Giver of Good

Hey Friends,

Blessings to you on this rainy Monday afternoon. I just wanted to share with you something that I stumbled across this afternoon reading at Atlanta Bread Company, worrying about all that is happening these next couple months with the youth at church, worrying about paying bills at home in MI, feeling as if my leadership has to be something and somewhere it currently is not now in order to truly reach these students. And this afternoon God has hit me with something very profound and simple. David Crowder, my favorite worship leader and music artist wrote this, “Why had I always been given such neat answers for messy questions? Perhaps by your junior year of college, after you have been a christian for fourteen years, you are properly equipped to sort out the tough things like this?” Then he stumbles around a simple Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich that always seems to have the two-fold combination of being the absolutely best tasting sandwich on the planet with a rather small bad part in the middle of the breast-a lesser grade of meat and soggy breading. And then he says this, “It may not sound like a real breakthrough, but for me it was truly cathartic. In a small, decisive moment I was aware of what was good and took effort to peel away what wasn’t and in the process became re-enamored with the Giver of Good. I remembered our beginnings, when that statement “It was Good” was first uttered. The consequences of this discovery were huge. If He was in a sandwich, where else could He be found? Every moment was becoming holy. Nothing was nonspiritual. This was habitual praise-a perpetually sacred acknowledgement of the Giver of every good thing. A relentless embracing of good and a discarding of bad with an awareness of the one who in the beginning spoke those life-affirming words.”

Often times Friends, I speak of non-affirming words. I speak and live out a life that is full of pessimism, worry, and fear. Many times I surrender to the command of the evil one who would like nothing more than for me to shrivel up and hide away. However, in the midst of this lackluster lifestyle, God is reaffirming me saying, “I am everywhere and you need to hold onto that hope you are called to profess! I am the Giver of good and every second is a moment to be in praise Joshua!” So In every meeting, every task, every sacred moment and every mundane moment we have Friends, I pray that we would know that’s what we’re were made for!

I’m filled with hope. I’m filled with optimism for what’s happening here Friends! And I’m absolutely thrilled to be working alongside ya’ll here as we move heavenward. My desire is to lift you up and to be lifted up as we walk together in ministry. And with that, I’m making it a goal and priority to spend less time choosing tasks that will never end here in my office and to seek you all out. I desire to grow with you all and the only way I can do that is to intentionally spend time with you so let’s do that please!

I hope to talk with you very soon! 

In His Dust,

Josh

If you are willing…

Hey Friends,

It’s about 10:00 PM and I just got home from the National Youth Worker’s Conference in Columbus, Ohio. What an amazing adventure it was this past weekend. The team had an incredible time. The worship was authentic and spirit-filled. The teaching was biblical and relevant. It was all about conversation and relationship in the context of building up youth ministries that remain faithful and obedient to God. 

I can look back to so many things from this weekend to highlight, and I’ll eventually get to those this week. But for now, I just want to leave you with this.  I promise this won’t be boring. 

Last night before I hit the hay on the awesome wood gym floor at Broad St. Church where we were so graciously put up downtown, I stumbled across a passage from the gospel of Matthew. In the passage, Jesus and His disciples are just coming down from a mountainside (8:1-4) In it, there’s a man that the text says is filled with a skin disease-possibly Leprosy. When this man sees Jesus, he comes before him, kneels down at His feet and says, “Lord of you are willing, you can make me clean.” Right at this moment, all power, all grace, all love is in the Savior’s hands. If He is willing, He can make this man clean. Jesus himself has this choice. What an unbelievable moment here for humanity Friends. First off, I’m not sure about you all, but I’m a very prideful man, and when I’m sick, when I’m lost, when I’m hurting-one of the last things I want to do is ask for help. To expose myself in vulnerability. To expose that little darkness that dwells inside of me. But right here in this very text, this man comes before him humbled and in need. Physically he is ruined and spiritually he’s already surrendered himself to the God of this universe who does immeasurably more than we can even possibly imagine. 

So what does Jesus do?

Our Savior, Jesus Christ reaches out His hand and touches the man. He says, “I am willing. Be clean.” I don’t know about you Friends, but this is so unbelievable to me right now. His life speaks to us, “I am willing to take your burdens upon myself, upon that cross so that you may have life.” 

A little earlier this evening, I was at Sheets on Linglestown Rd. filling up the rental van from this weekend. As I was getting into my car, a lady named Josie pulled up next to me. Inside her car, black trash bags filled the back seats and I noticed she had a lot of her belongings in her front seat. She asked me if I was willing to put some gas in her car. Now, you have to understand Friends how much I was graciously given this past weekend by several of my leadership team members. Meals tabs were picked up for me by them, bottled water throughout the weekend was covered by others, $1 chair massages were a luxury to accompany the hard wood floors. 

However, in complete honesty-I really didn’t want to fill her car up with gas. I questioned her motive. I questioned why she’d be driving around in circles in a gas station and how long she might have been doing that and to whom had she already asked the same request for help. And then it hit me Friends, the scripture of the man with the skin disease consumed my mind and my heart. Josie, in complete vulnerability asked me if I was willing to help her, to take a burden from her upon myself. I was also reminded of when Jesus says, “Whatever you do to the least of these brothers and sisters, you do to me.” 

I couldn’t help but take that burden from her. I had to be willing. Friends, this isn’t a story to detail how marvelous a deed I did tonight. Not at all. It’s a plea for us as Christ’s sons and daughters to be willing just like Jesus. To be willing to ignore the people who come up to me and tell me that Josie has been doing this all day around Harrisburg-collecting money from people from gas station to gas station. To ignore the part in my heart that questions and challenges the needy and the lost. And to ignore the devil’s plea to hold onto everything for my own selfish desires.

Friends, I’m so blessed to be on this journey with you at CrossPoint. It’s an absolute honor to serve you and love you. I’m blown away that a perfect God would use an imperfect man like me to bring people to their knees for Him.  Jesus demands that we deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. He was willing on our behalf for the sake of Salvation. I desire to be willing as well. My hope and prayer is that we, His people would be willing and ready!

So, are you willing? 

In His Dust,

Josh