Bread Visitations

Thus far we have visited 3 times out of the past two weeks, passing out bread and introducing ourselves to the neighborhood. Each night we have had different folks come out. Each night it seems that the team is coming back and reporting how surprised they are at the people’s receptivity level. To be honest I’m a little surprised myself. Last night, my friend “Roy,” came out to help us pass out bread. Roy is homeless and sleeps out of his truck. He has come to our church planting launch team meetings and Friday night dinners. Roy has begun to contribute to the cause of starting a new church for Christ. I paired him up with Jim Foster. As they went out they reassured people that “even though they were old guys the church and its pastor are young.” I started off with little John Mansfield and ended the night with John’s brother, Joe. We had one memorable visit that sticks out. We met Jude, who has a neuromuscular disease. Jude is in an electronic wheelchair and doesn’t have much movement throughout his body. Jude was really receptive to our visit. We ended the visit by little Joe and I kneeling down and praying for Jude. Jude is open for me to come back for a visit and even going out for a meal. There are other stories the team shared that were wonderful as well. If you get a chance talk with Aaron Mansfield, Jim Foster, or Andrew Schloemer about last evening.

S-Man

“S” is somebody we had seen at Charlie Browns, one of the local restaurants in the Chevy Chase area. Every time I saw S, I noticed him posted at the bar drinking a beer. Looking back on my dark days I know that when you start drinking by yourself you know something is definitely wrong. I talked to him a few times in passing last summer and remembered that he had a membership to my gym. Fast-forward a year later to last Saturday. I was finishing up my workout and saw S doing some bicep curls. I stopped and talked with him. He told me he was working off a “hangover.” It’s funny how the Lord keeps putting people right in front of me.

Reaching Out

Last Monday we delivered bread around the neighborhood as a way of introducing ourselves. Robert, a guy I met from the gym decided to help me out, he actually volunteered without me having to ask him. Out of the many houses we encountered one visit particularly was memorable. We met a nice college student who was drinking a beer on his front porch. I told him who I was and what we were trying to do. He seemed cool with what I was saying. Robert reached in the bag to give him a loaf of bread and the college student politely said that we didn’t have to waste our bread on him. He said it in a way like he didn’t matter at all. This interaction has troubled me for a few days. There are people we meet everyday, not just in the 40505 (The Rock/La Roca UMC) but just about everywhere. What is the potential for churches when they reach out to folks who don’t think they matter? The problem is that some of these people will never come to a church unless we either go out to them or give them something to come to. Why did crowds follow Jesus? There was something more to this God-Man than performing miracles and giving a good sermon but I believe it was they way Jesus made them. Jesus looked at people liked they mattered to him. Perhaps the church should do the same.

Jimmy

I have built a great relationship with my friend Jimmy. Jimmy is in his 50s and is the one hired by Mr. McGinnis (my new landlord) to fix up my new house. Jimmy is excited about the dinners we are holding and desires to see good things happen to the neighborhood. The cool part is that Jimmy is going to be my new neighbor. Jimmy is a little rough around the edges and tells me to excuse his cussing and I told him I don’t take offense to it because I need to clean my mouth up a little too☺ When I was moving my stuff into the house he noticed my tattoos. He asked me if I got them before I was a Christian and I told him that I got them afterwards. Jimmy asked me what kind of pastor I was. I told him the type to get along with him!

Gym Connections Pay Off Again

Last night was awesome, our first day of doing bread evangelism. I felt I was going all day yesterday and didn’t have time to eat. For someone who eats every two hours this is not a good feeling! I hooked up with my friend Robert who I met in the gym a few months ago to train. Robert is not a churchgoer but it doesn’t bother him to hang out with a “minister” as he calls me (I know, it sounds weird, freaks me out too!). When I picked him up to hang out he noticed all the bread in my little Acura. He asked me what the deal was with all that bread. I told him what the plan was and he asked me if I needed help. My jaw dropped open. Here’s a guy who doesn’t to church, not really a believer, want to help me with this evangelism project! I told him that it would be great, and I could really use his help. After I got done hanging out with Robert I checked a voicemail message and it was from Jason Dillard. Jason said that he was praying for the evening and asked God if people would come to help that we didn’t expect to be there. I called Jason back and thanked him for praying. We can’t be surprised when God answers our prayers!

Personal Training

The past few years I have considered getting certified as a personal trainer. I love helping people reach their goals/potential, not only spiritually but physically as well. I helped a friend in seminary lose close to 100 pounds through helping him with diet and exercise. Recently, I decided to get started with studying for my certification in my spare time. The reality for our Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church is that a majority of our pastors are unhealthy. All churches with fulltime pastors have to pay the conference health insurance that cost $12,000! I had the crazy idea of training pastors in the Lexington district and if it is successful propose it on an entire conference level.

While working out at my gym I have noticed a trainer who comes in to work with clients, sometimes he works out there by himself. We always see each other and got to talk the other day. I told him I was training for a contest and he thought that was cool. It turns out he was a former Marine, he noticed my USMC tattoo. He said that his life hit rock bottom because of his drug addiction. He became a Christian and God has delivered him from it. Fitness and nutrition started to become a big part of his life. We are going out for coffee this week.

Church Plant Visits

This is from Aaron Mansfield's Blog:

Tonight was an evening of visiting. We went out to a bunch of houses with loaves of bread to introduce Rosario's new church plant. Everything about the visiting was instructive. First, the bread was baked or provided by many people at The Rock. Then, some people who are key to the church plant (Dro White and Jason and Tawndee Dillard) were out visiting with us. Then there was Jessie, the boys, me, Jenna and Jody, part of the Rock. Antonio is a guy who has been coming for a few Sundays to the Rock, and heard a call to ministry in the community. Then there's Robert. He doesn't go to church at all; Roz met him in the gym, and when he heard what Roz was up to, decided he wanted to help.

What saddened me, though, was that so few people from the Rock came to help. I wonder what's up there? I mean, here we have this precious Gospel, this precious salvation, and we keep it to ourselves.

Two visits stick out to me tonight. The first is a fellow who I can only describe as a puzzled intellectual. He did not want to take our bread. He told us that he is an atheist, that he had thought about it for a long time. You can think about something, no matter how long, and still be wrong. I was ready to just walk away, because knowing these kinds of guys (I was once one), I knew there was not a lot to be gained in such a short time, with no real relationship. But Jessie asked him a little bit about why he was attracted to Buddhism. He babbled on a bit about it not being a religion, being an open, peaceful thing, the Dalai Lama is not dogmatic, and is willing to change his mind if something in his faith is not reasonable, etc. I asked him if he thought that Christians don't do that. He said Christians are arrogant about what they believe. I asked him how it was possible for him to criticize us for arrogance for being certain about what we believe when he was certain that he would never have faith (as he said earlier in the conversation). I mentioned that I, too, had spent years thinking about it and had come to the opposite conclusion. One of us is right and one of us is wrong. I'll admit that up front.

One of our first conversations was with a woman I'll call Agnes. She was so happy to get a loaf of bread free, to have someone talk to her about faith (Joe was the one to hand her the bread and say, "My friend Rosario is planting a church) that she not only had prayer with us, she actually gave us an offering for the work. Wow, someone who does not go to church cares enough, was touched enough to give to the new church that doesn't really exist yet.