Author: mission staff

Several of the neighborhood kids are smiling a little bigger tonight thanks to Dr. Guthrie. He invited more than 10 kids to come today and receive free dental care. Thank you for your heart for kids!

A few weeks back I was talking with a man who comes regularly to Cross and Crown on Sunday evenings for a meal and the worship. I have known him for a few years but mostly in a superficial, friendly kind of way. He is generally pretty talkative but also a little rough around the edges. As he was eating and we were waiting for the worship to start he began to ask me about myself. He was curious how I was able to be up at Cross and Crown so often. He said it seemed like every time he was up there, I was too. I informed him the reason I seemed to always be around is because… I work at Cross and Crown. Funny how that works, right?

As we continue to chat another man from the neighborhood comes and sits in between us. He isn’t eating. He is there strictly for the message he tells us. The first man and I continue our conversation and he begins to ask me about why I decided to work at Cross and Crown, why I would be interested in helping with the youth, why I wouldn’t work somewhere else and has gone from a less inquisitive position and into more of a, somewhat, hostile questionaire.

While I experience the Spanish Inquisition with this man the worship begins. I do my best to motion to him that the worship is starting and we need to quiet down but he isn’t phased and only tries to talk over the song that has begun. I finally had to tell him we would have to finish the conversation in a few minutes and so he gradually fades out. Just as I had turned to face the front of the sanctuary, where the band was playing, the man who was sitting in between the first man and I said,

“You know why he left, right? He left because the worship started and his spirit couldn’t handle being around all the worship taking place.”

“Huh?”, I hesitantly responded.

He told me, “The man, the man you were talking to. He left because there was something evil in him. I heard him talking to you and trying to talk down to you. Once I heard the way he was talking to you, I started praying. I prayed he wouldn’t be able to be handle the Spirit of God if there was something evil in him”

Then I noticed the first man was gone, just as this man was explaining to me. Wow, I thought. I knew when the first man was talking to me there was something that just wasn’t right. Like I said, I have talked to him several times but mostly about the weather, sports, family….you know.

At the conclusion of the worship the second man and I talked for several minutes. I asked how many times he has been to the Sunday night meal and worship and he said he had been 3 or 4 times. I offered him a plate of food because he came a little late but he said he comes at that time intentionally because he comes for the “spiritual food” not the “physical food” (his words, not mine). He said he likes coming to Cross and Crown because the preacher (Paul) uses the Word. He teaches from scripture and opens the Bible and doesn’t just preach, he said.

I told him about how Cross and Crown is open 4 days a week to the public for food, clothing, medical clinic ect. and Bible study. He said he wasn’t in need of much of anything but he was always interested in a little Bible study. I told him when and where and he has been coming ever since.

The reason I tell this story is because we are in a neighborhood that lacks alot of physical things. The neighborhood and many of its’ people aren’t, for the most part, affluent enough to live without some help in one form or another. But, what this neighborhood doesn’t lack is spiritual awareness. Some of the people in this neighborhood are more in tune spiritually and with God than any upper-class, well off individual that I know.

See, our tendency is to think that if you have money, food, clothes or stuff then you are blessed…if you are blessed then you know God, because He is blessing you. So if that’s true, then if you don’t have money, clothes, food ect, you clearly aren’t blessed and therefore you don’t know God, otherwise you wouldn’t be without.

It’s like I heard a speaker say recently, “Just because something or someone is successful doesn’t automatically mean God’s hand is on it.” He was trying to communicate that just because a person is successful doesn’t necessarily mean God is blessing that person. Satan has a say about earthly matters that God allows, at times. Just look at Job. My point, just because someone is rich doesn’t mean it’s always a result of God blessing them. And, just because a person is poor doesn’t mean it’s because God is not blessing them.

I’ll end with something I read recently…

“Jesus, the King of kings, left behind every privilege, every honor, every trace of his glory and consented to be born in a cold, dank stable. He lived off the land, he was homeless, he may not have owned anything more than a change of clothing. If we shun the poor and claim to know Jesus, we are utterly deluded. He, himself, was one of them.”

It’s pretty incredible how much I have learned from these “poor” people.

Luke

Last week, as the staff and volunteers gathered together to ask God’s blessing on the day and give direction to where everyone would best be able to help, one of the women from the neighborhood asked if she could stay for the day and help. We said, “No, you need to go home there is no where for you to help.” Just kidding. Her name is Martha and she has been coming to Cross and Crown for 5-6 years.

Initially she came for food, now she comes for Bible study and her “Let’s Start Talking” class that uses the Bible as the main teaching tool. Ha ha, we got her. Just like ole Jesus did it back in the day…offer food or meet some other monetary need, then present the Good News and see what happens.

Anyway, following Martha’s introduction to everyone that had never met her, Paul asked Martha to do her best to describe why she comes and what she does while she is at Cross and Crown. Martha went on to describe, in English, how she comes every Tuesday morning for Bible class and every Monday for LST class. Once she was comfortable, she asked Paul if it would be ok if she shared a story that happened early on in her ESL class with her teacher. Paul agreed and so she began her story.

Martha explained how she and her teacher had been studying in Matthew of Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. She stressed to us that during this study she was still somewhat new to the English language. The teacher asked Martha to read the story and then do her best to re-tell the happenings back to him. She did and it went a little something like this…

Martha – “The people see Jesus coming and they lay palm branches down on the ground for Him. They worship Him and praise Him. Jesus comes riding in on a monkey.”

Teacher – “………….Jesus comes riding in on what?”

Martha – “Jesus comes riding in on a monkey.”

Teacher – “A donkey. Jesus rides in on a donkey.”

Martha – “Yes, Jesus rides in on a monkey.”

Teacher – “No, a donkey. Jesus rides in on a donkey. Donkey.”

Everyone had a good laugh, including Martha.

Luke

Thank you to all of our friends and ministry partners who have made 2009 such a blessed ministry year. We pray your holiday will be a time of joyful worship with friends and family.

The mission will be closed for Christmas on Thursday, December 16th and will reopen Sunday, January 3rd. All services, including donation drop off and pick up will be closed.

This week, most of the nation is experiencing it’s first taste of winter. Even here in OKC, we’ve managed to dodge the ice, but not the temps. We have definitely been made aware of winter’s presence.

Wednesday, we unloaded a semi truck full of food from the Food Bank. While helping with the unloading, one of our favorite neighbors, Clyde, began growing icicles from his Santa-like beard. I was his unloading partner and also experienced the same phenomenon around my hoodie.

Today, Luke and I went on our weekly large furniture pick up journey. As we drove to SW OKC, we couldn’t help but notice that the van’s heater wasn’t kicking in. By the first pick up, we were frozen solid. The silly thing didn’t heat up until hours later. Brrrr!

I know all of us have had similar experiences this week. But for most of us these moments are brief and remedied by a warm home, cozy car, and hot chocolate. For some of our close friends at the mission, this is an hourly, daily, even monthly condition most can not retreat from. What a heartbreaking thought. Paul said this week in prayer time, “I have a hard time going to sleep at night until I pray for my homeless friends by name…Roy, Robert, Lou, Dwight…”

I know that a lot of us have similar thoughts and prayers going up. What if God is wanting to use us to answer the very prayers we are praying for the homeless and poor? What if we are called daily to remedy the problem?

Maybe we could buy a cup of hot coffee or a warm pair of gloves for a bell ringer. Or swing by Mcdonald’s and pick up an extra value meal and give a hot meal and “God bless you” to the man with the cardboard sign on the corner. Maybe it’s becoming involved in a local urban ministry with your family.

We challenge you to pray not only for the homeless and those negatively affected by the cold weather, but also to be used as an answer to the very prayer you are praying.

Ron

Today, we received 7,800 pounds of canned goods from this year’s student food drive. Each participating non-profit who helps pick up the canned goods from area schools receives a portion of the donated food. We were happy to help pick up and even happier to be able to load the cans in boxes of families needing help this holiday season. What a huge blessing. Thank you to all the students who gave abundantly to those in need!