Caution: God Working

I find myself falling short of communicating just what a powerful experience we are having on the Coast. In so many ways the work of God is evident on a daily basis. The lives that are being touched, the progress that is being made in our community, and the hearts that are being healed just push the limits of my incredulity at times. I meant to get a picture of Allen today, but I'll try tomorrow. Allen was discovered living behind a dumpster by Project Recovery (outstanding workers in our community). Allen cannot speak, but he can hear very well. He has found friends, shelter, love, and hopefully Jesus Christ while here. He was very alert in worship tonight. David Kilbern and I talked tonight about the families that are being affected positively through service here in the community. It is also true that there are a number of our members who choose not to be involved in the outreach. It really is hard to believe, when we have been given so much. I would like to report that our church has experienced a revival and all of the members are just on fire for God! However, it is still those faithful few that we have always counted on who are making things happen. I'm so thankful for these servant hearts. They are heroes who deserve to be honored and recognized, but they never search for that kind of acknowledgment. Yet the impact of the mission here on the hearts of young and old alike is unmistakable. I wonder if a revolution of service isn't being spread throughout the country as people come from far away to work here, then head home with a renewed spirit. It very well could be that God is using the Central Church of Christ as a theatre of service, discipleship, and community so that people who work here can go out into the nation and spread what they learned here. If that sounds overly dramatic to you, all you have to do is watch the kids who come in as they are transformed from their comfort zones to the recovery zone, and later cry because they do not want to go home. I wish we had a database of those who have been here multiple times from far away. Why do they keep coming back? Lest it sound like I'm bragging, I'm as baffled about this as anyone. How is it happening? It has to be a God-thing. I was able to spend some time with David Kibler today. David is a youth minister from the Southern Acres Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. David's journey to the Kingdom is truly an inspiration. His group is almost 60 in number, and they are doing a lot of great work. He walked through fire to get his group here, and now they are so thankful for what he has done. David preached tonight at Central, and let me say that it was one powerful message from a heart devoted to God. I have placed the audio on OUR WEBSITE because I want more people to hear it. It was very touching and challenging. Through his tears David broke open his heart and stood before us as a man healed by God's grace. Other groups will be coming from Southern Acres later in the summer. And I have to mention that at the end of David's prolific message, the youth group from Southern Acres got up and sang a song for us. This might not seem like such a big deal, but you have to realize that these brothers and sisters are used to having musical backup. They worked hard to prepare an acappella selection for us. What a beautiful sacrifice of time and energy, and love for God's people, was on display. This is not a great picture, but maybe it conveys the love that was expressed tonight. Joann is overseeing the work of the teens on the Spring Bible School. The teens wanted to do this VBS themselves, and they have done it all. Joann told me tonight that this was the first time she had been a part of an acappella worship service. She was very complimentary of the singing, as were others. Unfortunately, one of the team members has had a sister-in-law to pass away in Kentucky. He is feverishly trying to find round trip airline tickets to get there for the funeral, and back. He is being depended upon to drive one of the vans back to Kentucky Saturday morning. Two groups headed back home today ... to Fayetteville and Cumming Georgia. I didn't get to say goodbye or thanks to them, but I hope they know how much we appreciate all that they did for us. Two of my favorite people will arrive in town Friday evening from Tulsa: Marvin Phillips and Craig Hicks. Craig called tonight while my phone was off and left a message. Craig, the answer to your question is 2.5 hours, if you're reading this. It's too late to call I guess. I'll leave you with a laugh that was sent to me by a friend who may not want to be identified! He can own up in the comments if he wants to. Just go HERE and have a laugh. Don't forget to watch the commercial!