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Joy in Ministry

Everything I Needed To Know About Church Planting, I Learned In Underoos.

hulk underoosSong of the Month: “Time To be Awesome” Zoe Saldana

 

Everything I needed to know about church planting I learned in my Underoos. Ok, so maybe not everything, but a lot.

It’s the beginning of 2018. I’m on my second month of being forty-five years old and I’m realizing that who I am, is really so connected to who I was as a silly, little, eight year old girl, running around in my….wait for it… not superwoman…but Incredible Hulk Underroos. Yes, I was a freaky little blond girl who loved her some Incredible Hulk. Still do as a matter of fact and I’m not ashamed to admit it…anymore.

It wasn’t the comic that first drew me in, but the highly emotive opening seen of the made for T.V. show. There was our Bill Bixby, sadly sauntering around a long, lonely bend in the road with his tiny (for now), thumb sticking out. So sad, so hopeless, so misunderstood!

We are who we are. We are who God made us to be. Sure over the years,  we take hopeful steps closer to heaven, learning a bit along the way about forgiveness, love, and grace. But our essence, the Soul that was born into this world, is one specially designed freakazoid that God sent like an astroid into His wold. Boom! And you created your pothole.

One question I get asked a lot by young women heading into the ministry is, “How do you…do it?” Whatever the IT  is that they are seeking to do. How do you be a pastor’s wife, church planter, pastor, preacher, evangelist, teacher, worship leader, lead children’s ministry,  juggle it all with kids, stand up against the scrutiny of others, put up with gossip, betrayals, etc.?  And how do you do it all while dealing with your own issues? Real life, everyday, human issues like depression, infertility, un-forgiveness, trials with grown children, death of loved ones, cancer, financial crisis, and so on.

Many (all?) church planters don’t feel they have what it takes. And to be frank, they don’t.  I didn’t. Don’t.  I just have what I have. The raw material that God gave me, much like Bill Bixby. But gosh darn it, once the Hulk came around, Bill had what it took to knock the bad guy to the moon and back!

hulk n bill  I’ll never forget the day I learned through a very important issue of The Making of the Incredible Hulk, that Lou Ferrigno was deaf. The Incredible Hulk! MY Incredible Hulk, was Deaf! The magazine showed in detail the hours of makeup Lou had to endure to become the Hulk ( Lots of makeup tips there girls:). It mentioned the struggles he faced as a deaf kid and all the Incredible Hulk had to overcome to become so incredible to me.

Anyone who knows great literature, knows every hero must have a flaw. In fact, their flaw is a part of their story, without it there would be no story. Without the Hulk, there would be no sad BIll Bixby to tune into every week. Will he overcome? Will he ever find love? If he can keep going, so can I! And on come those powerful Underoos.

So it is with us. Could it be that our very brokeness, or the thing we see as such a flaw in ourselves, or our biggest heart ache, is the thing God wants to use in us? Perhaps the very dent our butt makes in the earth, is where the rain will fill to water someone else’s garden? Give us humility as His Church? Bring restoration for someone who feels hopeless?  I mean he did choose to put the equivalent of the Incredible Hulk in jars clay right? Last time I checked 2 Corith. 4:7, I’m sure it said God put the treasure of his Holy Spirit (ie. Incredible Hulk) in jars of clay (us).

So next time you hear the lie in your ear that you just can’t do it, or no one wants to see your dirty Underoos, remember He chose you as you. Flaws and all.   People can’t relate to “Perfect” pastors, leaders, ministry workers. Its not real, nor is it even right to set ourselves up to crash all over their pedestals. “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God?” (Mark 10:8) So why pretend? Why play act?  Whew! Pressure off, Underoos on! Let’s go.

Define Underoos someone asks? …It’s what American kids wore in the early 80’s to feel invincible!

shakespearoos  If we had only had Shakespeare Underoos! How right this world would be.

 

 

 

 

(First Posted on Church Planting Is For Girls 2014)

The Things We Hate

i-hate-waiting

Song of the month- Highly Favored One by Lindsy Morton

I hate waiting for things I’ve ordered.

I. Really. Hate. It. It’s probably why I rarely order things online. I can feel my blood boil with each passing day. Package? No Package. Package? No Package. Package? Wrong Order? Wrong house? Wrong thing for me to do if I want to remain nice.

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What We Fight For

Little Fighter

Song of the month- Miracle: Foo fighters

It’s been almost two months since we brought our little miracle home from the hospital. Our Eden Hope, born at 1lb 2oz is now a whopping 9 1/2 pounds of poopin, spitin-upin, late night a cryin, baby fun….and we volunteered for this, even paid to do it! We fought through two years of bureaucracy, home studies, repeated home studies, failed matches, all to get to this little miracle baby.   There are a lot of lessons I’ve taken away from the adoption of our second girl.  But the main lesson is how to fight…right.

We call Eden “Our little fighter” or “Super Girl” because of all the hurdles she’s already managed to leap over. Collapsed lungs, brain bleed, threat of Cerebral Palsy, malformed eyes, hole in her lower back indicating possible Spina Bifida, you name it, she’s had it. You name it and she’s overcome it. I’m sure by next month she will help Apple overcome their post Steve Jobs slump. She’s a very capable micro premie our Eden. She’s a fighter, in the best sense of the word.

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One Bright Balloon

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This blog is written for Ashley O’Brian, one cool church planting chick who has been laboring with us in Long Beach. Her heart for the poor and those at risk in this world is always inspiring. Now she is headed to Africa where she will love on the orphan, widow, and those in prison. You can learn more about her apostle heart on her blog “The Little O’Brian Family”. Littleobrienfamily.blogspot.com

Song of the month- Good bye Alice in wonderland -Jewel

Off she goes just set her free. Like one bright balloon across a cloudy sky she’s leaving the land of promise to give promises to another land.
AFRICA
I promise I will try and love you like Christ.
I promise his love never fails even when humans do.
I promise I won’t forget you when I leave again.
I promise I will pass on the change you worked in me.
I promise I will be a part in exporting healing to your country, rather than exploiting you.
I promise to model the love I teach.
I promise to be a student of Christ among you.
I promise to apologise when I break all these promises.
I promise to begin each day new in the Grace of God…and let you do the same.
AFRICA

As I watch Ashley head out to the mission field I envy her. I know the intimacy she’s going to get to experience when it’s just her and God…and nothing else. As a young woman, she’s already shown herself to be a church planter and willing to be planted wherever God leads. I know the work she’s heading into won’t be easy and she is going to be pushed to her limit. But I also know the metamorphic change that it’s going to build within her soul.

When I started praying about Ashley going to Africa I got a picture of a bright balloon floating in the air, heading out of a crowded country filled with bright balloons and I saw it drift lower, lower, across a barren sky and settle its solitary self down to a rush of kids who never dreamt of such a thing. A bright balloon ( auto correct keeps putting in baboon for balloon….ha different metaphor) from a distant land…just for them. This may have been quite a romantic picture…sorry Ashley…but I don’t control what pictures pop into my head…just what I do with them afterward.

images-2If only American Christianity could be known for exporting more bright colored balloons. More beauty, freedom, and love. Less plastic surgery, hypocrisy, double standards and division. Less political persuasion and more passion of Christ. Less denominationalism and more demolishing of strongholds.

Unfortunately, as a “Christian” nation we are known to be the largest exporters of porn, false doctrine, and one of the top five countries financing human trafficking.

I love my country, I love the Christians here and I’m very aware that our trials and temptations are no less real than those in countries we want to minister to. After all, being fat has its trials too. Right? As Americans we feel like crap a lot… tired and run down…feeding too much to feel better. Feeding too little to feel better… modifying our diet…And feeding too much on the wrong things both physically and spiritually.

But Ash has clued in at a young age to the amazing one step program for getting hot!

MISSIONS…Dying to self… cause then there’s no fear to weigh her down. So off she floats. On bright balloon in a barren sky.       “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain…” That’s the good kind of gain!

As one bright balloon among many here in America, Ashley is being set free…again….to set others free…

We will be here holding the other end of the rope as you descend into places you never knew you could go Ash. And when you come back, we will help you keep those promises as you share new ones with us. And off we go on mission together.
God bless you my little sis in The Lord.

We Go Together Like…

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“We go together like

Ramma lamma lamma

Ka dinga da dinga dong.”

We go together like…Mac n cheese,

Image

Image

or as Forest says, “We goez together like peas en carawts Jenny.”

Church unity, friendships, love, such a blessing when we have it isn’t it?

#birds chirping, flowers blooming#

I cautiously say “have it” as though unity was somehow always meant to be ours for the illusive taking…

Got it!…slip…got it again…oops…Did you mean UNITY? Or un-tidy?…oops…

Sometimes I feel like global church unity is a monkey’s banana dance. All of God’s little monkeys are enjoying the food (word of God) but then slipping around on the peel when it comes to performing the task at hand. Ie.Giving the world the show of their life!

According to the scripture, “They will know you are my disciples by your love for one another.” …slip…ouch.

Here’s where the “yes buts” tune their voices in their solitary unity song…  “Yes but, to love someone doesn’t mean you have to agree with them Andrea.”

Your right…

But do we love them? Avoid speaking ill of them? Care when they are hurting and not rejoice when they do poorly, or fall into sin? We have to actually be able to work with them, stand being around them, and not judge them….ouch.

Here’s an example of our “love for one another” sometimes. Perhaps you’ve heard quotes like these, or said them yourself :

Rick Warren- “Oh my he’s all about his big church.”

Billy Grahm- “Did you hear what he said in his last sermon? Think he’s becoming ecumenical…”

Bill Hybels- “Heard he’s gone liberal…Lets women teach men! For shame.”

Mark Driscoll – “What a harsh man! Foul mouth!”

Francis Chan- “Seems nice enough, but bit of a dreamer,not realistic.”

R.C. Sproul (as is roll, not sprowl as in growl)- “Ugh not gospel oriented… like most reformed people, dryer than a mouth full of cotton.”

Peyton Jones ( say something about him and I’ll kill you)…slip…

And off us monkeys go, devouring God’s word while slipping on the banana peel and the devil laughs at his creative chaos!

Dada da da…and for my next trick…

I got jealous the other day. I know I’m carnal. I said something unkind about someone who got some acknowledgement that I felt I deserved. So I bad mouthed the whole dang organization! ( but only to my husband so it was ok right?)

Later I realized “Monkey-face” was in fact my carnal name and not just what my family called me. You know that face monkeys get don’t you? When they’re up to no good and being ridiculous? Lips turned inward in an over exaggerated fake smile?

Image

Church, don’t we realize that that is what our Christian smiles look like to a lost world when we can’t unite for the gospel?

Image

Now look at this perfect picture of unity: Image

Without the love of God renewing our minds we will never be like Nancy and kiss the top of Mr. T’s head.

Who is your Mr. T?

Who is your Nancy Reagan?

If Nancy Reagan can sit on one of my all time fav. T.V. Characters an plant a big one on his shiny forehead…we can manage unity can’t we church?

Come on Calvinist, plant one on a shiny Arminian forehead!

Come on Baptist, give a little squeeze to our charismatic friend.

Church we need each other. We need mercy from each other, BECAUSE God has made us so diverse.

“Blessed are the merciful…for they shall receive mercy”…and I need mercy.

We are called the Bride of Christ not the bride of Frankenstein. We are not meant to be fragmented pieces of different bodies only sew together for the final wedding feast fit for the Walking Dead. Who wants a bride like that?

Image

Perhaps that is why our groom is still waiting church? Perhaps Christ is waiting for his bride to get her groove on, become one loving body, then the world will know we are His, and he is ours.

Are we merciful to our fellow believers? Or are we jealously competitive with their “denomination” suspicious of their theological “persuasion”? Do we wait five minutes till we hear key “authentication” words come out of their mouth before we truly decide we can fellowship with them?

We go together like…

“Ramma lamma lamma Ka dinga da dinga dong,” Mac n Cheese,  “Peas n carrawts Jenny.”…

When your brother or sister is being chased down the street by the hatchet man, put in prison for her faith, are we really going to pause and question her on whether or not sanctification precedes faith? (Hmm I could be tempted…) Infant baptism? Hymns or Jesus Culture? What’s your pet? What’s that one, two or etc. thing that keeps your heart from being able to unite on mission with another believer? Tempts you to “Judge another man’s servant?”

Bride of Christ… we Don’t have to look alike…to love. But we have to love.

For nancy to kiss the top of Mr. T’s head, he didn’t have to change his cloths. For her to receive a coveted Mr. T doll, Nancy didn’t have to prove her coolness by sporting a Mohawk. Jenny didn’t have to fail an IQ test to love forest, Olivia didn’t have to become a greaser to catch John’s eye ( but he did like it), and where would Mac be with out cheese?

Could it be in our unified diversity, we give a slightly more balanced, flavorful picture of a   wildly complex and colorful God?

…and that’s all I have to say about that…for now.

We go together like

Ramma lamma lamma

Ka dinga da dinga dong

Remembered forever like

Shoo-wop sha whada whadda

Yippidy boom da boom

Chang chang changity chang shoo bop

That’s the way it should be

Waooo Yeah

We’re one of a kind

“For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” Heb. 4 v2

HELP ON THE HORIZON

NewBreedChick1-300x294

The long awaited place to post for girls who want to impact this generation through church planting.

I’m all new at this bloggin thing,  so be patient with me please. But hope to have some fun discussing church planting and all its many joys and challenges.

Recent Posts

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  • Everything I Needed To Know About Church Planting, I Learned In Underoos.
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