2 posts tagged “mission”

Routines are awesome.  Every morning, I wake up at 6:00 a.m. and spend an hour with Jesus, reading the Bible, praying and journaling.  At 7:00 a.m. I start working out which usually consists of some combination of jogging, springs, stairs, push-ups, dips, etc.  This is probably one of the best routines I've ever had.

Today was day two. (You have to start somewhere - stop laughing.)

For some reason, my 7:00 a.m. brain made the bright decision to lock the door behind me as I left for my run.  Legitimately we don't live in the absolutely safest of all parts of towns, but I'm still questioning this decision.  Let's just say I was disappointed when I got home from a grueling morning of stair climbs and push-ups.  I didn't know if my roommates were awake yet so I didn't want to knock too hard and light raps on the door just weren't getting the job done.  I grabbed one of our front porch chairs and relaxed by watching the cars drive by.  I started praying and God made me think about this :

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"   (Romans 10:13-15)

Here's why I thought about those verses.  I was locked out of my own house.  My house is such a good place; a land of overflowing, refreshing, clean, purified water which was exactly what I needed.  In all honesty, it's where I was designed to be; specifically after a morning workout.  The only thing I needed was a way in. 

So are we helping people towards the door?  Are we inviting people into the house for a tall glass of living water?  How beautiful are your feet?  How beautiful are the words that come out of your lips?  Are you preaching the good news?  Are we sending?

I wonder how many people in our cities feel locked out.

I hate to start on a sad note, but in some ways this story finally plunged me back into blog world.  Here's the set up:  Jay (production.body of a Greek God.high school ministry guru), Beau (creativity.high school ministry.awesome hair.passionate.musical genius), Dean (roommate.culinary mastermind.beautifully jovial man) and myself are finishing a two and half hour meeting about the Midtown/Younglife tailgate.  Our mindset has been "what's the best way that we can effectively give away $300 in a few hours of tailgating for about 150 people?"

And after a two and a half hour meeting about food, we're freakin' hungry.

So we run out the door for a burger and a guy outside asks for a ride across town.  We apologetically tell him we're too busy (but I'm kicking myself inside thinking. . . crap, don't be too busy to love somebody), and we run off to a local burger joint.  This is the first time I've ever been to this place and I'm pretty stoked, seeing as everyone and their mom has been telling me how delicious it is.  We get our food, sit down and start to feast when to our surprise the same guy we had just seen a minute earlier asking for a ride walks in the door to order a burger.  Upon recognizing him, (and all feeling like idiots for not having said yes the first time) we asked him, "Hey man, did you find a ride yet?" and when he told us he hadn't we told him not to worry about it, because we would get him home.

The next few minutes became one of the most hostile, bizarre, tense situations I've ever been in.  The guy (who turns out to be named Marvin) walks up to the cash register to order himself some food and the cashier says "No."  She refused to prepare food for the guy under the assumption that he came into the store in order to ask us for a ride and that he's harassing us.  The other employee (manager) in the restaurant approaches us and we quickly tell him "Don't worry, he's with us.  There is no problem here", but the manager continues to yell at Marvin about how he's not allowed to come in there and hassle people.  They HAVE to protect their customers from being harassed.  We adamantly plead with the manager that everything is ok, he's with us while Beau went to the cashier and bought him some food.

The rest of our time in the restaurant was spent with us enjoying food and getting to know Marvin, while the two employees gave us more sidelong glances than I can count on my fingers, toes, appendages and arm hairs.  It was RIDICULOUS.  Somehow in protecting Marvin, we made a switch in the employees' brains from being customers to part of the problem.  They rushed us out of the store and probably for the last and only time I'll ever go in.  I can't remember the last time I was this angry/sad with someone.

1.) the culture - It sucks that God designed us to be generous and to give and that so much of our culture is built on getting, keeping, hoarding and HATING those who need anything -- never mind humbly ask for a ride across town (which he offered to pay for by the way).  You die on the inside when you think life is SOLELY about you, protecting yourself, and looking down on those who aren't like you.  (Matt. 5:38-48)
        It also sucks that we hesitated and almost missed the opportunity to serve and get to know Marvin.  Praise Jesus that he came into the restaurant we were in and he didn't end the night with the same picture of us that I had of the burger joint employees.  

2.) bad business - As a business owner you HAVE to be more attune to your customers.  We were NOT being harassed.  When you treat other people badly, it makes me not want to come to your store.  LOVE your customers.  All of them.  

3.) the mission - The world is used to this over and over again.  The dirty and poor and unwise expect hate and sideways glances and being run out of nice clean establishments.  
       If you are a Christian, you are EXPECTED to change the status quo.  Spend a couple hours asking the question "How can we give away a couple hundred dollars worth of food?".  Say yes when someone asks you for a ride across town.  Matt. 5:42 "Give to him who asks of you, and DO NOT turn away from him who wants to borrow from you."   (command from the lips of Jesus.)  
       As we watched Monday night football with Marvin and sat on the front porch of the White House, he told me of his mom who abused him, tried to kill him as a child and left him to DSS when he was 8.  This dude needs love, not hate.  We all need to get off our academic, religious, pious, lazy butts and go live His love to a hurting, dying world.