I'm so thankful for Thanksgiving Break. This is simply because it gives me a reason to fly home, gather around the table with my lovely family, and indulge in Chinese food to make up for all the lost time I haven't had it in New Jersey. I have finally returned home.
It has been 2 and a half months since becoming a youth pastor, and boy, has time flewn. It was just yesterday I met this filipino community, getting acquainted through the college group, the first youth night, and we cannot forget the first Sunday morning when they presented that awkward, expanded picture they took from facebook to be shown on powerpoint. Now, they've come closer and closer to being family to me. As I've been reflecting on how the Lord has transformed my heart as I've been in this filipino community -- besides daily growing more in love with his Word and experiencing the struggles of ministry -- the word firstfruits have raced into the forefront of my mind.
Let me tell you a story that I was told; a story that we, as a church was told on a Sunday morning.
A young couple was sharing a testimony one Sunday on why they give. They were both born in the Philippines, and they had met at my church, Bible Church International. They eventually got married and lived on a very low budget. Month by month, they were getting by, constantly trusting that the Lord would provide. The husband's income would not be able to pay off the house they owned, nor the car they drove; it took both of them. They knew their expenses were tight. They were living from paycheck to paycheck. Even so, they continued to tithe, knowing that giving to God was their call. They knew that even before building their own houses, that building the house of God was their priority. They could trust in the sovereignty of God in the midst of their finances and they desired to continue in their faithful response of worship to God by giving what they had. One day, the wife saw person after person getting laid off, and eventually she did as well. They had begun to give themselves to despair. How would they pay their rent? How could they pay off their car? It was impossible. The day drew near to pay their rent, and they knew that they would not be able to gather enough scraps to give the full payment. They would be living on the streets! In the midst of this struggle, they believed in the power of God. When the offering plate came by, they handed in the little that they had, praying for the Lord's provision. That day, with many brothers and sisters lifting up their prayer requests to the Lord, two generous individuals within the church gave them money enough to cover their rent cost and more. Their obedience to God gave them a taste of the early church community; where no one had any lack. This is as accurate a story as I can remember.
As I've received paycheck after paycheck, it hasn't been a struggle to tithe enough, but it has been a struggle to tithe even when it is inconvenient. Certain weeks, I'd remind myself of my low budget, promising myself that I'd tithe after the next paycheck. Many Sundays, I'd forget to tithe, promising myself that I'd tithe the week after. The truth is, week by week, tithing is not always convenient; and I also believe that tithing wasn't always meant to be convenient. The imageries within the scriptures automatically come to mind of the Corinthian church. Paul exhorted them for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. And also, the story of the widow's offering in Luke 21, when she threw into the pot everything she had, which came down to two copper coins. The Lord sees this kind of faithfulness. These are hearts -- between the filipino couple, to the Corinthian church, to the poverty-stricken widow -- of profound faithfulness that shouts at the gates of hell, "The Lord is greater than my circumstances! The Lord will triumph over my cumbersome situations! The Lord reigns!" They recognized just how much our God, who sits on the throne, deserves everything we have. We don't just give when we offer our possessions and resources to God, we give back. We have nothing to give to God that was not first given to us.
I believe that this is why we're called to the practice of firstfruits. We are to offer no room for excuses or circumstances to overtake us. The moment we are given our paycheck, before spending any of it, we give to God in the building of his church. Before we do anything with our time during the day, we give him the first of our time by the practice of prayer and the the reading of the scriptures. God wants the first of our time, the first of our money, the first of our everything. This is the practice of firstfruits. Our God reigns and is deserving of everything we can give back to him. Do we believe this?
I do.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
If I Teach Nothing Else
I haven't had a lot of time to write as of late. It has been about 3 weeks since I had last written and 2 weeks since I've been meaning to write. 2 weeks ago, I went on a leaders retreat with my youth leaders, and it was probably the highlight of highlights so far during my time here. Sure, I've made some good, dependable friends, I've eaten some unique, mouth-watering, cultural foods, and I've even learned a great deal of lessons from both having a full time job and living on my own, but none have been more satisfying than watching my leaders as they gradually learn to pray.
My title at this church is the "Youth and College Pastor" and my responsibility is specifically to care for the 6th grade-college seniors as a whole. In addition, sometimes I get the opportunity to speak into some of the young adults at our church because I lead a bible study, established by the pastor who was before me, Jeremiah Lepasana. This bible study is called Table and consists of college students and young adults to the age of 30 -- though we're not putting a limit on that, it just seems that most people in the church are married by then and join some of the married-couple groups. Youth and college is structured around the friday youth club we hold, Manna. Most of the college students at our church serve as counselors in Manna, and the kids who come ranging from 6th grade to high school interact with these counselors more than they interact with me. It is structured in this way because community in this younger age is built through common interests and similar struggles. Above all, the role models that these teenagers would more naturally incline to would be those who are cool instead of a youngen who is transitioning into an old-y like me -- at least in their eyes. They look up to the college students, who are close to them in age, but much further along than they in spiritual maturity. Personal maturity? Well, we can talk about that another time. So, basically what I'm trying to say is, at Manna youth club, the college students run the show. My main priority is to pour into the college students what I can in teaching and discipleship and also, to pour into the kids what I can in teaching, while the college students pour into the students in discipleship. Thus far, it has been an effective system that is also basic. In no way do I feel like an expert, but I am constantly learning and prayerfully reflecting.
So that leads to 2 weeks ago. We cancelled friday night youth to leave on a weekend retreat from friday to sunday in Pocono, which is right across the border from New Jersey, in Pennsylvania. We were excited, probably all for different reasons. They were excited because coming out of high school, who doesn't want a retreat where they don't have to do all the work but only get poured into? I was excited because of all that I had written out on blueprint. The Lord had a plan to build unity, equip ministers, and inspire vision. The Lord had a plan to transform us. I told the leaders that this was a retreat for the purposes of feeding them, building the bond within our team as leaders, and casting vision for the year of ministry. And so we did those things. We had team initiatives where we interconnected hands in a circle, half-enthusiastically and half-frustratingly attempting to unravel what was convoluted. We had one that involved a pair of magic shoes and lots of heavy-lifting as the team made their best effort to traverse across a desert of hot, blistering sand. And we also had one that required a blindfolded leader to walk through a field entrenched with landmines while another leader guided by voice but without sight through the signals of one with sight but without voice. Learning to work together as a group to accomplish one task without leaving anyone behind proved itself to be difficult, but the process it took to get there, though was not one filled with elation and comfort, was worth the sacrifice. Sometimes we don't realize that the cost of following Jesus includes the cost of doing it with Jesus' disciples. I think that became more sobering during that weekend.
But even before all of that, my first priority, if nothing else happened at retreat, and if I was to teach nothing else for the rest of the year, was to give these leaders a resource where they could access the Lord Jesus themselves; for it is the Lord Jesus who speaks his revelation into my heart that makes the materialization of these plans and schedules possible. Right when we got to Pocono, we settled down, and gathered into a group to pray for each other. One by one each individual leader stepped forth and sat in the middle of the group to be prayed for as the Holy Spirit had led through a practice I usually refer to as prophetic prayer. Without any request, the person praying for the individual in the middle would speak out the words given to them by the Holy Spirit. Each leader was blessed by the words prayed over them and the words affirming them of their work and the character seen in their lives. There was no holding back. We prayed for 2 hours and the leaders had no intention to stop. They wanted more. They wanted to hear more of the Holy Spirit. They wanted to speak more in the words of the Holy Spirit. They wanted the affirmation of the Holy Spirit. They wanted the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They wanted the Holy Spirit. And that night we worshipped the Holy Spirit and the power and presence therein. That power and presence went forth with us through that retreat and out of that retreat into youth. When the Holy Spirit blows into the caverns of our soul, the spirit of prayer that hungers and thirsts for the presence and power of God becomes not occasional but routine. It becomes not a rarity, but a common day-to-day habit. It becomes like a meal; like a necessity; that if we have not eaten, we are not satisfied. The spirit of prayer, I pray will continue to gradually invade the hearts of these leaders.
We also had some time to cast vision together. We sat for 2 and a half hours, under the incandescent light of a single lamp in the living room, discussing one phrase that would pack together what we want to accomplish for the rest of that year in Manna youth club. Bright ideas were thrown from the left and the right of what we felt were some of the deepest struggles of our youth. I heard passionate voices of individuals who weren't only speaking out empty phrases, but ones who believed in the youth and their susceptibility to the power of the gospel through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. I even heard fiery passions from individuals convicted that the gospel can transform the youth; speaking only from hearts that had been taken captive for the gospel of Christ when they once were standing on sinking sand. Now, on the solid rock of Christ, they stand. The spirit of prayer led to the voices of passion. The voices of passion grew into hearts of vision. And these hearts of vision, as we continue forth prayerfully, will lead to the hands and feet of Christ. It will lead to praxis that fulfills that vision.
We capped off the weekend with a sermon spoken in the middle of the woods, where leaves of every color were scattered across the damp soil from the morning dew. We sat on a tree trunk that had been blown down, uprooted, and dead while surrounded by leafless trees that scraped the skies like the monumental structures I remembered from my home town. The nature was gorgeous, the sun was out, and the Word of God was spoken. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
What an appropriate ending.
My title at this church is the "Youth and College Pastor" and my responsibility is specifically to care for the 6th grade-college seniors as a whole. In addition, sometimes I get the opportunity to speak into some of the young adults at our church because I lead a bible study, established by the pastor who was before me, Jeremiah Lepasana. This bible study is called Table and consists of college students and young adults to the age of 30 -- though we're not putting a limit on that, it just seems that most people in the church are married by then and join some of the married-couple groups. Youth and college is structured around the friday youth club we hold, Manna. Most of the college students at our church serve as counselors in Manna, and the kids who come ranging from 6th grade to high school interact with these counselors more than they interact with me. It is structured in this way because community in this younger age is built through common interests and similar struggles. Above all, the role models that these teenagers would more naturally incline to would be those who are cool instead of a youngen who is transitioning into an old-y like me -- at least in their eyes. They look up to the college students, who are close to them in age, but much further along than they in spiritual maturity. Personal maturity? Well, we can talk about that another time. So, basically what I'm trying to say is, at Manna youth club, the college students run the show. My main priority is to pour into the college students what I can in teaching and discipleship and also, to pour into the kids what I can in teaching, while the college students pour into the students in discipleship. Thus far, it has been an effective system that is also basic. In no way do I feel like an expert, but I am constantly learning and prayerfully reflecting.
So that leads to 2 weeks ago. We cancelled friday night youth to leave on a weekend retreat from friday to sunday in Pocono, which is right across the border from New Jersey, in Pennsylvania. We were excited, probably all for different reasons. They were excited because coming out of high school, who doesn't want a retreat where they don't have to do all the work but only get poured into? I was excited because of all that I had written out on blueprint. The Lord had a plan to build unity, equip ministers, and inspire vision. The Lord had a plan to transform us. I told the leaders that this was a retreat for the purposes of feeding them, building the bond within our team as leaders, and casting vision for the year of ministry. And so we did those things. We had team initiatives where we interconnected hands in a circle, half-enthusiastically and half-frustratingly attempting to unravel what was convoluted. We had one that involved a pair of magic shoes and lots of heavy-lifting as the team made their best effort to traverse across a desert of hot, blistering sand. And we also had one that required a blindfolded leader to walk through a field entrenched with landmines while another leader guided by voice but without sight through the signals of one with sight but without voice. Learning to work together as a group to accomplish one task without leaving anyone behind proved itself to be difficult, but the process it took to get there, though was not one filled with elation and comfort, was worth the sacrifice. Sometimes we don't realize that the cost of following Jesus includes the cost of doing it with Jesus' disciples. I think that became more sobering during that weekend.
But even before all of that, my first priority, if nothing else happened at retreat, and if I was to teach nothing else for the rest of the year, was to give these leaders a resource where they could access the Lord Jesus themselves; for it is the Lord Jesus who speaks his revelation into my heart that makes the materialization of these plans and schedules possible. Right when we got to Pocono, we settled down, and gathered into a group to pray for each other. One by one each individual leader stepped forth and sat in the middle of the group to be prayed for as the Holy Spirit had led through a practice I usually refer to as prophetic prayer. Without any request, the person praying for the individual in the middle would speak out the words given to them by the Holy Spirit. Each leader was blessed by the words prayed over them and the words affirming them of their work and the character seen in their lives. There was no holding back. We prayed for 2 hours and the leaders had no intention to stop. They wanted more. They wanted to hear more of the Holy Spirit. They wanted to speak more in the words of the Holy Spirit. They wanted the affirmation of the Holy Spirit. They wanted the guidance of the Holy Spirit. They wanted the Holy Spirit. And that night we worshipped the Holy Spirit and the power and presence therein. That power and presence went forth with us through that retreat and out of that retreat into youth. When the Holy Spirit blows into the caverns of our soul, the spirit of prayer that hungers and thirsts for the presence and power of God becomes not occasional but routine. It becomes not a rarity, but a common day-to-day habit. It becomes like a meal; like a necessity; that if we have not eaten, we are not satisfied. The spirit of prayer, I pray will continue to gradually invade the hearts of these leaders.
We also had some time to cast vision together. We sat for 2 and a half hours, under the incandescent light of a single lamp in the living room, discussing one phrase that would pack together what we want to accomplish for the rest of that year in Manna youth club. Bright ideas were thrown from the left and the right of what we felt were some of the deepest struggles of our youth. I heard passionate voices of individuals who weren't only speaking out empty phrases, but ones who believed in the youth and their susceptibility to the power of the gospel through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. I even heard fiery passions from individuals convicted that the gospel can transform the youth; speaking only from hearts that had been taken captive for the gospel of Christ when they once were standing on sinking sand. Now, on the solid rock of Christ, they stand. The spirit of prayer led to the voices of passion. The voices of passion grew into hearts of vision. And these hearts of vision, as we continue forth prayerfully, will lead to the hands and feet of Christ. It will lead to praxis that fulfills that vision.
We capped off the weekend with a sermon spoken in the middle of the woods, where leaves of every color were scattered across the damp soil from the morning dew. We sat on a tree trunk that had been blown down, uprooted, and dead while surrounded by leafless trees that scraped the skies like the monumental structures I remembered from my home town. The nature was gorgeous, the sun was out, and the Word of God was spoken. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
What an appropriate ending.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)