Pursuing Oneness in Christ by Trey Hill

Recently we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.   Almost five years later, in 1968, as Dr. King preached at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, he uttered these now-famous words, “We must face the sad fact that 11 o’clock on Sunday morning… is the most segregated hour in America.” So here were are some 45 years later, and though great progress has been made regarding racial equality, the church remains a racially and economically divided institution. Dr. King’s statement rings as true today as when he said it. The question is, does it really matter? I mean, what is wrong with a segregated church?  Isn’t that really just a “social” issue? Here are a few verses from John 17, Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, that I think begin to give answer to that question. “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given me, for they are yours. All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me that they may be one, even as We are one (John 17:9-11)” “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.  The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me” (John 17:20-23). This prayer is part of a larger block of the book of John where Jesus is preparing His disciples for His death and departure. Here Christ prays that His people (that is, you and I and all Christians today), would be one like He and the Father are one. The result of that oneness provides both proof to the world that Jesus is who He said He was and glory to God. However, it seems like the contemporary church has pursued a path of sameness rather than oneness.  Sameness seeks out only those who look like them and those who like the same things. Oneness pursues and celebrates unity in diversity.  The model of that kind of oneness is rooted in the Godhead. The beautiful mystery of the Trinity is in view here as Jesus prays that God’s people would be perfectly unified, like Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, even though there are distinctions in the Persons of the Trinity. (We are not Modalists who believe God just “appears” in different forms.)  It is that kind of unity that we are called to display to the world, in all our differences, in order for God to be most magnified. Unfortunately, too often we put our preference in the place of preeminence. We argue for a particular worship style or dress code rather than allowing Christ to be the head of the Church and creating a place that folks from “every tribe tongue and nation” feel loved and welcomed. It is only by having the mind of Christ and the power of the Spirit that one can “do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit but rather in humility consider others more important than yourself.” (Phil. 2:3) If we are considering others interests as more significant than our own, then the things that tend to divide us no longer will because we are setting aside our preferences for something far greater—the unity God calls us to. When we do this, Christ is being made preeminent in all things (Col. 1:18). This type of unity is a visual testimony to the reality of God’s love. Unity, according to Jesus, has a powerful apologetic impact on the world—an impact far beyond words. When the world sees God’s people operating in unity, then they “may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.” (v. 23) We know upon Christ’s return that we will be joined in worship with a throng of people who reflect the beautiful tapestry of color and culture that God has created. Perhaps we should begin practicing now so that our witness to the world is authenticated by what they see—a church united across racial and economic lines—and not just what they hear. The “Jim Crow” laws were struck down by the Supreme Court in 1954. “Separate but equal” was untenable in the eyes of the law. A separate but equal church is surely untenable in the eyes of God. Not only is it a sad fact that the church remains divided, it is contrary to God’s design. As long as the church remains divided along racial and economic lines our prophetic witness to the world is weakened and the apologetic nature the church is supposed to pronounce is muted. Dr. King wrote in Letter from Birmingham Jail: So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent—and often even vocal—sanction of things as they are. In light of recent events in the news highlighting the racial divide in our country, the world desperately needs the church to recapture her prophetic voice by “breaking down the walls of hostility” (Eph. 2:14) that divide us so that the average community is not consoled by the church’s silence but startled by her Spirit-led, God-glorifying unity. It is time for us to speak boldly—in word and deed.

The Mentoring Project: The Story of Xavier & Quinn

We all have a strong, built-in desire to be in relation with one another. This is absolutely true of mentoring. The children impacted by fatherlessness are used to having authority figures leave. 

The Mentoring Project is privileged to watch tiny (and massive) miracles happen day after day, much like the story captured here (video).  Today, we'd like to share one story of hope and life change witnessed on a recent "field ride" during which we got to tag along with Quinn, one of our mentors, as he spent some time with his mentee, Xavier.*

We headed to Xavier's school around lunch time.  When he saw Quinn round the corner into his classroom, his whole face erupted in a smile.  He had been waiting all week for this moment. 

First, Quinn and Xavier got down to business – focusing on the tasks that provide the basis for their school-based mentoring program.  Even though the topic of conversation was Algebra, Xavier was soaking up Quinn's attention like refreshing water. The guys were enjoying each other's company and between high-fives and laughs, we faded into the background of their weekly ritual.  Quinn's many encouraging words were traded for Xavier's bashful smile.  

Homework done.  Hoops for dessert.  Quinn guides Xavier's free-throw technique.  During a rest break, Xavier told us that he looks forward to Quinn's visits "so that I can beat him on the court at one on one."  They both laughed.  We pulled Xavier aside and asked him why he liked hanging out with Quinn every week.  Xavier said, "he's gonna be a great dad.  I wish he were mine." The words hung in the air – Xavier not realizing the depth of what he just said while we knew full well.  Quinn had become his champion, the one man Xavier can count on to show up week after week.  

Like Xavier, most young urbanites are growing up without dad.   John Sowers, The Mentoring Project's president,explains in his book Fatherless Generation that "fatherlessness is a personal tragedy and a collective epidemic. Some 25 million American kids are growing up without dad. One third of those will never see their fathers. Fatherlessness is the engine driving some of our worst social problems, from gangs and youth violence, to teenage pregnancy, drug abuse, school dropouts and suicide."

At The Mentoring Project, we believe that small victories move mountains.  We believe that mentors win by showing up. We believe that fatherless and at-risk children crave the attention of a caring adult, a mentor, who can be a stalwart of predictability in a sea of change.  Although a mentor can never replace a father, he can become the plumb line of a child's hectic world, in a way that allows a precious young soul to find a sense of place.

At The Mentoring Project, we are big fans of Quinn AND Xavier.  Because Quinn shows up for Xavier on a consistent basis, Xavier is dreaming big dreams.  Because Xavier has a mentor, studies show he will do better socially and in school. He will be less likely to be swayed by peer pressure, less likely to skip class, less likely to try drugs.  Xavier will be more likely to positively engage with his community, pursue new skills, have openness towards authority figures and complete more educational milestones.   For kids with mentors, life just gets better.

God wants us to understand this idea of faithful and unconditional presence. He is with us: yesterday, today, and forever. In the depths, in the dark places, in the valley of the shadow of death, God is there. This is something that he communicates over and over again in the Bible.  God's heart and intention to be with us is never louder than at the Incarnation of Christ, the miracle Christmas birth of Immanuel, God with us. God demonstrates a desire for radical "with-ness," the "with-ness" that had not been fully restored since the Garden of Eden, when God walked with Adam and Eve in the "cool of the day." God again desires to be close to his people, to us. Jesus by prophetic name is "God with us," and he promises to be with us until the end. 

That's why at The Mentoring Project, we want every fatherless child to have a caring mentor.  We want every at-risk child to know that they are valuable to a responsible and fun adult who will show up for them week after week. 

This Father's Day, we are asking people who have the honor of celebrating a dad to make a gift in his honor that will help The Mentoring Project recruit more mentors for kids like Xavier.  Quinn is a hero – help us find more.  You can watch our video and get involved at www.dontbuythetie.com.

The Mentoring Project (TMProject) exists to rewrite the fatherless story through mentoring.  We recruit, train, equip and encourage mentors to show up for at-risk and fatherless kids.  Visit them at www.thementoringproject.org.


*Xavier is a fictitious name for Quinn's real mentee

University Park Oilman Honored for Work with West Dallas Little League

When he was recruited to coach in the West Dallas Little League, Bob McCamey expected to teach a little pitching, a little hitting, a little fielding — for a little while.

That was seven years ago. Since then, he’s done all that and more — so much more that the national Little League organization is honoring him as Urban Initiative Volunteer of the Year.

The 63-year-old University Park oilman will be recognized Aug. 22 during the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa.

Not even cancer treatment deterred McCamey’s commitment. It might have sapped his strength and interrupted his coaching stint, but it didn’t keep him off the field.

“He was out there fixing the batting cages, he was out there helping pick up the trash and helping with the field,” said Lee Jackson, sports director at Mercy Street, a nonprofit that sponsors the West Dallas Little League.

McCamey began volunteering with the league when it didn’t have a field to play on. Now it is considering a bid to host a regional tournament next year.

He’s happy just to help with the maintenance required to field 26 teams for 278 players. But now that he’s feeling good again, it’s coaching that gives him the most satisfaction.

McCamey, the father of three grown sons, has a passion for baseball. And he thought he knew what he was getting into when he agreed to coach 13- and 14-year-olds in West Dallas.

But on his first day, he realized he faced a sharp learning curve.

First, the group didn’t have the right-size field. McCamey found one nearby, but it was run down and frequented by some sketchy characters, he said.

He moved practice to a lot with an abandoned barn, where he and others placed a batting cage and erected some backstops.

But the challenges posed by poor facilities were small compared with those faced by many players.

When he volunteered with his sons’ teams, McCamey said, he just had to “show up, coach the game and leave.” Parents brought their kids to and from the games, purchased uniforms and provided equipment.

But in West Dallas, many kids couldn’t afford uniforms, much less gloves, and they either didn’t have transportation or their parents’ work schedules prohibited them from attending.

Most of the kids “live in single-parent families or with grandparents or aunts or uncles or whoever,” McCamey said.

Their lives are often disrupted by their parents’ job loss or jail or evictions.

“You live here one day; you live here the next,” McCamey said. “You don’t really have a room. When they say, ‘we stay somewhere,’ they mean they stay somewhere. They don’t live anywhere.”

The West Dallas Little League is part of the national group’s Urban Initiative, a program designed to bring baseball to poor neighborhoods.

The national league includes more than 2.4 million players in more than 7,000 leagues. About 300 of those, with about 52,000 kids, are part of the Urban Initiative.

Providing equipment and transportation makes coaching a huge commitment, McCamey said.

“I’ve got to be down there at 4:30 to pick these kids up in a van,” he said. If a player doesn’t show, he drives around looking for him.

Until the league raised $500,000 to build its own impressive facility a few years ago, all West Dallas games were played at opponents’ fields.

Games end around 9 p.m. and coaches often take the kids for a soft drink or maybe their first meal of the day.

“You never know what you’re doing,” McCamey said, “so you get back in West Dallas at 10 o’clock, 10:30 at night. Some of them have rides, some don’t. You end up driving them home.”

In West Dallas, coaches don’t just teach baseball fundamentals, McCamey said, they teach life skills. He talks to the kids, listens to them and works with their teachers.

His work is about 30 percent baseball and the rest is helping kids “engage in something that’s good for ’em.”

“Every kid can play,” said McCamey, who was a Little Leaguer while growing up in Fort Worth. “You don’t have to be tall. You don’t have to be aggressive. You don’t have to be mean. You don’t have to be a weightlifter.

“You just have to be a regular kid.”

Inner-city kids “have a real tendency not to trust,” he said, because they’re frequently let down. That’s where the West Dallas Little League can help.

“They begin to see you can trust other people to do what they’re supposed to do. Somebody says, ‘I’m going to pick you up at 7,’ there’s somebody there to pick you up at 7. If your shortstop catches the ball, he’s going to throw it to you at second base.”

The national recognition to be bestowed this month surprised McCamey.

“I didn’t even know they had the award,” he said. “I was pretty shocked.”

After picking up the honor, he’ll get back to work on the fall season that the league is adding this year.

He also will raise money to add fields to the sports complex, and he’ll give input on whether the league is ready to host a tournament.

Other than that, “I don’t really have a plan,” he said. But “I’m not about to quit.”

Skit prep!

Just some of the drama team prepping for the Super Thursday skit! Ready for our last Super Thursday of the summer! Can't believe this summer is almost over!

Splish Splash part 2

Today was a SUCCESS! We had a great time hanging out with the high school team while riding awesome water rides & floating down the lazy river! 

Here is a picture of some of the girls riding down the Tortuga's Express:

Hey boys, which way is the beach??

Nothing better than a lazy river!

Crash landing on the Pineapple Pipeline!

Splish Splash!

Today the High School bible study group had a fun day in the sun!! We loaded up & had a blast at Bahama Beach! 

Poverty Simulation

Here we go! Mercy Street interns are going to be homeless this weekend! We are on our way to Waco to be apart of Mission Waco's poverty simulation! If you think of us, pray! & if you live in Waco & see us, FEED US! 

Super Thursday: The King is dead

The theme today at Super Thursday was "The King is Dead". Jesus Christ, the son of God died in our place so that we can have a relationship with His Father. The good news, He didn't just die, but gave us hope in his resurrection! Yes, Jesus The King did die, but He defeated death & the grave! The Super Thursday kids were engaged in the skit, the dances, worship songs & Bible story! The Leadership Institute interns not only took ownership of Super Thursday, but displayed leadership by completely leading the programming & Bible stories! Today was a success & fun was had for all!! 

Leadership Institute to UNT

The Mercy Street Leadership Institute is loaded up & heading to UNT for a tour of the campus & to learn how we can continue our education after high school graduation! We're excited to be here & get the "Mean Green" experience!

Go tell it on the MOUNTAIN!

Recently, the second-year interns of the Summer Leadership Institute took a trip to Sky Ranch Ute Trail.  We backpacked through the San Juan Mountain Range near Powderhorn, Colorado.  This adventure through the wilderness was quite the experience filled with many firsts (and possibly lasts)! For many it was their first time  going out of state,  sleeping outside, climbing a mountain, sleeping in the rain, wearing dirty clothes all week, sleeping with bugs, seeing a marmot, sleeping on lumpy rocks, drinking river water, having a two hour quiet time, and being vulnerable with people they can trust.

  

Alongside first-time experiences were great accomplishments.  We hiked approximately seventeen and a half miles over the course of six days across some of the most rugged terrain in the continental U.S.  We crossed rivers, swatted flies, and watched Carlton Oby's eyes bug out as we teetered down steep switchbacks (or "snapbacks" as he likes to call them).  The interns were forced to sleep in the rain more than once, and spent a large portion of two nights in wet sleeping bags.  All our food was carried on our backs, and every single bit of it was eaten or carried out the other side, even the dishwater!  "Mountain Spice" became our favorite seasoning- anything dropped in the dirt had to be eaten, so why not give it a name?  Some of the clumsy ones in our group got a LOT of fiber.  

In the midst of all this, we can remember some really cool places, moments, and lessons.  Hannah really enjoyed sleeping out in the open under the stars.  In the clear mountain air, away from any sort of artificial light, the stars were lit at a brighter magnitude than we had ever seen.  Combined with the faint silhouette of the mountain ridge and the sound of the fir trees in the wind, it made for a really neat reminder of how God's hand created all that we see with beauty and great care.  Brian remembers stopping for a day of rest halfway through the week.  We set up camp on a grassy plateau overlooking a river with a backdrop of soaring mountains.  Here we spent a day and a half eating and telling stories, and even had a lively discussion of pressing issues in the interns' lives that carried on into the night.   However, the best moment was leaving that afternoon open for an extended two-hour quiet time.  We, along with the interns, were allowed to sit out in the open in complete silence and listen to what God had to say instead of walking and talking and pitching tents.  It was cool to hear how much he had to say when there was no one else to listen to.  Woven in and out of these places and moments were "life stories." These were times where each member of the trip was given the chance to open up about their life and be asked intentional questions which gave each person a true sense of who the other members of the trip really are. These stories made a great impact on the teller and the listeners, and each person was prayed over by their peers-their teammates in the struggle of the trip.  We believe it was the first time many of our interns have truly borne their hearts for all to see, and God was greatly glorified in each of the stories He wrote.

The trip deeply affected not only us, but the junior interns.  Read some of their quotes from our share time:

"It's not about who finishes first, but about the team doing it together."

"The strength He gave me reminded me that God won't give us something we can't handle."

"There's a whole 'nother world outside of Dallas.  I learned how to walk up and down a mountain with (what felt like) three or four babies on my back.  I feel like I can do anything now!"

"I learned I can be more open and let go of everything..."

"Nobody can tell me God isn't real after seeing all these mountains."

We saw the interns cry together, laugh together, struggle together, and overcome together in the crucible of the Colorado wilderness for six days, and we can say one thing for certain: God was working in all of it.  When we got back to Texas, the interns came to similar conclusions.  For them, the trip was something they're not sure they would want to do again, but they definitely saw God, had a great experience and were glad they came.  

We would like to take that one step further by seeing the application of that statement in our own lives.  Oftentimes, God brings us to things that are long, arduous, and painful.  God's word tells us that the journey to our final resting place will be one of persecution and struggle (2 Timothy 3:12).  He tells us that we will be faced with trials and temptations, but when we persevere through them we will receive the crown of righteousness that Jesus has promised us (James 1:12).  And He tells us that in all trials and temptations, Jesus will never let us walk alone and will always provide an escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).  They may not realize it now, but the junior interns learned those lessons firsthand while on a mountainside hundreds of miles from home.  Better yet, they experienced them firsthand as they looked down from the top of a mountain.  Its a safe bet to say that sometime in the future, one of our junior interns will come up against some problem that seems insurmountable and think something along the lines of, "Forget this! I carried three or four babies up a mountain!"  And they will just laugh and go on, continuing the journey God has put them on.

By: Hannah Goodwin & Brian Roy

           Leadership Institute in Colorado - 2013 from Mercy Street on Vimeo.

Unless the Lord Builds the House...

Things were really crazy around The Street the past two weeks, especially for a person who loves order and organization.  The second year of the Leadership Institute has been exciting, but as with any new program, it has been full of changes in schedule, going with the flow, and a lot of flying by the seat of your pants.  I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to schedules and organization, and will work until I get blue in the face to make an air-tight plan that is completely foolproof.  However, that very attitude of schedules, agendas, and programs is contrary to the very core of Mercy Street's mission: to spark Christ-Honoring relationships that develop the future leaders of West Dallas, not to develop Christ-Honoring programs.  Schedules are rigid, people are flexible.  Programs are orchestrated by man, but God calls us to be led by His spirit.  Things we do are temporary, but people's souls last forever.  Therein lies the beauty of the ministry of Mercy Street's mission- to be willing to drop any program, any phone call, and change any plan to facilitate the opportunity to develop a relationship.  It has been refreshing and puts my busy mind in a position to ditch the agenda and allow God to move.  I saw this idea play out in such a cool way during our weekly elementary outreach program, Super Thursday.

We had our first Super Thursday of the summer last week, and most of it was planned and orchestrated by the Senior Interns. We lead the Bible studies and planned the crafts, and took care of most of the programming.  We lead the music and made sure everything went just as planned.  But at the end of the day, while talking with one of the junior interns who had been planners for Super Thursday before, I begun to realize that I wasn't teaching any sort of leadership in this way.  I was "leading by example" by planning and organizing and making sure everything ran smoothly, but not helping any of my junior interns take ownership of the program and learn  how to lead.  This was doer-ship, not leadership.  My heart wasn't content with that.  And to make things worse, despite the super-smooth program, I didn't see a crowd of kids begging to accept Jesus or thirsting to learn more about Him.

So, this week I took a completely different approach to the week: let's delegate everything.  The Bible story would be taught by a junior intern, as well as the other activities in class.  Let them lead, and let them fail if need be.   It irked me, it bothered me, and I wanted to just do it myself so we could make sure it went well.  I noticed the other Senior Interns following suit- the group time and stage direction was done by the high school students.  It was neat to see, but behind my smiling face, my head was spinning with questions: Have they thought about this?  Who is doing what?  Will they be able to explain the lesson as I would?  But, just like the t-shirts tell me to, I kept calm and carried on.  And thats when stuff got interesting.

As I stood in the classroom doorway and the kids filed in, I was full of confidence (and pride?) at the cool activities that we had come up with for the day.  But kid after kid kept filing in.  And then more kids filed in.  And more and more.  Suddenly, my confidence was stripped.  We had prepared activities and crafts for 8-10 kids and 6 leaders, but suddenly we had a room full of about 30 sweaty and excited primary-schoolers all wanting to talk and be noticed at the same time, as well as 6-8 volunteers from Bethel Bible Church.  How was the plan going to work?  How would we make it turn out perfect?  We were telling the story from Matthew 7 in which the wise man builds his house upon the rock, and had this awesome plan to make a fort out of sheets and have them all sit in it to listen to the Bible story to get the point across.   But there were far too many kids for our plan.  We couldn't even fit all of them inside the fort!  To make matters worse, I'm not sure anyone could pay attention to our awesome junior intern telling the Bible story because they were distracted by the tent we all thought was so awesome.  After the craft we had prepared was a bit of a flop, I would normally have just chalked the day up as a loss and tried to fix the kinks to do all I could to make the next week perfect.  But God was teaching me things.

I looked back at the course of the day and saw beautiful things.  While we had three times as many kids as the previous week, which screwed up the plan, we had three times as many kids there to hear the Gospel!  What a gift!   While not everything went perfectly, we had high school aged interns articulating God's word to a younger generation.  While their telling and interpretation wasn't flawless, what makes me think mine would have been?  I began thinking, wasn't this what Jesus was meaning when he called us to make disciples?  Wasn't it about people who love Jesus teaching other people who love Jesus how to tell others about Jesus in the best way they can?  That's far more beautiful than a schedule or a program, and sure includes far more interruptions and by-the-seat-of-your-pants moments.

I finally stepped back and realized that in all my schedules and plans and ideas of how things should go I am a lot more like the foolish man building his house upon the sand of his own ability.  That pointed me to Psalm 127:1a:

"Unless the Lord builds the house,
Those who build it labor in vain."

It appears that even if the house is a fort made of sheets, Jesus should always the builder.

The Mudskipper by Trey Hill

“Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

I flipped to the National Geographic Channel the other night, thankfully interrupting the Good Luck Charlie marathon that was happening in our house, and I saw a segment on this curious little fish called the mudskipper.

The mudskipper is an amphibious fish that has adapted to its environment in order to move on land and breathe by holding water in its gill sacks. Now this odd looking creature, like other gobies (the family of fish in which the mudskipper is a part) was made to live in water. However, over time, it has evolved so that now it lives most of its life out of water. And though this is impressive, it is fatally dangerous too, because if the mudskipper strays too far from the water it will eventually die. So here is my point: I am a mudskipper, and I suspect you are too.

Jesus said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). But I don’t believe it—too often I don’t live like I believe it. I try to fill my gills with just enough Jesus to get through the day, week, and month. I try not to stray too far from the Living Water—you know, just in case. But this is not how man was designed to live.

We were made to live dependently on God. God uses all kinds of metaphors to impress our dependence on Him. He says we are to “abide in the vine” (John 15:5), “eat of the bread of life” (John 6:35), and here to drink from springs of living water so that we “will never be thirsty again.” God made man to be completely dependent on Him for everything.

His intention, His design, His command is that we would rely on Him moment by moment for the life-giving sap that only comes from Him; that we would feast on Him for our daily nourishment and drink deeply of His grace and be satisfied. 

But like the mudskipper (and all mankind), I try to adapt from my original design. Instead of drinking deeply from the Spring of Living Water to sustain me, I try to get just enough to hold me over until my next sip. I like to stray from the place I am meant to be. “I’ve been a Christian a long time; I already know the Bible. I don’t have time to pray today; I run an important ministry. I’ve been to seminary; I don’t need to go to Bible study. I am saved by grace; spiritual disciplines are just ‘works.’”

Sometimes I start drinking from other wells hoping they will give me life. I drink from the well of performance, desperately wanting people to be impressed with me. I drink from the well of materialism, thinking that somehow something will make me happy. I drink from the well of self-pity when I don’t get what I think I deserve. I drink hoping these wells will give me life, but they never do. In fact, when I drink from any source but Christ, I find myself frustrated, empty, depressed, and even thirstier.

I’m guilty of the same sin for which God charged Israel: “For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water” (Jer 2:13).

Another danger for the mudskipper is that it is slow-moving on land—so slow that it becomes easy prey for its predators.

As I stray from the living water and the life-giving power of the Spirit, I too become easy prey for my enemies—the flesh, the devil, and the world. The false promises they offer seem more real, tastier, and more pleasurable than the promises of Scripture. “Maybe a different career, one not spent trying to help others, would be better,” I sometimes surmise. “Earning more money would surely make me happier,” I think. “Beautiful surroundings would certainly satisfy my soul,” I daydream. But they won’t, because they can’t. At 45 years old, and as the founder of an inner-city ministry, one would think that I would have learned this by now. But I haven’t. I’m still learning, I guess.

If you are like me—a slow learner—and find yourself thirsty today; Jesus bids you to come to Him, the Fountain of Living Water, and dive in until you lose yourself in blissful, self-forgetfulness, overwhelmed by the immensity of His love for you to the point that, “If His grace were an ocean, we’re all sinking” (David Crowder,How He Loves Us). Finally, unlike the water from which the mudskipper came, the ocean of God’s grace is where we are meant to be and where we breathe most fully

Not Just Another Monday...

After being ultra-oriented, the Summer Leadership Institute is finally up and running.  Yesterday marked the first day of a "normal" week with the Junior Interns.

It started out with breakfast, crazy games, and fellowship with the youth of Bethel Bible Church.  They have come to serve and grow alongside us this week.

Then off to my favorite time of the day: Quiet and Small Group Time.  This summer we are going through N.T. Wright's Matthew study.  Tuesday's passage, Matthew 6, repeats "your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you," (Matthew 6: 4,6, and 18) in reference to giving, praying, and fasting.  The sweet girls in my small group seemed to really have understanding of this concept.  We discussed how the ways we serve and the things we do for the Lord, should be done For the LORD.  We do not serve so people will see us as great or really Godly, but we should serve because God deserves the glory.  Which was a great segway into our after lunch activity.

Service projects: Every Monday, the future-leaders of West D split up into groups of about 5 to serve at various locations around the community.  Voice of Hope, an out-of-school time program, allowed some of the interns to come and put on a skit and do crafts with the children participating in their summer program.  At Brother Bill's Helping Hand, another group got to stack and organize food for their Grocery Store.  Another group was able to help Readers 2 Leaders Label and re-cover books for their library.  Lastly, H.I.S. BridgeBuilders allowed a group to come and sanitize the toys for their church's nursery.  You can find more information about these organizations below! 

Voice of Hope:     http://voiceofhope.org/
Brother Bill's Helping Hand:  http://www.bbhh.org/
Readers 2 Leaders:   http://www.readers2leaders.org/
H.I.S. BridgeBuilders:    http://hisbridgebuilders.org/

Change a Life Forever

Emily and Ryan Greening Interview

- A recent article produced by Watermark Church - 

Can mentoring change a life forever? Ryan and Emily Greening would say so. But when they began mentoring Terry Jenkins, a West Dallas 13 year old with cerebral palsy, they never anticipated how much that relationship would grow, or how God would use Terry to change their hearts.

How Did You Begin Mentoring with Mercy Street?

Ryan: “We were looking for a place to serve together. So we went to an event for Mercy Street, a mentoring ministry Watermark partners with in West Dallas. As a mentor, you commit to meeting with your mentee face- to-face twice a month and calling them twice a month. That seemed like something we could do.”

Emily: “Going into mentoring, our ‘plan’ was to each get mentees, a brother and sister in the same family. The Lord’s plans were different. Mercy Street asked if we could mentor a kid with special needs and matched us with Terry. Cerebral palsy left him unable to walk and with limited the use of one arm. But he doesn’t see those things as a disability. He is a happy, fun, smart kid with a really sweet spirit and a ton of friends.

“It took time for trust and friendship to grow with Terry and his mom, Tomeka. Seeing Terry’s enthusiasm increase as we built the relationship made it much easier. As we played games together and hung out at their house, our relationship grew.”

Ryan: “Emily has a background working with kids with disabilities. I was nervous about it, but that’s where God was leading us so I was in. When we got started, we
 went to Mavs games, Ranger games and other things Terry hadn’t done before. Those things were fun, but didn’t necessarily improve our times together. We actually had a better time doing stuff like playing Monopoly at his home. God taught me to meet Terry, and eventually his brothers, right where they were. That’s when we really connected. We soon realized that the minimum requirements of time spent with a mentee weren’t enough. We felt like God was calling us to do more and deepen the relationship.”

How has mentoring Terry Grown into Creating a Watermark Small Group in West Dallas?

Ryan: We started taking Terry to Watermark with us in my two-passenger truck. Then his brothers, cousins and friends wanted to go. I eventually sold the truck and got a bigger vehicle that allowed us to do so much more.

As we got to know other kids, we started attending a Watermark small group for boys in West Dallas. We meet at a ministry called Readers to Leaders, and that helps us connect with the boys during the week. There are two leaders (myself and another mentor), and about 10 kids in the small group now. I’ve seen these boys experience tremendous growth. One kid in particular, Jacoby, has gone from a boy who wants to beat everyone up to a leader who is praying, asking good questions, trusting Christ and being honest about his struggles.

“During small group, we talk about typical things the boys face: sexual temptation, drugs, alcohol and the lack of support they feel in life. Negative influences wear on them, and their little souls reflect it. The gospel is new to most of the boys, so when I am able to love them as Christ loves me, they soak it in. When the boys began to ‘get’ God’s love for us, their responses never cease to amaze me.”

How Has God Used Mentoring in West Dallas to Shape Your Heart?

Ryan: “God showed me I can’t control their environment, or expect that a better school or better circumstances is going to make them a better kid. A relationship with Christ is what the boys need. God also taught me to hold my resources freely. Everything we have belongs to God. He taught me to trust as we steward our resources on to other things.”

“There are definitely days when I don’t feel like going to West Dallas (I’m tired, I want to spend time with Emily, or I just want to be lazy). But Lord has taught me that loving those boys and leading them to ‘life’ means that I must ‘die’ to myself. I have NEVER spent time with the boys and returned home saying ‘it wasn’t worth it.’ The Lord has grown my faith in Him through these experiences of “dying to myself” and I will be forever changed because of them.”

Emily: “Mentoring has been a huge learning opportunity for us. I quickly saw how much of stereotype I had about poverty and people living in West Dallas. Once I got
to know some families, I realized how prideful it was to think that the way I lived my life was the ‘right way.’

I wasn’t there to fix these kids. God put me there to know them and to love who they are. Mentoring is not about me, and I certainly cannot do it on my own. My job is to constantly ask the Lord how He would have me serve and live in dependence on God.”