THE HEALING POWER OF COMMUNITY

Sometimes I think God hammers me over the head with something until I get it.

That’s what’s been happening with me lately.

First, I started noticing a pattern in the conversations I was having with all sorts of people. The pattern that started to form was the common denominator in every conversation. Eventually I saw a video clip that, at first glance, had nothing to do with the pattern, until the very end. That’s when I realized that God was trying to show me something profound.

First, take a look at this video. It’s about addiction – which is not the subject that God has been talking to me about – but near the end the narrator says something that most certainly does relate to the concept.

Take a look:

Hopefully you’ve watched the video and you’ve come across the part where he reveals that one of the strongest weapons against drug addiction is community.

The most powerful part of the video for me was this part:

“Human beings have an innate need to bond and connect. When we are happy and healthy we will bond with the people around us. But when we can’t because we’re traumatized, isolated or beaten down by life, we will bond with something that gives us some sense of relief. It might be checking our smart phones constantly. It might be pornography. It might be gambling, etc. but we will bond with something because that is our human nature. The path out of unhealthy bonding is to form healthy bonds - to be connected to people who you want to be present with. Addiction is just one symptom of the crisis of disconnection that’s happening all around us. We all feel it. “

And the absolute best quote of all is this one:

“The opposite of addiction is not sobriety. The opposite of addiction is connection.”

I would like to substitute the word “community” for “connection”.

In almost every single conversation I have had with various people over the last few months, the theme of community, and the evidence that what people need more than anything else is community, has been unmistakable.

Some of these were conversations with homeless people, others were conversations with small business owners and with self-employed entrepreneurs. Some of these people were lifelong friends and some of them were practically strangers to me. But in every case the solution to their inner struggle was to find a community of people who would love them for who they are and provide a stable support system for them when they felt weak, or lonely, or tempted to return to bad habits.

What does all this mean? It means that the Ekklesia of Christ is what people are looking for most. They all want, and desperately need, a place to belong. They crave a true family of people who will offer love and acceptance. They are dying to find a community of support and faith that gathers around Jesus and looks to Him for love, hope, relief and peace.

Bottom line: We were not made to survive alone. Community is what connects us to life. Ekklesia is what connects us to Jesus and to one another.

Sadly, the barriers to finding community are numerous. Many people are surrounded by those who would love to welcome them and embrace them into a community of faith, but for various reasons these people cannot – or will not – make the decisions necessary to prioritize community over work, or sleep, or convenience.

That’s been the most frustrating thing for me, honestly. I’ve listened to these different people as they share their brokenness and I see how being surrounded by a loving community of fellow Christians would alleviate their suffering and propel them into a healthier lifestyle. But in nearly every case the person has one excuse or the other about why they must remain alone, or isolated. In some cases the person is reaching out for community but is constantly sabotaged by an unrealistic expectation of perfection in other people. So, when people within a community prove to be flawed, that’s enough for them to justify disengagement.

What I’d love to do is to connect all of these different people to one another, or to help them discover a community of believers who could help them to see and experience the presence of Jesus more powerfully. But as desperate as some people are for community and connection, the truth is that there is a cost and sadly many are not willing to give up what they have to realize it.

What I’m learning is that Ekklesia as God designed it is exactly what people need to be happy and healthy and productive. But at the same time, there is an Enemy who works day and night to place roadblocks and obstacles in the way to make sure they never actually get connected to Christ through His Body.

Loneliness is a powerful weapon. It crushes people. It strips them of the connections they need for life. It can even kill someone with enough sustained exposure.

Yes, loneliness is powerful. The only thing more powerful than loneliness is love.

My prayer is that those who need love most will have the courage to do whatever it takes to find connection and to experience the community of Christ before it’s too late.

-kg

THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION

"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation...And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." - (2 Cor 5:18-19)


On Saturday, God worked a miracle. A son who had not spoken to his father for over 7 years got in his car, drove to a senior care center, signed his name on the register, and sat down in a chair in room 316 to talk to his dad.

His dad was dying of bone cancer. The two of them last spoke outside an all-nite diner half a decade ago. The son had been driving a delivery truck and saw an old man at the bus stop who he thought looked like his father. He pulled over. The homeless man turned out to be his dad. He gave him a few dollars, they talked for five minutes, and then the son drove away again.

The two never exchanged phone numbers. They didn't know how to get back in touch with one another again. Years went by. It seemed hopeless.

About a year ago I started visiting Robert Higgins in his motel room. He lived on the third floor, all alone. He would talk to me about that day he last saw his son. His eyes would fill with tears as he remembered his family: A son, two daughters, an ex-wife, all lost to him now.

Robert had no photographs of his wife or his children. "I'm not even sure I would know them if I saw them again," he told me. Once, a few months ago, I asked a friend to drop by and pick up Robert's laundry for him. Later on, Robert had confessed to me that when my friend walked in the door he wondered if it might possibly be his son.

We looked for Robert's son for several months. I came up empty, but another friend found a series of phone numbers online that looked promising. I called all five phone numbers and left messages. No one called back.

In the meantime, Robert ended up having surgery on his arm to remove cancerous parts of his right arm. He received a porcelain prosthetic from his right shoulder to below his elbow, beneath the skin. The cancerous bone was removed, but his arm was useless, resting limply in a black nylon sling around his neck.

Over the next several months, Robert struggled to take care of himself in the motel room. With only one arm, he was unable to shave, to open his food, to cook for himself, or to get dressed. There were a few scares due to his emphyzyma as well and he eventually agreed to relocate to a senior care center near my house.

In all this time we spoke very little about his family. It became too painful to be reminded of a son and a family that he might never get to see again.

But then one Saturday, about five months ago, my cell phone rang. It was Robert's son. He told me that there had been some "drama" in their family a few years ago and that he felt like he might be ready to talk to his dad again. He agreed to let me give Robert his cell phone number and we said goodbye.

Still, months went by with no return calls from Robert's son. I began to get frustrated. So did Robert. His hopes, which had soared with possiblity, were now once again dashed on the rocks.

After this, during our visits together, Robert began to voice disappointment about his son's silence. He wondered if he would ever see his son or hear his voice again.

Up until this point, Robert had asked me not to tell his son about the bone cancer or the hospice care. I assume it was because he wanted his son's reconciliation to be based on a genuine desire to reunite and not because of his terminal condition. As hard as it was for me, I agreed to keep Robert's secret.

But, about three weeks ago, after nothing but silence from Robert's son, I decided to write a letter. In it, I revealed everything about Robert's condition to his son. I even included a photograph taken at Robert's 78th birthday party a few months previously. As Robert's condition worsened I felt like I had no choice but to risk our friendship in order to give his son one last chance to reconcile before it was too late.

Before I could send the letter out, Robert had a change of heart. In fact, it was the day after I had already written, (but not delivered), the letter to his son. As I was getting ready to leave after one of our visits together, Robert said, "Why don't you call my son and let him know everything about the cancer." I agreed, of course, (saying nothing about the letter I had already written up), and the next day I dropped the letter off at his son's workplace.

Another two weeks went by with no response. In the meantime, I prayed. In fact, my family prayed, our house church prayed, our men's group prayed, my parents in El Paso prayed, my Facebook friends prayed, and countless others prayed for Robert's son to have a change of heart.

On Saturday that prayer was answered.

Robert called me on my cell Saturday evening after his son had gone home. "He stayed here about four hours," Robert said. "We talked a long time. We both cried together, and then we watched the baseball game on television."

When it was time for Robert's son to leave he took his father's hand and said, "Dad, I need to go now. Would you mind if I came back and visited with you again sometime?"

Robert said, "Mind? Are you kidding? Come back anytime you want and stay for as long as you want."

When I heard the news about God's grace to Robert I wept for joy. I could hardly contain myself as the tears poured out of me.

"This is an answer to my prayers, Robert," I said. "You know I've been praying for this a long, long time."

"I know you have, Keith. My son even told me to make sure I called to let you know that he had finally come to see me," Robert said.

My prayers now are that God would use this breakthrough as an opportunity to reunite Robert with the rest of his family. I want Robert to see God work one more miracle. I want Robert to see his family come together again before he dies.

I also want Robert to surrender his life, and to give his heart, to the God who loves him more than life itself. I want him to know the same Jesus who moved time and space and shifted the stars to make a way for an estranged, lost son to be reunited with a dying father on Saturday.

Pray with me, if you would, for my friend Robert Higgins. I'm not sure how much longer he will live. Honestly, all I know is that I will be with him until the very end. Now, thankfully, I know that his son will be with him, too.

This miracle, as wonderful as it is, is just the beginning. I'm sure God is not finished with this man's life just yet.

I can't wait to see what God does next.

Thank you for praying.

-kg

WORTHLESS?

Last week I had lunch with my friend, Robert Higgins. Every Friday he and I spend an hour together and share lunch in his room at Fountain Care.

Robert is 78 years old. He has bone cancer. He is on Hospice Care now.

When I first met him he was homeless. The manager of the motel in Santa Ana where we've been serving introduced me to Robert. When Pete, the manager, called me on my cell phone about a year and a half ago he asked if our house church could help Robert get into one of the rooms at the motel on a regular basis. Robert was sick and, at the time, it was winter and a cold rain had settled over Orange County. Pete told me, "Keith, if I send him back out in this weather I'm afraid he won't live through the night."

So, we helped Robert to get into the motel room. I visited him now and again to check up on him and make sure he was taken care of. This was before we knew about his bone cancer.

Over the last year or so I've learned a little about Robert's life growing up. I've listened to him share stories about his own mistakes with his children and his marriage. I've watched him share about his failures and his regrets with tears in his eyes.

One thing about Robert that seems to keep recurring is his low self esteem. He's always talking to me about how he's not worth anything and how no one in his life ever saw much good in him.

Last Friday, as we shared lunch together, Robert made me laugh out loud. He was talking to me about his time on the street and how his other homeless friends would chide him for not carrying a sign - "Homeless. Will work for food." Robert refused. "They told me I needed to swallow some of my pride," he said. "I said, naw, naw, as long as I'm able to work I'm not gonna stand on a street corner and beg for money."

Robert said there was one time in his life when he did consider carrying a sign. "When I was really depresed and suicidal," he said, "I did think about making a sign and carrying it around that said, 'Homeless. Worthless. Please shoot me.'"

I confess that when Robert said that to me I laughed out loud. Actually, we both laughed pretty hard about that, but I knew what he was telling me came from a place of real pain in his heart.

Slowly, over the last several months, I've been able to encourage Robert about his worth. I've reminded him that God has placed a large group of people around him who really love him and value him. "It's like God has put a spotlight on you, Robert. People just seem to pick you out of the crowd and give you special attention," I said. Robert's eyes filled with tears and he nodded. "You're right," he said. "About the last year, once I met you and Pete, it's like you said, people seem to pick me out of the crowd and show me special attention."

I waited until Robert composed himself and then I said, "That's God showing you that He loves you, Robert. He's put all these people in your life to let you know He sees you and He loves you. He hasn't forgotten you."

Still, I know that Robert hasn't fully let go of his feelings of worthlessness yet. He's beginning to accept that his life has value, but there are still years of verbal abuse and manipulation for his heart to overcome.

When I was young I used to collect comic books. I would read them with gloves on and seal them in plastic bags to preserve their value. One day my Dad said something to me that I'll never forget. We were talking about how one of the comics I owned was valued at $200. He smiled and said, "Son, that comic is only worth $200 if you can find some chump who's got the money and is willing to give it to you."

It's true. It doesn't matter what price tag someone puts on an item. The real value of that item is in what someone is willing to pay for it.

"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." - 1 Peter 1:18-19

What price was Jesus willing to pay for you to be with Him? How much worth do you have to Him? According to His Word, you are worth suffering for, and bleeding for, and dieing for.

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price." - 1 Cor 6:19-20

In God's eyes, you are not worthless. You are not stupid. You are not a failure. You are precious beyond measure to the Creator of the Universe and He would rather die than be without you.

"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" - 1 John 3:1

-kg

Embracing the Family of God

Last night I met with a house church in Yorba Linda that I never knew existed before. They welcomed me as a brother in Christ and together we listened as Mok, a pastor of a house church in Hong Kong, shared a message of encouragement through Henry, an interpreter.

I was there as the guest of one of our newest house church brothers, Scott Sutherland. He graciously invited me to dinner last night to meet with Mok and his assistant Matt. The food was amazing and the fellowship was sweet. Afterwards I was invited to join them as Mok spoke to this house church fellowship.

What blessed me the most was hearing Mok's heart for the Western Church and for sending missionaries to preach the Gospel in England, Germany and the US. "The Gospel came to China through missionaries in the West," Mok said. "I feel we owe a debt of gratitude."

What's so amazing about all of this is that Mok's church is roughly one hundred people meeting secretly as an illegal house church in Hong Kong. They are very poor, and yet they have a vision and a dream of sending or supporting missionaries to the West.

Mok shared a story about how he recently visited a Reformed Evangelical church in London and brought a financial gift to that Body. "They were very surprised to receive this gift," Mok shared. "Do Chinese Christians really love us? Do they really think of us?" and Mok corrected their pastor saying, "No. Not 'Chinese Christians', just 'Christians'. We are your brothers and sisters in Christ."

That really blessed me. To see that the walls between nations, and language, and politics are really nothing compared to our new identity as members of the family of God is awesome.

It was also quite humbling to see how much these brothers from China valued the Gospel and how much they prayed for us here in the West. "We always remember you in our prayers," Mok said to us at one point, and I knew from the tears in his eyes and the tone of his voice that his church actually did pray for us constantly. Could I say the same?

Afterwards, I was blessed to meet and share with several in this house church, and to embrace more of my brothers and sisters in Christ. These are people who love and serve Him above all else, regardless of race, or language, or culture. This church was small but there were people from a variety of backgrounds and cultures in attendance. It was refreshing to be reminded that, in Christ, we are all one Body.

"You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
- Galatians 3:26-29

**
kg

I HATE THE CHURCH

More thoughts on The Church in America
by Keith Giles

God has been speaking to me a lot lately about what Church is, how we're designed by Him to function and thrive, and what "being the Church" is really all about.

I HATE THE CHURCH
A good friend of mine told me the other day, "I hate church." I can totally understand what he means by that; that he hates the way people operate in church, and that he's frustrated by the mentality of some people who are confused about what church is, etc.

I've said these words myself a few times in my life. Whenever I see pastors manipulating their flocks, or when I hear christians argue about what to do with the money they gave as an offering to God, or when I see people twist the ideas of "Service", "Worship" and "Faith", I also feel angry and have been tempted to say, "I hate church."

But, I've been very encouraged to consider the words of A. W. Tozer on this subject when he reminds us that we are not speaking of some anonymous organization "out there" whenever we speak of "the Church". Instead, we are speaking about a living organism we are inextricably connected to for Eternity. We ARE the Church. So, while we may hate certain aspects of how our brothers and sisters operate, or how people act within the Body, we are still speaking of something that we are part of.

Tozer's quote says:
"We must not think of the Church as an anonymous body, a mystical religious abstraction. We Christians are the Church and whatever we do is what the Church is doing. The matter, therefore, is a personal one. Any step forward in the Church must begin with the individual." (From The Knowledge Of The Holy, pg.114.)

We are the Church. The only Church the world will ever know. The only Church there will ever be.

So, now, let’s go and be the church we dream of. If we want the Church to be more loving we must become more loving. If we want the Church to be more understanding and patient, we must become more understanding and patient.

I was reading 1 Peter chapter 2 the other day and I saw some things I never saw before in verses 4 and 5:

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

If you remove the little coda in verse 4, which is meant as an aside to further explore in what way Jesus is the living stone, and read it without that little insertion it reads like this:

"As you come to him, the living Stone,...you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood...."

So, as we come to Jesus we are built up to become the people, and the Church, He is building.

Notice, God is the one doing the building. He's accomplishing that as He builds us up into the people He wants us to be. (Note: He wants us to be a people who are a holy priesthood).

I know it can seem very simplistic to consider this, but all we have to do is to come to Jesus and allow Him (by the power of His Holy Spirit) to build us up into the people He has called and designed and intended for us to be.

Church = God + the People of God

That's it.

We've gotten into the bad habit of thinking that Church equals a paid professional clergyman, and a building that must be paid for and maintained, and a strategy to attract people to fill the seats, etc. But none of that is in the New Testament. It's not how Jesus modelled Church for us. It's not how the Disciples and the Apostles went about planting and growing Churches for nearly 400 years.

We have to stop trying to build the Church and start being the Church.

Let Him build His Church. Be the Church and the people He has called you to be.

Much more on this subject later..

Blessings,
Keith