Hero Stories

Every Wednesday at Spirit Club Rachel or I tell the children a hero story.  I think I have gotten more out of these stories than the kids! I see what a difference faith makes in the life of an ordinary, imperfect person.  Here are some of the best ones if you are looking for some juicy spiritual role models:

George Washington Carver – George Washington Carver (God inspires former slave to help his people through science) 

Elias Chacour – Blood Brothers (God leads Palestinian who lost his home to start interfaith school)

 Gandhi – The Story of My Experiments with Truth (God leads Gandhi to reform himself and his country)

 Helen Keller – The Story of My Life (deaf-blind woman discovers faith as a young adult)

 Esther Kim – If I Perish (Korean refuses to bow before WWII Shinto shrine)

 Martin Luther King – I Have a Dream (God helps civil right leader apply gospel)

 Deborah Moore – Same Kind of Different as Me (God leads wife to connect her wealthy Texan husband to a homeless man)

 John Newton – Once Blind or John Newton (God saves a misguided slave trader)

 John Rucyahana – Bishop of Rwanda (God calls Anglican Bishop to reconcile Hutus and Tutsis)

 St Francis – Little Flowers or The Life of St Francis of Assisi (young soldier gives up life of privilege to be a traveling preacher / faith community leader)

 St Patrick – St Patrick of Ireland (British man gives up home to tell Irish about Jesus)

 Joni Erickson Tada – Joni (young teen learns to accept being paralyzed)

 Corrie Ten Boon – The Hiding Place (Dutch Christian goes to Nazi concentration camp)

 Mother Teresa – Mother Teresa (nun called to serve poor and dying of Calcutta)

 Harriet Tubman – Harriett Tubman (conductor on the underground railroad)

 William Wilberforce – Amazing Grace (campaigns to end slavery in England)

 Brother Yun – Heavenly Man (persecuted pastor of illegal house churches in China)

Content in All Church-planting Circumstances

Content in All Church-planting Circumstances

 

I love the Apostle Paul even though he said nonsensical and sexist things like “women will be saved through childbirth.”  I love Paul because he’s a regular guy who was actually transformed by Christ.   Like Paul, I find church planting to be a good way to transform an attitude of want into an attitude of contentment.  Paul said,

 

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (Philippians 4: 11b-12)

 

 

 

Plenty of volunteers and visitors at our first service!

 

As I have worked so hard to start this new church for Christ, I have known need and plenty too.  First the plenty:

-                     God guiding me

-                     members, staff, donors, and volunteers who share the vision for a new kind of church

-                     a generous husband

-                     an assistant who compensates for my weaknesses and is fun to work with

-                     really good actors who make me smile and laugh

-                     a humble artistic director with talent and taste

-                     AV guys who come an hour early

-                     kind and supportive landlords

-                     wise and supportive pastors and denomination workers

-                     loving Doodles

I could go on and on!!!

 

 

 

Dirty trailer with someone else’s logo is one of many marketing needs

 

Now the want:

            -           dirty trailer with someone else’s logo

            -           Spirit Club teachers (nearly impossible to find)

            -           only two family groups at first volunteer meeting

            -           new software and MACs than won’t communicate with PCs

            -           TIME!

            -           marketing dollars

            -           lost income from financial crisis

            I could go on and on!!!

 

I think I know the same secret Paul does: God loves me and provides just what I need, just when I need it.  He wants me to keep on asking and keep on working, but at the end of the day trust He knows just when to dispense which blessings and which challenges. The Lord really is my Shepherd. I do not want – I enjoy the adventure!

The Bulletin Board that Connects Me to God

Since it’s our mission to help people connect to God, I thought I would share a practice that has put passion and excitement into my relationship with God.  I try to have a little prayer time every day right when I wake up (yes, it’s a constant struggle to make the time).  I spend on few minutes on each element of the Lord’s Prayer:

• think about His “name” or character; I have a list of names for God; or sometimes I watch nature out my window really carefully
• read Bible and reflect on how I can do His will
• write down a couple prayer requests on index cards (daily bread)
• I post big (and not too private) answers to prayer on this bulletin board at home.  Before I did this, I would ask God for something and then not even notice when He did something.  Now, I see His hand much more frequently.  It reminds me of that Bible verse that says God loves to give His children gifts, just like a regular Dad does.
• reflect on previous day and ask forgiveness for where I fell short
• forgive anybody who hurt my feelings
• think about my upcoming day and how I can live it faithfully