New York City is truly a great place to live. As I begin my 19th year living in the Big Apple I feel qualified to make this statement. Let me explain.
Perhaps the greatest thing about living here in our fair city is that we share it with some eight million other people. Obviously you know that, but you are still wondering why living here is so great. Simply stated, I have found that living with so many people in such a large city allows me to always have someone else to blame for my problems and failures. I never have to take personal responsibility, or experience accountability. Everything that happens can always be someone else’s fault. Let me elaborate.
I have a little problem with tardiness to meetings with other Pastors. I usually start later than I should and thus show up late. I’ve had this problem as long as I can remember but here in the city I can blame it on the traffic. I don’t even have to go into a long explanation. I just walk in the room and say, “Has anyone seen how bad the expressway is today? Wow, when are they going to do something about that?”
I have always eaten chocolate and other sweets when under stress. I could get away with it when I was younger but now it shows. Fortunately, I’m here in the city and it’s easier to rationalize because, you know, living with all these people and dealing with all this traffic stresses all of us out and how can I help but indulge in a little “comfort food”?
I have, like everyone else, a hard time carving out a place for time with God in His Word and prayer. The city moves so fast and, you know it’s hard to keep up and well, it just makes this quiet time thing almost impossible. Don’t you agree? It’s not my fault. What’s a man to do?
Being a good citizen or a good employee can be hard. Doing our part to make the city better or giving an employer a day’s work for a day’s pay is really just too much to ask. Fortunately, we live here with all these people… so, since almost no one cares about being a good citizen or a good employee, we have the “everybody’s doing it” or in this case “nobody’s doing it” defense.
Given the fact that there are so few authentic Christians among us, this excuse-laden mindset can be easily extended into our daily walk in the world. I mean, after all, what do you expect? It is crazy to think we could actually make a difference. We are outnumbered 1000 to 1. The best we can hope for is mere survival. Who could blame us if our language is a little, shall we say, “colorful”? Or if our ethics are a little, shall we say, “shady”? We’re doing the best we can! What’d you expect, it’s hard here!
It’s the Mayor’s fault, it’s the commute’s fault, it’s the neighborhood’s fault, it’s the boss’s or the job’s or the big company’s fault. These excuses provide a somewhat reasonable defense and all sound great. Well, they do sound great, if you want to be a victim.
In 1 John 5:4-5 we read, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” These verses make it clear that as a Christian I’m not a victim, but a victor. I am not overcome, but an overcomer. Thus, I really have no excuse. I have no one else I can blame.
The apostle Paul wrote this to the Roman Christians, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:12) This points out the truth that not only am I responsible for my actions, I am also accountable to God. I can’t blame anyone else for what’s up with me and I am going to stand before God and explain my actions to Him.
With my responsibility and accountability clearly in view I do well to follow another exhortation of Paul to the Romans. After calling for total surrender to God, in Romans chapter 12, verse 2, Paul says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” I can get above the world’s low expectations by allowing God through His Word to transform me into an individual who seeks His goals and ideals for my life.
My watch words for the New Year are personal responsibility and personal accountability. I’m taking personal responsibility for my spiritual growth because I will be personally accountable for my spiritual health. I’m taking personal responsibility for my physical conditioning because I will be personally accountable for my physical condition. Since you have read this article, you too are now personally responsible and personally accountable. I warned you about reading this.
Happy New Year!
Blessings,
Dave Watson – An Urban Christian
Friday, January 04, 2008
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Christmas Traditions
I just finished watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. Seeing this Peanuts classic from the late Charles Shultz is a major tradition in my life. I saw it when it first ran on TV in the 60’s. I was only six years of age. I believe I have seen it most every year since then. I almost have it memorized yet its simplicity still touches me, still reminds me of the true meaning of Christmas.
Just like Lucy who is consumed with the piano player Schroeder, or Charlie Brown’s sister Sally who is consumed with what gifts she should get, or even Charlie Brown’s dog Snoopy who is consumed with a decoration contest (which he wins by the way) it is easy for us to lose focus at this time of year. Commercialism, if we are not careful, can crowd out all the love, joy, and peace Christ came to give us.
A major way to fight this crowding out effect is to establish meaningful Christmas traditions in our personal lives as well as in our families. These traditions can help us keep the main person, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the focal point of our Christmas celebration. May I be so bold as to suggest a few traditions worth starting.
The first tradition on the list should be Scripture. Reading or listening to the Scripture daily should be a priority during this Holiday season (also called Advent). Advent reading schedules are available at Church. These readings take us through the Old Testament prophecies of Christ up to His birth. These Scriptures may be familiar, but they never grow old. If you haven’t already, start a meaningful tradition, participate in daily Advent Bible reading or listening.
Another helpful tradition is service. Selfless, sacrificial acts which result in nothing being given back to us are a perfect way to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child (Operation Christmas Child, for example). Quietly and anonymously give a gift, financial or otherwise to someone in need. Cleaning someone’s yard or visiting someone who gets few visits from anyone else are other examples worth trying.
Perhaps a neglected but easily added tradition is singing. The singing of Christmas Carols was introduced in the Colonies (as we use to be called) to turn Christmas back into a spiritual holiday. Some Friday or Saturday night, turn off the television, invite your family and friends to gather around and let the songs “rip”. Mix Jingle Bells in with the classics like Silent Night and Joy to the World. Stay away from Handel’s Messiah and everyone will do just fine.
The greatest Christmas tradition any of us can do is to share. I am not talking about giving gifts. I am talking about speaking to others about Jesus. Sharing the message of Christ. The shepherds on that first Christmas who had heard the angels and experienced the Christ child “made widely known the saying which was told them” (Luke 2:17). Should we do any less than they? There is no better season than this to “Go tell it on the mountain”. Who in your life has not yet received the most important gift of Christmas, the Savior who is Christ the Lord? Leading someone to Christ, now that’s a Christmas tradition worth starting!
Finally, we should stand. Stand with those of like precious faith. Attend Christmas church services. Don’t let holiday shopping keep you from your church family. Encourage other believers in the neighborhood and at the workplace. Gather your family and friends together and in one accord give thanks to God for Jesus, God’s indescribable gift!
Merry Christmas!
Dave Watson
An Urban Christian
Just like Lucy who is consumed with the piano player Schroeder, or Charlie Brown’s sister Sally who is consumed with what gifts she should get, or even Charlie Brown’s dog Snoopy who is consumed with a decoration contest (which he wins by the way) it is easy for us to lose focus at this time of year. Commercialism, if we are not careful, can crowd out all the love, joy, and peace Christ came to give us.
A major way to fight this crowding out effect is to establish meaningful Christmas traditions in our personal lives as well as in our families. These traditions can help us keep the main person, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the focal point of our Christmas celebration. May I be so bold as to suggest a few traditions worth starting.
The first tradition on the list should be Scripture. Reading or listening to the Scripture daily should be a priority during this Holiday season (also called Advent). Advent reading schedules are available at Church. These readings take us through the Old Testament prophecies of Christ up to His birth. These Scriptures may be familiar, but they never grow old. If you haven’t already, start a meaningful tradition, participate in daily Advent Bible reading or listening.
Another helpful tradition is service. Selfless, sacrificial acts which result in nothing being given back to us are a perfect way to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child (Operation Christmas Child, for example). Quietly and anonymously give a gift, financial or otherwise to someone in need. Cleaning someone’s yard or visiting someone who gets few visits from anyone else are other examples worth trying.
Perhaps a neglected but easily added tradition is singing. The singing of Christmas Carols was introduced in the Colonies (as we use to be called) to turn Christmas back into a spiritual holiday. Some Friday or Saturday night, turn off the television, invite your family and friends to gather around and let the songs “rip”. Mix Jingle Bells in with the classics like Silent Night and Joy to the World. Stay away from Handel’s Messiah and everyone will do just fine.
The greatest Christmas tradition any of us can do is to share. I am not talking about giving gifts. I am talking about speaking to others about Jesus. Sharing the message of Christ. The shepherds on that first Christmas who had heard the angels and experienced the Christ child “made widely known the saying which was told them” (Luke 2:17). Should we do any less than they? There is no better season than this to “Go tell it on the mountain”. Who in your life has not yet received the most important gift of Christmas, the Savior who is Christ the Lord? Leading someone to Christ, now that’s a Christmas tradition worth starting!
Finally, we should stand. Stand with those of like precious faith. Attend Christmas church services. Don’t let holiday shopping keep you from your church family. Encourage other believers in the neighborhood and at the workplace. Gather your family and friends together and in one accord give thanks to God for Jesus, God’s indescribable gift!
Merry Christmas!
Dave Watson
An Urban Christian
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Keeping the Faith
Keeping The Faith
“O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” 1Timothy 6:20
The tiny Pacific island of Nauru is located between Hawaii and Australia. It is inhabited by some 13,500 people. It is only twelve miles in circumference and eight square miles in total area. At one time, it was a pristine paradise with sufficient resources to take care of its population. That is no longer the case.
Nauru is rich in phosphate, an ingredient in fertilizer and a much sought after commodity. At one time, because of this valuable mineral, the Island nation boasted of the second highest gross national product per citizen in the world. Over the last century, almost every ounce of the phosphate has been strip-mined leaving the Island’s interior decimated. The native population has been spoiled by the riches the phosphate bought. They adopted a western diet and now are a world leader in per capita diabetes and obesity.
With its national resources squandered, the tiny country found itself bankrupt and began allowing offshore drilling for oil in abundance and became a holding place for dangerous unwanted refugees. Today, electricity is rationed and the infrastructure is crumbling. Fifty percent of the working force is unemployed. There is serious talk of simply abandoning the Island and relocating everyone somewhere else.
When I think about this tragic Island I can’t help but think of the evangelical church in America. We are rich beyond belief in Christ. We have, however, not guarded that which has been entrusted to us. We have allowed ourselves to be stripped of our blessings in the name of prosperity. We have adopted the world’s diet of materialism and accommodation, and we have become religiously fat and spiritually unhealthy. Our churches are being abandoned by the next generation because we offer them nothing of substance. We have not kept the faith.
Keeping the faith... that is our theme for this fall. Nearly twenty centuries ago the Apostle Paul felt the need to charge his spiritual son in the faith, Timothy. He proclaimed, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” (1 Timothy 6:20). Today we do well to heed his words and go and do likewise.
Rarely does a month go by that a prominent Christian or Pastor is not implicated in a scandal. The airways are filled with many national ministries whose message qualifies at best as Christianity Lite and at worst as heresy. Doctrinal truths once held so dear are now negotiable.
On a more personal note, we all know of professing believers who are no longer active in church. We know of others who are essentially going through the motions when it comes to the things of God. Sadly, many of us can probably identify a few who have completely left our Lord.
Jude, the brother of our Lord, in his short epistle wrote, “I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3) This is an important command to obey. It is, however, a command we don’t seem to know how to follow.
Beginning September 9th and continuing for the next 12 weeks, we will be studying the Bible’s instructions regarding how we can keep the faith. The book of First Timothy will be our guide. I cannot think of a timelier message for God’s church and God’s people in these perilous times. Please make every effort to join us for this critical series. See you Sunday. Until then, keep the faith!
“O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” 1Timothy 6:20
The tiny Pacific island of Nauru is located between Hawaii and Australia. It is inhabited by some 13,500 people. It is only twelve miles in circumference and eight square miles in total area. At one time, it was a pristine paradise with sufficient resources to take care of its population. That is no longer the case.
Nauru is rich in phosphate, an ingredient in fertilizer and a much sought after commodity. At one time, because of this valuable mineral, the Island nation boasted of the second highest gross national product per citizen in the world. Over the last century, almost every ounce of the phosphate has been strip-mined leaving the Island’s interior decimated. The native population has been spoiled by the riches the phosphate bought. They adopted a western diet and now are a world leader in per capita diabetes and obesity.
With its national resources squandered, the tiny country found itself bankrupt and began allowing offshore drilling for oil in abundance and became a holding place for dangerous unwanted refugees. Today, electricity is rationed and the infrastructure is crumbling. Fifty percent of the working force is unemployed. There is serious talk of simply abandoning the Island and relocating everyone somewhere else.
When I think about this tragic Island I can’t help but think of the evangelical church in America. We are rich beyond belief in Christ. We have, however, not guarded that which has been entrusted to us. We have allowed ourselves to be stripped of our blessings in the name of prosperity. We have adopted the world’s diet of materialism and accommodation, and we have become religiously fat and spiritually unhealthy. Our churches are being abandoned by the next generation because we offer them nothing of substance. We have not kept the faith.
Keeping the faith... that is our theme for this fall. Nearly twenty centuries ago the Apostle Paul felt the need to charge his spiritual son in the faith, Timothy. He proclaimed, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust” (1 Timothy 6:20). Today we do well to heed his words and go and do likewise.
Rarely does a month go by that a prominent Christian or Pastor is not implicated in a scandal. The airways are filled with many national ministries whose message qualifies at best as Christianity Lite and at worst as heresy. Doctrinal truths once held so dear are now negotiable.
On a more personal note, we all know of professing believers who are no longer active in church. We know of others who are essentially going through the motions when it comes to the things of God. Sadly, many of us can probably identify a few who have completely left our Lord.
Jude, the brother of our Lord, in his short epistle wrote, “I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3) This is an important command to obey. It is, however, a command we don’t seem to know how to follow.
Beginning September 9th and continuing for the next 12 weeks, we will be studying the Bible’s instructions regarding how we can keep the faith. The book of First Timothy will be our guide. I cannot think of a timelier message for God’s church and God’s people in these perilous times. Please make every effort to join us for this critical series. See you Sunday. Until then, keep the faith!
It’s Not Just Another Day
It’s Not Just Another Day
Last year we observed the Fifth Anniversary of the terror attacks on our country. Here in our city there were tears, moments of silence and various commemorations. My daughter, who saw the Towers in flames as she walked to her High School, sent me an Instant Message from her out of state college. She was frustrated and angry. “They don’t understand” she wrote from her campus. Some of my own friends who have moved out of state called me on that day. They were appalled. Their neighbors were treating September 11th just like any other day.
This coming Tuesday is not just another day. We can never let it be just that. September 11, 2001 was the day the world changed. It was the day terror fell from the sky. It was the day the unthinkable became a stark reality. It was the day we realized how vulnerable we are and how powerless our government can be. It was the day “In God We Trust” became more than a sound byte on our currency. It became all we had.
I know that many want to move that day to the furthest recesses of their minds, but in this city we can’t. We have 2752 families whose loved ones were victims of that unspeakable horror. We continue to have a giant bull’s eye on our collective backs for the terrorists to take aim at. We have a skyline that looks like a giant jigsaw puzzle with two important pieces missing. September 11th is not just another day, and we can never let it become such.
Some 2900 years ago, the writer of Ecclesiastes penned, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot….a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…. (3:1-4)”. There is an appropriate time for everything we must do.
On 9/11 it is our time to mourn with those who lost so much six years ago. It is our time to weep for our collective losses. It is our time to remember the heroism of 23 of our Finest and 37 Port Authority Police Officers who died protecting and serving us. It is our time to pay homage to 342 of our Bravest (78 from our Borough) who ran into danger, saving thousands of lives while losing their own. It’s not appropriate for this date to be just another day.
Ecclesiastes goes on to say that there is, “a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain” (3:5). Tuesday is also our time to embrace those who are with us. We should honor firefighters, cops, and EMS workers. We should applaud those everyday heroes who in spite of their fears go into work just a few blocks from Ground Zero. They have chosen not to be victims but victors. We should embrace them, we should thank them and we should emulate them.
In Ecclesiastes we also read, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (3:12). Though our souls will live forever, we cannot presently understand all of God’s plans. Right now, it is impossible for us to comprehend how God can make an event like 9/11 into a thing of beauty. Yet He can, and He will. It is not yet our time to fully understand, but the Scriptures also tell us, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Until then, “It’s not just another day”.
Last year we observed the Fifth Anniversary of the terror attacks on our country. Here in our city there were tears, moments of silence and various commemorations. My daughter, who saw the Towers in flames as she walked to her High School, sent me an Instant Message from her out of state college. She was frustrated and angry. “They don’t understand” she wrote from her campus. Some of my own friends who have moved out of state called me on that day. They were appalled. Their neighbors were treating September 11th just like any other day.
This coming Tuesday is not just another day. We can never let it be just that. September 11, 2001 was the day the world changed. It was the day terror fell from the sky. It was the day the unthinkable became a stark reality. It was the day we realized how vulnerable we are and how powerless our government can be. It was the day “In God We Trust” became more than a sound byte on our currency. It became all we had.
I know that many want to move that day to the furthest recesses of their minds, but in this city we can’t. We have 2752 families whose loved ones were victims of that unspeakable horror. We continue to have a giant bull’s eye on our collective backs for the terrorists to take aim at. We have a skyline that looks like a giant jigsaw puzzle with two important pieces missing. September 11th is not just another day, and we can never let it become such.
Some 2900 years ago, the writer of Ecclesiastes penned, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot….a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…. (3:1-4)”. There is an appropriate time for everything we must do.
On 9/11 it is our time to mourn with those who lost so much six years ago. It is our time to weep for our collective losses. It is our time to remember the heroism of 23 of our Finest and 37 Port Authority Police Officers who died protecting and serving us. It is our time to pay homage to 342 of our Bravest (78 from our Borough) who ran into danger, saving thousands of lives while losing their own. It’s not appropriate for this date to be just another day.
Ecclesiastes goes on to say that there is, “a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain” (3:5). Tuesday is also our time to embrace those who are with us. We should honor firefighters, cops, and EMS workers. We should applaud those everyday heroes who in spite of their fears go into work just a few blocks from Ground Zero. They have chosen not to be victims but victors. We should embrace them, we should thank them and we should emulate them.
In Ecclesiastes we also read, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end” (3:12). Though our souls will live forever, we cannot presently understand all of God’s plans. Right now, it is impossible for us to comprehend how God can make an event like 9/11 into a thing of beauty. Yet He can, and He will. It is not yet our time to fully understand, but the Scriptures also tell us, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Until then, “It’s not just another day”.
It rained today on 9/11
It rained today on 9/11 and it seemed so out of place
I guess it’s the first time on the Anniversary the heavens have been unfavorable toward us
But it is an intermittent and inconsistent rain, not a hard driving storm like we had some six years ago.
The sky was cloudless and the sun shined brightly that September morning
But it rained that day, oh how it rained.
It rained terror and fear as first one plane and then another plummeted the skyline of the place we call home.
And it rained horror, unspeakable horror as debris and people, yes people, fell from the sky with twisted steel and melted soot and ash
A flood of pain, hurt, and grief followed that bitter driving storm
The waters almost devoured us and most certainly overwhelmed us
Like the rains of late fall it made the trees so barren and life so cold.
It chilled us to the bone and we wished so badly that we could come in out of the rain,
but it seemed there was no shelter, no place to hide, the rain was everywhere
Serendipitously another storm followed, a much different kind of rain let loose.
It was a much needed deluge of hope, strength, and mercy poured out by heaven,
The second storm diluted the first with heroism, courage and grace.
Were it not for this second storm we may not have survived.
Yes it rained today on 9/11, much like it did six years ago
I guess it’s the first time on the Anniversary the heavens have been unfavorable toward us
But it is an intermittent and inconsistent rain, not a hard driving storm like we had some six years ago.
The sky was cloudless and the sun shined brightly that September morning
But it rained that day, oh how it rained.
It rained terror and fear as first one plane and then another plummeted the skyline of the place we call home.
And it rained horror, unspeakable horror as debris and people, yes people, fell from the sky with twisted steel and melted soot and ash
A flood of pain, hurt, and grief followed that bitter driving storm
The waters almost devoured us and most certainly overwhelmed us
Like the rains of late fall it made the trees so barren and life so cold.
It chilled us to the bone and we wished so badly that we could come in out of the rain,
but it seemed there was no shelter, no place to hide, the rain was everywhere
Serendipitously another storm followed, a much different kind of rain let loose.
It was a much needed deluge of hope, strength, and mercy poured out by heaven,
The second storm diluted the first with heroism, courage and grace.
Were it not for this second storm we may not have survived.
Yes it rained today on 9/11, much like it did six years ago
Thursday, August 09, 2007
The Big Apple Meets the Big Easy
This past July 7th-14th I had the privilege of leading a team of 15 members of our church family, Calvary Chapel, to participate in rebuilding and ministering efforts in New Orleans. Two years after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina the city is still in ruins. Sadly, it looks as if the hurricane was just last week and the work of rebuilding has just started.
Eighty percent of the city (Its land mass is three times the size of Staten Island) was under water and 60,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The water marks, many reaching nearly to the roof, are clearly visible on the homes that are left. Less than half of the city’s population of 450,000 has returned. With very few exceptions (the French Quarter being one of them) the city resembles a deserted urban center in a futuristic sci-fi movie. Over and over as we worked in the shadow of the Superdome I shook my head in disbelief mumbling “This! In America?”
Our team, made up of nine males and six females, ranged from 14 – 62 years of age. We were charged with insulating a quad (a four apartment house) in Central City. We worked across from a crack house but never felt in danger. The agency we worked with, Compassion, is a brand new creation of the Evangelical Free Churches of America. It has run 10,000 volunteers through its home base, Trinity Evangelical Church, in Covington Louisiana (Covington is located some 40 miles north of New Orleans on the other side of the 25 mile long Lake Pontchartrain Causeway).
Under the steady and patient direction of our “home brought” contractor (Sam Autry, Island Brick) we were able to accomplish all of our assigned tasks, despite the unbearable humidity and heat that is the Gulf Coast. By the end of August this quad will be complete and ready for occupancy. On the same street as this quad, as well as the surrounding streets, there remain blocks and blocks of houses just sitting vacant and waiting for someone to find a way to repair them or tear them down (Picture streets and streets of bungalows similar to those in Midland Beach- except damaged.). Whole housing projects (think of the Harbor Houses or the Berry Homes) remain decimated and virtually abandoned.
The businesses are slow in coming back because the people are slower in coming back. There are FEMA trailers everywhere. We even saw a FEMA mosque. Houses of worship did not escape Katrina. They aren’t being rebuilt with any speed because they have so few parishioners to occupy them or they have no pastors to lead them. It is a sad state of affairs when there are shepherds with no sheep and sheep without shepherds.
More than anything else our group’s desired purpose was to demonstrate in a tangible way the love of Jesus Christ to the hurting people in this once proud city. We gave cold waters and Gatorades to passersby. We hosted two impromptu barbeques on the front porch of the quad. Everyone we met was surprisingly open with us. They told us their situations and allowed us to pray with them. About half the people we met were from New Orleans and had either weathered the storm or come back. Almost all, from the little children to the grandmas, were still struggling with the impact of the storm.
We met a neighborhood store-owner trying to make a go of it but with very little business. We prayed with her and we all bought waters or sodas. We met a woman with a motorized scooter but no home of her own. We prayed with her asking God to provide her needs. We meet a retiree with her mother. They had just returned and seen their former home for the first time in two years. They asked for help to clean up the mess. We referred them to a local church and once again prayed for them. Five young men we met had recently gotten out of prison. They were more than willing to share their story with us and accept our prayers and literature.
We met small construction crews from different parts of the country. We met day laborers from as far away as El Salvador (Half of our team spoke Spanish so we communicated easily). All were in New Orleans because there was work and the pay wasn’t bad. Based on our experience, it seems that half of the population is now made up of these workers. We also saw many other volunteer groups from churches across America. The great untold story in our national media is the role that America’s churches are playing in the rebuilding of lower Mississippi and Louisiana.
Our last day in the city we visited both the lower Ninth Ward near the broken levies and the French Quarter. The French Quarter appears to have come back well. The sounds of life are all around. However, “the bowl of the city” which encompasses the lower ninth is eerily quiet. Vacant buildings and deserted blocks don’t make much noise.
There remains much uncertainty regarding the future of New Orleans. Will the levies hold if there is another storm? Will the politicians do the right things regarding the city? Will the city’s population come back? Two years ago New Orleans nearly died. She was in critical condition, on life-support, barely breathing. Today she is still in critical condition but at least she’s stable. Our team left New Orleans with an overwhelming burden for its people and a desire to do more to help them. We are planning another trip to the area sometime in 2008 to do want we can. It’s not going to be easy for the Big Easy. She needs all the help she can get.
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
Eighty percent of the city (Its land mass is three times the size of Staten Island) was under water and 60,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The water marks, many reaching nearly to the roof, are clearly visible on the homes that are left. Less than half of the city’s population of 450,000 has returned. With very few exceptions (the French Quarter being one of them) the city resembles a deserted urban center in a futuristic sci-fi movie. Over and over as we worked in the shadow of the Superdome I shook my head in disbelief mumbling “This! In America?”
Our team, made up of nine males and six females, ranged from 14 – 62 years of age. We were charged with insulating a quad (a four apartment house) in Central City. We worked across from a crack house but never felt in danger. The agency we worked with, Compassion, is a brand new creation of the Evangelical Free Churches of America. It has run 10,000 volunteers through its home base, Trinity Evangelical Church, in Covington Louisiana (Covington is located some 40 miles north of New Orleans on the other side of the 25 mile long Lake Pontchartrain Causeway).
Under the steady and patient direction of our “home brought” contractor (Sam Autry, Island Brick) we were able to accomplish all of our assigned tasks, despite the unbearable humidity and heat that is the Gulf Coast. By the end of August this quad will be complete and ready for occupancy. On the same street as this quad, as well as the surrounding streets, there remain blocks and blocks of houses just sitting vacant and waiting for someone to find a way to repair them or tear them down (Picture streets and streets of bungalows similar to those in Midland Beach- except damaged.). Whole housing projects (think of the Harbor Houses or the Berry Homes) remain decimated and virtually abandoned.
The businesses are slow in coming back because the people are slower in coming back. There are FEMA trailers everywhere. We even saw a FEMA mosque. Houses of worship did not escape Katrina. They aren’t being rebuilt with any speed because they have so few parishioners to occupy them or they have no pastors to lead them. It is a sad state of affairs when there are shepherds with no sheep and sheep without shepherds.
More than anything else our group’s desired purpose was to demonstrate in a tangible way the love of Jesus Christ to the hurting people in this once proud city. We gave cold waters and Gatorades to passersby. We hosted two impromptu barbeques on the front porch of the quad. Everyone we met was surprisingly open with us. They told us their situations and allowed us to pray with them. About half the people we met were from New Orleans and had either weathered the storm or come back. Almost all, from the little children to the grandmas, were still struggling with the impact of the storm.
We met a neighborhood store-owner trying to make a go of it but with very little business. We prayed with her and we all bought waters or sodas. We met a woman with a motorized scooter but no home of her own. We prayed with her asking God to provide her needs. We meet a retiree with her mother. They had just returned and seen their former home for the first time in two years. They asked for help to clean up the mess. We referred them to a local church and once again prayed for them. Five young men we met had recently gotten out of prison. They were more than willing to share their story with us and accept our prayers and literature.
We met small construction crews from different parts of the country. We met day laborers from as far away as El Salvador (Half of our team spoke Spanish so we communicated easily). All were in New Orleans because there was work and the pay wasn’t bad. Based on our experience, it seems that half of the population is now made up of these workers. We also saw many other volunteer groups from churches across America. The great untold story in our national media is the role that America’s churches are playing in the rebuilding of lower Mississippi and Louisiana.
Our last day in the city we visited both the lower Ninth Ward near the broken levies and the French Quarter. The French Quarter appears to have come back well. The sounds of life are all around. However, “the bowl of the city” which encompasses the lower ninth is eerily quiet. Vacant buildings and deserted blocks don’t make much noise.
There remains much uncertainty regarding the future of New Orleans. Will the levies hold if there is another storm? Will the politicians do the right things regarding the city? Will the city’s population come back? Two years ago New Orleans nearly died. She was in critical condition, on life-support, barely breathing. Today she is still in critical condition but at least she’s stable. Our team left New Orleans with an overwhelming burden for its people and a desire to do more to help them. We are planning another trip to the area sometime in 2008 to do want we can. It’s not going to be easy for the Big Easy. She needs all the help she can get.
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Summer Past and Summer Future
A long, long time ago, 27 years to be exact, I spent my first summer in New York City. I arrived with a team (nearly 60 of us) from Liberty University in early June and left the city in late August to return back to college. I was twenty years old at the time. I was foolish, naïve, proud, and scared. I came to minister to the upper west side of Manhattan. I believed we’d change the city for God that summer. Instead, God used the city to change us.
As I look back on my life, I view that short 75 day period of time as one of the most life changing times I can remember. Our team experienced cross cultural ministry first hand. We were a group of mostly middle class Caucasian kids placed in Washington Heights among people of Latino and Jewish heritage. We learned about poverty and despair as we knocked on doors and met people in the most desperate of situations. Our eyes were opened to so many things and we began to view the city and the people in it, in a very different way. Of all the amazing things we saw and experienced, however, the most remarkable was seeing men and women come to Christ and have their lives dramatically changed. The Lord used us in spite of ourselves.
Life change is quite interesting. It rarely occurs in a positive way by accident. Positive life change occurs when it is intentional. The changes in my life during that summer so long ago happened because of some very specific steps that our team took in order to foster a climate of spiritual growth. These steps will put you and I in a place where positive growth and change are almost inevitable.
First of all, our team members were committed to the Lord and to doing what He wanted. God desires that all of us be surrendered to Him so that He can shape us. “Living sacrifices” tend to crawl off the altar and need to re-consecrate themselves on a daily, hourly, moment-by-moment basis.
Secondly, we also were committed to the body of Christ which for that summer, was our team. Maturity doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It happens in the context of God’s family. As we serve Christ together we help each other grow up into His image.
A third critical element of our climate for change was our time for personal devotions with the Lord. We hit the streets every day to share our faith with complete strangers. However, before we left our home base each day we read our Bibles and prayed. Once a week we did almost nothing else but spend time with God. The result of this was that our souls were so filled with the Truth of God’s Word that sharing it with others was no problem at all.
Fourthly, we were actively sharing our faith. Telling others about Christ keeps us sharp. It reminds us how lost we all are without Christ. It reminds us of the power of the Gospel and the depth of God’s grace to those of us who have believed and to those who are still lost. I have never met a person who is actively sharing their faith who is not growing in their relationship with God. Along with the privilege of sharing our faith came the responsibility of discipling those who made professions of faith. Caring for new believers in Christ is every believer’s job and it does immeasurable good for both the givers and receivers of that care.
Fifthly, we made time for exercise and fun. We played basketball and softball two days a week. We went to ball games and saw all the great sites of this city. We ate ethnic foods and went on picnics. We truly enjoyed ourselves.
As I look at the summer ahead of us my prayer is that it will not be a wasted time, but one in which each of us grows as a Christian. I know that spiritual growth will not happen accidentally. We must create an atmosphere in which that growth will occur. This will involve commitment to God and to His plan for our lives. It will also require a commitment to those in our church family. We will need to plan to have a devotional life that will spiritually enrich us. We will also have to be people who share Christ with others and do what we can to foster growth in those who already know Christ. Finally, we’ll need to make time for exercise and entertainment. That will help keep us fresh and energized.
Have a great summer
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
As I look back on my life, I view that short 75 day period of time as one of the most life changing times I can remember. Our team experienced cross cultural ministry first hand. We were a group of mostly middle class Caucasian kids placed in Washington Heights among people of Latino and Jewish heritage. We learned about poverty and despair as we knocked on doors and met people in the most desperate of situations. Our eyes were opened to so many things and we began to view the city and the people in it, in a very different way. Of all the amazing things we saw and experienced, however, the most remarkable was seeing men and women come to Christ and have their lives dramatically changed. The Lord used us in spite of ourselves.
Life change is quite interesting. It rarely occurs in a positive way by accident. Positive life change occurs when it is intentional. The changes in my life during that summer so long ago happened because of some very specific steps that our team took in order to foster a climate of spiritual growth. These steps will put you and I in a place where positive growth and change are almost inevitable.
First of all, our team members were committed to the Lord and to doing what He wanted. God desires that all of us be surrendered to Him so that He can shape us. “Living sacrifices” tend to crawl off the altar and need to re-consecrate themselves on a daily, hourly, moment-by-moment basis.
Secondly, we also were committed to the body of Christ which for that summer, was our team. Maturity doesn’t occur in a vacuum. It happens in the context of God’s family. As we serve Christ together we help each other grow up into His image.
A third critical element of our climate for change was our time for personal devotions with the Lord. We hit the streets every day to share our faith with complete strangers. However, before we left our home base each day we read our Bibles and prayed. Once a week we did almost nothing else but spend time with God. The result of this was that our souls were so filled with the Truth of God’s Word that sharing it with others was no problem at all.
Fourthly, we were actively sharing our faith. Telling others about Christ keeps us sharp. It reminds us how lost we all are without Christ. It reminds us of the power of the Gospel and the depth of God’s grace to those of us who have believed and to those who are still lost. I have never met a person who is actively sharing their faith who is not growing in their relationship with God. Along with the privilege of sharing our faith came the responsibility of discipling those who made professions of faith. Caring for new believers in Christ is every believer’s job and it does immeasurable good for both the givers and receivers of that care.
Fifthly, we made time for exercise and fun. We played basketball and softball two days a week. We went to ball games and saw all the great sites of this city. We ate ethnic foods and went on picnics. We truly enjoyed ourselves.
As I look at the summer ahead of us my prayer is that it will not be a wasted time, but one in which each of us grows as a Christian. I know that spiritual growth will not happen accidentally. We must create an atmosphere in which that growth will occur. This will involve commitment to God and to His plan for our lives. It will also require a commitment to those in our church family. We will need to plan to have a devotional life that will spiritually enrich us. We will also have to be people who share Christ with others and do what we can to foster growth in those who already know Christ. Finally, we’ll need to make time for exercise and entertainment. That will help keep us fresh and energized.
Have a great summer
Dave Watson - An Urban Christian
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