"The Church Has Left The Building"
Life Giving Weekend
Life Giving Weekend does something miraculous in each of us. It reminds us that the greatest stories for Christians to remember are the radical and dangerous Gospel stories. Life Giving Weekend gives us a taste of living missionally- living as Jesus has called us to live with humility, peace, love, and mercy. Well over one hundred years ago, Henry Drummond wrote this, "In many lands the churches have literally stolen Christ from the people; they have made the Son of Man the priest of an order; they have taken Christianity from the city and imprisoned it behind alter rails."
What God has done through us this weekend is release His Son to do a radical work through His sons and daughters and move Jesus out of the church building and into the city back to the people. Christ has shattered the stained glass and has entered this community showing us that life on this earth is so much more than showing up to church on Sunday. For so many, this weekend has been a wake up call to the radical life of a Christ follower, and for the recipients, a taste of Christ's reckless love for them. God has used us- His hands and feet- to remind us all, once again, of the ultimate story of His identification with sinful humankind and his humble willingness to empty himself and make himself nothing for the sake of God's redemptive purposes. Below you will find more awesome stories from Life Giving Weekend that reflect the ultimate story of Christ's love for us.
The Wischmeyer family served at Christ Haven painting the fence and learned that serving others involves sacrifice and many times discomfort. But helping those in need is well worth any effort because that is showing God's love and building character. I (Andrew) was unable to participate in any of the local LGW projects as I was on a week long mission trip to Cuba. So I renamed my trip Life Giving Week - Cuba because the love of Christ spread anywhere in the world brings life!
Here is a quick recap... My 5th trip to Cuba... I saw MANY friends, hugged and encouraged many in need (always great need down there), my team of 9 people brought in 900 hundred pounds of medical and humanitarian aid including a wheelchair and a leg brace, collected and brought down 5 laptops for the seminary professors, presented 6 Proclaimers (radio looking box that plays in dramatic form the new testament by battery, electrical chord, wind up, or solar power), presented 12 Bible sticks (looks like an MP3 player that also has the bible played in dramatic form, runs from a battery), handed out 26 love gifts to adoptees, celebrated birthdays, broke bread together, made balloon animals for kids, blew bubbles with kids, watched guys smoke huge cigars, laughed a lot, prayed a lot, visited a Jewish synagogue and delivered medications, helped baptize 16 people in the ocean including the 2 daughters of one of the pastors we work with (very cool), went door to door and witnessed to 42 people in several neighborhoods (one we were told was the roughest in Cuba)-- 18 prayed a prayer of acceptance, encouraged 9 believers we encountered going door to door, sweated A LOT, shared my testimony at church one night, learned a few more words in Spanish, began working on a plan to get the Liberty University Baseball team to go and play in a tournament (we'll see how far we get with that) and, to top off the trip, my team witnessed a man suffer a fatal heart attack on our return flight yesterday (a powerful reminder that we never know when our time will be up. So... cherish each day, believe in the perfect sacrificial work of Christ and love other people because God first loved us).
It was just awesome seeing God's hand at work for not only the family that we were there to help but how He blessed those that were willing to open their wallets in these hard times to meet a need that was seen after we got there. With the flooring and new dresser in Tori's room being the two biggest examples that I know of. There could have been more but these are the only two that I personally knew about.
After Tori's room was cleared out and we were able to see the flooring better, Laura and I decided that new flooring was needed. I already said that I was going to buy her a new dresser, Laura offered to buy the flooring. We determined sheet vinyl was the best option and it wouldn't be that expensive for that size room. She was expecting to spend at least $150 on just the vinyl, not including the glue. She and I went to Home Depot, found something we thought would work well, and had it cut. Finding out after it was cut that it was on clearance and we got 17 ft. for only $32.50!! Plus it didn't need to be glued down just taped, so we wouldn't have to have anyone with special flooring skills to lay it down.
We thought with the flooring being that cheap we could also do the kitchen and dining room. She later went back for flooring for both those areas. I'm not sure if she purchased it or someone else because I was on a different mission by then. And that was finding a dresser for Tori. Of course I couldn't find any at the thrift stores (see them all the time till I needed one), but found one on Craig's List Sunday morning in uptown Dallas and went a got it. The color of it would work perfectly with the new flooring plus it came with a nightstand and mirror. Having not seen the new footboard & headboard that was going to go into her room, this new furniture couldn't have matched any better.
After her room was totally decorated it looked so Awesome, all the women wanted to hang out in her room.
Seeing people willing to add something else to our "to do" (ie... flooring) and not complain, just do it was a blessing as well. We did way more than was planned, but we got it done in two days!! And no one got seriously hurt either!
God really does bless those that give of their time to make a difference in someone elses life.
Our Life Giving Weekend group fed breakfast to the Firefighters at Ft. Worth Station #37, just around the corner from church on Ray White. We were so blessed to be able to serve these brave men, who were so gracious in accepting our service. What struck me the most is when Captain Johnson stated how much it meant to him and the men to have us not only come out and serve them a bountiful meal, but to spend some time with them finding out about their lives and work. He said that after 9-11, folks would stop by to visit and bring them lots of food. However, after awhile they stopped coming. Now the station usually receives cookies or cakes around the holidays, but he stated, it has been over eight years since someone came out and served them a meal like we did. All the firefighters were so thankful that we cared. They were so generous with us too. They explained all their equipment, and even took us out and let us sit in a fire truck. Our group loved the event so much, we are ready to adopt those firefighters, and we just may!