Christ-Dwelling Lives

When God called me to plant Embrace it seemed like such a distant idea.  Once I responded to the call I had a logical follow up question of where was it going to be?  As my team and I started praying God led us to the Woodland Park area.  This was ironic because Jason and Tawndee Dillard already were living close by. My first choice was to live on Columbia Avenue (the street I know live on) but it didn't happen right away.  Instead I took the only place available to me off Richmond Rd., which was a one-bedroom basement apartment.  It was there that we started are Friday dinners in a crammed space with a wild puppy boxer jumping on everybody's lap!  It was in that crammed place that Embrace was born. So when we had a storm and my basement was flooded the Lord worked through another Flood and this time it was to deliver me from that little apartment to a house on Columbia Avenue in the neighborhood I felt called to be in.  Andrew took a risk on me by moving in and since we have become better friends as we have gotten to know our neighborhood.  It was one thing driving by my neighborhood before I moved in and another thing actually living there now, walking the streets, and getting to know some of the people.  My team has become involved with others by "moving into" their lives. This is no different than 2,000 years ago in the fullness of time when God sent his son Jesus Christ to live among us and to move into our neighborhoods. John 1:14 as Eugene Peterson paraphrases it says, "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes. the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish."

If we have received Jesus into are lives we are to live incarnationally.  As we say in our mission statement at Embrace, "We are Christian faith community called together by God to live Christ-dwelling lives..."  We are simply to be Jesus to one another.  We are to move into people's neighborhoods or better yet their lives.  However this isn't always an easy task and it's sometimes messy but that's the nature of our calling as Christ-followers to be Christ-dwellers, to be Jesus to the people around us.

Never Back Down

The past few weeks my theology on the "worship service" has been challenged, tore down, and built back up.  I have been questioned about some of the elements we have in our worship service namely the Lord's Prayer and Holy Communion.  From the beginning I said we were going to celebrate Holy Communion every week.  A few people have asked how we reach out to seekers who may be intimated by such elements of the worship service.  I have understood the Sunday morning worship service to be a celebration by God's people in light of God's work.

When we come together for worship it takes work on our part. The worship service is not the time to have a pep rally but it is the time for liturgy which often is a forgotten service. Liturgy is the people's work in light of God's work.  In the Greek liturgy is translated as the "work of the people."  Unfortunately, the early church's understanding of worship is neglected because we live in a self-seeking culture where parishioners go "church shopping" instead of attending a church where they can serve.  The mentality is one attends church to be served rather than serving with their gifts/graces for ministry.

We want to be a place for seekers, don't get me wrong.  But I rather be Spirit-sensitive than seeker-senstive.  For me there are some nonnegotiables like celebrating Holy Communion every week.  For the past 2,000 years the Eucharist has been the central act of worship so why do we centuries later decide it's not going to speak for itself or make people feel uncomfortable?

My Hood

Our partnership with the local neighborhood association has been very fruitful.  Today was cool because I received an email from the president of the association who is publishing the next newsletter in a month.  She asked me about putting a section for our community dinners.  The association is amazed that we are willing to welcome anybody in our home for a meal.  They know we are Christians and I don't hide the fact that we are starting a church but are not "in your face" about it.  We also talked about partnering to start a neighborhood garden for next summer.  It's amazing how God is connecting many groups of people to spread the word about a bunch of young people who want to make an impact for Christ.

The Kentucky Theater is Ours!

It has been a long search for a worship space.  The past few months or so we have been hosting Tuesday night house worship which has been an awesome time worshiping God through songs, prayers, testimonies, offerings, preaching, and Holy Communion.  Our house has been overcrowded but somehow we have managed to make room by getting rid of the TV and other things that aren't so important.  We were desperately trying to stay in the area.  At first I tried all the local public schools but there was no luck because it's hard to find a janitor who is willing to work on Sundays even though they would get paid like $30 an hour…man I'd cut off my hand for $30 an hour.  Anyway I tried a few storefront properties on Euclid Avenue but parking would have been an issue as well as monthly rent.  My search led me to the Fox building which would have been a pretty swank location but it slipped through our fingers as well.  This search had a lot of ups and downs with many bumps along the way.  I continued to pray about it and realized that God cares about the details, and not only does he care but cares about it more than I do!  When I get frustrated I talk with my boy John Gallaher who for some reason has acted as my prophet for the past two years.  Gallaher told me I should check out the Kentucky Theater.  The very next day I called Fred Mills who is one of the managers at the Kentucky Theater.  A week later I went down to talk with Mr. Mills and checked out the two theaters.  Mr. Mills told me he would contact the other two managers to find out what they wanted to do.  I called back a few days later and Mr. Mills said that the owners of the theater have agreed to rent us the space once a week for a $130 a week, which is much cheaper than any public school!  I think the Kentucky Theater will give us much more exposure to the public.  Everybody thinks it's a cool location but that's not the reason why we are down there.  It's a huge, affordable space with lots of parking, that's about it. 

Thanksgiving Day

The past few years I have not been going home for the holidays.  Don't get me wrong, I miss my family and want to go home but feel the need or have the desire to stay in Lexington (maybe my counseling friends can help me out on this one).  The past few holidays I have spent them with friends and this latest thanksgiving holiday I spent with some of the people from Embrace.  Abigail hosted our dinner and Abigail's mom Debbie and Jenn Courtney's parents who were also in town cooked the meal.  We were thoroughly entertained with Joseph's guitar playing and his friend Steve the magician, who was a big hit!  Also a couple by the name of Louis and Daryl were there that Abigail has been journeying with from the Monday night food and clothing bank for close to a year now.  It was a quite a diverse group made up of believers and unbelievers.  It was an opportunity to not only share a meal but to really share our lives with each other.  I think many people get neglected during the holidays especially if they don't have family close by.  I believe we as the church need to step up and invite people into our world.  Our blood family is important but as we learn from the Scriptures the household of faith is even more important.  As long as my parents don't kill me I desire to stick around Lexington during the holidays to spend it with Embrace people.

Some Soup and a Smile by April Brewer

The other day I went to Panera for lunch.  As I walked to the door I saw people passing a man sitting up against the wall with looks of disdain.  On first glance, I would not assume by his appearance that he was homeless.  When it came my turn to pass him, he looked at me with a blank stare and asked for money.  I kept walking, but then something inside of me said I could do better.  So I turned around, smiled at him and said "Hi!"  The look on his face quickly turned to confusion and he just shook his head. I told him I did not have any money to give him, but if he was hungry he could join me for lunch.  Without hesitation or conversation, he got to his feet and came inside with me.  When we got in line, an older man behind me let out a sigh of disgust and said, "What are you doing?"  I turned around to see him fully appalled by my companion and me.  I tried to stay calm and asked him what he meant.  He looked unapprovingly at the man next to me and said, "You are only perpetuating his laziness!"  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  I retorted by saying he did not know the man next to me.  I was going to try to leave it at that but could not stand how utterly rude and mean his body language was, as if the homeless man had some awful disease.  I looked at the guy in line and said "I guess we just have different philosophies on life."  He took a second and proudly announced, "I work for what I have.  I work so hard I don't have to live off others.  I work hard and deserve the place I am in."  This sparked something in me.  Teary eyed, I responded, "This life is God given.  It is only by grace that we stand here.  No amount of work we do can earn us a higher place in God's eyes.  We were redeemed by a sinless man and a caring God to lead the lives we have been given.  I've been taught that if someone is hungry, you feed them.  If you were hungry, wouldn't you want someone to buy you lunch?"  At this point, the man seemed to shrink away and a woman next to him was now giving him the unapproving stare.  I looked over if he could just go back outside and eat.  I wasn't going to force him to eat with me so I agreed.  Before he left he grabbed my hand and said, "Thanks for actually talking to me.  People ignore me as if saying hello could hurt them.  There should be more people like you."  His name was Joseph.  I walked away feeling good, not because I had done my good deed for the day, but because I actually felt I was being obedient to God.  It was a small thing, but it opened my eyes to what God had to teach me for the day.  As I prayed later, I heard God speak to me, something I have been trying to be mute to for some time.  God taught me that day that I have a heart for people and a love for taking care of others because He loved me first.  The love I have for others is God's love through me.  Man, that is awesome!  All I gave that day was some soup and a smile, think of how much more we can do!

Faith-Sharing At It's Finest

Last night a few of us were on a quest to find a second controller for April's Nintendo WII.  We decided to hit up Meijers and while we were at it pick up some vanilla ice cream for the brownies.  Our trip to the electronics section was an eventful to say the least.  When we first entered I saw Josh who had come to one of our Friday night dinners during the past summer.  He was invited through our mutual friend Scott.  We both recognized each other and he asked me how everything was going with the new church.  I was able to get his number and he wants more info about Embrace.  While I was talking with Josh, everybody else was on the quest for the WII controller.  When I joined them I was cracking a few jokes.  We were all in kind of a silly mood and I start acting goofy especially to annoy Schloemer and Duff.  One of the sales associates was cracking up at us and April said that I was her pastor.  He told her she did not look like the type to go to church.  April asked him what he meant.  He said, "I always thought church was for old, white-haired ladies."  We told them we would stop by again once we knew where our Sunday morning services would be.  On the way home we were reflecting on our experience and April was telling us what the sales associate said about church.  Lauren commented how April shared her faith without even knowing it.  Sometimes the best type of faith sharing we do is done without realizing it.  It just flows out of us naturally.  Even though we are fighting an up-hill battle in America about telling people they need Jesus we know God has promised us a harvest.  We just need to go out and identify who is the harvest.  We might have not planted the seed or even watered it but Jesus tells us it is ready.  Listen to what Jesus says to his disciples in John 4:35, "You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest."  The question is do we really believe the words of Jesus?  The harvest is ready, God's prevenient grace is at work in the hearts and lives of people, the only thing needed are laborers to go out into the harvest field.  People often pray and wait for God to knock them upside the head in order for them to act.  Maybe we need to keep in mind that God desires his followers to be bold faith-sharers and pray where we would fit in that mission…then be willing to ACT!