Spring meeting, April 23, 2009
Gibeon Baptist Church
I’m reminded of the passage that starts out ‘train up a child in the way he should go …’ because as I was getting ready for tonight, this song started going through my head. As a Royal Ambassador, as a child, I learned the theme song that in part says:
Embajador yo soy, del reino celestial,
Lejos esta mi hogar, en un país mejor
Embajador yo soy, del reino celestial,
En los asuntos de mi Rey,
Este mensaje pues oíd:
Un mensaje de paz y amor;
Reconciliados sed,
Dice el señor mi rey,
Reconciliados sed con Dios
I am an ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven
My home is far away, in a better land
I am an Ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven
About the Business of my King
Hear this message
A message of peace and love
Be reconciled
Says my Lord and King
Be reconciled with God
I read in a Newsletter that i get every month from a fellow follower of Christ, where he was discussing the issues facing Christians and Baptists in Virginia specifically. In it, he listed the illegal immigration issue as the #2 issue to be dealt with (the first issue was education); but in regards to illegal immigration, he wrote the following:
My first thought in response to HIS question would be “Are we behaving as though illegal immigrants are LESS important as human beings than us?” (Apart from wondering where he got his facts,) my other question is, how do we frame our thoughts and ideas about ministering to the migrant community, those people who are not in THEIR native land? It occurs to me that the voice that is loudest is that of the culture – the media and politicians. But is that the frame on which we as a people of faith should build OUR view of what it means to minister to this community?
The people of Israel are instructed in Deuteronomy very specifically on how to treat the foreigner among them – and it is with a welcoming spirit and open arms. And the foundation of that instruction is based on their own experience as foreigners and slaves in Egypt. As people of faith, as followers of Christ, we carry that mantle as well, because we are also a people living in exile. We are citizens of heaven, not of the United States. It is difficult for us to envision ourselves AS citizens of somewhere we’ve never been, I agree. But I would challenge us all to work towards living in that frame of mind. Because until we are there, we ARE called TO minister, while we are here, to the least of these, our brothers and sisters.
Our work, yours, mine, OURS, is about the KINGDOM. It is not about our politics or the world’s politics.
And the Kingdom is something that cannot be defined. It can be described – Jesus described it as a precious coin lost that a woman turns her house upside down to find, or like a treasure in a field that is found and the man goes out and buys the field in order to return and retrieve the treasure… Jesus described it, but he never gave a specific definition of it – and that is uncomfortable for us. We can’t box it in, as much as we would like to, for our comfort’s sake. But I think that, for the sake of the Kingdom, I would rather BE uncomfortable.
In the last few weeks, I’ve been stretched out of MY comfort zone. Two couples in the Latino community have come to me asking for counseling. They are going through rough spots in their relationships. Marriage and couples counseling is something that I am NOT comfortable with, but I am stepping out on faith that God’s spirit will give wisdom and guidance as we walk through these sessions together. Some of you may have heard of the movie ‘Fireproof’ – thank goodness, the DVD also has a Spanish language setting. It has served as a starting point for our conversations, and it presents a very clear direction in terms of the need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to truly make a marriage work.
I would covet your prayers for wisdom and guidance as we continue through that process.
My first and last word to you is “thank you” for giving us this opportunity, to be able to minister in the name of Christ on behalf of the Rappahannock Baptist Association to our Latino brothers and sisters.
On a personal note, I would ask that you pray for Leslie and her family. Her father is in need of a lung transplant, and they are down in Durham undergoing testing and assessment to try to bring him back to a point of health where he could be put on the candidate list TO receive a transplant. Leslie will be spending a lot of time there with them, providing transportation and support as they go through that process. Since she was the only one that didn’t have a ‘day job’ (nudge nudge, wink wink for those of you who know Leslie!) that she had to be at, she taken that on.
Again, thanks so much.
Gibeon Baptist Church
I’m reminded of the passage that starts out ‘train up a child in the way he should go …’ because as I was getting ready for tonight, this song started going through my head. As a Royal Ambassador, as a child, I learned the theme song that in part says:
Embajador yo soy, del reino celestial,
Lejos esta mi hogar, en un país mejor
Embajador yo soy, del reino celestial,
En los asuntos de mi Rey,
Este mensaje pues oíd:
Un mensaje de paz y amor;
Reconciliados sed,
Dice el señor mi rey,
Reconciliados sed con Dios
I am an ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven
My home is far away, in a better land
I am an Ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven
About the Business of my King
Hear this message
A message of peace and love
Be reconciled
Says my Lord and King
Be reconciled with God
I read in a Newsletter that i get every month from a fellow follower of Christ, where he was discussing the issues facing Christians and Baptists in Virginia specifically. In it, he listed the illegal immigration issue as the #2 issue to be dealt with (the first issue was education); but in regards to illegal immigration, he wrote the following:
“Illegal immigrants are responsible for an amount of crime much larger than their part of the population. They fill jobs that otherwise would be available for American citizens. They are disproportionately active in drug gangs and illegal transport of guns. A question that should be asked of each proponent is, “why are illegal immigrants more important than American citizens?” Certainly we should help these folks as we can, in their native lands.”
My first thought in response to HIS question would be “Are we behaving as though illegal immigrants are LESS important as human beings than us?” (Apart from wondering where he got his facts,) my other question is, how do we frame our thoughts and ideas about ministering to the migrant community, those people who are not in THEIR native land? It occurs to me that the voice that is loudest is that of the culture – the media and politicians. But is that the frame on which we as a people of faith should build OUR view of what it means to minister to this community?
The people of Israel are instructed in Deuteronomy very specifically on how to treat the foreigner among them – and it is with a welcoming spirit and open arms. And the foundation of that instruction is based on their own experience as foreigners and slaves in Egypt. As people of faith, as followers of Christ, we carry that mantle as well, because we are also a people living in exile. We are citizens of heaven, not of the United States. It is difficult for us to envision ourselves AS citizens of somewhere we’ve never been, I agree. But I would challenge us all to work towards living in that frame of mind. Because until we are there, we ARE called TO minister, while we are here, to the least of these, our brothers and sisters.
Our work, yours, mine, OURS, is about the KINGDOM. It is not about our politics or the world’s politics.
And the Kingdom is something that cannot be defined. It can be described – Jesus described it as a precious coin lost that a woman turns her house upside down to find, or like a treasure in a field that is found and the man goes out and buys the field in order to return and retrieve the treasure… Jesus described it, but he never gave a specific definition of it – and that is uncomfortable for us. We can’t box it in, as much as we would like to, for our comfort’s sake. But I think that, for the sake of the Kingdom, I would rather BE uncomfortable.
In the last few weeks, I’ve been stretched out of MY comfort zone. Two couples in the Latino community have come to me asking for counseling. They are going through rough spots in their relationships. Marriage and couples counseling is something that I am NOT comfortable with, but I am stepping out on faith that God’s spirit will give wisdom and guidance as we walk through these sessions together. Some of you may have heard of the movie ‘Fireproof’ – thank goodness, the DVD also has a Spanish language setting. It has served as a starting point for our conversations, and it presents a very clear direction in terms of the need for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in order to truly make a marriage work.
I would covet your prayers for wisdom and guidance as we continue through that process.
My first and last word to you is “thank you” for giving us this opportunity, to be able to minister in the name of Christ on behalf of the Rappahannock Baptist Association to our Latino brothers and sisters.
On a personal note, I would ask that you pray for Leslie and her family. Her father is in need of a lung transplant, and they are down in Durham undergoing testing and assessment to try to bring him back to a point of health where he could be put on the candidate list TO receive a transplant. Leslie will be spending a lot of time there with them, providing transportation and support as they go through that process. Since she was the only one that didn’t have a ‘day job’ (nudge nudge, wink wink for those of you who know Leslie!) that she had to be at, she taken that on.
Again, thanks so much.
