Saying Goodbye

As everyone says, "Saying goodbye is never easy."  

I had to say farewell to a close friend today as we met for the last time before he leaves for the Middle East.  He has been mentoring me over the years, challenging me in my faith and encouraging me in many ways.  Today was certainly a bittersweet time as we reminisced on all of our conversations over the years and then talked about our futures as they physically grow apart.  We both know that although he will be living across the ocean and getting together for breakfast at Panera will be exponentially more difficult, we will be together in Christ as we labor for Him.  He is moving his family overseas in a direct response to the Bible verse above: "Therefore, GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20).

I want to take a brief moment here to share with you some of the things my mentor and I discussed.  We talked about the Christian Wheel, a diagram representation of how to live an obedient Christian life, centered on Jesus Christ.

via: http://bible.org/seriespage/wheel-general-presentation-session-14

This diagram is such an excellent reminder of how to focus our lives because in order for a wheel to roll smoothly and effectively, all of the spokes must be an equal size.  Likewise, in our lives as Christians, we must spend equal amounts of time in the Bible, in prayer with God, in fellowship with other Christians, and in conversation and relationship with non-believers.

This leads in to another one of our major conversations: memorizing scripture.  We took a lot of our time together to talk about and unfold the benefits of memorizing scripture.  Two major reasons we focused on were: 1) we are commanded to do so in Joshua 1:8 and 2) we are promised love through our obedience in John 14:21.  In this knowledge, he encouraged me to walk through the Topical Memory System, which I am still in the process of doing.

He left me with a book that a mentor of his passed one to him.  Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper challenges Christians across the globe to live intentionally and passionately for God.  I am excited to take the time to read this book, especially since it has challenged two men to move from their comfortable lives in America to share the story of Jesus to the unreached.  My mentor leaves for the Middle East soon, his mentor is currently sharing the gospel in Indonesia.

Let me know if you would like more information or resources on any of these things, and join me in praying for my mentor.  I'm sorry for not giving a name or destination for him, but seeing as he is moving to a muslim nation, security of his name and intentions for going are vital.

Baltimore Street Church

The past couple of Sundays, I have been going to the Baltimore Street Church with some friends.  It started with Brian and I fulfilling our jobs as interns with Serve Greater Baltimore.  We were asked to check out this movement at Old Town Mall that's been creating quite a stir in the Christian circle in Baltimore.  Before we knew it, we were worshipping with the church community (above) and serving breakfast (below).  The job responsibility quickly became a personal desire.

I missed the past two Sundays and am not liking it!  The community there is extremely deep.  Members of the street church open up about their personal relationships with Jesus every morning, crying out for support from God and their brothers and sisters in Christ.  As many of the people there support each other through their struggles as Christ followers, they also help each other through their struggles with addiction, homelessness, and poverty.

The Old Town Mall area was once a lively location, full of businesses ranging from hair cutteries to grocery stores and customers ranging from old to young.  As time progressed, the surrounding area changed.   An apartment complex was built at one end and a methadone clinic was built at the other.  This created unwanted traffic and eventually the strip was deserted.

(click to get directions)

Every Sunday, rain, sleet, snow, or shine, the Baltimore Street Church is there speaking truth about the redemptive spirit of Jesus Christ up and down the strip.  Passer-byes either avoid the group, walk past the group, or join the group, looking forward to the occasionally served breakfast after a 20 to 30 minute sermon.  Several times I witnessed the ones that hung around for food get a lot more than a full stomach- they left spiritually filled as well.