What is a missionary? That’s easy, a person who travels the length of the world to tell others about Jesus, right? Yes, but to understand the true guts of a missionary, the spirit behind the action to “go and make disciples,” we need to understand something about blessings. When a person my age looks at…
Tag: Evangelism
The Donut Hole
The rocks began to fall without warning. I was just able to clear myself from being crushed by a boulder, my legs taking a glancing impact, causing cuts and bruises. The hike was turning into something none of us had anticipated. Earlier that day we had set out to find the Donut Hole, a waterfall…
The Contagion of Joy
Of all the leaders I have ever known, Dr. Bill Bright, the founder and president of Cru, was the easiest for me to follow. I think it’s because I love to follow joy! Whenever I ever heard him speak, two things became apparent and found their way straight to my heart. His continuous call for…
Purple Rain on the F Train
In the early days of our stint in NYC, I met a youth pastor named Dario who had a fantastic church facility, but few students to fill it. We got talking one day about what Cru did well, and how he wanted his church to serve his neighborhood in Jamaica, Queens. So, I asked a…
On Leaving and Coming Home
The Gospel invites us to walk out the will of God. We can do that because of Jesus’ obedience to the Father’s will, to be the perfect Lamb Sacrifice. His obedience categorically crushed our disobedience. Not that we won’t on occasion slip, stub a toe, stumble, or fall, as we try to stay in step….
Old Words To Young Hearts
Julian of Norwich, an anchoress and prophetic voice to her generation said, “We are Christ’s bliss.” Think for a moment how deeply loved you are, more than any text would suggest, or theology argues. With this bliss from the right hand of God, we labor without thought of whether we have enough to go the…
One Morning On Miller Street
The hot August air sat heavy on the street, as though too tired to stir. Brooklyn, East New York, with few trees, just ripples in asphalt. The window fans whirred. Mama’s sat on fire escapes dabbing their forehead, watching children scurry after bubbles. I was here with Joy, a college sophomore from Minnesota, who was…
The Little Girl With Generous Eyes
The little girl with generous eyes and small teeth set in a wide smile, drifted from one side of the parade to the other. She offered a small pamphlet to everyone watching the parade, an invitation to a pageant at the African Methodist congregation. Courageous young spirit, I thought to myself. The marching bands, floats…
Climb the Stairwell
Back in the 90’s we would take our new staff into East New York, Brooklyn, for their first brush with evangelism. It never failed that the beat cops would stop our group, point to the subway and say, “leave! It’s too dangerous for you here.” We didn’t. We had an affiliate, Willie Branch, who ran…
When God Breaks In…
He was a doctor of internal medicine, and his words were a jaded iceberg, admittedly desensitized by the dying he sees every day. “There are no miracles for someone in stage four cancer… at least I’ve never seen one,” he said. “My mom passed away about eight years ago. She was only 55, and at…
Where Love Grows
I’m old enough to be his father. He just turned 30, and will soon be a father of four. We come from two very different places, rural and city, yet we have found a common crazy; we love teens enough, to go to the hard places to reach them. We met when he volunteered at a…
A Young Scientist Meets an Old Saint
I met him on a recent flight, and our light banter soon turned more serious. “Having a more rationale mind, how do you see faith in God playing a part?” I asked. “Not at all,” he confided. “If I can’t prove it, I don’t believe it.” Sebastian is a recent high school graduate, and one…
To Sir, with love 