The title is perhaps a bit of an overstretch. But it does attract the kind of reader who is interested in the history of beer and a business like Guinness from a Christian perspective.

I wouldn’t say “The Search For God and Guinness” is a must-read. But for someone like me who wanted to read something fun while on the beach of Lake Michigan on vacation, I was not disappointed. I particularly enjoyed reading about the history of beer in general, and from a Christian-historical perspective, as well as how a long-standing business like Guinness (it was established by Arthur Guinness in Dublin, Ireland in 1759) is such a good example of how a successful business and increasing family wealth can be used to accomplish so much good in society. And so much good for the spread of the gospel as well. (You can purchase a hardback copy here. I read mine on my Kindle, and that version can be purchased for $10 here.)

I’d like to share some of what I thought were the more interesting highlights from this book. Just according to my opinion, of course. Stop reading whenever you start losing interest, but I found all of these excerpts below to be both historically informative and theologically thought-provoking.

The first excerpt will need some explanation. The author is admitting that he never really liked beer himself, but he was raised the son of a military officer and so has, I think, an interesting perspective of beer through the eyes of a child watching his parents enjoy beer.

Having given that one explanation, all of what follows are all Mansfield’s words from “The Search For God and Guinness.”

I recall watching [my dad] as he transformed from warrior to easy-going Dad. There was something about those moments alone with his newspaper and beer that seemed to me a liturgy, a mystery of manhood my father had mastered and that I hoped I would one day understand. It seemed to symbolize all the other moments in my father’s life when beer played a role. Beer seems ever-present in military life and I had watched my parents drink it with friends at the officers’ club and at battalion picnics and after rounds of golf. There was always the teasing and the laughter and the adult conversations that my young ears longed to understand and all of this was associated with the beer. Somehow I knew early on that the presence of beer changes human interaction, that it gentles the soul and brings about a less guarded state. My father was a different man when he drank a beer and not because he consumed very much of it—he never did—but rather because the beer seemed to give him permission to relax, to stand down and find a human connection to those nearby.

Beer, well respected and rightly consumed, can be a gift of God. It is one of his mysteries, which it was his delight to conceal and the glory of kings to search out. And men enjoy it to mark their days and celebrate their moments and stand with their brothers in the face of what life brings.

I find it interesting, given the controversies over alcohol that would eventually erupt in the history of the Christian church, that the arrival of Christianity in the world and its eventual sway over the empire did not diminish the Roman love of beer. For the early Christians, drunkenness was the sin—as their apostles had repeatedly taught—and not the consumption of alcohol. After all, their Lord had miraculously created wine at a wedding feast, the fledgling church drank wine at its sacred meals, and Christian leaders even instructed their disciples to take wine as a cure for ailments. Clearly, beer and wine used in moderation were welcomed by the early Christians and were taken as a matter of course. It was excess and drunkenness and the immorality that came from both that the Christians opposed. Many historians have noted that this positive Christian perspective on alcohol probably even encouraged brewing, because it both sanctioned a temperate love of beer and welcomed beer as an alternative to more high-alcohol drinks. This theory is supported by the fact that beer is so intertwined with the history of the Christian faith that it is tempting to believe that Christians discovered it. Perhaps in its holy and moderate use, they did.

As Christians captured the Roman world with their ideals and then took their gospel to non-Roman lands, beer was very much a part of the story. For example, around the turn of the fifth century, the revered St. Patrick introduced the Christian gospel to the wild and pagan land of Ireland. Always at his side was Mescan, the great saint’s personal brewmaster. It seems that Patrick understood godly hospitality and captured many an Irish tribal chieftain with his tasty beer before he won the man for God. In other words, yes, beer played a role in the winning of Ireland for Christ.

Historians Will and Ariel Durant have written in The Story of Civilization: The Reformation that at the time of Luther, “a gallon of beer per day was the usual allowance per person, even for nuns.” This may help to explain why beer figures so prominently in the life and writings of the great reformer. He was German, after all, and he lived at a time when beer was the European drink of choice. Moreover, having been freed from what he considered to be a narrow and life-draining religious legalism, he stepped into the world ready to enjoy its pleasures to the glory of God. For Luther, beer flowed best in a vibrant Christian life. …He did not suffer fools lightly and could barely stand those who feared moral excess and so retreated from everything that might tempt them in the world. “Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused,” he once wrote. “Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?”

Luther spent much of his life in the taverns of Wittenberg and not just because he loved to drink beer. He often mentored his students there, studied there, met important visitors there, and, upon occasion, even taught classes there. The time he spent in taverns and inns gave him a chance to look out onto the world as it was in his day, to experience and to observe. He surely chatted with prostitutes, helped carry drunks out the fair door, and may have mediated more than his fair share of spats between tipsy husbands and wives. The tavern was where Luther learned of the world he was called to reform with the gospel of Christ. …He viewed drink as good for the body, an aid to social life, and a gift of God.

In his famous Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin wrote, “We are nowhere forbidden to laugh, or to be satisfied with food . . . or to be delighted with music, or to drink wine.” The great Genevan reformer also wrote, “It is permissible to use wine not only for necessity, but also to make us merry.” …In his little classic, The Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life, Calvin developed the case that God has “made the earthly blessings for our benefit, and not for our harm”: If we study . . . why he has created the various kinds of food, we shall find that it was his intention not only to provide for our needs, but likewise for our pleasure and for our delight . . . . For, if this were not true, the Psalmist would not enumerate among the divine blessings “the wine that makes glad the heart of man, and the oil that makes his face to shine.”

This likely comes as a surprise to those who confuse biblical Christianity with the antisaloon leagues and prohibitionism of later history. The truth is that most post-Reformation Christians believed as their first-century fathers did—that drunkenness is sin but that alcohol in moderation is one of the great gifts of God. Thus, John Wesley drank wine, was something of an ale expert, and often made sure that his Methodist preachers were paid in one of the vital currencies of the day—rum. His brother, Charles Wesley, was known for the fine port, Madeira, and sherry he often served in his home; the journals of George Whitefield are filled with references to his enjoyment of alcohol. …The revered colonial American pastor and theologian Jonathan Edwards viewed alcohol in much the same way. According to biographer Elizabeth D. Dodds, Edwards grew up in the home of a father who “turned out a locally famed hard cider in the orchard behind his house.”

I understood for the first time that beer had a noble history and that it had been intricately interwoven with the Christian faith for nearly seventeen hundred years by the time Arthur was born. I understood also that brewing had long been a respected profession and this was due in part to the positive contribution it made to society. Men drank beer rather than harder liquors, improved their health as they did—the B vitamins of beer being particularly important in times of meager diets—and in the post-Reformation centuries did so with a specific sense of offering their joys to God, as Calvin and Luther had taught them to do.

Edward Cecil Guinness, great-grandson of founder, Arthur, expressed a foundational company conviction when he said, “You cannot make money from people unless you are willing for people to make money from you.” Accordingly, the Guinness brewery routinely paid wages that were 10 to 20 percent higher than average, had a reputation as the best place to work in Ireland, and, as important to many employees, allowed workers two pints a day of their famous dark stout. Moreover, the benefits the company gave its employees surpass those even envisioned by modern companies like Google and Microsoft. Consider the snapshot provided by a Guinness company report in 1928, not an exceptionally enlightened time for corporate treatment of employees. Guinness workers at the brewery in Dublin enjoyed the attention of two fully qualified doctors who staffed an onsite clinic where any employee, wife, or child could receive treatment. These privileges extended to widows and pensioners, as well. The doctors were available night or day, made house calls, and would consult specialists on their patients’ behalf if necessary. There were also two dentists available to employees, two pharmacists, two nurses, a “lady visitor” who assured healthy conditions in workers’ homes, and a masseuse. Hospital beds were provided both at the Guinness plant and at a “sanatoria” in the country, intended for patients recovering from tuberculosis. This was only the beginning. Retirees received pensions “at the pleasure of the board,” without having to make contributions of their own. This benefit extended to widows as well. If an employee or an employee’s family member died, the company paid the majority of the funeral expenses. To improve the lives of their employees, the company provided a savings bank on site and contributed to a fund from which workers could borrow to purchase houses. To make sure that life in these homes was all it could be, the company also sponsored competitions to encourage domestic skills, with cash awards for sewing, cooking, decorating, gardening, and hat making. Concerts and lectures were provided for the wives of workers, in the belief that the moral and intellectual level of a home would rise only to that of the mother or wife who lived there. This same philosophy led to the company’s sponsorship of guilds and associations of every kind. There was an association for the keeping and breeding of “Dogs, Poultry, Pigeons and Cage birds,” for the cultivation of vegetables and flowers, and for the “encouragement of Home Industries.” An athletic union was founded that sponsored competitions in Gaelic football, cricket, cycling, boxing, swimming, hurling, and tug-of-war. Beyond this, hardly a skill essential to brewing was not represented by a guild or professional development society, all sponsored by the company. The educational benefits were also more generous than most modern corporations provide. Guinness paid for all its employees between the ages of fourteen and thirty to attend technical schools in Dublin and even funded more advanced education for those who were qualified. There was a lending library at the plant, a musical society, and “Workmen’s Rooms”—which were lounges that allowed a hardworking man to read or just to think, to focus his mind on something beyond his labors. There were also classes in wood carving, cage making, fretwork, sketching, photography, cabinet making, handwriting, music, singing, and dancing. The generosity of Guinness seemed unlimited. Every year, every employee was paid to take his family into the country for an “Excursion Day.” Train fare was paid and money for food and entertainment was provided. Single men were allowed to take dates and, again, the company paid the bill. On the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, Guinness paid every employee an extra week’s salary.

• More than ten million glasses of Guinness are consumed each day worldwide. This is nearly two billion pints a year. • In 1759, Arthur Guinness founded the Guinness brewery in Dublin by signing a lease for the famous property at St. James’s Gate—a lease that gave him rights to that property for nine thousand years! • Arthur Guinness founded the first Sunday schools in Ireland, fought against dueling, and chaired the board of a hospital for the poor.

• A Guinness worker during the 1920s enjoyed full medical and dental care, massage services, reading rooms, subsidized meals, a company-funded pension, subsidies for funeral expenses, educational benefits, sports facilities, free concerts, lectures and entertainment, and a guaranteed two pints of Guinness beer a day. • During World War I, Guinness guaranteed all of its employees who served in uniform that their jobs would be waiting for them when they came home. Guinness also paid half salaries to the family of each man who served.

• In 2003, scientists at the University of Wisconsin reported that a pint of Guinness a day is good for the human heart.

• In the 1890s, Rupert Guinness, future head of the brewery, received five million pounds from his father on his wedding day. Shortly after, he moved into a house in the slums and launched a series of programs that served the poor.

The Teen Perspective on the Jamaica Mission Trip

As one of the parents who traveled to Jamaica with The Crossing, I think I speak for many of us when I say that sharing the experience with my own daughters had a deep impact on me – as a mother, certainly, but also as a believer in God’s Word. I found that, taken out of our familiar surroundings, I was given a somewhat different perspective on the hearts of my children. I saw them that week with fresh eyes, as I was able to step back a little from my role as “parent” and see them from the standpoint of “fellow follower of Jesus.”

Watching all the teens take in the experience from their perspectives – interacting with Jamaicans, being confronted with the reality of the infirmary, showing vulnerability in front of each other – gave me a richer insight into how God works in the hearts of all of us. I could go on and on about this idea, but for today, I simply want to share the experience of this year’s mission trip to Jamaica one last time, through the voices of the teenagers.

Our last day on the island, we asked the kids to tell us what had the greatest impact on them. This is what they said:

I feel like there's nothing more life changing than going to the infirmary. I faced my fears by going there because I knew that would be the hardest part for me. It was so heart-wrenching to hear people’s stories and if they didn't have the ability to talk, to put lotion on their hands or play ball with them or sit there and hold their hands and watch them smile. Almost everyone there was so on fire for the Lord and so open about their faith it was incredible to just be a small part of their lives. It really put life into perspective because they have so little and are so happy and I have so much and am frequently unhappy. That part of the trip probably had the most effect on me.
- Laurel Critchfield, Sophomore

The biggest thing Jamaica taught me was to cherish everything that I have. That sounds completely corny, but it really did. I realized that my family and friends are the most amazing things that have ever happened to me, but that isn’t all I need. The infirmary taught me that Christianity is what fulfills people to the highest degree. The Jamaicans in general taught me that life isn’t about the material possessions at all, it is about the faith you have, and the attitude you have that gets you through the day. I realized that what I have in America is far better then what they might ever have in Jamaica, and I need to stop taking things for granted. I also need to stop worrying about the material possessions and concentrate more on my faith and my walk with God. That was what I took away from Jamaica.
- Hannah Early, Junior

I learned you can find joy and happiness anywhere if you have God. I also want to have the positive attitudes that the Jamaicans had because they didn’t complain about anything.
- Alex Greenwood, Senior


My experience in Jamaica was unbelievable. It's very difficult to explain how it changed my heart so very much, but it did. My favorite part of the trip was the infirmary. It was heart-breaking to see how the people there live. It was also heart-breaking to see my lack of faith compared to the women and men at the infirmary. It shows me the reality of where God and I stand, and this trip has done so much for me. I feel as if my faith and belief in a REAL God had doubled. I plan on continuing to grow in faith and grow closer to God. If I can in Jamaica, I can in Missouri.
- Claire Herndon, Freshman


The things in Jamaica that seem out of place for a third-world country, normal things that seem like they shouldn’t have been there, continue to amaze me: ice cream, cell phones, the high-pitched voice of Justin Bieber. But these are the sorts of things that remind me the Jamaicans are, in fact, very similar to the rest of us. They do enjoy the same things I do (though I don’t have “Bieber Fever”). As such, they would sooner die than accept my pity. They don’t need or want pity in any form. But they would take my help in a heartbeat, even though they are often more proficient at the task at hand. Help, they were fine with. Because help was what they needed. What we forget is that we need help, too. In general, our physical needs are lesser than theirs, but our spiritual need is just as dire, if not more so. Americans and Jamaicans are both spiritually broken, both in need of God and His grace. In fact, most of our group learned more spiritually from the Jamaicans than any of us expected. So we were all learning things from each other.
- Mary Herndon, Senior

One of the coolest experiences for me was getting to know all of you (the other kids on the trip). I really feel as if I now have strong Christian friendships, and all it took was a week in Jamaica!! I think that was part of what God was showing me, that I needed more of Him in my life, and this was part of how I got it.
- Anna Howser, Junior




I’m still trying to grasp everything that I experienced (in Jamaica) but I would have to say my eyes were opened to a whole different world. I figured there would be poverty with families living in shacks and limited water, but I didn’t expect how faithful and loving the community was. It showed me how having a family and a community can really help your walk with God. It is a necessity to have a relationship with others and God. It doesn't matter what technology and materials you have, all you need is faith! It doesn't matter if you live in a shack or a mansion, what matters is the hearts and souls inside the shack or mansion.
- Matt Kelly, Junior

My favorite experience in Jamaica was working at the infirmary. I got to meet and talk to a lot of great people. At first I didn't think it would be very fun but once I sat down I really got to know the people. They were really just normal people on the inside and they loved to talk with other people. Most of all, the people at the infirmary loved to have the bible read to them. No matter what each person's conditions were, every single person loved and praised the Lord. It seemed to me as if the only thing that motivated them to be happy was their faith in Christ. Although their living conditions were terrible, every single person was filled with joy and happiness, which made me realize that true happiness can only come from God.
- Dalton Maggard, Sophomore

I think the biggest thing I took away from Jamaica is just how good I have it. And that sounds like a really cliche statement, but when people get mad that their microwave doesn't work or when you run out of hot water in the shower, no one thinks about just how awful most people of the world have it. Lots (of people) don't have microwaves or money/electricity to get them and two minute showers in cold water?! But anyway...I really did come away with a new sense of teamwork and how my way isn't the best or easiest way and that working in teams makes things go a lot faster. A sense of unity.
- Mackenzie Mayer, Junior



Jamaica was amazing this year. I loved getting to know a lot of the younger kids on the trip. They were pretty cool and extremely encouraging to me. One thing that really hit me this year is where my hope lies. I realized that I tend to put a lot of my hope into things of this world. Seeing how strong some Jamaicans’ faith was really encouraged me. Their hope clearly lies in Jesus Christ. They don't have as many distractions as we do, which allows them to see truth more. I want to be able to be like them. I want my hope and faith to be fully in Jesus and nothing else.
- Haley Phillips, Senior



I think that the biggest thing I took away was that no material possession in life will ever make you happy, and that you can only find happiness through God. The people in Jamaica prove that because they're happy and content when they don't have much, but they do have their family, friends, and most importantly, God.
- Madeline Simon, Freshman



I’d say that the littlest things here in America are the biggest things in Jamaica, and I thought that was awesome because it really put a good perspective on what is really important in my life and that I do actually have idols and I need to get rid of those and put God first in my life.
- Nathan Simon, Sophomore


A Parent's Perspective: Exposing My Spiritual Poverty

Submitted by Blake Brooks, Guest Writer

In the fall of 2009, I agreed to go on a mission trip to Harmons, Jamaica that would take place in June, 2010. This seemed like a great way to spend time with my 16-year-old son, whose Sundays at church are dwindling quickly. In addition, a sense of self-worth and arrogance made me feel as if the Jamaicans needed me. It turns out I really needed them.

I came to Christ as a sophomore in high school, but for the last 20 years have lived a very lukewarm Christian life. There have been attempts at presenting a facade of fulfillment, but inside my heart had become rather cold. I married my high school sweetheart and we have been together for nearly 30 years. We have four children, and they are my greatest joy. At the age of 30, I entered medical school, and nine years later entered medical practice as a nephrologist. This would appear, on the outside, as a rather idyllic life, but the facade of success and stability has been hiding the pain and anger and jealousy that have built up over time. I had lost passion for God and for my family.

In our preparations for Jamaica, our group talked about the poverty we would encounter. There is 80% unemployment in the area we were going to serve, and the average income is $2,000 per year. We talked about preparing our hearts for what God would show us in Jamaica. We talked about living in cramped conditions and having very little privacy, and being hot all the time. Justin Garrett, one of the Crossing ministry leaders organizing the trip, suggested we go with the attitude that the trip was "not about me." However, nothing could prepare us for what we would face once in Jamaica, both physically and spiritually.

At our first group meeting in Jamaica, Loyd Jackson, the Director of Won by One, told us we were the answer to someone's prayers. This only bolstered my sense of self-worth and pride. The following morning, we had another group meeting and discussed the conversion of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10:

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount."
Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

On initial review, this passage seemed to indicate to me that our time in Jamaica could be spent "passing through," and not investing time in the lives of those God placed in our paths. It would have been quite easy to have performed the physical task of building houses and not investing time building relationships with these Jamaicans. Relationships are about time and intent.

Over the first day or two, I was able to see through the physical poverty of the area and began to see the hearts of the Jamaicans - many with a great sense of peace and joy, qualities I found lacking in my own life. As we spent more time each day reviewing the story of Zacchaeus, I began to think about my own life. Was I "passing through?" Was I being intentional in my relationship with my God? My family? My patients? By mid-week, I came to realize that the physical poverty of Harmons was exposing my own spiritual poverty.

Ultimately, I came to appreciate that God had called me to Jamaica so I could climb the tree and see Him with more clarity. I had to get away from the "crowd" (my home and routine) to get a clearer view of who He is and what I had become. Like Zacchaeus, when we are called by Jesus, we are left with a choice of how to respond. Do we stay in the tree, or come down and join Him?

On the last night in Harmons, we were given time to reflect on our week; the staff of Won By One had created several places of meditation around the meeting room where they posted photos and verses, as well as questions to prompt our memory of our experiences through the week. As I spent time at each of these stations reflecting on the various themes, I came to a photo posted of our group the evening of our arrival. As I studied the picture through tears, I couldn't help but think how our group of 47 people had changed during our five days in the mountains of Jamaica. I truly believe those in the group would never be the same or see God the same. I know I won't.

It seems we all need a Harmons to get us above the crowd and give us a clearer view of Christ. I had my heart broken in Jamaica so I could find passion again for my God, my wife, my family. I originally thought we went to Jamaica to serve those in need, but it turns out my needs were pretty great, too. A trip that wasn't "about me" turned out to be just that.

Jude 24-25
To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs: July 18, 2010

This week's music set-list review features photos by Gerik Parmele. You'll find links in the song titles that will allow you to purchase versions of the songs as recorded by the original artists.

Prayer of the Lowly by Andrew Camp, Christine Cover and David A. Cover

This new song served as a gathering song this week. We think it's good to help The Crossing get know the new songs that we're working on, that way it's easier for us to step into the song when it is introduced in a service. The gathering song is a great place to do this.

Holy, holy is the Lord, God Almighty;
Worthy, worthy is the King who died for me!”

Andrew Camp led us in a call to worship from Psalm 8.

Worthy, You Are Worthy by Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin

Sometimes when we remind ourselves of what Jesus Christ has done for us it helps us engage in corporate worship. As we remember Christ's finished work on the cross it humbles us, draws out our affections for Him and our response is worship.

Glory, I give glory to the One who saved my soul.
You found me and You freed me from the shame that was my own.
And I cannot begin to tell how merciful You've been.
Oh Lord, my ears have heard of You, now my eyes have seen.

 
Come, Lord Jesus (Advent Song) by Diane Thiel

Not only do we worship God for what He has done but we also worship Him in anticipation of what He has promised to do when He returns.

You will flood our souls with light,
bring this broken world to rights.
As you swallow death with life we will be singing.
Come, Lord Jesus, come redeem us.
We will wait for You.

David also read from Jude 1:20-21

His Loving-Kindness - Words: Samuel Medley (1782), Additional Words: David A. Cover, Music: Christine Cover and David A. Cover

How precious is your steadfast love,
Eternal Lord of All.
In You is life, is true delight
I choose to rest in love.

We read excerpts from Psalm 51 and had an opportunity for a silent confession of sins.
 

Rock of Ages - Words: Augustus M. Toplady (1776), Additional chorus: Page CXVI

Our confession continued with Rock of Ages. This classic hymn reminds us that there is nothing that we can do to rid ourselves of the guilt of sin. Our broken souls are redeemed, rescued and restored by Christ alone.

Not the labor of my hands
can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Take My Life (updated with correct link) - Words: Frances R. Havergal (1874), Music and additional lyrics: Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio

Take My Life was a right response to Dave's message on the idols that take hold of our lives. With this hymn we pray that God, in his grace, would take our whole lives (heart, soul, mind and strength) captive for his glory.

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Music Team for July 18, 2010:

Nathan Billings - keyboards
Lacey Burrell - vocals
Andrew Camp - vocals and guitars
Mark Collum - vocals
David Cover - vocals and guitars
Nick Havens - bass
Andrew Luley - drums, acoustic guitar on Prayer of the Lowly
Kristen Pierce - vocals

Follow The Crossing Music on twitter at www.twitter.com/crossingmusic

A Parent's Perspective: God's Heart for Us Revealed at the Infirmary

Submitted by Ginger Soumokil, Guest Writer

If you were to pick up someone's camera and start looking at the photos they had taken without them there to explain who it was, where they were or what was going on, it would be a challenge to fully appreciate the experience the photographer had as they snapped the pictures. I feel that same difficulty when trying to explain what I experienced while on the recent mission trip to Jamaica with The Crossing.

In particular, I struggle to adequately explain the experience we had while visiting the infirmary.

My first impression was to feel incredibly overwhelmed. As I looked around, I immediately saw people defined by the physical or mental challenges they were facing: their blindness, their crippled bodies, their inability to get off the floor or out of bed, their inability to speak. One woman appeared to communicate only by banging a spoon on the floor to get your attention.

I then felt a rush to try and get to know each person, give them a "sweetie" (candy & nibs are not sweet enough for them), read a bit from the Bible, hold their hand for a moment, and then move on to the next person.

I met a woman named Carrie Ann, who has severe crippling deformities and beautiful, shining eyes. She didn’t speak, but screamed with joy when she saw us walking into her building to visit. She wore a constant smile, particularly when someone reached down and touched her.

Daisy Mae King is another one I hope I won't forget. She told us her name over and over again, spelling it for us and then saying, “Go home and put that in your journal and pray for me, I'm Daisy Mae King. I love the Lord, pray for me.” She sat with all the dignity of a queen as she commanded us to pray, and then she might break out into a jazzy, Sinatra-type song.

Mary sat just inside her large, dormitory-like room, holding court in her corner of the building. Mary is bed-ridden, bent over completely at the waist, her face literally inches from her feet. I don’t know what medical condition caused her to be always in this position, but I did learn that Mary loves to sew, and would love to have better sewing scissors, thread, cloth and needles.

Mabel is blind, but sits straight up in bed for hours, just waiting for a visit. The first time I spoke with her, there were several of us around; she took each of our hands in turn and said, "You are a sister in the Lord, you are a sister in the Lord…and I am a sister in the Lord.”

Patricia is a vibrant woman with full physical ability, but who suffers from mental disabilities. She doesn’t walk so much as she joyfully skips from building to building. The first time I met her, she was taking my daughter, Marissa, by the hand and introducing her to all the residents. Sometimes the two of them stopped to dance. Patricia shared an abundance of love exuberantly with all the residents and visitors, constantly kissing their hands, shoulders, cheeks – whatever she could get her hands on.

Then I met Beatrice. When I got to her, I didn't want to move on. By the time I got to know this lovely woman of God, I wanted to adopt her, bring her home with me. Beatrice had suffered a stroke and had severe arthritis, so she could not even sit up, but laid flat in bed all day. Often she lay in her own mess, unable to get to the bathroom without others to help her or even a bedpan to use, and she needed help from the other residents to eat each meal.

Beatrice’s husband had passed on and they had no children. Though she helped her sister raise her ten children, even assisting some of them with school and acquiring a car, she was now in the infirmary, seemingly forgotten by her family. But she was certain that God had not forgotten her, and she hadn’t forgotten Him. I had the privilege to read chapters of the Bible to her which she requested. As I read to her, she smiled serenely and would sometimes finish my sentence; she had the verses memorized.

Beatrice lay there in pain, alone much of the time and helpless to care for herself in the most basic of ways, and yet as we got to know each other, it was she who was encouraging me in the Lord. She has hope in our unseen God and knows He is preparing a place for her in heaven. As we read John 14 together, I couldn't keep from crying.

As I took in the reality of the infirmary, I thought, “Wow, God, this is how you saw me spiritually, before You first opened my eyes and started showing me Your grace, love and acceptance.” Through my time at the infirmary, God made it clear to me that this is still me in so many areas; I know I am blinded by my sin which cripples me, and I don’t even know in what areas I need someone else to care for me. We all have such a need of God and should be longing for heaven more, and yet this world can have such a way of distracting us from seeing us as we truly are, and seeing our true destiny. I thank God that He used the souls at the infirmary to open my eyes more to His great love for me, and my great need of Him.

John 17:20-23
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

A Parent's Perspective: Be in Community

Submitted by Shawn Phillips, Guest Writer

Last year, I was asked to chaperone The Crossing high school team heading to Harmons, Jamaica, as the only adult other than the student ministry leaders. Here I was, in my forties, and had never had an opportunity to go on a mission trip - and now I would be going with a group of teenagers, including my own daughter. My first thoughts were, “I am going to spend a week making other, less fortunate people’s lives better. I am going to spend a week being a positive role model for someone else’s son or daughter.” What I found was that, while the trip did make an impact on the people of Harmons, the impact on my own heart and my relationship with my daughter was much bigger than I thought it would be. I came back a changed man…well, for at least two weeks.

Fast-forward ahead a year. The 2010 mission trip would be to the same destination – Harmons, Jamaica - but the twist would be that every student, not just my daughter, would have a parent with them.

My daughter was happily anticipating a return trip with her good ole dad, and this year my eldest son would also be going. I wondered how this trip would compare to last year. Could it possibly be better, given how deeply I felt the change in my life the first trip? Last year was pretty amazing. I thought perhaps the group dynamics would not be as rich; the group going in 2010 was a bigger group than last year, in fact twice as big. Surely we wouldn’t connect quite as well as our smaller 2009 team had.

Well, my cynicism turned out to be unfounded; this year was awesome and once again a week in Jamaica changed me…but in a different way.

The students proved to be full of energy and eager to accomplish far more than they would ever do at home. The parents were more tolerant, and found themselves participating in games that they would never take the time to do at home.

Both of my mission trip experiences have brought me to this conclusion: we are designed to be a functional part of a community. Community causes us to want to contribute positively for the good of all. Without community, we creep back into our dark places. We become far more selfish as we live independently of others. Without community, we become less tolerant of people, we resist getting out of our comfort zone and helping out as much, we complain more. Without community, we are alone. God didn’t design us to be alone.

When is the last time you took the opportunity to read scripture into your son or daughter? When is the last time your son or daughter was home long enough to allow you to read scripture to them? When is the last time you participated in communion together? When is the last time you played cards (or any game, for that matter) for hours on end with your children? When is the last time you worked side by side with your child? When is the last time you ate a meal with your family, especially if they are teenagers?

Community can and must continue at home, every day, not just one week a year on a mission trip. After two years of watching how God uses community to bring out the best in both teenagers and now, this year, parents too, I’m convinced that we are at our best when we stay in community.

And so I urge all of you - get involved with the church community. Go to a class on Sunday morning and go to church. Start or join a small group and actually attend and engage. Go to breakfast with a group of men or women once a week. Volunteer to be on the parking lot team or the tech team, and even better, volunteer with your kids! Be a part of your community in your town. Reach out to your neighbors, your coworkers. Not because you can make a difference helping someone less fortunate, but because you need it.


Community within the body of Christ is a critical way, I’m convinced, to keep your spirit alive with Christ’s love.

Romans 12:1, 5
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship…so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Called to Change Lives...and Be Changed

Submitted by Robin May, Guest Writer

I mentioned earlier this week as I began documenting The Crossing’s trip to Harmons, Jamaica that the organization who coordinated our trip, Won By One, has a motto: “changing lives by changing lives.” I believe God did just that; He changed lives in a divine way that only God could have designed.

First, He brought together a group of 47 people, most of whom on the departure day for this trip were still strangers. Even the majority of the teenagers on the trip didn’t know one another well. In other words, God had not called a particularly close “clique” from The Crossing to serve together in Jamaica. He called each one of us individually, with our unique talents and perspectives. He stirred each of our hearts and drew us each into this particular trip.

Like everything with His handprint on it, our group ended up with just the right synergistic energy we needed to accomplish the physical work we did for the Jamaicans. Meanwhile, as we served and developed relationships with the Jamaicans and with each other, answering the many prayers that must have been lifted up to The Almighty, God did His work in each of us.

Looking back on it, it was truly by God’s grace that we were able to love one another so quickly and so deeply. I wonder if the conditions had something to do with it. Stripped of the masks we hide behind most of our lives, left with only a pair of sweaty shorts and a t-shirt, we were exposed. With 21 women in a dorm room and one bathroom (which had two sinks, two toilets and two showers), I never once heard a cross word uttered as we waited each day to take our two-minute shower. Clearly, only God can be responsible for this miracle!

We began and ended each day with a focused and intentional time of sharing, worship, Bible study and prayer. During our daily time in God’s Word, the Won By One staff led us in a study of the familiar story of Zacchaeus meeting Jesus (Luke 19:1-9). As each day went by, this story came to life in various ways. We explored how we were like Jesus in the story, just passing through the community of Harmons, and asked ourselves, “What did Jesus do while He was passing through Jericho? How can we make an impact in a community where we don’t live?“ We studied and discussed to what lengths Zacchaeus went to see Jesus, and reflected on how far we would go in order to meet Jesus ourselves. And finally, we talked about how the rich man Zacchaeus, a man who once worshipped money, was so changed by meeting Jesus that he willingly gave much of his wealth away. This challenged us to really think about what we are willing to do with our wealth in order to be a disciple of Christ.

As we studied the account of Zacchaeus meeting Jesus, the Word spoke to us and gave us new eyes with which to go out into the community. We began to be more aware of the presence of Jesus all around us. Some of the most memorable moments of the trip for me were in the quiet times at day’s end, when our group talked through our days and shared with each other where we saw the love of Christ reflected, both in the Jamaicans and in each other as we all worked side by side.

While some lessons seem obvious, I suspect those of us who went on this mission trip will be discovering for months to come the things that God is teaching us through this experience. What I do know is that a week with the Jamaicans taught me the importance of not just quickly passing through, but rather the joy in lingering for a conversation, the delight of watching for – and seeing! - Jesus in the words, actions and faces of others, and eternal value of being in relationship, even if you are just passing through. Like Jesus did with Zacchaeus, we were all invited into the homes of Harmons residents for a dinner they had prepared for us. And like Zacchaeus, though the time we spent with the Jamaicans was short, I think we would all agree our time there changed us.

For one week, we were able to love more unconditionally – both one another and the people we came to minister to. Without the distractions of ourselves and the pursuits of the American Dream, God allowed us the privilege of aligning our will with His, and to simply come alongside Him to work for His glory. It was breathtaking.

1 Peter 1:3-4
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.