Tactically Speaking

I signed the lease this week. Jesse and I are moving into Detroit Shoreway. God, please help us to make rent. It seems tight already, but kingdom people have come up big... I'm almost getting used to Him coming through in some weird way only just in time. It has already become clear that this move into Cleveland is so worth it from a kingdom perspective. A woman on our floor literally starting crying when she found out that pastors were moving into here building and were shepherding a congregation across the street! From just being able to talk to JP through my window to connecting with my new neighbor, Emmanuel, being right there means so much. Not that it is so glorious... I mean, JP is a trouble-maker and E-man is a pothead. The place wreaks actually! However, this move is right in line with the vision. "Pray constantly and courageously... Reach and disciple... see life-long, Jesus-following leaders raised up." We are not an extraction team from white suburbia.

Tactically speaking, I want to want to say "yes" to the Spirit every time and position myself as a messenger of truth. For whatever reason, I was compelled to say "yes" to bringing Ronald's friend, Rodney, all the way from East 116th to be a part of what we're doing at West 52nd. This move could be counted among the many that the pragmatist might criticize in my life path. However, he was engaged the whole time he was in the church. Some of the guys were bad that day, but he was not shaken. On the way back, he asked me how someone becomes a Christian. Now that is some kind of question! Is it possible that he truly has no clue? Rodney doesn't even have bad theology; he straight-up has no theology. I walked through the gospel and laid it out big. "Everyone has decide for themselves whether they are going to cry out to Jesus, whether they'll admit that He is the one they need, whether they will give everything for Him knowing He gave everything for us." Rodney has a lot to think about and is going to keep coming back to hang out with us, maybe the first believers he has known personally.

There were a lot of people in church over Christmas weekend. Honestly though, it was a hard weekend. Madness. Andy Williams got it wrong; it's the most stressful time of the year. However, our Christmas services and sermons Saturday and Sunday were steadied being utterly gospel-centered. That's got to be the way to do Christmas. The reason our world doesn't care about Jesus' birth is because they don't grasp the life, death, and resurrection of the God of the universe in their place... So that's a pretty big oversight. One major prayer request this week is that the truth about Jesus will make a life-long effect in the hoards of nominal "Christians" that stormed the universal church this weekend.