A Brief, Final Post

As any follower of this site can tell from the lack of posting, this blog has fallen off dramatically. Also, I am no longer in Houston which renders the title of this blog moot. Thank you for all of the time you took to stay updated with my work in Houston. Now, I encourage you to follow my wife and I's blog about our new mission and adventure in Honduras. It's currently under renovation, but stay tuned for more information about our new work.

livingoutmyfaith.wordpress.com

A Final Act

Today is Good Friday and yesterday was my last day of working at Impact Church of Christ. It's a weird feeling as I sit back and reflect today. Today what I have been doing is done, finished. A sad day for me. But Sunday is coming. Sunday I will sit on the floor at my soon to be home in Honduras. Sunday I will remember the Resurrection with my new church, where my new life will be.

I love Impact and have been blessed deeply in my time there since 2008. One of the things that I've tried to do since I announced that I was leaving is to leave well. I think my "final act" was something that surprised me. Every Spring Break we have multiple groups come in to work on projects and with the kids of Impact. One of the first days when the kids were out of school we worked in the garden with a group from Dallas. After clearing out some brush near the garden, a couple of my boys started gathering stones and bricks and putting them in a circle prompting me to say "What are yall doing? Making a pagan worship circle?" They didn't get the joke, but instead responded by saying "No we're making that thing, a labyrinth." I almost fell over. I first exposed the kids at Impact to labyrinths about a year and a half ago. Ever since then they have ask me a half dozen times if we could make one at the church. So we did.

Another group came the next week and we cleaned out from behind the garden where some of our outdoorsmen had stayed and left their trash. In the mountain of trash they gathered a mountain of 40 ounce liquor bottles seen here.

With these bottles I said to myself, we can make a labyrinth out of this. So I found some artistic girls, Saylor and Elyse, they improved upon the half-Chartres design of a labyrinth I gave them and this was created.

And out of a glass pane door we found, they created a fantastic sign!

The kids were so excited to see it that night, and are loving the process of painting and creating something beautiful and full of life. Last night was the last night for me to look out of this view you see below with them, last time to water and grow plants and hearts. When I look at this spot, I think resurrection. Discarded toilets, tires, tubs into objects to grow food for those who need it. Liquor bottles, a symbol of the death and despair felt by some many addicted on the street and broken families turned into an object to guide people towards peace and prayer. If I have done anything in my time here, I hope that I have taught my children about the Resurrection for them and that they are a resurrecting body with Christ in this world.

A Transition On The Rise

It has been a long quiet spell here on this blog. A lot has happened in my life in the past few months. A lot of great things are in store for me personally and as a minister. As many of you are probably aware of I am now engaged to a wonderful girl, Michael Lemmons. It's very exciting! If you want to see the video here's the link: Honduras Proposal. We'll be tying the knot in May.

Along with that excitement, Michael and I will also be moving to Tegucigalpa, Honduras sometime in the late summer. We will be working with the Breaking Chains Honduras team there which Michael has been involved with for the past 16 months. This is their link: Breaking Chains. There I will take care of their worship on Sundays, working with their youth and families on a daily basis among other various projects. I am excited to be a part of the community at Breaking Chains. Developing communites spiritually is an interest I have gained in my time pursuing my M.Div and at Impact. I look forward to creating healthy bonds of community and as a church as we aid the residents out of poverty and into other homes and communities.

This transition is difficult for us because we love Impact dearly. It is where we met and were formed as ministers and directors in the church. With that said, we are excited about all of the ministry that we will be able to do together in Honduras. I'll defer to her latest newsletter to give you more information, it is attached below. Soon this blog and facebook page will be no more, but I encourage you to follow Breaking Chains on facebook and to be on the lookout for a new blog about Honduras with both me and Michael.

Grace & Peace.
John

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B67JnZoizTOSeXdVMnIwZWJRaEE/edit?usp=sharing&hl=en&forcehl=1

Some Thoughts on Voting (Jesus for President)

I don't vote. And in reality in the states I'm in my vote wouldn't really matter. That's a philosophical stance I have. Theologically, I tend to hold an Anabaptist stance towards interaction with civil society, but that would take a book to explain. Which I will recommend the two that have influenced this stance I hold Artists, Citizens, Philosophers:Seeking the Peace of the City and Jesus for President. When people ask who I'm going to vote for I say "Jesus." Which gets me some sanctimonious and strange looks.

I do believe in working for the good of society, but I think that should be accomplished through the efforts of the church, not the government. I don't believe in legislating change or morality; I think those things should be lived. In a way, misplacing our hope political process instead of Christ is our way of copping out of our responsibility as a church. Like anything, this is my opinion, but I want to link you to a couple interesting thoughts on voting and political engagement. Blessings.

David Lipscomb on Voting

Why Vote?

When You're Pissed at God.

I realize that some of you may not like the word "pissed," but I don't think mad or angry really describes what I felt a week ago. A week ago, I learned that the five beautiful children who had been in the care of Breaking Chains (The homeless ministry in Honduras Michael works with) were removed from their custody and put in the care of IHNFA (Honduran CPS). Four of these kids were in Michael's care for the last two months. You can read the details from her post: Searching for God.

It's moments like this I struggle with God. I cry out. I cry out at the injustice, the injustice of children being removed from a home where they were loved and opportunities to thrive for a better life. To be candid, I yell out. I yell out in my pain, my loss of knowing these kids, who I plan to have a future role with, are in a difficult, confusing, scary situation. 

I hear the words that "God is in control." Yet the injustice of it all doesn't sit right with me. I feel like the writer in Psalms 88. Or maybe the story of Job is more fitting, which brings up a whole lot of other uncomfortable theology with God betting on the faithfulness of Job. But there is something that does bring me some comfort. 

Job who has experienced so much has his friends try to comfort him and cries out in his own way. Then God answers: Job 38-40:5. When I read this poetic angry answer from God calling Job out; I stop. I get this scary peace if that makes any sense. The words "Shall the faultfinder contend with the Almighty" rings in my ears. And I do as Job, I spoke once and now I will shut my mouth. I will trust, I will persist.

God challenges Job and then Job says "I know that you can do all things, and no purpose of yours can be thwarted." Maybe this is where I get the most peace. To know that this may be one ugly, long, painful process, but not to sound cliche; things are in God's hands. And he is close to the brokenhearted. And in that uncomfortable, helpless position I wait and pray, and Michael waits and shows up to visiting hours over and over to be rejected repeatedly. But in this place close to God, we pray, fight and wait.

God's Football Team

This morning I had a thought about the functioning of the church, and Les Rose really pushed my thinking this way as I listened to him give a devo. In some ways the church is structured like a NFL football team. There's the players on the field who are similar to the church/ministers of the church. The coaches on the field (who are often former players) are like the elders of the church. Then the General Manager who acts is some ways similar to God, they have a lot of power and ability to control the functioning of the team.

Like any athlete who performs on the field I think it is important for Christians to be prepared. Athletes exercise their muscles and we too need to exercise our muscles of prayer, service, patience, love, etc. Likewise, practice for teams is critical for building unity and preppring each other for the time on the field, and worship is a fantastic time for Christians to do the same thing. Each player and coach on the team has a different function and purpose that they contribute. Just like so many Christians are call to different jobs and ministries within this world. It's an encouraging thing to see each member of a team functioning to fulfill its goal.

So today, I encourage you to continue on in your role and position, doing, loving, and serving as you go. Don't forget to practice and exercise your faith everyday. And most of all be encouraged by interacting with the Christian community you know.

Death and Remembering

I first met my friend Haymond nearly 4 years ago, and I immediately thought the world of him. And I’ll never forget the moment I heard he had passed away. In my short years in this world, I have met few people who are as kind, as caring and as genuine a person as Haymond Butler. Anyone who knew Haymond, knew that he had his quirks. I and others often simply referred to him as “Wolverine,” and he often introduced himself as Logan (Wolverine’s real name). He gave those around him different character names for the X-Men; for me I was the leader, Professor X. I don’t know why, possibly because of my receding amount of hair. For this reason he had a deep devotion to me, at times I would have to calm him down before he went off on someone who would be messing with me.

I have not been called by my real name by him in years, I answered to Professor like it was my own name, and he answered to Logan like it was his own. I looked forward to seeing him on Sundays and receiving his patented strong hugs, and on days when my back hurt I dreaded the extremely firm pat on the back. And now my Sundays will be incomplete without those hugs. Haymond was a smart person, he graduated with honors from High School. At times, he would be like Rain Man when it came to math. Many people never knew this about him, his playful awkwardness in social situations disguised his genius. I know he would have gone on to do really great things in life.

He fought with his siblings like everyone does, but only because he loved his family deeply. In every way, he showed DeAndre and Brittany what it meant to be a good brother. He became the man of the house, when his older brother Andre passed away tragically, and he looked out for mom and family with his big heart. He missed Andre so much when he was gone and listening to him talk about how great his brother was made me hurt so bad for him every time.

It hurt so bad to be out of the country when my friend passed. I take some solace in knowing that he has no more pain and no more seizures, and knowing that this is not the end. That someday we will rise up again and we will be together with Jesus. But for now and as long as I live, I remember my friend for the sweet, caring person he was.