Summer Day Camp: Year 5

Who's in the house?! JESUS!

Click, click! WE DON'T QUIT!

You ain't hype? YOU AIN'T HYPE!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to summer! The exclamations above and many more have become standard vernacular for us, our volunteers, and about 70 kids as we've launched into our fifth year of Summer Day Camp.

Though we are still at the start of Camp. I am convinced that this will be the best year yet. We have added a music and a sports station this year. We are teaching nutrition lessons that supplement snack time. Our volunteer and staff team is stronger and more connected to the community than ever before. And the theme of "The King and Me" is fully integrated into the decor, the Bible lessons, the education times, and dance station.

On the first day, I stuck my head outside thirty minutes before the start to realize we already had a line forming. And by 20 minutes into registration we were already putting kids on the waiting list as our capacity (and then some) had already been fulfilled. While this is certainly a good problem to have, it is also a heartbreaking problem as kid after kid and parent after parent had to be told, "Sorry . . ." 

It illustrates our need for more space, so that next year we won't have to turn kids away at the door. As it stands now there's a full room of kids behind me, plus over 20 students on a waiting list, plus others whom we have had to tell that even our waiting list is full. Our prayer is that next year we can have a camp with an increased capacity running out of our own facility!

As the kids have filtered in, its always great to see a collection of new faces, returning faces, and extremely familiar faces. There are campers returning who have been gone for two years. There are campers who were a part of our after school program previously, moved away, and have come back for Summer Day Camp. And of course we have campers who are with us every day for two:fiftytwo at SDC sharing that experience with a whole bunch of extra friends.

Our hope and our prayer is that this Camp is full of the students who will be the future leaders of our community. Will you join us in praying that this camp would be a place where:

• Students encounter Christ in meaningful ways?
• Long term relationships are formed that lead to year-round involvement in our after school program, our middle school program, and the church plant?
• leaders from Brentwood and for Brentwood are developed?

Why I Believe

"I do it [believe] because the thing [Christianity] has not merely told this truth or that truth, but has revealed itself as a truth-telling thing. All other philosophies say the things that plainly seem to be true; only this philosophy has again and again said the thing that does not seem to be true, but is true." - G.K. Chesterton (Orthodoxy, 166)

When the truth of Christianity began to dawn on me, it wasn't the result of emotionalism. It wasn't the result of soul-wrenching guilt. Nor was it the result of mounting evidence that my rationality couldn't counter.

It was an ever-growing heap of claims that were simultaneously too bad to be true and too good to be true. A set of ideas that made me say, "That's unbelievable . . . but I believe it."

Christianity is exactly the type of thing that no one would make up.

It's a theistic philosophy . . . where the deity dies.

It's a philosophy where humanity is solely to blame for all the world's ills, problems, and injustices . . . yet the deity chooses to love, redeem, restore, and rescue that humanity.

That's incomprehensible.

Yet, as Chesterton puts it, I believe it because it has "revealed itself as a truth-telling thing."

No system, no government, no brain chemistry, no philosophy can give a better explanation for why the world is the way it is. Why injustice persists? Why my own heart plots unjustly? Why I have a mental concept of "justice"?

No system, no government, no brain chemistry, no philosophy can give a better explanation for my desires. Why do I long for a "different" world? Why do I hope for a future where wrongs will be made right? Why do I have a concept of "right"?

I could go on for days. But, to the point, the more I look at the world and at myself the more the story of Christianity becomes not just plausible, but likely.

* * *

A long time ago, in a garden, God gave a man a command about a tree and the man disobeyed.

Two thousand years ago, in a garden, God gave a Man a command about a tree, but the Man, obeyed, hung on a Tree and died.

The Second Man's obedience has righted the first man's failure. It's the type of thing that does not seem to be true.

But it is.

Answers to 2011 Christmas Letter

Thank you for undertaking the challenge of my 2011 Christmas Letter Final Examination for NET 252: The Life and Time of Marc Nettleton.

Below you will find the answers and a grading scale. Best of luck.

Multiple Choice: (8 points per answer)

1. This year Marc switched roles and became director of an after school program within the ministry. Which of his previous jobs most prepared him for daily work with 7-10 year olds?

Correct Answer: A. Puppeteer - It turns out the skills required to take a top puppet from a small child are also useful to coerce a child into completing their homework.

2. After a six-plus month process Marc purchased a house in September. Which of the following may suggest Marc’s newly constructed house is from the 1960s rather than the present?

Correct Answer: D. All of the Above - Two of my first purchases were a record player and manual lawnmower while the combination of a bad housing market and rough neighborhood lowered the purchase price over 50%.

3. In Jacksonville, what temperature did one of Marc’s friends consider “too cold” to stay for the 4th quarter of a football game? (I’m still a Northerner. Don’t worry!)

Correct Answer: B. 58 degrees. I will tell you I'm becoming less capable of tolerating cold temperatures, but I'll never, ever reach that level.

4. In three months of home ownership, which previously enigmatic skill has Marc not learned?

Correct Answer: B. Blacktopping. Unfortunately, I have learned a little bit about wiring, plumbing, and fixing doors, but with a concrete driveway I will be unlikely to be blacktopping anytime soon.

5. In the past 6 months of working with kids, which skill has Marc not learned?

Correct Answer: C. How not to break kickballs. While re-learning phonics rules, talking to parents, and driving large vans have been picked up, I have broken no less than 4 kickballs on trees, fences, etc.

Matching (24 total points)

Match Marc's Job Title to the months of 2011.

Correct Answers:

January to May Intern Director

June to July Multipurpose Director

July to August Summer Day Camp Director

September to present After School Program Director

Photo Differentiation

I've got no way to score this so just go ahead and give yourself as many points as you'd like.

Grading Scale

0-15 Too bad I'm not grading on a curve . . .

16-30 Better luck next year

31-50 Adequate

51-65 A strong effort

66+ I'm concerned that you're stalking me

Thanks so much!

Burglary and Grace

Early Sunday afternoon I walked into my house and it felt colder than usual. Being from the North, I see no reason for houses in Florida to be outfitted with heat so, of course, my heat wasn't on, but still it was colder than typical inside my recently acquired home.

I got a step and a half inside when I looked up and saw it.

Straight back through the living room is a hallway that runs the length of the house, culminating in the back porch door. That door was swung wide open with two busted, wooden pieces of the door frame on the carpet and the door's molding hanging on by a thread tilted inward at a 45 degree angle.

I'd had a break-in.

In my two plus years living in the inner city, I've gotten off pretty easy. Maybe had a pair of headphones or two stolen and that's it. I lived with an awareness that something like this could happen, but rarely thought about it or my hypothetical reaction to it.

Within seconds though, I began to process it. I didn't like what I found. While I searched the house checking for important items and documents and assessing the damage, my heart immediately began making accusations, lining up the suspects, indicting individuals, groups, and the neighborhood as a whole.

None of it was commendable. None of it was helpful. All of it was ugly.

My primary heart attitudes were bitterness and anger. These were very inward emotions. As is typical, I'd bet a collection of my best friends could not come up with five total times they had collectively seen me angry. And even though the bitterness and anger were totally internal and not being outwardly expressed at all, by mid-afternoon I could feel them eating away at me inside.

Resentment, even against an unknown person, does nothing but hurt yourself.

I knew it. I knew I had to let it go. I knew I had to forgive said unknown person, but I didn't want to.

For hours, I was very keenly aware of everything going on inside of me, the bitterness building into anger and from there exposing materialism, faithlessness, worry, self-righteousness, and pride. All of it very ugly. All of it sin. All of it inexcusable.

And even though, I was aware of it, even though I knew my lack of forgiveness would and was only hurting myself, it took until midnight for me to make any attempt to move towards forgiveness.

So, late in the night, I stepped out my back door onto the spot from where the intruder pounded in my door. First, I repented of my own junk. A lengthy process, because while I was telling God about my bitterness, asking Him to change me, and thanking Him for his forgiveness of my sin, I'd catch myself having a prideful thought, then confess, that, but catch myself in a mental image of punching someone in the face . . . and so on and so forth.

It took awhile to deal with me. And thankfully, I'm not the one who had to deal with me, because my old self has already been dealt with on a cross, crucified, and declared dead (see the last post).

After a lengthy time spent in prayer about my issues, I moved to the forgiveness.

And I knew I, by my own strength, wasn't about to forgive anyone for this, so I sent out the following text to 14 guys, "Fellas, quick prayer request. Someone broke into my house this morning. This second, I'm standing at the door they kicked in trying to forgive them, I want to release it, but its not easy. Can you pray for me to forgive? This isn't a cry for sympathy but a request that my own darkness would be overcome!"

I then set my phone down because I knew the flood of responses I was about to receive from across the country would be a distraction to my task at hand and started talking to God.

I had to repent a few more times as my old man's dead, but somehow still persuasive, heart was at work, but eventually brought myself to pray for the guy. I asked God to show him grace, a grace that would powerfully work in his heart, exposing attitudes and motives not just outward actions. I asked that God would work change in his life at a heart level the same way he had been working into my life all afternoon.

I asked that the Lord would give him the same grace that he had given me.

And then, I was ready, I physically held out my right hand turned my closed fist so my palm was facing downward and extended my fingers, opening my hand.

I released the offense.

I let it go.

Then I asked God to convict me of it as sin if I were ever to pick it back up again (which He has several times since then).

And I felt free.

When I picked my phone up off the cold, slightly wet concrete, I read my many text responses. One of them quoted 1 Peter 2, it was perfect:

But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 'He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore out sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

It's Not About You

"For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me, the life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me" - Galatians 2:20

What it says:

For I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me

What it doesn't say:

For Christ died and now it's up to me to pay him back and live well and be a good guy.

For Christ died and I've got to do my part.

For Christ died and my efforts are now needed to complete his work.

What it means:

Obviously, I'm still alive (unless this is all a very convincing "Sixth Sense" situation) but at the same time a part of me is now dead. When Christ went to the cross, he died, but not only Christ, this verse says I, too, was crucified with Him. Specifically, my old life, my old self, my former way of living was crucified, killed, and dispelled along with Him.

The "I" who now lives in this temporal body is not the "I" who was crucified. That self is gone forever. Killed. Crucified. Removed. Gone.

Therefore, anything and everything I do can be done out of a new self, a new man, in whom sin has forever been displaced.

The old man is dead. Dead folks don't act. Dead folks don't talk. Dead folks don't think or have motives or choose or try hard. They're dead.

What it says:

The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God

What it doesn't say:

My current life is therefore meaningless

My current life is therefore determined

My current life needs to shape up so I'll act more like Jesus

What it means:

The old man is dead, but as I live as the new man, there's work to be done, there's life to be lived. But, all the difference in the world is here, it is not a life for me to live and it is not work for me to do.

Rather, he has already done it. My sole role is in the word FAITH. Just as justification comes by faith, so too does sanctification. Christ has done it. My self is dead. I don't try harder. No, not at all. I instead look to the one who has accomplished all. I turn in faith to him who is always faithful. I turn to him who has already lived a sinless life and credited it fully to my account apart from and unconnected to any of my own merit.

By faith, I appropriate His life.

What it says:

. . . who loved me and gave himself for me.

What it doesn't say:

. . . who loved me and died as an example of how much I should love other people.

. . . who loved me and died to prove he loves me.

. . . who loved me because I'm awesome.

What it means:

He loves us. It's not about us. If he didn't love us, he wouldn't give himself for us. His love motivates his action, but his action is wholly independent of me because I am wholly unworthy and without him I am wholly unholy.

Thanks be to God his love is about him and not about me.

None of it is about me.

My right living? Nope. He's already done it.

My efforts? Nope. His are totally sufficient.

My lovableness? Nope. He loves me in spite of my narcissism, not because of it.

It's all about him.

And when we begin the grasp this (and return to this Truth when we wander) we begin to understand that this is the only way to really live.

Especially when you're dead.

Bird's Can't Talk

(originally, a post I wrote for our ministry's blog)

"Ha! Bird's can't talk!" he excitedly blurted out. In an instant, my view of the boy was transformed.

The third grade boy and I were reading a story book together at two:fiftytwo, 2nd Mile's new after school program, the he saw a picture with a speech bubble coming from the mouth of a bird. It was a quick reminder of who these kids really are.

No matter what's going on at home . . .

No matter how many times I ask before they seem to listen . . .

No matter how rough the neighborhood, school, or family they come from . . .

These are still kids. And to a kid, a talking bird is hilarious.

Furthermore, these are kids made in the image of God, who we have been given the opportunity to engage with the Gospel and a clear picture of Christ. What a tremendous honor and grace!

If you want to know more about two:fiftytwo and how you can partner with us, check out our page here: http://www.2ndmile-jax.com/twofiftytwo/

Update

It's fun to look back.

I originally started this blog as a way to update people on my summer internship with 2nd Mile Ministries in Jacksonville back in 2007. Then after a couple post-internship posts it sat idle for 2 years and lo and behold I returned the Jacksonville and resurrected the blog (in fact, Thursday marks the 2 year anniversary of my moving to Florida).

For the past year or so, this has mostly been a place for past reflections and theo-philosophical musings rather than up-to-date life updates, and this has been intentional for a number of reasons, but tonight's probably a good time to give y'all an update, because today was a big day.

Almost a year after the idea was first surfaced, today we started our 5 day a week after school program!

In the past year, I've visited programs as far as 6 hours south and 12 hours North, read more books than I'd have liked, and spent far too many hours staring at manila folders and computer screens, but it's real now. It's very, very real.

Our program is called the two:fiftytwo After School Program and the link will tell you more about it.

Today was pretty great. It went better and smoother than any of us had predicted. The attitudes were terrific. Three kids said "Yea!" when I announced it was time to start homework. Rules were generally followed. Recreation time was tiring and warm.

At the same time, I'm still keenly aware that I am by no means an expert at education, program leadership, or management, but I am more excited and ready to gradually learn and grow in that process today than I've ever been before.

In fact, I've often told people that I am not passionate about working with elementary aged kids, but today, I could see the possibility that I could open up to that and actually do this for awhile. That feel weird to type.

Good thing though . . . because I'm buying a house on Friday.

There's your update!

P.S. For fans of my Biblical commentary and musings on various geographical locales, I'm gon' get back in rhythm here eventually. Don't fret!

"That hurt . . . woo hoo!"

The other night I was sitting outside at a coffee shop and down the street there was a mother teaching her 9 year old son to skateboard. I love this image, by the way, he would wobbily roll down the road on his skateboard with his mom trailing behind on hers. If he started to lean, in one swift movement, his mother would push off the ground, catch up, and hold him back up in the right direction. With every car that went by on the cross street, the son would yell in a nervous voice, "They're turning, they're turn . . . oh, nevermind."

It was awesome.

On one occasion, I was looking down when I heard wheels slip and a loud smack. A solid, thwack sound. I looked up and the boy's skateboard was good distance away and he was face first on the ground. He'd bit it pretty good.

It was silence for a moment and then as his concerned mother asked, "Are you ok?", there was a brilliant response.

Still facefirst, still stuck to the place where he's been thrown down to on the pavement, the boy matter-of-factly stated, "That hurt. . . . Woo hoo!"

And with that, he got back up and chased down his skateboard.

I want to be like that.

If you don't know, I'm a huge proponent of hardship and suffering. I strongly believe that comfort, convenience, and familiarity will often block the things God wants to reveal in our lives. If we want to grow, it's going to be uncomfortable, inconvenient, unfamiliar, challenging, and yes, painful.

However, when I get thrown on the pavement, even though I'm a hardship monger, I don't respond with anticipation, I don't respond with faithfulness, I certainly don't say, "Woo hoo!"

But, the kid, he gets it. Yes, its a simple example, but if he's not going to learn to fall off that skateboard, he's never going to ride it.

So here's to you 9 year old. Way to own me in life preparedness!

Cynicism and the King

The message of the Bible can be summed up as so:

An omnibenevolent God's perfect world was trashed, but that God entered the story as a Man, lived a perfect life, died the death we deserved, and will return to reign. To reign as a King in a Kingdom. It's His world. He gets to run it.

Here's the problem, I often fail to remember the last half of that story. I don't remember the King and the Kingdom that is to come. I think about my problems, my actions, my attempts to live for Him.

And that doesn't work.

That just leads me to a place of doubt, and skepticism, and burnout, and cynicism. I'm really good at cynicism. I could ruin your best day. And while I'd like to claim its because I have a firm handle on "the truth" and "how it really is" and "life", that's not true.

Cynicism doesn't arise out of truth. It doesn't come out of some rational argument. Actually, my cynicism is the single most irrational thing I find myself believing. Ask my best friend for examples of some of the ridiculous junk I've brought to him.

There's no place for cynicism when we have promises like this from Revelation 21:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

That's the King and that's the Kingdom. This is the promise of God, the true story, that I need to hear. And when I hear this story, when I remember this story, it's easy for me to say, "Yeah, I agree with that."

When we get the King right (in the here and now), we'll see the Kingdom begin to play out (yes, even now).

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of Yahweh, our God.

They are brought to their knees and fall,

but we rise up and stand firm.

O, Yahweh [the True King], save the king [the lowercase king]!

Answer us when we call!

Psalm 20:7-9

Onward and Upward

It has been awhile since I wrote a general update on here. So, here it is.

2nd Mile Ministries is in the midst of a shift. Our early focus was on teenage youth and the past few months have seen a change in that entire dynamic. We knew we wanted to move younger, which first meant, middle school, so we began planning for that, then younger still, so 5th grade. But that lasted about a week before we very clearly saw our opportunities and that our direction needed to go even younger.

So, our focus is now set on planning for a 5-day a week after school program to begin next fall for grades K-2. This is a dramatic shift. Especially, when none of our staff members feel particularly called or gifted in working with that age group.However, we are all in agreement that this is the age and direction God is clearly leading us towards.

So, I've been visiting similar ministries around the region to glean information from them and lay the groundwork for next fall's program (which by the way, if you know someone who may be interested in a yearlong internship with 2nd Mile, contact me!).

Soon we will begin to spread the word about our plans in order to have a community meeting to truly get input about what the community needs and is looking for in an after school program. This should be good.

Otherwise, the other big news is that two weeks ago we hosted our 2nd Annual Challenge Circle Super Bowl. It was a good time. The Yellow Team were the big winners and our halftime show featured a rap performance and lesson taught by Jacksonville Jaguar (and elementary ed. major) Aaron Kampman (yes, he was on the Packers for those of you who get excited about that kind of thing, especially right now).

It was also exciting to see our D-group (D is for discipleship) students step up and help out in a big way. Below are some pictures from the day!

Pearls and Fields

Does my life proclaim that Jesus is the Savior?

This is the question I found myself asking myself at church a couple Sundays ago. The elder was leading a simple time before offering communion and asked us to ask that question.

It's a good question.

So I asked it.

And the answer is important, but more important is why I (and you) should desire for the answer to be yes.

It's found in two simple parables that Jesus tells back-to-back in just three verses in the book of Matthew.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Mt. 13:44-46)

There's no need for in-depth exegesis here (or at least not from me). I'm going to apply the old, read the Bible like a 12 year-old rule here.

In the first story, a man discovers a great treasure and seeing its value decides it is worth it to sell everything he has to attain that treasure. In comparison, all he owns is less valuable than that treasure, so he chases after the treasure and buys the field. Jesus says the Kingdom he's bringing (the promise of the Gospel) is like that.

In the second story, a merchant knows what he's looking for. He finds it. It is so valuable and of such great worth that he sells everything he has for that pearl. In comparison, all he owns is less valuable than that pearl. So, he makes an obvious trade, that of less value, for that of more value. Jesus says the Kingdom he's bringing is like that.

Jesus' promise is one of great value and he calls us to live radically for that treasure.

He is what's valuable and important.

Not money.

Not time.

Not desires.

Not ministry.

Not leisure.

Not work.

Not pleasure.

Not self.

Not sex.

Not relationships.

Not possessions.

Not religiosity.

He is worth it! He is worth my whole life! My priorities! My time! My giving up my rights! My loving when I'd rather not!

He is worth it.

(more on this thought to come)

These things take time

I like salsa.

A lot.

For a couple months now, I've been toying with the idea of planting a small garden to grow salsa-producing vegetables. However, not for a second do I expect the empty pots on my porch to suddenly sprout tomatoes, peppers, and wonderfully delicious cilantro.

That would be foolish.

No, I've got work ahead of me. I need to get dirt. To plant. To water. Then I need to wait. And wait.

And wait.

These things take time.

You don't get a garden overnight.

I'd be a fool to think I could.

However, I fail to apply that same principle to so many other parts of my life.

I expect to grow without a waiting process. I expect to perfect my leadership skills overnight. I expect lives and futures in my neighborhood to shift drastically in a moment.

But that's not how it works. These things take time.

I need to grasp this truth strongly right now in particular as 2nd Mile takes a path that I'm near certain is the most effective, most long-lasting, and best way forward . . . but is not on the timeline I would prefer.

People much more experienced and smarter than me have said inner city ministry will not show results for 12 to 15 years. I can accept that. At least theoretically.

But, I want to do it on my terms. I want the theory without the practice. If the best path to our vision is to shift drastically back and work with 1st through 3rd graders, I can accept the idea, but the practice is hard for me.

I want results now. I want to work out of my strengths. I want to do the kinds of things I feel I'm most passionate and most excited about, but more than that.

Much more than that.

I want to see lives in this neighborhood transformed.

I want to see cycles of poverty broken.

I want to see healthy families. Jobs. Stability. Emotional health. Kids growing up as kids without drama and violence and addiction and absentee parents.

I want to see disciples of Christ lead in a place where drug dealers are seen as neighborhood leaders.

And if I'm motivated by the long-term vision. I'm willing to wait. I'm willing to work where I feel unprepared for the sake of getting to that place.

I don't know how, but I am confident that He, who works out everything according to His Good Purpose, is in every step. And even if my logic doesn't accept that as good enough, it is.

It's more than enough.

Lil' Update (like a rapper name)

As summer meanders to a close and fall approaches, things change here for me and for 2nd Mile.

In less than two weeks, the house has shrunk from 11 residents to 3. All the interns have left, except two, who are staying for the year.

We are suddenly done with our Summer Day Camp, which had consumed the vast majority of both my hours and my mental capacity.

So, no camp, no interns (well, two). What's next? That's the big question.

Some things are certain. Our youth programming with high school aged students will continue. I will still live in the neighborhood. I'll still make copies and run checks to the bank. And soon school will start again and I'll be developing new relationships in (hopefully) a few different schools. But many things are up in the air.

It brings on an exciting season. A juncture of uncertainty and with it, many, many opportunities to trust God, which ultimately is for the good: Because I am certain that His plan is always better than my plan and new risky steps are a tremendous opportunity to live by faith trusting His power rather than my own.

"Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God." - 2 Corinthians 3:5

Stay tuned in the coming weeks as some of these changes play out. Also, check out 2nd Mile's new, much more aesthetically pleasing website: 2ndmile-jax.com.

One Year

July 15th 2009 I woke up early after not sleeping much the night before amidst packing, 2 yuan worth of bai jiu, and final chances for some fellowship with some of my favorite people on earth. I got on a plane in Asia at 12:00 noon that plane arrived in San Fransisco13 hours later at 12:30 pm (that's no typo).

I wandered around that airport for a couple hours. Reading every sign. Noticing that I was keenly aware of every conversation surrounding me (they were all speaking ENGLISH!). I ordered a coffee drink in English with huge goofy smile on my face and paid with American money.

It was the most surreal two hours of my life.

I had that goofy smile glued on my face the whole time, not because I was particularly happy, I had no idea what to make of all the emotions in side of me. It was a smile of confusion. I had no idea what was going on, so I just smiled and rolled with it.

Its been a year.

On the plane, while taxiing my last words I wrote in that country were a prayer for my brothers and sisters there. For their campus. For their city. That it would all shine for Him.

今天我再次祷告。

David

I sometimes fear that my life is becoming increasingly self-focused.

Not so much that I'm ruled by a blatant selfishness, but that I'm constantly looking to my agenda. My to-do list. My needs. My claims.

The focus is on the tasks I need to accomplish and the goals I have set for that given period of time.

And then comes an interruption. And I hate interruptions. They throw off my plan, they throw off my goals, they are not part of my agenda. But what I've learned is that God is a big fan of working through these interruptions.

So, the other day, I was driving along headed towards a task I was very eager to accomplish. I was even excited as I pulled up to a stop sign did my 92% stop and in my peripheral vision caught the image of a man in an electric wheelchair on the side of the road.

. . . and as I began to pull forward I for the briefest moment I saw him push the tiny black joystick of the wheelchair forward . . . and not move an inch.

Immediately, I felt a near sense of dread. Within 3 seconds, I tried to convince myself he was fine, rejected that thought, and wished I'd just kept my eyes straight forward. So I looped around the next block and drove by again, just to check. And sure enough, he was sill in the same place, but I kept going and decided to do one more loop, just to make sure. And, of course, he was still there.

So this time, I pulled up and asked him if he was stuck and in a grizzled voice he told me he was and that I could go up two blocks to a store and ask someone he knew there to help him out.

So, I went on ahead, found the person and who told me he'd make a couple phone calls and take care of it. Then as I was about to leave the man turned and said to me, "His name is David."

Interruptions have names.

And his name is David.

I went back to tell David that his friend was coming and David started telling me how he got there. David, 50 years old with a gray beard, mumbled something about "she's going to be angry at me." David told me that the night before he'd gotten drunk then been trying to ride home but he ran into a curb and fell out of his chair onto the street. So David slept in the gutter until 7 am when a cop woke him up.

David looked the part of someone who'd slept on the curb. His pants were only about 3/4ths up. There was a strong scent of urine. David had several visible wounds in various stages of healing. And it was 10 am in Florida in the sun, so it was hot.

I asked David if there was a way I could push his wheelchair into the shade at least and after about 7 minutes of searching for the lever underneath the motor I found the "push mode", but it was not what I expected. I began to push, then pushed harder, then harder, and soon had my whole body weight leaned against the chair at a 45 degree angle and the chair began to inch forward. Instantly, I was covered in sweat, but within a couple minutes I had gotten David into the shade.

So David and I continued to make small talk for a couple minutes while I was totally preoccupied by questions I wasn't going to ask (but probably should have). What is his life like? How did it get this way? What does he need in this situation? What is the most loving thing to do? What time is it?

I can't give you any good answers to those first four questions, but I know I wish I hadn't been asking the fifth one.

So, David and I chatted. I asked if there was anything else I could do. Told him I couldn't buy him a beer (even though in that heat it sounded like a pretty good idea) and said God bless.

Chances are good that I will see David again. And its a certainty that very soon I'll be surrounded by more interruptions with names. I don't know what I'll say, I don't know what I'll do, but my prayer is that I'll turn to the One who loved me when I was gross and homeless and in a gutter, that I would receive His love and let it reflect off of me to others.

That we would increasingly be recipients and reflectors of the love of the Great Shepherd of the Sheep.

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." Hebrews 13:20-21

Tennis, Gunshots, and Fireworks

The past three nights members of our team have gone out to a nearby park to play tennis under the lights. It has revealed several things.

1. I'm not quite ready to take on Roger Federer.

2. Humidity will suffice to make it plenty hot even when the sun is down.

3. Our neighborhood needs prayer.

Last night, in particular, was marked by a morbid, unpleasant game. When you hear a loud noise you ask yourself, "Was that gunshots or fireworks?" Thankfully last night, I think all of the pops were fireworks, but I'm not entirely sure.

Adding another level, even at 11 PM there were still plenty of elementary aged kids playing in the park totally unfazed by the noises, either because they're accustomed to it or have been playing the "Is that fireworks?" game for years.

Which is a game no 10 year old should be skilled at.

Nor should a 10 year old know the rules of creating a cycle of violence, where you don't call the police, because you equally believe they don't care and want to seek "justice" on your own.

But more than anything, this clarifies to me that this is where I want to be. Where there's gunshots and injustice and chaos, Christ followers should move in. The Church needs to be in those places.

My hope is not in this world, but in a God who has promised to return to make all things right and in light of this promise, Christ followers are free to ditch the demands of culture and lifestyle as we live for a different world.

And better yet, we don't therefore, give up on the pain and injustice and hopelessness around us, but we move towards it, we take it on, because the Church is called to be a preview of that which is to come!

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In the line of this thinking, check out this song by a really talented guy named Trip Lee who just released his new album this week (lyrics below).

Verse 1:

Creation's groaning, lost their hope and feel they always closed in Lots to cope with, on the ropes, wish they was in the open This broken world is so dim, our souls are searching, groping For one with hope to hold us close, and set goodness in motion I remember growing up in Dallas, I thought me and my close kin Was more than straight, our folks was great ,not broke that paper flowed in Not boasting man, just saying in my brain I didn't know then That all went wrong, and it just can't go right like a broke pen My mind was blind and cloaked in, but then that foolishness departed I saw this thing's an ocean, and we just tryna swim real far but But can't nobody float when we ain't got boats or no fins We need a hero to go in, cause our solutions don't win Education can't fix it, more dough just leads to more sin Medicine is temporary, government seems so thin With all these weighty problems, that ain't shrinking they just growing Who's adequate to save us, how about He knew no sin?


Hook:
Like a G5 yeah you rushed to rescue me Took a cross in exchange for a throne to save me You began the work and I know you'll finish And make all things right when you come back Cause you're my hero, you already saved the day Cause you're my hero, and I know you're coming back for me

Verse 2:
Follow the steps bro, Adam sinned now we all dead so We gotta sentence on our head like death row, everything is wrecked All creation is a mess bro, In the fullness of time, in steps the hero no red cloak, He's Jesus No flashing lights, glitz n glam, and no cameras He came to serve needy folks, and point them to the answer You see Him healing, feeding folks, and telling them the standard Our most basic need is to be ransomed by Jesus It has first place, yeah we separated in the worst ways Even physically peep how the earth quakes Separated socially, murder and the worst rapes Even separated from ourselves, we in the worst state It's so major, that's the reason that we need a Savior Cause the root of needs is separation from Creator, Jesus came humbly to restore us to our maker And later He'll restore all that He made bruh, He's Jesus


Verse 3:
God is not pleased man, it's clear that His standards missed The world is running rampant with, sin it's an abandonment Man is feeling stranded, feeling hopeless since his banishment God is angry at the distortion and the mismanagement Evil is at work, but don't be thinking He can't handle it He promised He would do away with all of it, dismantle it He's put up with this damage in His world, but He's promised us That He'll destroy all His enemies and then He'll walk with us New Heaven, new Earth that's where all His sheep dwell Cause Jesus succeeded in every part of life that we failed Died the death we couldn't die, paid our price with 3 nails Began the work He promised, in the end we all will be well Already beat our enemies and when His Kingdom's realized All those who oppose Him will see Jesus with some real eyes Deliverance is offered us, the hero He is urging us Salvation is exclusive to His people who have turned to trust

Back!

The hood feels like home. How about that for a variation on the American dream?

Today marks two weeks since I got back to Jacksonville and its been incredible to be back. Here's a run down of things I've enjoyed, encountered, and been encouraged by:

• A house filled with myself, nine interns, and a summer staff member. Always something going on. Meetings, planning, office work, and spontaneous dance parties. Today saw the creation of a new game called tri-pong (extreme table tennis).
• The South. I like the South (but I'm still very proud that the North won the war, don't get me wrong). Waffle House. Sweet Tea. Chick-fil-a. Killing cockroaches. Love it.
• Humility. Return to Brentwood means playing basketball . . . inducing humility.
• Madison! Two of our interns are Badgers. You can't shut us down. We're everywhere.
• Visitors. Seeing the neighbors, seeing the kids at Bible study.
• Spiritual Multiplication! Charting out 2 Timothy 2:2 for our d-group guys and challenging them to each lead Bible study for a week this summer and teach each other. Seeing them excitedly respond and want to take on the challenge.
• Summer Day Camp. We're prepping for 5 weeks for the 5 to 12 year olds in our neighborhood.
• Andrew A. Robinson Elementary. I've loved getting to go back to the school I've been volunteering at all year.

All in all, its great to be back. Eh?