One and Done

One year ago we showed up at a local apartment complex and hosted an Easter Egg Hunt.  I didn't know what to expect, I just knew God was leading us there.  We were greeted with 83 super excited kids, who probably thought we were there for the day, and they would never see us again.  Huh...I may have thought that, too.  I don't know that we went into this thinking we were forming life long relationships.  But, when I saw Luis who had a bag full of Easter eggs walk up to Litzi who arrived too late for the hunt, and share his eggs with her, I knew I wanted to know more about that servant hearted kid.

Flash forward.....A dozen birthday parties, 6 babies born, homelessness, tears, job loss, behavior plans at school, cancer, deportation, prayer, unexpected pregnancies, dinners, volleyball teams, homework huddle every week, Trick-or-Treating......LIFE.  You see, once was not enough.  We fell in love with these kids, these families, I can't imagine life without them.

Last week I was talking to my friend, Carlos, who had been at one apartment complex for several years.  He was talking about all of the people and groups who had come and gone.  He was somewhat sad as he told me about the various groups he had engaged with.  He talked about the things they did. He talked about the relationships formed and lost.

I thought about the day he moved from this apartment complex to another.  I was devastated...would I ever see him again?  Would he keep in touch and use the cell number I gave him?  It turns out he would and he did.  I've seen several families, my friends, leave, and each time I get a sick feeling in my stomach, like a loss.  The same feeling I had when my friend, Kristie moved when we were in 2nd grade.  She was my first friend who moved away.  I remember that pit in my stomach, how we would write letters, and soon those letters became fewer and farther between, until we lost contact.  

Today I found out one of my newer friends moved.  He and his mom and brothers didn't say good bye.  I didn't even have a clue they were thinking about leaving.  Is this what it felt like to Carlos when a group would come and do a "one and done" activity?  I'm not trying to knock those groups who do a one time activity.  Sometimes those things are necessary, but when you start doing LIFE with people and you realize you are in it for the long haul, you are subject to hurt.  

So I've realized it is extremely important to follow through with your intentions.  People are not projects. In God's eyes, we are all created equally.  To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.  Jesus also wants a relationship with us.  He wants us to be in relationship with HIS people, all of HIS people.  Next time you think about doing something for someone, be intentional.  Reach out to them again and again.  Do life with them.  Sometimes it can be messy, but when they become your people, you know you are living out what Jesus would want you to do.  

1 John 3:18   Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Three Pennies....

Three Pennies.......
Have you ever wondered why people don't go to church?   What do you look for in a church?  Is it the coffee bar?  Is it the amazing worship music with drums and guitars? Is it the flashy sermons, children's programs, or having the chance to dress up on a Sunday?

What if some of theses things are what prohibits "the least of these" the people Jesus instructs us to reach out to, from going to church?  I met a man this weekend when I had the opportunity to attend a "house church" in Arlington, Texas.  This house church was located in an apartment within an apartment community.  This little congregation of 30 was so very welcoming and surprisingly excited to see this group of strangers from Kansas.  When I had the opportunity to chat with this man, Paul, he told me he loved his church.  He said he never felt like he could go to the big churches in Arlington.  He didn't own a suit and a tie, and just didn't feel like he belonged there.  He told me that people in his apartment complex had been inviting him for years to come, but he had this pre-conceived notion about what church was.  When he showed up wearing jeans, he was welcomed in to this congregation and has been coming every Sunday since.

How many people don't come to church because when faced with passing the offering plate, they cringe because they don't have anything to put in the plate?  They pass it ever so slyly to the left, and hope the person behind or beside them don't judge them for not being able to contribute that day.

At this "House Church" everyone is given three pennies when they arrive.  EVERYONE.....you may choose to keep the pennies, or at the time when you are invited to the front to place offering in the basket, you may add one, two, three, or none to the basket.  When we brought up the rear of the line to add our three pennies, my heart melted at the sight.  There were many $1 bills in the basket, spare change, not just pennies.   Everyone brought their 5 loaves and 2 Fishes...No one was embarrassed, no one watched who was putting what in.  It was truly honoring to God.  Because, you see, no one here was writing a check, and what they were tithing probably hurt them more financially, than our tithe hurts us.  But they were giving what they decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, as God instructs us to do in 2 Corinthians 9:7.  

I go to an amazing church.  Our church family "goes" to a local apartment complex every week for Homework Huddle, we are starting bible studies in homes, we are serving many families with what God has bestowed upon us as our Time, Treasure and Talents.  And if you visit our church, it is rare that you don't get a giant hug from a greeter or one of the ushers, stranger or member alike.

The gentleman who sits in front of us many Sundays, wears a tank top and shorts, another guy always wears t-shirts and has a visible tattoo of our Lord and Savior on his arm.  Everyone is welcome here.

This weekend really brought it to my attention that what happens at my church is probably not what the perception of the poor and the needy are thinking about my church.

So how do we let them know?  We let them know by our LOVE.  We GO, to them, we ask them if they would like to discover God's plan for their life.  We meet them where they are.  It is not a project, it is not a "one and done" serving opportunity.  It is about doing life with them.  

  “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth” (1 John 3:17–18).

When I set out on this adventure at a local apartment complex I had no idea what to expect.  but it is my family and I who have truly been blessed by the families, and people....our friends, we have met. 

I want to invite you to come along....What is God urging you to do with your time, treasure and talent?  
Do you have three pennies you can bring??