01/09/11

Matthew 18

“I also tell you this:
If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask,
my father in heaven will do it for you.
For where two or three gather together in my name, I am there among them.”
Matthew 18:19-20

Wherever two or three gather in the name of the Lord, he is there also. He is always by our sides as long as we gather in his name. If we gather for fellowship in him, we have nothing to worry about. What does it mean to know that he is there? What does it mean that he does not leave our sides? What does it mean to gather in his name?

These past two chapters have included much about faith. I come back to something that I typically do when thinking about faith, if the disciples did not have faith, how are we supposed to? They saw Christ face to face and they still did not have faith. That is crazy to me. It is crazy that I can have faith in something that I have never seen. I have seen the works of this man, I have seen the fruit of this man, I have felt the Spirit, but I have never seen this man. I have never seen God. I have never touched or felt a concrete God. And yet, I still believe in him. I still have a bit of faith. It's never enough though. The faith that I have is never enough and I need to work on it.

Where TWO OR THREE gather, he is there. The power of God, the creator of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE is there if we meet in his name. That is something that is sweet and I do not think that we really take that to heart as much as we should. We sometimes forget about the power of God. We forget about the power of the Spirit. We water it down way too much. God created all of this, why are we putting him in a box?

Real Life in LA: Day 4

Most people look at Watts and see a dirty part of LA and only want to run away from it. It's dangerous. The people there do drugs. They drink. They party hard. They are in gangs. No one wants to be around that. No one wants to willingly go into that. No one wants to put themselves into danger. They do not want to willingly surround their family by alcohol, gangs, and drugs. Besides, the community is hopeless any way. There is no hope. There is no point. Why would people ever even try?

And to tell you the truth...I have never felt this way. I look at Watts and see the potential. I see the kids in the community and see how they can make a difference. I see the leaders in the community and see how they are changing it. I see the beauty in the people. I see the beauty in the people who everyone is nervous around and scared of. I see God working in people that others gave up on years ago. I see community and love, even if it is not what our view of community is. I see opportunities there. I see how people can help. I also see how God is bigger than all of this and that there is no such thing as hopelessness.

I forgot what it was like to worship in an inner city church. I forgot what it felt like to have fellowship and community. And I am glad that I got to experience it again today. Watching people worship God in a way that expresses who they are makes me so happy. I love watching Keely worship because you can see her love for God. She worships him with so much joy and it is not just a systematic worship kind of thing. I felt the Holy Spirit in the room and I could feel the joy in the room. It is such a sweet experience to go to an inner city church because there is so much darkness right outside of the doors, but there is so much light from the church itself. Walking in there, people feel joy and they feel love. It is such a great feeling and there is a hope that is poured into the people.

I think what Powerhouse has going is such a great ministry. They really are trying to get out to the community. They go out into the community and invite people. The let people come as they are and do not try to change them. At the same time, they are not afraid to call brothers and sisters out on things to push them to be better. They are not only working on spiritual matters, but they are also helping people out physically. They have the free clinic, the pregnancy center, and they feed people once a month. They love the community and want to help them in a holistic way. It is really sweet to see what they are doing and how they are doing it. Not only that, but the way that they have set up their ministry is great. The girl's ministry is great for Bible club. They are not only going once a week, but they are actually set up with a Christian woman as a mentor. That is awesome because they need good models and role models in their lives. I look at this ministry and see so much beauty in it. I see how people are really coming around. I see how people want to change the community. I see the true hearts of people and see the beauty in their honesty.

And then I look at the leaders who have been brought up in Powerhouse and am so excited about it. I look at Jimmy and think how incredible he truly is. He brings a group of kids every week to Powerhouse. He deals with them on his own and takes care of them. He loves them and cares for them and pushes them by bringing them to church. He models good morals for them and gives them tough love when they need it. He is one of those guys that you can hear God speaking when he speaks. As I listen to him and talk with him, I see how great God is. I see how God is really working in him and through him. It is so great to see that. It is so great to see how God is pushing him and stretching him. It is awesome, truly awesome, to see the love that God is pouring into him and how that is overflowing onto others around him. Even when he is talking to me, I can feel his love for God and for me. It is people like this that Powerhouse is raising up and that is awesome. It is people like this who are changing our cities and projects. It is people like this who God is calling and they are doing so much.

Talking with Todd after the service was really good. Todd is such a great pastor and he knows his congregation. He knows their needs and how to help them in ways that others don't. He pays attention to the people in the congregation and actually takes time to get to know them. He works hard. It is interesting to see how involved he really is. He is not only the pastor, but he leads worship, he picks up things, he volunteers, he cares for people, and he works in the inner city. His job calls for a ton of attention already, but he adds so much more to that by working in the inner city. Looking at the way that he does things is so encouraging to me. I see how he pulls through and how he loves people and am completely encouraged by him. He shows that it is doable, but it is hard. He shows how it is important to be surrounded by a good group of people. He shows that it is important to have people to really hold him up. I am so amazed by him. I am so encouraged by the way that he loves his people. It is truly a thing of God.

We hit up Mosaic later that night. It was a bit of a culture shock compared to Powerhouse. Mosaic was in the middle of the city, in a show venue, called the Mayan. It was a church with a dj and loud beats. There were fog machines, changing lights, spot lights, and center stage worship band. Most of the people who went there were younger and kind of trendy. All coming from what it seemed like, the same background. For the area that it was in, it seemed like it was a good fit. It seemed like it reached out to a upper class, more trendy class. The area, the worship service, everything was very well done for this group of people. It is a place where anyone can come in and don’t feel judged. It is really good for people who are not used to going to church. I did, however, question what they do to actually to keep in contact with people. It kind of seems like people come in and leave and no one really knows about them. So, it was interesting to see that.