It only takes a spark.....

I attend a great church. I work at this same great church. I get to see what happens behind the scenes, and sometimes I even get a chance to ask questions to the men who make the decisions that guide our body of Christ.
Our church's motto is "Make Disciples." Which is really cool, because discipleship is one of the most incredible parts of our faith.....teaching and passing on the wisdom and truth of God to others...living life together in community.
My concern is that Satan has crept in and turned our eyes back on ourselves again. Here's why: almost everyone I talk to that attend that church want to be discipled by someone older in the faith. And there's nothing wrong with that. EXCEPT that we can't let it stop there. Let me explain.
If we keep our eyes on ourselves and our own wants and needs, it paralyzes us and we become more self-centered. When discpleship becomes all about me and what I'm getting out of it, then I lose the heart of Christ. Jesus taught us to be others-centered, to give rather than receive. So what does that mean for discipleship?
It may mean that instead of us sitting around waiting to be discipled, we should actively live in community and build relationships in order to love on and disciple others. Maybe God won't allow us to find a mentor until we ourselves mentor someone younger and love on them. Jesus left his disciples after 3 years and told them to go disciple others. What if they continued to wait until they were older in the faith? It wasn't like they had all the answers-Thomas had doubts, Peter cursed and denied Christ.....not your normal "mentors". But Jesus sent them out and told them to make other disciples.
Many of us have been walking with Jesus for more than 3 years. But we are still waiting and watching for more. Satan tells us that we are weak, we have nothing to offer, we can't disciple anyone, etc. But I truly believe that discipleship has nothing to do with someone having all the answers or having it all together. It has everything to do with love and community, wisdom and truth.
We find the body of Christ impotent because we have believed the lie that it's all about us. Satan has kept us from discipling others because we haven't found a mentor like we think we should have. Don't believe him! Get in the Word, pray about your walk, and fulfill the Great Commission and live the community life of the Acts 2 church. Reach out to others, and you'll find God teaching and growing you like you'd never imagine!
The great commission? Make disciples-if you are a believer, this isn't an option. It doesn't say "Be discipled." That implies that it's all about me. It says "Make Disciples." Jesus doesn't suggest it. He tells us to go reach others and get our eyes off of ourselves. I suspect that we will discover the very things we are looking for from God when we spend our time loving others instead of hoping that someone will love on us.

"It only takes a spark to get a fire going,And soon all those around can warm up in its glowing;That's how it is with God's Love,Once you've experienced it,You spread the love to everyoneYou want to pass it on."
-"Pass it On" written by Kurt Kaiser

How a man named Arnold changed the World

In a culture of a-list, b-list, and c-list celebrities, sometimes it's good to discover someone who is a true hero in the kingdom of God. Let me tell you about a man named Arnold.
For the past sixteen years, every Wednesday afternoon at Fort Lauderdale Beach across from the Bahia Mar, Arnold has fed the homeless men and women of Fort Lauderdale. You see, Arnold is a chef. And he wanted to help those that were hurting. Not with government funding, but with private donations and with his own dime, on his own time.
Arnold is a man, probably in his late 60s or early 70s. He might weigh 135 pounds-he's not a man of large stature. Why do you need to know this? Because the mayor has called him a menace to society. The city has threatened to sue him. He's been arrested several times. Because he feeds the homeless, and doesn't get the city's permission or get a permit? Yes. Probably because he feeds them at the beach, where all the tourists and rich folk can see the outcasts of Broward. And Fort Lauderdale doesn't want these men and women to be seen.
What have we come to, when the hurting and the poor are ignored? They have names, stories, mothers, fathers. They weren't always homeless. Some are war veterans who fought to defend the people that ignore them every day. Some were successful businessmen and women who lost everything in a bad deal.
Arnold cares for these people. And they care for him. When he arrived on Wednesday, there were over a hundred people already waiting for him. And as he pulled up in a van with food, the homeless and forgotten men and women stood and became a team. Some carried picnic tables over. Some helped unload the van. But on all their faces was love for a man who loved them just the way they were. As they lined up to get this solid meal, Arnold went around and spoke to them individually. They were his friends. His neighbors. His brothers and sisters.
For the past 4 years, however, Arnold wanted to do something more. Since he's a chef, he knows a lot about the restaurant industry here in South Florida. He says that there are over 45,000 food service jobs in South Fla, plenty for everyone. And he knows that being a chef is one of the few good jobs that doesn't require a college degree. So he began his own quest to get his homeless friends off the streets and find them good jobs.
Arnold began a school to train these men and women, whoever was willing, to be in the food service industry. He teaches them classes just like they would get at any top culinary school. And if they accept his offer to enter the program, they get temporary housing for 9 weeks, free schooling, and certification that almost ensures them a job when they are done. AND they can continue to take the next 3 levels of food preparation so that they can become full chefs.
He's now on his 19th class. And one of the most amazing things about it all is that as these "ex-homeless" men and women in the school are learning their craft, Arnold has them learn by helping him prepare the Wednesday night meal for several hundred of their homeless brothers and sisters each week. The chefs-in-training who arrived in that van with Arnold Wednesday night were probably the ones eating there just a few weeks prior.
Why do I write this? Because Arnold is a hero. He is busy about his Father's business. He wants to further the Kingdom of God. He's not a celebrity in our book. He'll never make the front page, never be in a tabloid, never be honored at any awards ceremony here on earth. But I don't doubt that in heaven, this man will be given treasures beyone our wildest dreams.
The name of his ministry? Love Thy Neighbor. Is he doing it? Absolutely.