They will see you before they see your Jesus

Fashion. Its one of the driving forces of city life. Sure, people here in Joplin and other rural/suburban areas like to be fashionable. But honestly, it's not near as important to be up in the newest fashion here as it is in the city.

When it comes to reaching other cultures, I learned that it is important to meet the culture on surface levels. That when I go in to a new culture, if I am still dressed as my middle-class midwestern self, I am automatically setting myself a part from them. Now, I get there is a difference between indulging oneself in the culture and still not being of this world. I don't think the point is to adapt morals and views of this world. But strictly on surface levels- you've got to be who you want to reach.

Our learning experience for this topic was a trip to Bergdorf & Goodman. If you don't know anything about high fashion- this is the pinnacle. This is the top of high class/high fashion in New York City. It's on 5th Avenue, right next door to the Plaza. It's a fancy part of town- Tiffany's is just across the street. Our assignment was simply to go, browse, and try something on. In the past, groups from Missouri have been treated very poorly. One girl asked to try something on, but was refused "the right" to try something on because she could not pronounce the name of the designer. No joke. This is because the instant a middle class citizen walks in to that store, they automatically count you out. They know you are not buying anything but maybe want to see what it's like to wear something fancy, worth thousands of dollars. I get it though- I walk in to a homeless shelter and totally judge as well. Even though I don't treat them poorly, I have my own ideas and stereotypes about those people. There's no way that me walking in to Bergdorf & Goodman dressed as a middle class citizen from small town Missouri could ever reach those people for Jesus without making some lifestyle changes.

Our professor led by example when it comes to fashion. First thing I noticed when I met him was that he was fancy. That's the best word for it. Tailor-made suits, he matched his shoes to his belts, even sometimes his lasses. He just looked high class. Well, he has a financial company that helps with capital campaigns. He helps churches and schools raise money for building projects. Who do you think his target is for such projects? Middle class citizens? Maybe. Lower class citizens? Doubtful. High class? Most likely. He lives on Lakeshore Drive in Chicago- he's going after the people with the money. And that's how he dresses. I appreciated that example more than anything.

It's so funny- I never think about targeting the rich. To me that seems a little out of reach because I don't know how to meet the needs of a person in high society. It's because they don't have physical needs to be met. What they need is Jesus and they have no idea they even need anything but money. 

He just kept telling us- They are going to see your clothes before you can even introduce them to Jesus. They are going to see your hair before they see your Jesus. They are going to see you before they see your Jesus. When it comes to reaching a different culture, people who are not Christians in this culture, are going to judge me before they judge my Jesus.

Let's Talk About Church

While in New York we went to two different churches. One of these churches was multi-cultural. The people of their church are divided like this: 1/3 hispanic, 1/3 asian, 1/3 english speaking. Talk about a culture shock! We went to the hispanic/english service while a mandarin Chinese service took place in the lower part of the building.

Prior to the service we had the opportunity to have a small question/answer time with some of the pastors. During this time we got to see their heart for this city, ministry, and the community. It was during this time that I saw that the norm of how people view the church in this area is not the same as how the church is viewed in the mid-west. It's not that no one in the midwest holds this view, but I do think you will find their focus is a bit different.

I began to see that what happens in side the church walls is not the focal point of the things they do. This church does not have a single sign out side of it's walls, there are no advertisements in the city as other churches have. So our first question was: "How do you bring people inside the church?" Well, as it turns out, what happens out side of the church walls is what is important. Don't get me wrong- they love coming together as a community and family to worship and learn more about be a disciple of Christ. But what good is it if they are not sharing the love of Jesus Christ with the people of their community?

I do think churches do a good job of reaching out to the community. And I do think there must be a healthy balance because I find that church services are important. But I think at times, the service becomes the focal point because that is what church is in our culture. People living on Manhattan don't just go to church because it is the cultural norm, like people do here. So I get that there community outreach has to be their focal point in order to show people Jesus.

I just want my view of the church to reflect the model that this church in New York City laid before me. A model of the church being a great place for worship for the family, but if the church as a body is not focusing on what happens outside of the walls, what happens in the walls is missing something. It's easy to think that if we can just get people inside of the church, we can show them Jesus. But I want to remember in my own life that if I don't show Jesus to people while I am outside of the church walls, they probably won't ever make it inside the walls.

When I Became a Cultural Exegete

Well, I am back from New York City. I must say, I have never had an experience quite like the one I had this time around in the big apple.

If you ask me what the best part was: it was class. This class challenged just about every avenue of my life. It challenged the way I have lived my life prior to March 24th and how my life will be lived from now on. It challenged my view of the city and of ministry in the city. It challenged my view of poverty and the term "inner city". It challenged what I eat, drink, wear, and buy on a daily basis. It has literally challenged just about every thought I have in my daily life here in Joplin.

Now, that sounds like a lot. It is a lot. But I am not kidding when I say it challenged every aspect of my life. Not in a radical-my whole life is going to be different-way. It changed it in a, do I really understand what drives me and why I make the choices I make? Or am I in zombie world, making decisions based off of routine and what my life is supposed to be? I do think my life will be/is different than before. Don't expect a radical change in my life, but just a version of me that is aware. I am now, and forever want to be a cultural exegete.

It's nearly impossible for me to express what I learned. I am having a hard time with that. I do classify this class and trip experience as one of the top three most influential experiences I have ever had. No joke. God stirred up a brand new passion in my heart. He opened my eyes to things that I did not see before.

Okay, enough of the class-talk! I will be re-living my every day experiences over the next several days. But it would all be pointless if I did not first express the great impact the actual class had on my life. Because that is the point. Yes, I did a ton of really fun and really cool things while I was there. But just as anyone asks me about my trip I first tell them that if they have the opportunity to take this class: they must. It is too important not to know how to exegete the city.

Making a plan with God in mind...

This weekend Tyler and I had the great pleasure of spending a lot of time with my entire family. Joely came from Portland, The Smiths from Fayetteville, and us from Joplin. We were all brought together by two things: 1. Joel was coming home and that does not get to happen often and 2: We were able to celebrate my parents 30th anniversary. It is not until April, but only seemed appropriate that we celebrate while we could all be together.

I was SO super excited about being at my home church for once, it does not happen very often. Today my father continued through a series on the book of James. James is a great, practical book that I read through often. So many simple principles, so many important principles too. One of the points he made is that we need to make plans with God in mind.

It is no secret that Tyler and I are trying to make plans right now. I was almost comforted while challenged in this thought. Our soul focus while job searching has been God. We have not put hardly any limits on what we want including where we end up moving. What we care about is where God can use us best. We know that if we follow his plans for us, we will be used in the best ways possible and his kingdom will benefit more than if we follow our own plans. I have seen way too many people in my life make plans without God in mind- simply because they can. The more people I see planning around themselves rather than how God can use them, the more I know I do not want to do that. It's not even that I think God can't use us when we don't follow him closely. I think God can and will and does use us whenever we offer ourselves to him. But I think it is key to Tyler and I that we go exactly where he needs us, to do things only we can do, to fulfill a plan he laid out to us. Right now we are looking to him and saying "Where does this take us? What does this mean?" It's hardly about what sounds appealing to us in any way. There is a part of me that knows how scary this is- to surrender ourselves without limits of where we will go.... but the benefit of the kingdom is too great to ignore where he is taking us.

It's great to have a good phrase for what we are doing. We are making plans with God in mind. God is in the center of all of our plans. There is no other way to us, but his way. I think he allows us to make choices, but I know that there is a specific place that we can serve him best and we are seeking wholeheartedly for that place right now.


"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'" James 4:13-15

Busy, busy, busy!

I know it has been awhile since I blogged. When life picks up, my blog is the first to be tossed aside.

So what has been keeping me so busy, you ask? Well, lots of things really! 

First, homework. Being a senior has been good for me though. Not sure if I have mentioned it previously, but rather than any apathy taking place, the fact that I am so close to being done is pure motivation. I have so much excitement and energy to put in to my assignments. I recently turned in my last exegetical. This was a good feeling, but I know I still have several papers left. But like I said, I am completely motivated to finish strong! Graduation is only 75 days away!

Ministry is also a big part of our lives, obviously. This weekend we spent much time with the new high school minister and his family as they were introduced to sponsors, staff, elders, and the congregation. It has been a great time, I must say I really like the Hansen's and know they will do a great job at College Heights. They are so excited to be a part of all that College Heights is doing in the community. His passion is very apparent. While this weekend was great, it was very tiring. I am not quite the social butterfly that being a minister's wife forces me to be sometimes. It is quite tiring to be around people so much, but luckily I don't have to be around many people for a few days. This is good news!

We have been pretty busy looking for and praying about our next step. Now that CHCC has a new minister coming (and soon!) it makes us pretty anxious to figure out what's next for us. God has shown us a few opportunities. Unfortunately a lot of these opportunities mean waiting on churches to respond. We are both so confident though that this is in God's hands. While we are uncertain of where we might be in the next several months, we know that God has never not provided for us, so we know he will now. Basically, we have done all that we can do regarding seeking opportunities (and we continue to do this daily), so waiting is just a part of the process!

As I said, Tyler and I both know that God is faithful. This whole transition at CHCC has been his plan and he continues to plan for us and will open doors for us. It's not the easiest or most peaceful of times, but I know that this will produce growth and change in our lives that will allow us to serve him even better in a new venue. The fact that he has something in mind for us that he is working out for us is really exciting. I trust no one more than I trust God to provide for us.

A Little Snowy-Nostalgia

Once upon a time, when I was just a wee little freshman at OCC, preparing for my first ever college finals... the unthinkable happened! The great ice storm of '07 came and took finals away from me and it was great. School ended a week early and it is said to be the most astounding cancellation OCC has ever made. I never thought I would live to see another astounding cancellation... but I have.

This past week was a fun one. While some people complained of boredom, or of wasting our money because we couldn't go to class for a week, I made the best of it. First of all- not bored. Ever. Not once did I think, gee I would really love to be driving in this mess to school. Don't get me wrong- I LOVE class. I seriously do. But a random week of not waking up until 9:30 or 10? Hallelujah! Second of all, well, I'm sorry that this week of class was paid for and we did not receive our teaching. Honestly, all the professors are trying to catch up so it's not like we are learning any less. If anything, we are learning what speed-lectures are like! I can't say I minded the week off.

I always enjoyed snow days in the dorm because there are plenty of people around and plenty to do. So I thought maybe this week would have been more boring with only one person to hang out with... Umm no! I don't think so. What's better than your school, work, and husband's work telling you to stay home and hang out with each other? I'm not sure that the situation could have been better. Tyler and I honestly didn't do anything too exciting (well, except the tent we built in our living room). He taught me how to play the board game "Risk" (by the way, I am still undefeated 5-0... he hasn't asked me to play in a few days though...)... we watched a movie or two... I worked out as usual.. and we really just enjoyed having no where to go and no distractions and enjoyed each other's company. There's no one else that I would rather spend several days snowed in with!

Now I sit here as we wait for the next snow storm to approach. I am not terribly excited, but what happens happens. If something forces me to stay inside, that would be okay because today my face is in a constant state of frozenness and I do not like it one bit!

I hope that you have stayed nice and warm... and that you too will join me in praying that Mr. Groundhog was right and spring is just around the corner!

Christmas break has been a wonderful time for me. I feel more relaxed and rejuvenated than I have in a very long time. I set some goals for over break and I have already completed a lot of those goals... and I still have about two weeks left!

First of all, we got to spend a week with family. That was a wonderful time. We spent the first several days with mine then journeyed over to Stillwater and spent time with Tyler's family. We got to see pretty much everyone we wanted and had great quality time with both families. I got to spend time holding my new niece, Bynlee, which was definitely a very important part. I have no idea how much longer we will be living close to my family so I have to take as much time as possible to make sure my nieces don't forget me =)!

After we came back from Oklahoma (which I was ready to do.. mostly to sleep in my own bed! Being away is nice, but I am glad that there's always a time to come back!) I did something that I have been wanting to do since August, but due to my deep committment to school, it was put off. I tackled our second bedroom. By the time I was working on it, we could barely walk in it. I am typically a very tidy person when it comes to how I keep our house, but this room became the "miscellaneous" room in which we put anything and everything we couldn't find a place for... not to mention half of Tyler's clothes are in the closet in that room, making that whole room a closet for him. I am pleased to say we can walk in there now! It is SO clean and SO organized. I have a box of things that I plan to get rid of, not to mention some clothes to get rid of.

One of our Christmas presents is a beautiful bookcase that Tyler's dad built for us. Boy do we need a big one! Ozark has the tendency to load couples with hundreds of books by the time graduation comes. So I got to move our two small book shelves downstairs and am now using them for decorative and storage purposes. This is great because our house is much more decorated than before. It feels a lot more like our home. It only took me 6 months to get it how I like it =). But this also means we have plenty of room in our second bedroom for our new bookcase which will hopefully come soon! It's so nice to have accomplished that. Especially because the next time I will need that room will probably be to be packing everything up. It's nice to know it will be neat and organized whenever I have to pack all of our stuff up.

Cleaning out that bedroom and making the downstairs of our townhouse more "homey" was a big goal of mine... I am very glad I accomplished this!

I also got a new book for Christmas (which it took me all of 2 days to read... now what?). It's called The Hunger Games. I have heard about it for awhile now, just about how great it is. And it truly was! It was definitely a good fiction choice for my break. I have the next two books on order through my workplace. But now I need to read some more non-fiction. That's the part that has not happened yet.

Needless to say it has been a good break. I have desperately needed a break after being in school non stop since January 2010. I know that even Tyler notices how much less stress there is in my life and how much that helps us. It's not that anything was wrong, but there's just a freedom and joy found in a stress-free time that can easily go missing in a stress-filled time. Next semester goal: not lose that freedom and joy even though I know I will be stressed. I can do it!

Happy New Year!