Pursuing the Call

"Any vision worth pursuing will demand sacrifice and risk. You will be called upon to give up the actual good for the potential best. You will find it necessary to leave what is comfortable and familiar in order to embrace that which is uncomfortable and unfamiliar. And all the while, you will be haunted by the fear that this thing you are investing so much of yourself in may not work out at all." - Andy Stanley

February 3, 2009. The day we'll leave the South, all we've known, all that's familiar, all that's comfortable. We're often tempted to focus on the negative or throw pity parties, but in this season I'm especially reminded of what Jesus did for us. To enter humanity as an infant? To leave the pleasures of heaven for the cross? To experience separation from God so that we might experience eternity with Him? Yes, these are incredible sacrifices, and our recognition of them makes it much easier to follow God's call.

Not only does the recognition of Jesus' work give us courage, but it assures us of purpose and allows us to dream of how God would use us. What will happen in East St. Louis? We have no idea. But we can dream. It's our dream that our neighborhood will be transformed into a place where our kids can freely ride their bikes, and that they'll be taught-and even discipled-by the 14 year-old who is presently concerned only with football, sex, and the drama of gang life.

This Christmas season, I urge you to search out what God's purpose for your life is. Where is He calling you to sacrifice? To step out of your comfort zone? Is He calling you to follow Him to an unfamiliar place? It's hard, it's uneasy, and certainly uncomfortable-but step out, and God will draw you closer to Himself, and He will use you more than you can imagine!

Where will we find our niche?

Every successful business fills a void in the economic market. It thrives because it does what others are not doing. Ministries and churches are similar. As I thought about what our niche will be, I thought of all the issues and problems we could address in East St. Louis--education, housing, healthcare, teenage pregancy, absentee fatherhood...the list goes on and on. The dilemma is obvious: Where does one start? Is there a core issue? How do you approach one issue and forsake all others?
It's easy to get wrapped up in all of the issues and not really address any of them. And, it would be easy to think that simply addressing all of the external issues would produce lasting change. But, the reality is that, even if all issues and problems in a society were erased, the people would still be the same. In other words, the real issue is that we are sinful and separated from God, and apart from the restoration of that relationship, anything else is like using a mere band-aid to cover an epidemic.
I have come to this conclusion: We must build leaders for the Kingdom of God. We must build leaders who remain in the city, who reinvest their lives in the next generation, who reproduce themselves, and who reverse the cycles of generational sin. As we build these leaders, we will address many needs, and that attention will be much more effective and lasting as it is coupled with Gospel transformation. Then, through these leaders, we will continue to address the needs of the city--always focusing on the core Need--for generation after generation.

Want to learn more about Rebirth?

While a blog is a great way to post short stories or updates online, I realize it is lacking in its ability to communicate a lot of details. So, if you'd like more information about our ministry or would like to consider supporting us, please email us at RebirthESL@gmail.com. We would be happy to provide you with more information about our plans, our hopes, and our dreams for the city of East St. Louis!

East St. Louis Wins State Title!!!

The Flyers won the Illinois 7A Championship Saturday afternoon. I was so excited to be able to watch the game on television. These are the young men we'll be sharing our lives with in just a few months! If you'd like to read an article or watch the highlights, there are links below:

http://www.bnd.com/409/story/559996.html

http://myfoxstl.varsitynetworks.com/default.aspx?hierarchy_id=Media-Details&media_id=419000&media_type=V

Football Plays for State Championship!

East St. Louis won it's semi-final game this past Saturday, and plays this weekend for the school's first state title in almost two decades. I think team's success this year really confirms that coaching will be a great way for me to enter into relationships with these men.

East St. Louis: In Focus #3

The East St. Louis Flyers are a perennial athletic powerhouse, especially in football. Many kids escape the life of the streets by playing sports. The simple pleasure of athletics gives them a break from the harsh reality that often threatens their existence. Football is so highly regarded in the city that there are a significant number of players in the program. This is part of the reason I plan to use volunteer coaching as my entry into the community and into the lives of these youth. It is our hope that this "natural in" would allow me to move quickly into relationships and begin to build trust. This would then provide me with opportunities to share the hope of Jesus Christ with those who have little reason to hope in anything around them, and so many of whom have no idea what true hope is.

Sitting and waiting...and acting too?

Kristin and I got a dog this summer. I think the previous owners must have fed him from the table, because any time there is food around, Buck is around. As I watched him wait patiently before me yesterday, and then lie on the floor beneath my feet, it really hit me: What does it mean to wait before God? You see, Buck eventually gets impatient, and moves on to the next thing--which is the story of my life! But, we aren't called to pray and then do nothing...so what does it mean to really wait on the Lord?

I don't know if I have a great answer for this. I'm still mulling it over. What I've learned so far is that there is a difference between praying and then taking action apart from God, and praying and then taking action in partnership with Him. I think there is a way to wait patiently at His feet even as we act. I am not sure I know exactly how to do this, but I want to continue to learn. Maybe it's having a continuously prayerful mindset? I only know a few people who really live like this--and I'm not one of them. Or maybe it's simply being aware that He is with us and only in Him are those things He calls us to possible? Regardless, this image of Buck at my feet has stuck with me, and I'm fighting to learn what it means to expectantly wait on God to move, even as I move in the direction He is calling me.

East St. Louis: In Focus - #2

As I sit back and look at our support situation right now, this picture is so challenging. Why, you might ask, is a scene of kids playing on old mattresses in the midst of housing projects challenging? The answer is simple: Joy. These kids are living in poverty—there is no arguing that reality. Yet if you were to be there taking this you would see the joy that they are experiencing even in the midst of their situation. Our support is really hurting right now, and it’s so tempting to give up. But looking at these kids challenges me so much. The voice inside my head screams, “You lucky to be above the poverty line whiner, get up, keep moving, and quit complaining about the economy—you’re fortunate to even feel the effects of it!” With my perspective shifted by the joy of children, I move forward. It’s not an easy for any of us who are affected by this economic downturn, and I don't write this to minimize our situation. However, I think we’d all do well to realize how blessed we are to even feel the effects of these financial struggles, and to learn a lesson from those who are far less fortunate, yet immeasurably more joyful.

East St. Louis: In Focus

At first glance, this picture seems to portray the creativity that characterizes kids in the inner-city. However, the graffiti in the background is gang art, and the bears indicate multiple tragedies. Each time a person from the neighborhood is killed, a bear is nailed to a telephone pole. Each bear represents a life that was cut short because the youth of East St. Louis choose to invest their lives in drugs, violence, and gang activity. This is a sobering reality that few of us will ever face. As I sat in a truck taking this picture, it occurred to me that kids are dying each week, that my own children will grow up on these streets...and that my mind is too often preoccupied with things that possess only earthly significance. I’m learning that the greatest reality, the thing of utmost significance, is that—apart from Christ—lives are lost, and these youth spend eternity in a place that is far worse than the one where they spent their earthly lives, something they never dreamed possible.

Dreaming the Impossible

When I flew into St. Louis Monday, I looked at the city from the plane and felt overwhelmed. What need! What despair! It all rushed back again, and I wanted to run from reality. However, as I drove away from the airport, I began to pray, and realize again the opportunity for God’s glory in this city. I thought of how I once lived in a world of illusions, as if football and girls were an end. And then I thought of the youth of East St. Louis, and the illusion of life they have bought into. But how great will it be when they see the Truth, the hope of Christ! When those living in illusions are born into reality, they can become leaders for the true King. And they will bring light to a dark and desolate city, making much of the our Glorious God.
I’m only here for a few more days, but as I ride around the city I’m dreaming, and I’d ask you to dream with me. Would God choose to use a group of underprivileged, poorly educated, and hopeless youth to demonstrate his glory to surrounding cities, regions, and a nation of affluent, elite citizens? I think He would, and I think He will. Please pray and dream with me to this end!

Fear and Trembling

Kristin and I are studying Nehemiah as we prepare to launch this ministry. We are realizing more and more that we are so much like him--scared to death! The thought of staying in Spartanburg is so much more comfortable than the reality of leaving all we know. The thought of being in a network of existing friends is easier, as is being near family as we raise our own children...The list could go on and on. We are trying our best to take baby step after baby step forward in this vision, and trust that God has so much more for us in East St. Louis that He would if we did not go. We want to be people that, like Nehemiah, are humble before God, but who are willing to lift our heads and follow where He leads.