#JesusIstheSubject BuildingBetterStories Flint

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So that happened...

There have been many times throughout this transition to pastor the West Court Street Church of God where things just felt surreal. I still see the faces of the people I pastored in New Philadelphia, I still feel their struggles and the circumstances of their individual pains. I haven’t reached that point where I don’t expect to see their faces on any given Sunday. Needless to say, my heart hasn’t fully transitioned to Flint.

That changed a bit Wednesday. It was a great morning, I had the opportunity to travel to Mount Haley and fellowship with the ministers in the Midland area. I had lunch with a great man of God and evangelist, Rick Webb. I was riding a high; I was enjoying the connections that we are making in Michigan. Then I returned to the church in the afternoon to work on the message for this Sunday.

I pulled up to find the water distribution that is held nearly every day in our parking lot locked down. A man in a suite appeared to begin to question my arrival, but I believe I heard someone state my relation to the church to him. I was oblivious to what apparently had transpired approximately two hours prior. Gunshots, just a few doors down from our place of worship.

I recall the stories that were told when I was interviewing. The seriousness of the very real issue, suspected gang activity and drug related crime within the targeted one-mile radius of the church. One resident of Glendale Hills who was on the search team, pointed out a spot where he regularly heard gunshots as we toured the area. All of it, surreal at the time.

I could tell you some Army stories and try to pretend that gunshots just doors down from our place of worship doesn’t bother me. We could all point to Christians in the Middle East being beheaded for their faith and pretend that our struggle isn’t nearly as bad. But it doesn’t change the fact that residents in this community, right next door to our church, are awakened in the middle of the night, unsure if the ringing of gunshots is intended to do harm to their homes, their lives, or their families.

My heart isn’t big enough to hold the anxieties, fears, pain, struggles of this community. It breaks thinking that somehow, someway, we’ve just become accustomed to this. But, this is not normal. The reason we build communities and reside in close relation is for safety; for protection; for convenience. Not to live in fear, or worry, or doubt.

I met one of my neighbors last night as I cared for my lawn. I could feel the expression on his face because of the gunshots near our church. I also felt his joy as I told him that I was the pastor of that church. My words to him in his reaction to the gunshots as I told him I was the new pastor were, “Well they [and God] called me [and us] to change that.”

It’s real now. It’s all very much so… real. It’s time to see something happen; to experience the life that God has for us all. It’s time to build better stories here and now. I can’t do it alone, but I can tell you one thing: This is not the life God has for us.

If you want to partner – you know where we are at West Court Street Church of God. There’s a better story ready for us, let’s take it. Let’s grab ahold of it and be the change that establishes the peace of God. If you’re already doing something to create a better story – GREAT! Tell me how we can help you! We want to come alongside of you to see this city transformed; renewed; revitalized!

As I wrote this the news broke that another life was taken just over a mile northeast of the church via gun violence. This is lunacy.

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Oh, the Irony.

The Irony of Palm Sunday Weekend

The irony was not lost on me this past weekend. While the Church celebrated the triumphant entry of our King, Jesus the Messiah, the world watched as kids from across the nation, and around the globe, Marched for Our Lives.

The irony was not lost, as I read the verses covering the triumphant entry. The quotes of Psalm 118:25 and “Hosanna!” ring true. Save us! The people shouted. My lexicon listed as a definition for Hosanna, or Hoshia’na, the deliverance of God from external evil. So, we shout and sung, “hosanna!” as we craved for salvation from external evils 

The irony was not lost, as most could not put aside their political differences for even a second, to hear the voice of those in pain. The suffering children of our nation crying out. They marched because they don’t want to get shot in school. They want saved from an external evil. Their “hosanna” quite possibly louder than the Church’s over the weekend 

The irony was not lost, as I continued to look into the fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem, but he did not just ride the donkey – he did so to fulfill the prophecy. That prophecy states that the king who lowered himself to ride that donkey, would disarm his people. He would take the chariots and the war horses, and break the battle bow. He would declare peace to the nations, from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth (It would flow from Him to everyone).

The irony was not lost as the March for Our Lives desires nothing more than to break the battle bow. They are not even calling for as much as a disarming of the people. They want to cripple the atrocities; the pain; the suffering that weapons of war would bring to a civilized population. They want their message to flow from sea to sea, and it did, as March for Our Lives had around 800 cities participating!

The irony was not lost as the Church welcomed her Savior, the King they needed over the king they wanted. The declaration of peace to every nation as far as the east is to the west (from sea to sea) to the ends of the earth (Zechariah 9:10) is something we realize will not happen until the consummation, but it is something we say we desire. Something that we cry for, hope for, long for and so we come before God singing and shouting “Hosanna!” in our worship services. 

The irony was not lost as children led the way, from sea to sea and spanning the globe, or the ends of the earth. Crying for peace. Longing for peace. And not just some abstract peace, but shalom, the Hebrew word used there that means an all-encompassing peace: well-being, prosperity, health… shalom. For crying out loud, they just want to go to school and not be shot...

No, the irony was not lost because in a consummated kingdom, children lead the way. That’s the image of Isaiah 11. The wolf will lay down with the lamb, leopards with goats, calves with lions, and a little child will lead them (Isaiah 11:6). The irony was not lost, but the hypocrisy was plentiful.

The irony is not lost as we go into Holy Week. The triumphant entry tells us that there is a king we want and then there is the King we need. Many who thought Jesus was the king they wanted realized he was not that king when he went to the cross. All they were left with is the King that they needed.

Now, I don’t believe in gun control. I don’t think it would work. It’s legislating morality. We could argue if individuals need AR-15′s, they have their use and they are not exactly the same as M4′s or M-16′s but they are similar platforms (see, it’s not very fruitful of a conversation). I’m also not a fan of arming everyone to the T or living in some Wild West scenario. What I’m tired of is hearing from “Christians” that they have the right to be armed – this is true in the Constitution, and no one is stopping you. They really aren’t; they just want to live, they are asking YOU for shalom. Realize this though, Jesus is the King that disarms his people, especially if he fulfills Zechariah 9. Especially if he would stop and make preparation to specifically have a donkey to ride into Jerusalem[1] on; we have to realize he at least breaks the battle bow. He establishes shalom. 

There’s too many people on the “right” that look down on the youth of today,… for advocating peace?! I get those on the “right” don’t like the rhetoric, but suggesting they should “walk-up” is victim blaming, suggesting they should learn CPR is appalling; why cannot we just love and support our children and do everything we can to provide them with safe harbor? To provide them with a “city of peace?” To provide them the closest thing we can to shalom before the consummation of the kingdom.

The point of Christianity is that we will see this consummated kingdom. Children leading the way. Wolves with lambs. Peace being brought to the ends of the earth. We ought to be aware that God is already working “out there” to make it happen! The March for Our Lives was more Christ-like than many think.

[1] Interesting side note: Jerusalem means city of peace in Hebrew.