If you regularly read this space, you know that God has been working on my heart since the early part of the summer. Some key conversations, a couple of influential books, and a few good friends who have been sharing this crazy movement of the Holy Spirit – and here we are at the beginning of November.
And those pangs of regret, seeds of dreams, longings of the heart … are slowly becoming a reality.
I am at a crossroads of sorts. I can either continue to be sucked into a version of Christianity that involves only serving the saved, maintaining my own comfort, and absolutely zero risk, or I can step out on faith, knowing that few may go with me, the road will be rough, and the immediate return may be small.
I choose the rough road.
We (myself and those in my immediate circle, small though it is), have found ourselves becoming “consumer Christians” – seeking only what we can absorb and not reaching out to others. We have become self-focused and small-minded.
And it must stop.
The area around my church and my home is not wealthy. In fact, the pockets of poverty (and all that comes with it) are overwhelming. Even with our best efforts, we can only make a drop in the bucket. But I don’t believe that Jesus would look at these people and throw up His hands. In fact, I know He wouldn’t. He would roll up His sleeves, sit down for a meal, and love on them with all that He had.
In fact, that’s just what He did.
And that’s just what we are planning to do.
We are dreaming of two separate opportunities to share Christmas with our less-fortunate neighbors. We want to sit among them, learn their names, play with their children, share a meal together. We want to demonstrate the love of Christ, and we want to let them know that we are all the same at our deepest level – pilgrims on a journey.
We believe that when Jesus speaks in Matthew 25 about clothing, feeding, visiting the least of these, His command was a literal for all who follow Him.
May I ask those of you who are reading this and are local to Owensboro – consider joining us? Go with us to share love and Christ this Christmas in a tangible way. And, may I humbly ask you to share this post with others?
If you are not local, may we ask you to pray for us and leave your name in the comments? We need you to hold us accountable. I will continue to post updates in this space.
We are daring to dream big. May we even dare to start a revolution? A revolution of showing Christ’s love to our neighbors regardless of race, education, social standing, and any other issue that divides? We present this to you with trembling hands and hearts, but we know that we dare not follow where He is leading.
Daring to dream … starting the revolution…