"Turning the Lights on in Gym Class"

I never thought I would say this...I am sad that gym class is over.  I hated gym class when I was in school and I admit I was very intimidated when my daughter's Kindergarten teacher asked if I would be the "gym teacher" for both AM Kindergarten classes.  However, now that the school is over, I can say how very glad I am that I said, "Yes."  It was so fun to watch the children watch the children who were athletically inclined to excel in our classes each week.  Of course, being one of those nonathletic kids growing up, I also enjoyed letting the kids like mke know that what mattered was them trying and learning. Each Friday I received hugs, high-fives and lots of screaming little voices saying, "Hi, Mr. Current!"  It was fun to have one place in my life where for an hour each week I simply got to be the fun guy!  But, I was also in awe of how God used a gym class to open so many doors for me to demonstrate his love both in words and deeds with children, teachers and staff in the school.

Today, I stopped by to tell all the kids goodbye.  It was their last day of kindergarten.  As I watched them walk away, I prayed for them.  As I prayed for them and their teachers, I thanked God.  You know, I am the first to admit that I screw a lot of things up.  Like anyone else, sometimes my best intentions never make it into action, but not this time.  Praise be to God, by his grace, he helped Kimberly live out the call he placed on us to be a light in the public school system!  Private schools and home schooling may be how God leads others but, without apology, God has called us to be a light in our public school and this year he showed us that if we are willing to take his light where he calls us he will let us see first hand how his light chases away the darkness!  Praise God!  I can hardly wait to see what God will have Kimberly and I do in first grade!

Thank you,Jesus, for not letting any of us who follow you figure out a way to ignore what you make so plain in Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

By the way, if you have any trouble understanding why child dedication and baptism are such important faith steps, that verse is full of enlightenment!

"O, Yeah...That's Why We are Here"

Within 24 hours I have had two of those, "O, yeah, that's why we are here," moments.  I invite you to praise God with me as I share these two stories which you have been a part of as you have let God lead us in increasingly becoming a church that is real, transformed, connected and poured out.

The first, "O, yeah...that's why we are here," came at about 5 PM yesterday.  My cell phone rang.  It was a seventh grade student.  "Pastor Chad, do you know how you told me to tell you when it happened?"

"Yes," I said.  "Did you?"

"Yes," he said.

I met with him a few times.   As far as I know they have not ever gone to any church as a family.  But this seventh grader has gone through some hard times.  The Dad, who I am friends with, said his son asked to speak to a pastor and his parents encouraged him to speak with me.  He is a great young man.  Very honest and sincere.  He is more mature than what I would expect of the average Jr. High student.

He said to me that he wanted to know about what it means to have God in your life.  We talked.  I shared. He asked questions. I shared some more.  I then said, "When God makes himself real to you, you will then have a choice to make.  Will you let him be God of your life? Will you ask him to forgive you of living your life as your own god?  Will you believe he loves you, died for you and rose again to give you new life now and forever?  Will you follow Him? If so, then when the time comes tell Jesus that you want to commit your life to him. Then will you promise to tell me when you do, so I can celebrate with you?"  He agreed.

Yesterday at 5 PM, he called to tell me that God had made himself real to him and he had prayed to commit his life to Christ!  Hallelujah!!!!  Please pray for him!

The next, "O, yeah...that's why we are here" moment came at 10:30 AM this morning.  The Centerville School buses pulled up to LH.  Out of the buses came 27 CHS students.  These Elk Enterprise Students are often called "Special needs Students" because of what they lack.  However, as those students came into our teen room for a pizza party, all I could see were 27 very special students.  The success of Food 2 Go (our ministry  to hungry children in our community) hinges on these behind the scene heroes.  Each week , as part of their hands-on work experience program, they inventory and bag the food.

The food 2 Go team gives me the great honor each year of coming to the end of the year pizza party we host for these students.  I'll be honest, I have to fight back tears as I read there names, everyone cheers and they come forward to receive a certificate which is placed in their portfolio.  They would all wait in eager expectation for me to say their name out loud.  With each name called they all cheered in excitement shouting out to one another, "Good job!  Good job!"

Each year one or two especially stand out to me.  One student came up to me and said, "I am going to show my mom and sister this (her certificate).  They will be so proud of me.  Aren't you proud of me?" "Yes," I said, "We are all very proud of you. You helped us feed about 160 hungry children every week. You are amazing!"

Another young woman heard her name and did not wait for the aides to push her wheelchair, she rolled her self right to me. I said her name and thanked her as I handed her the certificate.  She said, "I am so happy.  Thank you.  I am so proud.  Can I hug you?"  I leaned down and she hugged me having no idea that she was giving me...you know...one of those, "O, Yeah...that's why we are here moments."

Father, I just want to say it publicly...THANK YOU!  Thank you for moments like these when we get to see your hand at work so obviously.  Thank you for moments like these when hell most bow to your love so we can see clearly why we are here.  Thank you for the people of LH who partner with you in making moments like these happen as they dare to be real, transformed, connected and poured out!

"Witness of a Miracle"

I remember the first time I met him.  I fist notice his height. He is a tall man. With the first words out of his mouth, I realized he would fit right in at Living Hope.  He was real.  He held nothing back. He shared his doubts, his hurt and his problems. He could believe that God was real for others, but could not believe he would ever experience God as real.  He wanted to believe, but could not. 

Now, fast forward several months later to today.  He sat down in my office and said, "I am ready to commit my life to Christ and to be baptized." 

I had to ask..."What changed? A few months ago you could not even believe god would ever be real to you and now you want to give your life over to him?  What changed?"

He shared that he had met with a man of our church for the Prayer Ministry for Inner Healing.  He shared the story of how God uncovered a lie he was believing and, therefore, living.  Then he shared how Jesus showed up and revealed truth.  That was weeks ago.  The truth that Jesus gave and the change it wrought was still making an impact on him.  Now he knew God could be real in his life.  He wanted this Jesus who had brought healing to years worth of lies.

He prayed.  Christ answered.  He is now a child of God, a co-heir with Christ! The old is gone! The new has come!  He is now living the first day of his eternal 8th day gift from Christ.  On June 3, his faith will be made public and Christ will give him the gift of assurance as he seals his faith in the death and resurrection of baptism.

Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  

“What’s the Point?”

 

I suppose we all have days where we what to throw our hands in the air and scream, “What’s the point?”  “Everything that can go wrong goes wrong.”  “When it rains it pours.”  “Its one thing after another.”  You know all the sayings; they all drive people to the same question, “What’s the point?”

I wonder if anyone is brave enough to admit that you have wondered, if not asked,  “What’s the point of prayer?” 

Jesus (the perfect revelation of God) urges us…no commands us…”Ask, seek, knock.”

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door is opened,” Luke 11:9-10.  

If we think the point of prayer is getting what we want then we will most likely become frustrated and scream, “What’s the point?”  Because the point of prayer is not about getting what you want.  The point of prayer is about getting what you need and not what we think we need, but what God knows we need.  Therefore, Jesus says ask, seek and knock, in other words, pray so that you can receive, find and have the door opened.  God always answers prayer.  The question is are we willing to receive, find and have the door opened that he gives in response to our side of prayer?  

Furthermore, the only prayer God does not answer is the prayer that is not prayed.  If you do not ask, you will not be given an answer.  If you do not seek, you will not find.  If you do not knock, you will not have the door opened.  Why? Doesn’t God know our prayer before we pray it?  Why do we need to pray?  Because the point of prayer is not the prayer, but the relationship.  Asking, seeking, knocking and then listening and watching for God’s response is what allows this love-relationship to grow.  When I engage in conversation (which, by the way, is always to be a two-way conversation) I learned to recognize his voice and to see his hand at work. 

Tonight, 7-8 PM, I am inviting you to join me in the main worship room (Child care provided) to ask, seek and knock.  We will be praying specifically for healing.  Do you or someone you know need healing of any kind?  Come and let us pray.  Do you simply want to see first hand how God speaks and responds to the prayers of his people?  It is a beautiful and powerful to witness.  Join us tonight and watch God give, find and open doors that would never have been opened, found or given had we not come together for prayer. 

"Go Ahead and Laugh"

I have a good friend who has a great laugh. His laugh always turns heads. Sometimes his laugh, he says, makes some people uncomfortable. But if you know him, you know his laugh is as genuine as he is. About a year after he started attending Living Hope, he said to me, "I appreciate that LH is a church where I can be real even in my laugh." I had never thought about that, but he was right. Church should not be a place where we have to hide what we are experiencing and that includes laughter. Why do we try to contain our laughter? I can think of no better place to laugh than with the Body of Christ in worship. I have a tendency to forget that laughter can be a spiritual means of grace. The Bible says, "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" Proverbs 17:22. What would happen in our relationship with Christ and others if every day we prayed, "Father, help me to find reason to laugh today?" One thing is for sure, the Church would never again be accused of being a people that are dried up bones. Jesus resurrection has made possible an 8th day that makes possible a new day for us and our world! Suffering, loss, sin, and death need never again have the final say in our lives and in our world(see Rev. 21)! So go ahead, Church, and laugh!

"Not All Men are Worthless Jerks "

Many present TV shows paint a picture of men as being idiots who have no more control of themselves than a dog in heat. I regularly see Face book posts bemoaning, "There are no good men out there." Statistics on fatherhood certainly do not help the case of the modern male as it would seam that with the rise of broken families many Fathers are checking out of their families. And, let's be honest, if not for women one has to wonder if the church would even continue to exist.

However, I am thankful to be a part of a church family in which the male population dares to be courageous. Lest you think there are no men of courage and character left in our world, let me encourage you with just a few stories.

For the past 6 or 7 years I have watched men willingly come together not only to study the Bible, but to take on direct, honest and bold accountability. I know the level and depth of their commitment to live out the truth of James 5:16, "Confess your sins one to another amd you will be healed," because this courageous group of men let me join them in their journey.

Over a year ago, another men's group was started at LH by Pastor Gregg Hebrank, who called the group together, but then watched God raise up the men of the group to take turns leading the group. They too then ventured into one on one accountability.

Of course, the Celebrate Recovery Men's Study Groups, have watched men take on habits, hurts and hang-ups head on. These men have no desire to simply talk about their issues, they are committed to holding each other accountable in letting God lead them forward. Our church will be forever grateful for the likes of Pastor Paul Brannon and his wife Jenni for the on-going, lasting freedom people experience in CR.

Then there are men like Gordy Gibson and Michael Mills who refuse to allow intercessory prayer to be only a women's event. They have met with many men, including me, for Prayer Ministry for Inner Healing.

Eric Binning, of LH, served at our first Kids Against Hunger pack and dared to ask, "Why couldn't we have a packing site in Dayton?" He did not just ask the question, he became the answer. Last Friday, his Kids Against Hunger Dayton Hunger Initiative did a pack at Springboro Hugh School because of the leadership of another man from Living Hope, Jason Hall, who is a teacher and advisor for LIFT (student led ministry).

Of course, we cannot ever forget the men of LH's response to Human Trafficking at the Superbowl, out of which 6 victims have been rescued!

Some would say, well, that was a one time event, but what are the men doing now? The answer is that the men of Living Hope are doing even more! Just go on Face book and search for "Men of Action", led by Jeremy Schulz and Todd Circele. These men have started a group that has burst outside the walls of LH. I've lost count of how many men from LH and beyond have now joined these two men to call men, as Jeremy said, "To get off our butts and do something!"

I am also thankful that our men are involved in the children's and teen ministry here...that is something that sets LH apart, you know. Normally, only women serve in that ministry area. But here the men understand that our boys and young men need godly male examples to show them how to be courageous men of faith. I would start mentioning names, but there are so many that I fear I would leave someone out.

Every day I work with two men, John Colegrove and Jon Gibson, who I watch continually go the extra mile just because they love Christ and want to see others be real, transformed, connected and poured out!

I could share many more stories of how the men of LH are breaking the mold of the undeserved and deserved criticism of the modern man. I thank God that at LH we have men who are calling us to live according to the courage and strength of Joshua who said, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

"Can You and those who come behind you see the Lamb?"

On Sunday, I joked about it, but I was very serious that the Biblical truth I knew I needed to deliver would be received with offense and resistance. However, God has again shown me how incredibly open you are to letting God change us with His truth even when it is hard to swallow.

The truth I am referring to is that every generation is to take direct and intentional responsibility for the generations that come behind them. I used this example, "When parents say, 'I cannot force my child to engage in the things of Christ,' they are buying into a lie of our culture which is a lie of hell that says that we parents should give up our role of influence on our child's lives and further that as a church family we should not assume direct responsibility for the spiritual influence of the children of Living Hope. Not only is this a lie, but it is hypocritical to say we cannot force our children to engage in the things of Christ. We "force" our children to take a bath, go to the doctor, go to school, do their homework, follow through with their commitments to sports and band and yet for some reason when it comes to that which is most important we think we should leave their spiritual formation completely up to them. I encourage every adult in our church to be free of these hypocritical lies and take responsibility for the faith of the next generation. Just imagine what God could do through a generation that was raised to believe that God has a purpose for their lives that is so meaningful and powerful that it will transform them and transform the world through them!

On Monday night, as I waited for the "hate emails and calls" to begin to come in form the above mentioned statements on Sunday, instead, I received the following:

The first was a call from a Grandmother. She brings her grandchild to worship every Sunday with the blessing of the parents, but without their presence. She said, "Yesterday, after worship, we went to lunch my two good friends, a couple from LH.

The man said to my granddaughter, 'I Love you.'

My Granddaughter lit up an said, "I know you do because you have a cross in your heart."

"A cross in his heart? What does that mean?," I asked.

Her granddaughter pulled out a picture she had colored in the 4yr.-K class. It was a heart with a picture drawn in the middle.

"What does it mean?," they asked her.

She said, "Jesus died on the cross so we can have God in our heart and that helps us love other people."

The grandmother said she is so thankful that we have age-appropriate classes led by multiple adults who help her granddaughter see that the things of God matter and mean something to every day life.

Next, I received an email from a Life group in our church family that has several folks 55 and older. The 55+ of that group shared that they are now intentionally praying about and will be seeking out a way to encourage the parents with young children in our church family. How powerful will that be?! Those who have walked the way will now be helping those who are presently walking the path of parenting be encouraged and supported along the way.

I praise God for you!

You are church that is allowing us to learn more and more what it means to live out Deuteronomy 6:4-7, "Hear, O, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." In other words, make sure that while our children our under our influence we make them notice God in what we say and do and every where we go. As you do that you and they will see the LAMB in both the "spotless" and in the "suffering" as we talked about Sunday.

To that end I hope every parent and grandparent will consider bringing the children in their lives with them to the Good Friday service at 7 PM. It has been designed to to help you and your children to see the LAMB together.