Welcome to this new publication called For Our City. I pray the Lord will use it to inspire you, equip you, and unleash you to seek Jesus’ kingdom first in whatever community He has planted you. If you like it, if it helps you, or if you just like me, please share this with your friends and enemies.
A Personal Story
His name was Charlie. Unassuming, but not timid. Wise, but not intellectual. Faithful, but not ambitious.
He was one of our deacons, so it wasn’t uncommon for him to stop by my office when he was at the church. But this time he had something on his mind. He wanted to start a ministry to homeless men. It was an interesting idea, but frankly, not to me.
Our church is located in the suburbs, so we don’t see a lot of homeless people in plain sight. We were also in a season of rebuilding; and as a pastor, I knew if we were going to grow, we needed as much of our leadership resources focused on developing leaders and discipling Jesus followers. Starting an all new ministry when the ones we had were struggling didn’t inspire me.
Of course, I didn’t tell Charlie that. Instead, I just listened, affirmed him, and asked for more information. I assumed I would never hear anything else about it. About a month later Charlie came back, this time with a brochure and a plan.
I soon discovered he really wasn’t asking my permission. He was patient, humble, and respectful, but the Lord had put something on his heart, and he was going to see it through. And he did. This ministry to homeless men became a beautiful way for our church to both show and tell the Gospel.
As I watched Charlie methodically recruit people to serve, and then as I watched those who served do so with such simple gladness of heart, it became an “ah-ha moment” for me.
I’m not sure where I picked this up, but somewhere along the way I developed a “head-first” approach to leadership. If I could just teach the right things in the right way, people would get right and become the right kind of Jesus-follower. But Charlie showed me that a change in thinking, a change in affections often begin with a change in behavior. Most of the time we have to work our way toward transformation.
New life in Christ is a gift from God. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. But faith is never alone! James said that faith without works is actually dead. Genuine faith is always expressed in practical acts of obedience, service, and sacrifice.
So it was with Charlie and his angels of mercy who served the least of these among us in our own community.
Back to the Bible
As the Israelites found themselves exiled in the foreign land of Babylon, they wanted to go back home. But the prophet Jeremiah told they weren’t going home. Instead, he gave them this word from the Lord:
This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. 7 Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.” -- Jeremiah 29:4-7
Rather than sending them home, the Lord called his people to plant their lives in the city, to pursue the peace or wholeness of the city, and to pray for the city.
For Our City
The change we want to see in our neighborhoods, in our communities, or even in our nation does not happen because we simply tell everyone what they should believe, how they should think, or even what they should do. Instead, communities rise up when Jesus-loving people plant our lives in our communities through genuine friendships and intentional partnerships with all kinds of people from all walks of life.
Our love for neighbor is not only rooted in Jesus’ commandments, which is enough, but also in what we believe about the dignity of every human being. Stamped with the Imago Dei, every person is worthy of honor, respect, and our very best, no-strings-attached, effort.
Charlie didn’t ask the homeless guys who they voted for or what they believed about the Virgin Birth of Jesus before he and his team picked them up, fed them, housed them, washed their clothes, and engaged them in friendship. Instead, they just loved them as neighbors
We may not all believe the same things, but we all care about people. And loving God necessarily means we love those who bear his image.
Before you think this is just a dreamy notion, loving our neighbors well demands more than good intentions from a handful of do-gooders. Random acts of kindness should be woven into the fabric of our daily lives, but there’s nothing random about building an environment where everyone in your city has the best opportunity to live the life God created them to live.
People are too important and the challenges are too big for pop-up efforts that fizzle out before next season. The kind of change our hearts long for, the kind of change that’s possible, the kind of change that changes lives forever happen as blue-collar Christians invite all kinds of people from every sector of influence to work together over time for the welfare of the city.
Join the Journey
So it’s my hope this newsletter will encourage you and become a go-to resource for you as you seek Jesus’ kingdom first in your own community. I am not an expert, but I am a student. So as I learn from others, I’ll pass it along to you. As I see people doing it well, I’ll share their story. As I make mistakes, I’ll let you learn from them.
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That means Charlie is with the Lord today. I’m sure it was an amazing moment when he saw Jesus face to face. Charlie is now whole, now worshipping his Savior. But as he looks around and sees the kingdom rule of Jesus, I like to think he’s not completely surprised by what he sees in heaven. It’s the same kind of work he spent his life doing on earth.