Two New Chapters

How many times do you anticipate something and it seems to fall short of your expectations? Your imagination builds up a scenario in your mind, and the actual results end up being disappointing.

This past Tuesday, we were privileged to be able to serve communion to the guys at CFCF. We’ve been looking forward to this for some time now and it was exciting to finally get the chance. So naturally Dan wasn’t able to make it at the last minute. And of course it began to pour just as we pulled into the CFCF parking lot. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when the guard told us that we needed to wait a bit as there was some type of count issue. Fortunately, we got to get down to the chapel before too much time had passed. After we got “prayed up”, we waited for the guys to arrive. And waited…and waited. A couple came in, and then we waited…and waited. For a while it appeared as if we were going to have our first communion service for about 20 guys. Not that that would be terrible. Being able to serve even one would be special.

We began, as usual, with praise worship. By the time we had a couple of songs done, the room was filling up pretty well. While it never filled up completely, well, let’s hold that thought.

We had a big group Tuesday night: Bob, Royce, Michael, Kelli, Dave, Pat and I. Plus there was Shawn & Charles; two of the new guys joining the ministry. Whether it was music, prayer, sharing or distributing & collecting the communion packets, everybody took a part. Pat led the actual sharing of communion.

Earlier I said that the room never filled up completely. I was wrong. The room did fill up; with the Holy Spirit. There was a peace, a feeling of serenity, in the air that I don’t remember feeling before. We have had some times recently when there was “nonsense” going on during service. There was none of that Tuesday night. We didn’t need to keep things under control. Jesus was doing that.

The Holy Spirit can enter in different ways. I have felt it through an outpouring of emotion, a feeling of peace and as an explosion of joy. It doesn’t matter in what way it manifests itself, what matters is the power, and the love, that comes from it.


And then there was Wednesday. A couple of month’s ago we decided to try to expand our ministry, possibly by asking for additional nights or maybe reaching out to other prisons. Within a couple of weeks of making this decision the Chaplain at CFCF gave us the opportunity to take over the first and third Wednesday’s of the month. The Lord does work in mysterious ways.

One of the exciting steps are ministry is taking is the addition of a new group of guys. Bob, Royce, Michael, Michelle and I were met by Shawn and Charles, who were at Tuesday night’s service, and Rob the Preacher (too many Bob’s and Rob’s – I need to differentiate them). These guys are street evangelists and they bring something new to our ministry. Tuesday night was nice. It was serene. Wednesday was not serene. You can’t watch, or listen, to a testimony from Shawn and use the word serene. You might be able get away with nice, but not serene.

I’ll have to admit that I had a hard time following Shawn’s testimony. He was all over the place and at a very high octane delivery. But the men responded in a way that I’ve never seen. Part of it was his connection with their circumstances. He comes from the same background and history that they have. The other part has to be the Holy Spirit. It almost appears as if Shawn has received a message from the Holy Spirit that he wants to deliver, and is trying to get it all out at once; as if the message can’t be contained in his body.

Charles was able to share a short message, and although he is much calmer than Shawn was able to communicate that growing up in a tough area doesn’t necessarily doom yourself to a life of crime and substance abuse, as long as you have Jesus in your life.

Rob spoke the message and he took preaching to another level that I’m not used to. His fire and style was somewhat similar to Bob’s, but there was an outpouring of emotion that often appeared ready to burst out in tears. When he finished the message, guys were reaching out to hug him in appreciation, and joy.

I often leave CFCF feeling somewhat drained from the emotion in the room. It’s a good feeling and usually by the time I get home I’m recharged. It’s almost as if I’ve received and used up the Holy Spirit during the service. The way home seems to refill me, and sometimes I have a tough time relaxing in order to sleep. Wednesday night exhausted me, and yet by the time we got home, Michelle & I had been refilled enough that we stayed up for another couple hours talking about the past two nights.

Say a prayer for somebody today. It’s free.

Change

Change opens doors. Change is unsettling. Change promotes improvement. Change is disruptive. Change is good. Change is bad.

Individually our perception of change depends upon who is initiating the change, and the way it is done. When you are creating the change, you often view it as a positive. When it is thrust upon you - not so much. I’ve found in the business world that change can be a driving force towards innovation and improvements. But it also causes anxiety among the work force. It is important that the methods and goals are clear in order to explain the necessary change.

Change in relationships can also be tricky. Change that is not understood, or mutual, could be seen as a threat to one, or both. Yet lack of change can lead to complacency, routine, boredom – not great relationship builders. Building a relationship requires growth and an important element of growth is change.

How does change affect your faith? In order to grow in your faith, you must experience some type of change. It is important to try new things, take the extra step to expand your faith and take it to places that may surprise you.

2 Peter 3:18

18But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen

Joining the prison ministry was quite a leap for our small, couples, bible study group. But by taking the leap, and not allowing a more conservative thought process to control our “ministry brainstorming”, we have become involved in a ministry that has not only allowed us to be there for men that truly need the love of fellow Christians, but has allowed us to grow and become closer to God.

And yet, when I am confronted with change in an actual worship service, I balk. Is it proper to change from the structure we are used to? I think about Paul’s instructions in 1 Timothy, 6:22-24, “Always start the service with praise and worship, followed by prayer. Finish with a powerful message that that leads the worshippers to accept Christ Jesus into their lives. This is the proper way to worship the Lord.”

Now before you go digging into your bible to find this scripture, I have to admit that I made that verse up (1 Timothy ends at 6:21). But I’ve recently come to understand that the important part of service isn’t the structure, but rather how it allows the participants to become closer to God. I’ve become aware that the Holy Spirit sometimes works in such a way that we are taken on a different direction than we originally intended. Planning isn’t a bad thing, but we need to listen to God in order to follow his directions. Sometimes he takes us on a path that is not what we expect.

If I allow my plans to overrule a direction that God is pointing me because I don’t wish to change, than I have stepped off of my walk with Christ in order to try to lead the way myself. Whenever that happens, I get lost. As the lyrics read in the song, “Empty Me” – “I want more of you and less of me.”

Say a prayer for somebody today.