Monthly Archives: May 2014

Living at the end of your driveway

28 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by in Scripture

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Tomorrow will mark three weeks for me, living in England.  Looking back I am a little surprised; for past visits, arrivals in England have been deeply emotional, with a profound sense of being undeservedly blessed by our loving Father.  I had some small expectation that this time, being a permanent arrival, would be perhaps even more so, but it was not.  It was completely different.  Even before stepping from the plane, my heart was stilled: I sensed only that I was coming home.  It is not odd that vehicles drive on the left, nor are any of the other characteristics that make Britain and Ireland unique.  It’s as if life has been this way all along.

This does not mean all that came before is forgotten.  I already miss our adult children deeply.  There is a longing that will not pass away with time, which was there when we were on the same continent but is now magnified by distance (Skype and Facebook not withstanding).  I look forward with great anticipation to the day Edye and the younger children join me – in a few weeks, the Lord willing.  Even so, I have already been transplanted, grafted in.  I pray the graft takes fully, that we can all grow strong and faithful in this new soil.

This will happen again one day, for all of us: we will be removed from this earthly soil and transplanted into heaven … and we will realize that all that came before was merely preparation for the reality that will then be ours.  Our hearts will be changed – they must be changed, if truly there will be no tears there, else how could we remember the past without tears?  I do not know how He will make it so; I only know that He will do what He has promised.

Knowing this, how do we then live?  You’re likely familiar with Jesus’ parable commonly called “the prodigal son”, found in Luke 15:11-32.  The popular name completely misses the point; Jesus is not telling us to live like the [temporarily] faithless son … but like the ever-faithful father.  “when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” (v. 20b).

Jesus makes it clear He came to show us the Father (John 14:8-11), and Paul tell us our destiny is to be made like Jesus (Romans 8:28-30).  It follows then that we should have the same mind as the persevering father in the parable, which indeed is the mind of our heavenly Father.

We all (and especially clergy!) are called to live at the end of our driveway.  Whether it is our own son or daughter, a church member, someone who has never known Jesus, or someone we have never met before, we must spiritually spend our days and nights at the end of the driveway, always watching, always praying, always believing that the prodigal will come home … and ready to run – RUN – and embrace them as soon as they come into sight!  Whatever we do physically, whether praying alone in our prayer closet or on the sidewalk of an abortion clinic; ministering to the least and the lost through street drama or working in a soup kitchen; posting Facebook messages or preaching in the church on Sunday; reading a bedtime story or sending a Bible overseas; visiting the elderly or marching for life; actively seeking the one who has strayed, or comforting the ninety-nine who have not; whatever we do physically, in our hearts we must be ready to embrace the prodigal regardless how long they have been away or how far from God they have roamed.  “The Lord is … longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

God may have blessed you with a mansion … but live at the end of your driveway!

Praise reports

The people and clergy of St. Stephen’s and the church in Edinburgh

The Bastin family in Kansas, who hosted our base of operations in their home so we could complete the dispersal of household goods, celebrate birthdays, and say farewell to family and friends

Love offerings from God’s people far and wide, known and unknown

Grace and favor in setting up the necessities of life in a new country: checking account, Tube passes for four, national insurance number (similar to a social security number), and more

Prayer requests

That Edye, Christyn, and Tobyn’s visa would be approved in short order so they might join me in London by early June

That we would be good stewards of all that God provides

That remaining expenses in America would be completely paid off

Support status

Goal:                     $11,722

Received:            $  1,175                 10% of total

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Not the end, but the beginning

14 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by in The Journey

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Incredible!  Amazing!  Awesome!  Humbling.

After 23 years of hope deferred, the Lord has brought to completion what He promised:  this past Sunday, 11 May 2014, He set my feet on 330-year old stones as priest-in-charge of St. Stephen’s CEC, London, England.  The promise had started on Thursday, 13 May 1991, when He set our feet on 700-year old stones in the ruins of Tintern Abbey (located near Chepstow in Wales) and turned our thoughts toward those who had built it (and all the other cathedrals, abbeys, and churches we had visited) … men and women who had lived, worshipped, and died preserving the faith which we now hold so dear.  What He laid on our hearts that day so long ago became a burden, a longing for the people of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

We held on to that promise, and we sought after it … but always the answer was the same – whether through circumstances or through words of those in authority over us:  “not now, not here, not yet”.  We learned patience … and trust … and gained an inkling of just how much our Father loves us.

The promise became a journey.  In 1993 our independent charismatic church became part of the ICCEC (and later a cathedral), and in 1994 I was ordained a deacon alongside six other men. In 1995 God called us to move from Olathe, KS to Kansas City, MO to begin investigating Christian community, and to plant a mission church on the very border of the inner city.  There He taught us to love and minister one-on-one to the poor, the least, the lost, the lonely.  In 1999 He taught us to keep loving even when our hearts were breaking, as half the church and the community left the battle.  In 2000 He taught us the love and care of our bishop and cathedral, as we moved back to Olathe for healing and restoration.  In 2009 He taught us patience in the midst of adversity as I was laid off by my employer.  In 2010 He taught us to stretch and to trust, closing all doors to employment except one in Virginia that eventually required commuting to the very heart of Washington, DC.  In 2012 He taught us peace in the face of fear as He carried us through a harrowing van accident on a rain-slicked highway, with only minor injuries.  In 2013 He taught us to hear and obey, putting our house for sale in a depressed market at a very poor time of year – and sold it in two months.

The journey is almost over, but the adventure is not.  The promise, the call, was to the British/Irish isles … but that is not the destination.  We are not merely to be here, but we are here for a purpose.  That purpose was revealed to us in 1991 after we had returned to the U.S. from Britain.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.  They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendour.  They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. – Isaiah 62:1-4

The Lord gave me this Scripture as my life “verse” upon our return, and gave Edye a similar passage Isaiah 58:6-14 from which the following verse comes:

Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In – Isaiah 58:12

Though the journey may be nearing its end – and even that we cannot be certain of – the promise and the burden are not.  We are not called to a destination, but to a ministry – and so are you!

Who am I, that God would give such a promise and then so graciously grant it?  I certainly don’t deserve it.  And we are not the only ones who have a promise, a burden.  I share our journey not because we are special, but because this is the stuff of all our lives:  trial, heartbreak, disappointment, potential, progress, setback, diversion, repeat, grow weary, stumble, rise up … as long as we keep going.  The vision from God will come in every case except one:  it will not come if we quit!

Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy.  Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves. – Psalm 126:6-7

Praise reports

  • The people and clergy of St. Stephen’s and the church in Edinburgh
  • All those who have housed us, prayed for us, donated funds and goods to us, worked alongside us, exercised authority over us, and supported us throughout our journey
  • Approval of my visa and a swift passage through customs on entry at Heathrow
  • Edye’s completion and submission of visa applications for her and the children

Prayer requests

  • That Edye, Christyn, and Tobyn’s visa would be approved in short order so they might join me in London by early June

Support status

  • Goal:                  $ 11,722
  • Received:           $      600