Prepare: Community and Mission

What does it mean to be a part of a church? I'll be teaching on this topic tomorrow at North Way East End, and all week God has been giving me insight on what to share with our congregation. We haven't even officially been a church for two years, but there have been many difficult moments and many incredible break through moments along our journey together. There are some aspects of Christian community that are strengths for us, and some aspects that are still developing.

The common thread throughout our young journey as a church is that the Holy Spirit is bonding us together. We are a community of followers of Jesus Christ who are caring for one another and for our neighbors in Pittsburgh and around the world. We are joyful participants in God's redemptive mission. We are all flawed people, so we sometimes struggle in our relationships with one another. Still, I love our community and I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us in our part of the city of Pittsburgh.

If you're reading this and you're searching for a church home in Pittsburgh, I hope you'll come and check us out some time. We worship at 10am on Sunday mornings in East Liberty at 5941 Penn Avenue. North way East End has incredible worship, solid biblical teaching, a great kids church experience, small groups, and many outreach efforts both locally and globally. God is leading us to be a church that is uniquely urban and cross-cultural. We have a heart for reaching our city.

Living in God's Grand Adventure

I recently spent some time looking through photos of my mentoring adventures, and I was kind of surprised about how many times my two daughters popped up in the photos. By choosing to live in the inner city neighborhood where I also work at leading a mentoring program, I have intentionally brought my family along as a meaningful part of the adventure of life. My calling is not a special solo mission for daddy. My daughters are learning how to live in God's mission to reach others on a daily basis. The gospel message of Jesus Christ is real to them on a daily basis because we all live it out together. I am excited to see what God does in their own lives as they grow into the callings that God has for them.

It's impossible to be effective at advancing the kingdom of God from a safe distance. The best ministry happens through hands on experiences and authentic relationship building. I'm happy that my daughters are learning these things from a young age. Our family loves living in God's mission together.

Saturday and Sunday... Bring it on!

Today I am taking a day of rest to get ready for an intense weekend of ministry in the city. It is going to be great... I can't wait! On Saturday morning I'll be leading a discussion with over 50 people through Encountering God in the City at North Way East End. We'll be discussing how Christians can be effective at serving others in the city, a topic that I'm very passionate about. In fact, I dedicate most of my time to building relationships with my neighbors in Pittsburgh while also mobilizing others to do so. Then, on Saturday afternoon Julie and I will be hosting a CRU mission team of eight high school students plus chaperones at our house in Homewood for an outreach event. We'll be throwing a block party for kids and families in our neighborhood. I have no idea who's going to show up, but it's going to be fun to see what God does through the new relationships that will be built. On Sunday, I'll have the opportunity to worship with over 200 people at North Way East End. I'll be sharing about the big vision that God has put on my heart for our church community. On Sunday after church the East End will host all of the interns at the North Way campuses. Then, I'll pick up my mentees in Homewood and take them over to the Chili Cook Off that North Way East End is hosting in Highland Park. I'm looking forward to a fun event, and my stomach will be stuffed since I'm one of the judges for the chili contest. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Teaching, facilitating, learning, outreach, worship, training, mentoring, leading, and eating. These are all things I love to do, and I'm blessed to be able to do things that I'm so passionate about in a city I love. It's going to be a great weekend!

Another Great Weekend in the East End

We are coming off of another big weekend at North Way East End.  Followers of Jesus generously served in our community all weekend.  We worshipped God together, received a powerful message from the Lord through good teaching, and we continued to build community with one another through a huge block party that nearly all of the church attended after the morning worship service.  I love that we welcomed all kinds of different people from the community into the ministry center for food, fun, and fellowship.  I am so excited by what God has done through the East End campus in just a matter of a few months, and I'm expecting big things this summer as we continue to reach out into the community.  We are following God's lead, and the Holy Spirit is moving in amazing ways in the East End.

God Has His Reasons

What a day! This morning I had the opportunity to provide mentor training for eleven new mentors at North Way Oakland. It was a dynamic and fun group of people, and I had a blast sharing stories about things I've done wrong (and occasionally right) over the the past five years as a mentor to many young people in Homewood. I think my mentoring glory stories become more and more embellished over time (just like my high school football stories), but I do have a good time sharing the stories. I think all leaders should develop the ability to tell good stories in order to bring interest and value to the message that they carry. If you are a leader... be a good story teller! God has placed you in a leadership position for a reason!

After the training I had the chance to meet with a young man from my church who gives me great hope for the people in his generation (he's 22 years old). He had some great ideas about how to teach kids to be entrepreneurial and develop innovative and valuable skill sets which would be useful in today's marketplace. He is a young businessman who is developing a healthy theology of work, and I hopefully helped him navigate through his calling from God to make the world a better place by using his business sense. If you are a person who loves business... you do not need to work at a church or a nonprofit, parachurch organization to make a valuable difference for the Kingdom of God with your life. God has you in your job for a reason!

This evening I took a couple LAMP kids to the Pirate game and fireworks at PNC Park. It was an exciting Pirate victory, and the sold out crowd loved the post-game display. I love Pittsburgh! The buildings downtown looked so amazing with all of the fireworks explosions reflecting off of the windows. Pittsburgh has been blessed with a strong urban center, beautiful rivers, and great people. If you live in a city... then love your city! God has you in your city for a reason!

As I try to drift off to sleep tonight, their are noises of laughing and video games coming from downstairs where the LAMP kids have crashed in our living room. Julie and I love to open our home to the people in our neighborhood. I'm sure I'll have to go down there a couple times to get them to settle down, but I know they're just having a great time at our place. If you live in a house or apartment... open it up to other people! Your house is meant to be shared, in authentic community, with many people (even people who are different than you). God has placed you in your home for a reason!

Maybe God has you reading this blog post for a reason! Today you have the opportunity to choose to lead with purpose, work with purpose, love your city with purpose, and share your home with purpose. God has his reasons...