At a Restoration Church gathering here in the South Hills of Pittsburgh, we are committed to having God's heart for the South Hills and beyond. Joni Eareckson Tadi challenged my understanding of what this means in her succinct devotional for June 5 (Diamonds in the Dust) on the "Heart of Jesus."
She reflects on the various healings Jesus did while He walked this earth. She ponders what He was thinking and feeling when He told the paralyzed man to "take up his bed and walk" or when He spit on blind eyes to bring sight and myriad other encounters with people who struggled with some disability. Joni rejects the notion that Jesus did all these wonderful miracles ONLY to prove His power and authority as the Messiah of God. These wondrous signs did indeed prove Jesus' power over death and life. But they also reveal God's heart.
Joni writes, "Christ did not use helpless people to advance His own agenda. He did not enlist hurting men and women only as audio-visual aids to teach an important lesson about Himself. "
People who struggle with "a different way of being" in whatever form: autistic, blind, deaf, epileptic, lame, missing a vital chromosome or even paralyzed (among many other issues) do so as part of the effects of sin not on necessarily on that particular individual but inbred into the human race because of sin. But there is another aspect to suffering. Suffering is a part of God's plan.
I was struck with this truth years ago when I read the wonderful little book Don't Waste Your Sorrows. The author points out that suffering in and of itself is not necessarily related to sin because suffering is a part of the nature of God Himself. God Himself anguishes over His children. God Himself sent His one and only Son to die on a cross all for His larger plan. And in all this suffering, God's plan is always to show His great mercy, grace and love at the point of our greatest need.
It is mind-boggling that God would want to have a relationship with His creature especially when we are such dolts and so unfaithful, but He does. And because He does, He reaches out to us at exactly that particular point of our greatest need to show His love and strength.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says it well, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. ... "
Joni ends her devotional with this prayer, "Lord, may I never doubt what's on Your mind and heart when I suffer. You are full of love and compassion. Thank You for only permitting in my life what I am able to endure with Your grace. Bless You for Your unfailing love." For a woman who has spent over 40 years in a wheelchair as a quadriplegic, that's pretty powerful! The beauty of her faith and her appreciation for God's love for her even with the body she has that daily reminds her of her need for God's restoration now and in the world to come challenges my heart to model God's heart in my world - the South Hills of Pittsburgh!
Showing posts with label South Hills Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Hills Pittsburgh. Show all posts
Friday, June 6, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
"Heart Sight" is Better Than Eye Sight!
There was once a blind girl who was bitter and angry because she was blind. She hated her blindness. She hated life and everyone in it except for her boyfriend. Even through her blind bitterness, his love for her touched her heart. One day she said to him, "If only I could see, I would marry you."
Time passed and one day she heard that someone had donated a pair of eyes for her. She had surgery to replace her blind eyes, and when she was healed and the bandages were removed, the first person she saw was her boyfriend. She was startled to discover that he too was blind. He had no eyes. She was repulsed by his blindness. She not only refused to keep her promise and marry him; she sent him away.
Sometime later he wrote her a note: "Take good care of your eyes. They are very special eyes. They were given to you with great hope and love. You see, before your eyes were yours, they were mine."
There's a far worse blindness than not seeing with physical eyes! It is blindness of the heart. The girl's bitterness blinded her heart so severely that even when she could see with her eyes, her heart remained hopelessly blind!
Life without sight would be very, very hard BUT life with a blind heart is far worse!
Modern medicine can cut and sew. Surgeons can even replace sightless eyes with sighted, donated ones. How incredible to be blind and then to see! But to physically see and have a blind heart is a very dark place to live!
This story is probably apocryphal but the truth found in the story is very real. There is a blindness far worse than the loss of sight. That's being blind of heart! God is in the business of restoring sight to blind hearts!
That's the very reason there's a new church gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. We want blind hearts to see. We understand that only God can bring such restoration to blind hearts!
When Jesus walked the earth he healed many people of physical blindness. Jesus also healed even more people of "heart blindness." In fact, that's one reason some people hated Him so much. People with small minds and blind hearts hated Jesus because they feared being healed to the core of their hearts. They feared the pain and exposure of losing a blind heart, of seeing with their hearts! They feared the commitment of a "sighted" heart.
Hearts that see not only are compelled by the needs of people, but such hearts MUST do something for such need. That something often requires inconvenience and sacrifice. That something may even be misunderstood by others looking on.
When God restores hearts and removes "blindness," then we can see our world through God's eyes. That's the ONLY way past bitterness and selfishness to real love for the lonely and lost and rejected and needy hearts all around you and me!
Time passed and one day she heard that someone had donated a pair of eyes for her. She had surgery to replace her blind eyes, and when she was healed and the bandages were removed, the first person she saw was her boyfriend. She was startled to discover that he too was blind. He had no eyes. She was repulsed by his blindness. She not only refused to keep her promise and marry him; she sent him away.
Sometime later he wrote her a note: "Take good care of your eyes. They are very special eyes. They were given to you with great hope and love. You see, before your eyes were yours, they were mine."
There's a far worse blindness than not seeing with physical eyes! It is blindness of the heart. The girl's bitterness blinded her heart so severely that even when she could see with her eyes, her heart remained hopelessly blind!
Life without sight would be very, very hard BUT life with a blind heart is far worse!
Modern medicine can cut and sew. Surgeons can even replace sightless eyes with sighted, donated ones. How incredible to be blind and then to see! But to physically see and have a blind heart is a very dark place to live!
This story is probably apocryphal but the truth found in the story is very real. There is a blindness far worse than the loss of sight. That's being blind of heart! God is in the business of restoring sight to blind hearts!
That's the very reason there's a new church gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh. We want blind hearts to see. We understand that only God can bring such restoration to blind hearts!
When Jesus walked the earth he healed many people of physical blindness. Jesus also healed even more people of "heart blindness." In fact, that's one reason some people hated Him so much. People with small minds and blind hearts hated Jesus because they feared being healed to the core of their hearts. They feared the pain and exposure of losing a blind heart, of seeing with their hearts! They feared the commitment of a "sighted" heart.
Hearts that see not only are compelled by the needs of people, but such hearts MUST do something for such need. That something often requires inconvenience and sacrifice. That something may even be misunderstood by others looking on.
When God restores hearts and removes "blindness," then we can see our world through God's eyes. That's the ONLY way past bitterness and selfishness to real love for the lonely and lost and rejected and needy hearts all around you and me!
Friday, April 18, 2008
BITTER !
"Bitter" is a word recently in the news. "Bitter" is a word I've been contemplating over the last several weeks.
"Bitter" - it's a word, but it also describes a condition of life. Bitter is a choice!
"Bitter" is on the news recently. If Barak Obama could "rewind," I wonder if he would chose another word to describe his perception of some Americans.
What is bitter? Bitter is that taste that turns one's mouth inside out like eating a persimmon before the first frost.
Bitter is collecting offenses - real or imagined - and clutching onto them with a life-and-death grip.
Bitterness is the condition that results. Bitterness has a nasty root that reaches its tentacles deep into our hearts twisting here and there in its death grip. Bitterness squeezes out life and joy - totally ringing our hearts dry.
The Bible has a lot to say about bitterness, what causes it and what to do about it. Peter describes Simon the wizard as "full of bitterness and captive to sin." (Acts 8:23) The writer of Hebrews talks about bitterness: "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble ... " (Heb. 12:15)
It seems Hebrews is saying that when we miss the grace of God, we put outselves in grave danger of having bitterness start to root and grow in our hearts. Bitterness in the heart may be hidden for a time, but eventually it oozes out in our faces and in our actions. The calamity is that hanging on to bitterness can cause us to miss the grace of God! That's a pretty sick trade - about as pitiful as Esau trading his inheritance for a bowl of soup! (Genesis 25:29 - 34)
Bitter isn't a result of our circumstances. Bitter is the choice we make in response to those circumstances. When Paul gives very practical advice for marriage in Colossians, he instructs men, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them."
Apparently wives in Paul's day were no different than in 2008. We do things that our husbands use as excuses not to love us as they should. We also don't do things that give our husbands excuses not to love us as they should. Loving when the other person fails is not easy! There are two choices: love even more deeply and unconditionally or be bitter. God's way is to love and not be bitter!
That's just hard stuff! It's unnatural! My heart tends to go to bitter rather than love. The only way I can love through difficulty is for God to restore my heart, to so fill my heart with His grace that there is no room for bitterness to take root!
History tells us that the British army band played "The World Turned Upside Down" the day General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington in Yorktown, Virginia concluding the American Revolution. For the British the world had turned upside down! They never dreamed their colonists would revolt. They never dreamed the colonists would win the conflict.
A bitter taste may turn one's mouth inside out. Conquering bitterness with God's help as He restores our hearts is also turning a heart upside down. It's not what seems right and natural! It's not what initially "feels" right. But bitterness is NOT God's way! God's path is restoration, and He is the Great Restorer!
And that's why a new church is gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh - A Restoration Church! We want to gather people who know their hearts need God's loving restoration. We are works in process - God's process of restoration!
"Bitter" - it's a word, but it also describes a condition of life. Bitter is a choice!
"Bitter" is on the news recently. If Barak Obama could "rewind," I wonder if he would chose another word to describe his perception of some Americans.
What is bitter? Bitter is that taste that turns one's mouth inside out like eating a persimmon before the first frost.
Bitter is collecting offenses - real or imagined - and clutching onto them with a life-and-death grip.
Bitterness is the condition that results. Bitterness has a nasty root that reaches its tentacles deep into our hearts twisting here and there in its death grip. Bitterness squeezes out life and joy - totally ringing our hearts dry.
The Bible has a lot to say about bitterness, what causes it and what to do about it. Peter describes Simon the wizard as "full of bitterness and captive to sin." (Acts 8:23) The writer of Hebrews talks about bitterness: "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble ... " (Heb. 12:15)
It seems Hebrews is saying that when we miss the grace of God, we put outselves in grave danger of having bitterness start to root and grow in our hearts. Bitterness in the heart may be hidden for a time, but eventually it oozes out in our faces and in our actions. The calamity is that hanging on to bitterness can cause us to miss the grace of God! That's a pretty sick trade - about as pitiful as Esau trading his inheritance for a bowl of soup! (Genesis 25:29 - 34)
Bitter isn't a result of our circumstances. Bitter is the choice we make in response to those circumstances. When Paul gives very practical advice for marriage in Colossians, he instructs men, "Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them."
Apparently wives in Paul's day were no different than in 2008. We do things that our husbands use as excuses not to love us as they should. We also don't do things that give our husbands excuses not to love us as they should. Loving when the other person fails is not easy! There are two choices: love even more deeply and unconditionally or be bitter. God's way is to love and not be bitter!
That's just hard stuff! It's unnatural! My heart tends to go to bitter rather than love. The only way I can love through difficulty is for God to restore my heart, to so fill my heart with His grace that there is no room for bitterness to take root!
History tells us that the British army band played "The World Turned Upside Down" the day General Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington in Yorktown, Virginia concluding the American Revolution. For the British the world had turned upside down! They never dreamed their colonists would revolt. They never dreamed the colonists would win the conflict.
A bitter taste may turn one's mouth inside out. Conquering bitterness with God's help as He restores our hearts is also turning a heart upside down. It's not what seems right and natural! It's not what initially "feels" right. But bitterness is NOT God's way! God's path is restoration, and He is the Great Restorer!
And that's why a new church is gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh - A Restoration Church! We want to gather people who know their hearts need God's loving restoration. We are works in process - God's process of restoration!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Behind Bars
Apparently Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean has been apprehended in Morelia, Mexico. He is accused of murdering pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach near Camp LeJeune, NC. Her partially burned corpse was discovered in a grave in Laurean's backyard in January. It's a grisly story! If he is guilty, he deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars. But if Cpl. Laurean is guilty, it is also true that he brought his life behind bars on himself.
Our culture is peopled by many who spend their life behind bars - not jail bars but bars made of something beside steel. These bars keep people from connecting with others in meaningful ways. Some of these "bars" are physical like being hearing impaired or blind or not having one's legs due to an accident. Some of these "bars" are mental and emotional where some misfunction or pattern of life has "crippled" a person and left them in some dark "prison." Some of these "bars" are spiritual. In fact, there is probably a spiritual component in every "bar."
What are these spiritual "bars" that can imprison a person for life? What about worry or depression? What about a disconnect with understanding God's love? What about the inability to receive and live in the great good news of God's love and forgiveness? All of these spiritual "bars" are stronger than steel in holding a person captive!
Sometimes these "bars" are put in place by bad choices or abuse or neglect. The cause isn't nearly as significant as is the sure reality of the hope of restoration, of freedom!
When they were behind bars in one of the most horrible places on earth, Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie found that even there God was with them. Corrie ten Boom writes in The Hiding Place that even at Ravensbruck, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."
It is in the deep pits of life that hope seems gone. These deep pits - regardless of the particular pit one is mired in - are a far greater prison than the one Cpl. Laurean may face. There is only one way out: for God's restoring grace to come and shine into the darkness of life bringing hope, peace and love! God's restoration doesn't appear in a vacuum. God sends His servants to be agents of His grace and restoration bringing love and light where there is only despair and hopelessness.
This freeing phenomenon happens only when God has already worked His restoration in hearts who are in turn willing to be used by God to reach out to others at their point of need. It isn't easy to walk through terrible physical, emotional, mental or spiritual pain with another person! Doing so may test us in ways we could never have imagined, but God calls His people whose hearts have experienced God's loving restoration to pass that restoration on to others. It's a chain reaction - one heart at a time!
I don't know what the future holds for Cpl. Laurean. Apparently he doesn't either as the news article of his capture I read described his fear. What I do know is that even for Cpl. Laurean there is hope if God is part of the restoration process!
Corrie ten Boom's wisdom rings in my own heart as well, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." However, sometimes God calls you and me to be the hands that reach into that pit and offer a loving ray of hope and help! That's the restoration process God's way! AND that's exactly why there's a new church gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh called "A Restoration Church."
Our culture is peopled by many who spend their life behind bars - not jail bars but bars made of something beside steel. These bars keep people from connecting with others in meaningful ways. Some of these "bars" are physical like being hearing impaired or blind or not having one's legs due to an accident. Some of these "bars" are mental and emotional where some misfunction or pattern of life has "crippled" a person and left them in some dark "prison." Some of these "bars" are spiritual. In fact, there is probably a spiritual component in every "bar."
What are these spiritual "bars" that can imprison a person for life? What about worry or depression? What about a disconnect with understanding God's love? What about the inability to receive and live in the great good news of God's love and forgiveness? All of these spiritual "bars" are stronger than steel in holding a person captive!
Sometimes these "bars" are put in place by bad choices or abuse or neglect. The cause isn't nearly as significant as is the sure reality of the hope of restoration, of freedom!
When they were behind bars in one of the most horrible places on earth, Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie found that even there God was with them. Corrie ten Boom writes in The Hiding Place that even at Ravensbruck, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still."
It is in the deep pits of life that hope seems gone. These deep pits - regardless of the particular pit one is mired in - are a far greater prison than the one Cpl. Laurean may face. There is only one way out: for God's restoring grace to come and shine into the darkness of life bringing hope, peace and love! God's restoration doesn't appear in a vacuum. God sends His servants to be agents of His grace and restoration bringing love and light where there is only despair and hopelessness.
This freeing phenomenon happens only when God has already worked His restoration in hearts who are in turn willing to be used by God to reach out to others at their point of need. It isn't easy to walk through terrible physical, emotional, mental or spiritual pain with another person! Doing so may test us in ways we could never have imagined, but God calls His people whose hearts have experienced God's loving restoration to pass that restoration on to others. It's a chain reaction - one heart at a time!
I don't know what the future holds for Cpl. Laurean. Apparently he doesn't either as the news article of his capture I read described his fear. What I do know is that even for Cpl. Laurean there is hope if God is part of the restoration process!
Corrie ten Boom's wisdom rings in my own heart as well, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." However, sometimes God calls you and me to be the hands that reach into that pit and offer a loving ray of hope and help! That's the restoration process God's way! AND that's exactly why there's a new church gathering in the South Hills of Pittsburgh called "A Restoration Church."
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Earning the Right to Care
People need Jesus! That is a no-brainer. The compelling and challenging question is how to reach those people in ways that connect with them at their point of need so they are willing to let you and me into their life to love, serve and walk with them. We have to earn the right to be part of people's lives in significant ways.
We literally stumble over and brush shoulders with many, many people in any given day whose needs are huge. They may hide their needs really well, but that doesn't negate the truth that many people cry inside while they smile outside and most would rather die than admit it. How can we do more than stumble over or brush shoulders? How can we reduce the "many, many" to one heart at a time?
At a Restoration Church beginning in the South Hills of Pittsburgh we intentionally envision and plan ways to meet people at their point of need. Points of need can be almost anything. The issues may even be what I saw described as "closet issues." "Closet issues" are things we try to hide even from ourselves. The list of needs is almost endless and as varied as there are people who need.
Anyone who sits around contemplating whether there is need for us (people who love Jesus) to connect with a world needing light - lost in darkness - is "just wasting time" (as my Grandfather used to say: "If you're waiting on me, you're just wasting time.").
Jesus challenges us in Luke 14:16-24 to intentionally encounter people who need the Gospel in three ways:
Jesus says that there is eventually no more room at this party - not one single seat left. But each person there is there because someone intentionally came to them and served and loved them and reassured them and accepted them just as they are. This is a process that involves sacrifice and loving service! The process may not be either convenient or easy. This process may even be painful and slow (think of helping a crippled person to the party). But, the point Jesus makes is that we earn the right to love them, serve them and walk with them as we gently lead them to Jesus one heart at a time.
We literally stumble over and brush shoulders with many, many people in any given day whose needs are huge. They may hide their needs really well, but that doesn't negate the truth that many people cry inside while they smile outside and most would rather die than admit it. How can we do more than stumble over or brush shoulders? How can we reduce the "many, many" to one heart at a time?
At a Restoration Church beginning in the South Hills of Pittsburgh we intentionally envision and plan ways to meet people at their point of need. Points of need can be almost anything. The issues may even be what I saw described as "closet issues." "Closet issues" are things we try to hide even from ourselves. The list of needs is almost endless and as varied as there are people who need.
Anyone who sits around contemplating whether there is need for us (people who love Jesus) to connect with a world needing light - lost in darkness - is "just wasting time" (as my Grandfather used to say: "If you're waiting on me, you're just wasting time.").
Jesus challenges us in Luke 14:16-24 to intentionally encounter people who need the Gospel in three ways:
- The front door to the church and the Gospel: that's the regular invitations to the party (vs. 16) which vs. 18 tells us they "all alike (implies all who received party invitations)" started making excuses for why they couldn't RSVP positively. The banquet is prepared. The party is all ready. But no guests respond to the invitation. They make lame excuses. O, their excuses sound real but they wait to bring them up until it's time to go to the party. That's pretty lame!So, Jesus introduces ...
- The servant door to the church and the Gospel: That's the party host's angry instruction to his servants to "Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame." (vs. 21) How do the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame respond to the invitation to the party? They need help! Someone has to lead them if they are blind. Someone has to carry them if they are crippled or assist them if they are lame. If these named needy invitees to the party get there it is only because someone cares enough to serve them into the church and into the Gospel. So, the servers bring the poor, crippled, blind and lame to the party, but there are still empty places at the banquet table which the servants report to their master. So, he broadens the invitation to include ...
- The back door to the church and the Gospel: In olden days when etiquette was known and practiced, servants were directed to the back door. Laborers and trades people were also directed to go to the back door. These "back door folk" need more than help. They need to be compelled to come to the party! (vs. 23) These are the people who aren't used to being invited to parties and feel inferior/inadequate to come. Their manners, their speech, their clothes are just what they are. There is the fear factor for the "back door folk." From the "roads and country lanes" the new invitees to this party are first found and then compelled to come.
Jesus says that there is eventually no more room at this party - not one single seat left. But each person there is there because someone intentionally came to them and served and loved them and reassured them and accepted them just as they are. This is a process that involves sacrifice and loving service! The process may not be either convenient or easy. This process may even be painful and slow (think of helping a crippled person to the party). But, the point Jesus makes is that we earn the right to love them, serve them and walk with them as we gently lead them to Jesus one heart at a time.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Disabled Dumped By Police
Sometimes the news is more amazing than a fairy story! We expect villains to appear in Snow White (the wicked Queen) or Cinderella (the evil stepmother and her two daughters).
But we hardly imagine a story like the one currently on the news: "Quadriplegic Dumped By Police." It's also interesting that this story only came to light (even though there were at least four deputies present when the incident occurred) after the media ran a tape of the incident. That is also amazing! I don't think I'd be dumping a paralyzed man out of his wheelchair in a room where I knew the incident was being taped. Especially when the supposed reason was that the man was saying stuff that "was silly." Well, it so, it got more silly or worse before the incident was over.
It all started because 14-year quadriplegic Brian Sterner was cited for blocking an intersection in his mini-Cooper fitted with hand controls. Then he was taken to county jail for processing. Well, so far, it's pretty silly! Then, in full view of a camera, Sterner is dumped out of the wheelchair onto the floor and frisked. Amazing!
But this whole incident speaks to the difficulty the disabled have being assimilated into society - being accepted. They are different. They deal with many challenges, but many disabled people function incredibly well in overcoming their disabilities.
Recently I met a man named Frank. Frank lives in a wheelchair when he's not in bed. Frank has a terminal neurological disease. He cannot walk. He has great difficulty talking. He can hardly even scratch his nose if it itches because he has lost so much control and coordination. Frank needs help to do almost everything.
Inside Frank's broken body is a mind and a heart that function very well. Frank recently received a master's degree. Frank's body disguises the man inside who has a mind that works quite well, even better than most. But to discover Frank's mind and heart takes effort. It is hard to even understand his words.
There is a sense in which most people treat the disabled like Frank and Brian either actually or symbolically like those sheriff's deputies in Tampa treated Brian. We see the disabled as people to "dump." What a tragedy!
There are many disabled people who have a great deal to contribute in the world and in the church if you and I only take the time to get past the brokenness! That's one reason there's a new church forming in the South Hills of Pittsburgh - a Restoration Church. We want to intentionally tap into the disabled community both for ministry to them and for them to minister to us! In that process God is writing many restoration stories!
But we hardly imagine a story like the one currently on the news: "Quadriplegic Dumped By Police." It's also interesting that this story only came to light (even though there were at least four deputies present when the incident occurred) after the media ran a tape of the incident. That is also amazing! I don't think I'd be dumping a paralyzed man out of his wheelchair in a room where I knew the incident was being taped. Especially when the supposed reason was that the man was saying stuff that "was silly." Well, it so, it got more silly or worse before the incident was over.
It all started because 14-year quadriplegic Brian Sterner was cited for blocking an intersection in his mini-Cooper fitted with hand controls. Then he was taken to county jail for processing. Well, so far, it's pretty silly! Then, in full view of a camera, Sterner is dumped out of the wheelchair onto the floor and frisked. Amazing!
But this whole incident speaks to the difficulty the disabled have being assimilated into society - being accepted. They are different. They deal with many challenges, but many disabled people function incredibly well in overcoming their disabilities.
Recently I met a man named Frank. Frank lives in a wheelchair when he's not in bed. Frank has a terminal neurological disease. He cannot walk. He has great difficulty talking. He can hardly even scratch his nose if it itches because he has lost so much control and coordination. Frank needs help to do almost everything.
Inside Frank's broken body is a mind and a heart that function very well. Frank recently received a master's degree. Frank's body disguises the man inside who has a mind that works quite well, even better than most. But to discover Frank's mind and heart takes effort. It is hard to even understand his words.
There is a sense in which most people treat the disabled like Frank and Brian either actually or symbolically like those sheriff's deputies in Tampa treated Brian. We see the disabled as people to "dump." What a tragedy!
There are many disabled people who have a great deal to contribute in the world and in the church if you and I only take the time to get past the brokenness! That's one reason there's a new church forming in the South Hills of Pittsburgh - a Restoration Church. We want to intentionally tap into the disabled community both for ministry to them and for them to minister to us! In that process God is writing many restoration stories!
Friday, January 25, 2008
A Parable of Disability
This story may or may not be true, but it's a pretty cool parable of life.
Passing by the field, you might think the two horses grazing there were pretty much like any other two horses in a field. But, if you stop to really notice, you might learn that the larger of the two horses is blind. His owner has chosen to let him live his last days safely in the pasture where he is comfortable. That is pretty awesome. If you look and listen carefully, you will hear the steady tinkle of a bell. You might discover from close observation that the other horse has a small bell attached to her halter. If you stand awhile observing the horses in the field, you might notice that the blind horse follows his friend by the sound of her bell and that she is very careful to be sure he is following. The blind horse follows the lead of the bell whether around the pasture or back to the shelter of the barn at night.
What a beautiful picture of what life in God's economy looks like! God doesn't do throw-aways. He even invites the poor, the blind, the lame and the crippled to His party. (Luke 14:13 & 21)
Like the owner of the blind horse, God places value on life even when there is disability. Like the blind horse's owner, God makes provision for those who struggle. Luke 14 more than suggests that those who are poor, crippled, lame, blind, etc. are singled out for special honor in God's Kingdom.
At a Restoration Church we want to be the little horse with the bell. We want to lovingly protect and care for those who may struggle with poverty, disability or other needs.
Jesus said, "Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind." (Luke 14:21, NLT) There's no passivity here - there's action: Go! Go quickly! Make it happen NOW - go and find those who have needs and lead them to the shelter of Jesus' love.
Those are the people we want to find and bring to a Restoration Church.
The truth is that we are all broken. We all need the loving touch of God's restoration. There is a hidden world of isolated people - lonely people, people isolated by shame or disability or just the endless challenges of care-giving - these are the people who need to "hear our bell." The world is filled with lonely hearts broken in body and spirit who need to know that they matter and especially that they matter to God and His people. Those are the people - the hearts - that we want to find and love at a Restoration Church for Jesus' sake!
We know this is a great challenge. We hardly know how to start except to "GO, find, seek" ! We all "need fixed" (as we say in Pittsburgh)! Only God can fix the broken places and make us stronger where we are broken.
God brings us together to love Him and to love each other as we demonstrate to the watching world that God is all about restoration! That's exactly why a Restoration Church is committed to restoring lives through the Gospel - and to offering love, hope, help, grace and restored dignity through faith in Jesus Christ to the lonely and disenfranchised of the South Hills of Pittsburgh and beyond!
Our bell may not be very loud but we are ringing it in faithful obedience to the Lord who calls us all to care and love and GO! We are committed to GOing into the streets and alleys of the South Hills of Pittsburgh seeking broken, lonely people who needs God's love.
Passing by the field, you might think the two horses grazing there were pretty much like any other two horses in a field. But, if you stop to really notice, you might learn that the larger of the two horses is blind. His owner has chosen to let him live his last days safely in the pasture where he is comfortable. That is pretty awesome. If you look and listen carefully, you will hear the steady tinkle of a bell. You might discover from close observation that the other horse has a small bell attached to her halter. If you stand awhile observing the horses in the field, you might notice that the blind horse follows his friend by the sound of her bell and that she is very careful to be sure he is following. The blind horse follows the lead of the bell whether around the pasture or back to the shelter of the barn at night.
What a beautiful picture of what life in God's economy looks like! God doesn't do throw-aways. He even invites the poor, the blind, the lame and the crippled to His party. (Luke 14:13 & 21)
Like the owner of the blind horse, God places value on life even when there is disability. Like the blind horse's owner, God makes provision for those who struggle. Luke 14 more than suggests that those who are poor, crippled, lame, blind, etc. are singled out for special honor in God's Kingdom.
At a Restoration Church we want to be the little horse with the bell. We want to lovingly protect and care for those who may struggle with poverty, disability or other needs.
Jesus said, "Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind." (Luke 14:21, NLT) There's no passivity here - there's action: Go! Go quickly! Make it happen NOW - go and find those who have needs and lead them to the shelter of Jesus' love.
Those are the people we want to find and bring to a Restoration Church.
The truth is that we are all broken. We all need the loving touch of God's restoration. There is a hidden world of isolated people - lonely people, people isolated by shame or disability or just the endless challenges of care-giving - these are the people who need to "hear our bell." The world is filled with lonely hearts broken in body and spirit who need to know that they matter and especially that they matter to God and His people. Those are the people - the hearts - that we want to find and love at a Restoration Church for Jesus' sake!
We know this is a great challenge. We hardly know how to start except to "GO, find, seek" ! We all "need fixed" (as we say in Pittsburgh)! Only God can fix the broken places and make us stronger where we are broken.
God brings us together to love Him and to love each other as we demonstrate to the watching world that God is all about restoration! That's exactly why a Restoration Church is committed to restoring lives through the Gospel - and to offering love, hope, help, grace and restored dignity through faith in Jesus Christ to the lonely and disenfranchised of the South Hills of Pittsburgh and beyond!
Our bell may not be very loud but we are ringing it in faithful obedience to the Lord who calls us all to care and love and GO! We are committed to GOing into the streets and alleys of the South Hills of Pittsburgh seeking broken, lonely people who needs God's love.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
"Wanna B" President??? !!!
I don't know about you but I'm sick of the current cycle of presidential campaign! Maybe that's the subtle strategy after all. When thoughtful voters get so sick of hearing about this and that candidate "ad nauseum," it clears the way for apathy to set in. I'm fighting that apathy myself while trying to learn and stay informed on the various candidates.
The other problem besides the incessant TV coverage of interviews, debates, snipping and on and on is the "who factor." Did you ever wonder why anyone would want to run for president? It is akin to painting a target on your back and on the backs of your spouse and children and digging in for at least four years of attack and abuse! No wonder "the best of the best" don't want the job! The power and prestige and certainly name recognition come with the job as well as a huge load of responsibility. And then there's also that "target factor"!
Perhaps our political process needs restoring before we see life and culture as we know it totally crash and burn.
Reading my Old Testament reminds me that God's people over and over lived through the cycle of rebellion against God, repentance and then restoration back to "favored nation status" with the God of the universe. Over and over God patiently restores His wayward children and gently nudges (and even sometimes uses more radical means to nudge) their hearts toward home (a restored relationship with God).
This presidential election cycle is making me think that God's people imbedded in our culture need to take a serious look at why God put us in place. He put us here to be salt and light. We are imbedded agents to push back darkness and to bring the flavor of God's truth to the particular spot where we live and work.
No, I can't imagine anyone wanting to be president. Yes, I can understand why we are left with the field of candidates we have.
I'll just stick with the challenge of being salt and light here in the South Hills of PIttsburgh. That's a big enough challenge!
The other problem besides the incessant TV coverage of interviews, debates, snipping and on and on is the "who factor." Did you ever wonder why anyone would want to run for president? It is akin to painting a target on your back and on the backs of your spouse and children and digging in for at least four years of attack and abuse! No wonder "the best of the best" don't want the job! The power and prestige and certainly name recognition come with the job as well as a huge load of responsibility. And then there's also that "target factor"!
Perhaps our political process needs restoring before we see life and culture as we know it totally crash and burn.
Reading my Old Testament reminds me that God's people over and over lived through the cycle of rebellion against God, repentance and then restoration back to "favored nation status" with the God of the universe. Over and over God patiently restores His wayward children and gently nudges (and even sometimes uses more radical means to nudge) their hearts toward home (a restored relationship with God).
This presidential election cycle is making me think that God's people imbedded in our culture need to take a serious look at why God put us in place. He put us here to be salt and light. We are imbedded agents to push back darkness and to bring the flavor of God's truth to the particular spot where we live and work.
No, I can't imagine anyone wanting to be president. Yes, I can understand why we are left with the field of candidates we have.
I'll just stick with the challenge of being salt and light here in the South Hills of PIttsburgh. That's a big enough challenge!
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