classic Saturday

This year, I've been reading and sharing weekly through Devotional Classics edited by Richard Foster and James Bryan Smith. There are 52 devotions offered from a variety of devoted followers who have written in order to encourage the faith of brothers and sisters in Christ.

This week's author is Elizabeth O'Connor (1921- ) and her quote is on the topic of money. O'Connor was a part of a radical faith community called the Church of the Saviour in Washington, D.C., founded in 1947 by a movement of the Spirit that had the rest of the world taking notice.

"As we become exposed to the poor and their needs, the rich young ruler and the widow and her mite lose the storybook quality of our childhood faith, and become figures in the counter-culture literature of a revolutionary leader-the very one whom we call Saviour. The First Commandment and all the Scriptures on the worship of idols begin to lay bare our own primitive selves. Some of us have looked into the face of our idols and found that one of them is money.

Though we along with millions of other churchgoers are saying that Jesus saves, we ask ourselves if we are not in practice acting as though it were money that saves. We say that money gives power, money corrupts, money talks. Like the ancients with their molten calf we have endowed money with our own psychic energy, given it arms and legs, and have told ourselves that it can work for us. More than this we enshrine it in a secret place, give it a heart and a mind and the power to grant us peace and mercy."

A question by Foster/Smith: Jesus preached that we cannot serve God and wealth, because he perceived that Mammon (the spirit of wealth) functions as a false god for many. How has money tried to gain your allegiance? What struggles have you encountered in trying to "serve two masters"?

risk

I talked with three people the other day who talked about risks that either they or people they know are taking with God. Jeremy, our guide for the day at Freedom for Youth yesterday talked about how he and his wife just relocated this summer into the inner city neighborhood where he works. He talked about reading The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne a few years back and how it moved him to greater faith and bigger risks.

Another guy I talked with was telling me about a man in Ft. Dodge, IA, who was your "average" Christian and above-average business guy. He was successful with money and influence, and then he also read Claiborne's book. It challenged him and he felt called to think and live differently. He ended up giving up his career to start a 70-bed shelter for men in Ft. Dodge, a need that was not being met. This fellow I was talking with told a few stories of that the guy in Ft. Dodge who is taking some big leaps of faith.

The director of Freedom Youth Ministries, Mark Nelson, introduced himself toward the end of our day, and as we prepared to leave, he told us to remember that none of this can be done without God. He talked about the biggest requirement on his part has been to take the steps of faith..the risks...that God has asked of him. Mark also said that as he took that initial first step way out there, he had in his mind that that would be it. But as he continued on the path God was laying out for him, the requirements of faith and risk just kept 'a comin; in fact, they were even bigger leaps than his initial step out over the edge.

I don't know about you, but I have a pretty high self-protection quotient. Do I believe that we need to calculate risk and factor in all sorts of things like timing, readiness, etc.? Yes, wisdom is definitely important. But I often ask myself if I use so much "human wisdom" that it leaves out faith and stunts me from acting on the voice and supernatural movement of God. Anyone else ever identify here? This just always brings me back to the question...how's my walk with Christ? Am I abiding closely with Him so that I can hear Him clearly and trust him enough to obey and take the big steps over the edge...and he will always call us to take big steps over the edge.

freedom for youth ministries

Freedom for Youth from Cass Blaede on Vimeo.

Above are pictures are of the workshops and T.A.G.S. store at Freedom for Youth.

I drove to Des Moines yesterday with friends and was given a grand tour of Freedom for Youth Ministries, a ministry for kids, teens, and young adults that you can learn more about at www.freedomforyouth.org or by watching video above.

God's been at work through Freedom for Youth in many great ways in the seven years of the ministry's existence. What I loved most were the workshop sessions for the teens... welding class, woodworking, small engine repair, bike repair, an art studio complete with a kiln, and the T.A.G.S. store where they sell to the public items the students have made...bracelets, cutting boards, welded decorations, vases, and much more. They've even launched a coffee business recently. A great picture of empowerment for youth!

love is

"Love is to reveal the beauty of another person to themselves."

-Jean Vanier

classic Saturday

Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), in his Rule and Exercises of Holy Living, writes of nineteen rules that help a person battle pride and "exercise the grace of humility". All of his rules to develop humility stem from the first rule: to remember our unworthiness.

"First, do not think better of yourself because of any outward circumstance that happens to you. Although you may-because of the gifts that have been bestowed upon you- be better at something than someone else (as one horse runs faster than another), know that it is for the benefit of others, not for yourself. Remember that you are merely human and that you have nothing in yourself that merits worth except your right choices.

Second, humility does not consist in criticizing yourself, or wearing ragged clothes, or walking around submissively wherever you go. Humility consists in a realistic opinion of yourself, namely, that you are an unworthy person. Believe this about yourself with the same certainty you believe that you are hungry when you have gone without food."

Finally, "confess your sins often to God and don't think of them as scattered offenses in the course of a long life; a burst of anger here, an act of impatience there. Instead, unite them into one continuous representation of your life. Remember that a person may seem rather good if his faults are scattered over large distances throughout his lifetime; but if his errors and follies are placed next to one another, he will appear to be a vicious and miserable person. Hopefully this exercise, when really applied to your soul, will be useful to you for increasing the grace of humility."

Consider this exercise of confession with God this week. Just as several of us recently wrote out a thankful list, consider writing out a confession list. This will surely increase the recognition of our need for a Rescuer and our gratitude for God's grace through Christ.

100 thanks

For what and whom are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? We were challenged in last Sunday's message at church to literally write out a thankful list. How focusing on blessings helps to cultivate gratitude which in turn opens and grows the heart.

So, this morning I numbered to 100 and completed it quickly. I could keep going. Maybe I will. Or maybe I'll just reflect on what I've written. God's love. God's grace through Christ. The Bible. The life of Jesus. The death of Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus. The Holy Spirit. God's sovereignty. God's faithfulness.

As the list grew, I noticed that my categories would always start with a general word but the general word soon led me on tangents of thankfulness: Beauty. Nature. Mountains, forests, rivers, streams, blue sky, cool clouds, sunrises, sunsets, waterfalls, flowers, lakes, Lake Bertha in Minnesota, canoeing on Lake Bertha with my children.

And on...

Receive God's good gifts today. Acknowledge Him as the Giver. Share these blessings with others. Happy Thanksgiving.

what's with the Walnut Neighborhood?

This fall, Dave Bartlett, our visionary leader at Orchard Hill Church, has begun publicly talking about our church being called into the community of the Walnut Neighborhood in Waterloo. Perhaps you have some of these questions: "Where is the Walnut Neighborhood?" "How have we designated that neighborhood as an area of focus?" "What does it look like to partner with a neighborhood?" Good questions! I thought I'd take this blog post to address some of those questions.

First of all, the Walnut Neighborhood is located within these four perimeter streets: Franklin, E. 4th St., Dane, and Hway 63. It is the neighborhood of our partner church, Harvest Vineyard, and it is a neighborhood in which I've been called back into a number of times, each time with my heart growing more burdened for and in love with the neighborhood.

My first experience within the Walnut Neighborhood was the 32 years I went to church in the neighborhood at First Presbyterian. I recently had the privilege to speak at First Presbyterian on a Sunday morning. You can learn more about my heart and call to partner in the neighborhood by clicking here to read what I shared that morning.

Over the past four years, as our partnership and friendship has grown with friends at Harvest, relationships with children and adults in the neighborhood have also begun to blossom. In looking back, I would say that God has been using me as a catalyst for Christian community development, a connector, and somewhat of a chaplain in the neighborhood. I can "see" so many possibilities from and for the neighborhood, and I look forward to what God has in store as the great "Repairer of broken walls and Restorer of streets with dwellings."

The photo above is of 316 Walnut St. As of Friday, the house is now in the possession of Harvest Vineyard Church. This afternoon, eleven of us gathered in prayer and worship at the house as we dedicated it to Christ, surrendered it to God's good purposes, and committed to being his beloved community as we work together to restore the house so that it might be a Christian transitional home for men.

We believe God is at work and is binding together a missional community built on the foundation of Jesus Christ who will align with His heart and His redeeming work in the neighborhood!

Isaiah 58:12 "Your people will rebuild ancient ruins and will raise up age old foundations. You will be called Repairer of broken walls and Restorer of streets with dwellings."