12/28/08
Finding the Mother He Never Knew
When Bill Gilman was three years old, his mom walked out on him, his dad, and his 1-year-old brother. His childhood was spent moving from person to person, relative to relative—anyone who would take him. When he was nine he lived with his grandmother until she died four years later. Then he lived with his dad and stepmother who brought her three children to the family.
Conflict was common in this blended family, and no mention was ever made of Bill’s mother. Her name—Mildred—was never spoken. In the early years of her marriage to Bill, Brenda Gilman asked numerous times if there were pictures of Bill as a baby or pictures of Mildred. The answer was always no.
On the day Bill’s stepmother died, however, his father gave a shoebox of Bill’s baby pictures and pictures of his mother to Brenda. They decided to look for Mildred at this time but encountered one roadblock after another. More than 20 years later, a discovery in their garage changed everything.
“Earlier this summer, Bill and I were cleaning the garage and going through some old boxes,” Brenda remembers. “Bill was looking through a box of old newspapers when he came across a baby book he had never seen before.”
As Brenda read the baby book, she knew it contained the thoughts and feelings of a new mother, but Bill insisted his grandmother must have written it. A few weeks later she showed the book to their daughter Jillian who was visiting from North Carolina. Jillian noticed that the book contained a complete family tree dating back to Bill’s great-grandparents and suggested an Internet search—something that would not have been possible 20 years before.
Within a few days, they had tracked down not only his mother, but also five other siblings Bill knew nothing about. He learned that Mildred had three children with a man who was a bodyguard in the Mafia of New Jersey and had endured abuse by him. She left this family in 1962 and was presumed dead. She married again and this time had two daughters.
Four years ago, the children from her second marriage found her, but the reunion did not go well. They were very angry at her for leaving them with an abusive father. Her two youngest daughters were angry as well that their mom had never told them about her other family.
When Bill contacted one of his younger sisters and told her who he was, she simply said this had happened to her before. She called Mildred and 10 minutes later told Bill that their mom wanted to talk to him. Bill then did the best thing he could think of to do. He called his friend Zach Taylor to meet for lunch and pray. When he returned he was ready to call his mom.
Fifty-two years of anger and resentment seemed to vanish in that phone call as Mildred told her son how sorry she was, how she had so much to make up to him, and that she wanted to see him. Brenda remembers watching the countenance of her husband change during that phone call.
“His heart was no longer hardened,” she explains. “He could only say ‘God is so good, God is so good!’ Then he displayed a picture of Christ that could only have come from God himself. He said, ‘Mildred I harbor no ill feelings against you. I have been forgiven for so many things in my life, how can I hold anything against you? I only want to know you and to have a relationship with you.’”
Bill and Brenda traveled to Boston in October to meet his now 75-year-old mom and one of his youngest sisters, both of whom had become Christians within the last few years. The focus of their time together was on moving forward—not dwelling on the past.
“It was wonderful,” Bill shares. “There were a lot of tears and a lot of hugs. As for the future, it is my desire to model Jesus, His love and acceptance, that they would say, ‘I want what you have.’ Two of my sisters have actually said that to me. When God has opened a door, I walk right through it and tell them about Jesus.”
11/16/08
24 Hours to Change the World
If you only had 24 hours left, how would you live? That was the question posed to 7th-12th graders last Saturday and Sunday during Hub Weekend II: 24 Hours to Change the World. More than 70 students and leaders including six 7th and 8th grade students from The Neighborhood School met for 24 hours—from 5 p.m. Saturday until 5 p.m. Sunday—at For the Kingdom Camp in Memphis to consider their answer.
“I think the kids really grabbed a hold of the theme and were challenged to live life every day to make a difference and not waste any time,” shares Student Pastor Greg Jackson.
Guest speaker Andy Blanks, a speaker and curriculum writer for Student Life Publications, led three Bible study sessions with high school students, and Justin Burkhead, a pastor and seminary student from Alabama, led sessions with junior high students. Worship was led by a band of Greg’s former students from First Baptist Church in Trussville, Alabama. Following each worship and Bible study session, students split into breakout groups to talk about the message and its relevance to their daily lives.
“Our speaker, Andy Blanks, talked about how we shouldn’t have to do anything different if we only had 24 hours left,” explains Ginny Germann, an 11th grader at Houston High School. “We should live our lives every day as if it were our last. I was really challenged not to take any of my days for granted and to make sure I am living every day to the fullest and to the glory of God.”
The weekend also provided plenty of opportunities for team competitions, new friends, and free time activities like canoeing, climbing a rock wall, and playing Ultimate Frisbee, football, or basketball.
“One of my friends who has only been to the Hub once came on this retreat,” adds Ginny. “Now she wants to be really involved and come to everything.”
11/09/08
Church Planting in Uganda
Henry and Lisa Hutton have financially and prayerfully supported the work of e3 Partners (http://www.e3partners.org) for 30 years, but had never participated in one of e3’s short-term trips—until this past month. From October 2-11, Henry and Lisa joined a team of 17 others from across the United States in Uganda. They worked with national Christians to share the Gospel in five villages with the goal of starting five churches.
“The mission of e3 Partners is to equip people to evangelize to establish churches,” Henry shares. “American believers on short-term mission trips encourage the nationals by showing up trained in how to share our faith.”
One of e3Partners’ tools is the EvangeCube, which uses the universal language of pictures along with stories to effectively share the Gospel. Another resource, the HIV/AIDS cube, crosses educational or literacy barriers and easily addresses both the contraction and spread of HIV/AIDS and ways to care for people living positively with the virus. While Uganda has drastically reduced its HIV prevalence rate since the 1980s, the country currently has an estimated 940,000 people living with HIV, and a further 1.2 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS.
“The HIV/AIDS cube has been used to open doors to share the Gospel either with someone who is not interested in Christianity or in a Muslim community where you don’t just start with the Gospel,” explains Henry. “First you show them that you care about their pain, and then you can share the Gospel. God opened the door for us to go into a school and share the HIV cube and the Gospel with 500 students.”
Most of the time on the trip was spent going from hut to hut in the five villages where a church would be planted and sharing about Jesus Christ. Those who made a profession of faith or expressed an interest were invited to a cell group Bible study in the afternoons. Each person who made a decision will receive follow-up from local Christians, and a team will return in January to take Bibles in their tribal language.
“On the Sunday after we left, they had their first church service in the village of Ocoko where my team was, and 12 adults and 30 children attended,” notes Henry. “It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen that God call build a church in four days.”
11/02/08
Conspiring this Advent Season
Only 46 shopping days until Christmas—upon reading this, many of us immediately have feelings of stress and alarm. Somehow we feel as though we’re “behind” in our Christmas duties, that time is “running out.” But why? Why must the marching of the calendar towards Christmas mean anxiety for us? Why can’t the days that come and go this holiday season be to us a growing anticipation of the celebration when good news of great joy broke into our world in the form of a baby, swaddling clothes, and a manger?
That’s what I want and what I want to give this Christmas—more than Circuit City gadgets and Wal-Mart gifts, more than stockings, cards, candy, and cookies. I want to receive and give a more true expression of Christmas. I want an Advent Season wherein I worship deeply; like that rag tag group of wealthy scholars and poor shepherds who first worshiped the newborn King.
I want an Advent where I spend less money on gifts that don’t matter in the long run. And I want to spend less time in malls, in catalogues, and online looking for those gifts.
I want an Advent where I give more. A season where I give more of my money to gifts that make a difference in the world: gifts like clean water for the poor, good education to orphans, and a second chance to the down and out. Gifts like hope, joy, and opportunity. I want to give more time to the relationships that are dearest to me—my family, my sons, my neighbors who are well off, my neighbors who are less fortunate, my beloved small group, and my larger faith community.
I’m looking for an Advent Season that more faithfully and authentically represents the spirit of Christmas in the truest sense. I need an Advent Season that prompts me to love. I need that for my soul. The world needs it for its salvation.
So this Advent, rather than complaining about a holiday season that leads us to stress, debt, exhaustion, or worse, let’s conspire together to embody an Advent Season that is marked by worshiping fully, spending less, giving more, and loving a lot.
This story was written by Living Hope’s Missions Pastor Matthew Watson. To learn how you can give more this Advent Season, visit http://www.AdventConspiracy.org.
10/26/08
Having a Ball in Binghampton
Last weekend 40 students and leaders from Living Hope spent a beautiful Saturday hanging out with kids in an area of our city where many feel forgotten. They came together at The Neighborhood School in Binghampton for a sports camp. More than 90 participants in Kindergarten through 8th grade came to learn basic skills in football, basketball, and volleyball—and to just have fun.
“They seemed to have a good time just goofing off and being with their friends,” shares Kyle Monteverde, a junior at Houston High who helped with the basketball section of the camp. “I think it meant a lot to them for us to spend time with them, and it wasn’t a big deal for us to do that. Being older, we had the opportunity to set an example and be someone they could look up to. Hopefully, they could see Christ in us.”
Hamburgers and hot dogs, cooked by several men from Living Hope, made a delicious lunch and gave students an opportunity to share their testimonies. Each student was paired with three or more buddies with whom they shared their personal story.
About half of the participants who came to the sports camp were in Kindergarten-2nd grade, the age group for which Amanda Brown and her small group were responsible. They had 45 children—almost twice as many as they had originally planned for.
“We were overwhelmed by the number of kids, but some of their dads stayed and helped out. That was really nice,” Amanda remembers. “In the morning we hung out and let them run around and play ball. After lunch we shared a Bible story about Joseph and made ‘amazing jackets’ using a large paper bag.”
The mom of one of the girls in the group commented to Amanda that for many of the children, the paper jacket would be their only Halloween costume. The girls in Amanda’s small group were blown away that such a simple craft to them meant so much more to these children.
“It really registered with our girls,” Amanda shares. “They want to go back and invest in these kids. They realize that they are good kids who just don’t have many of the privileges we take for granted.”
Greg Jackson, Living Hope’s Student Pastor, said he hopes to do several more sports camps at The Neighborhood School throughout the year.
“I want to see our students develop relationships with their students that they both benefit from,” he explains. “We also want to help get the word out in Binghampton about The Neighborhood School.”
10/19/08
More than a Job
When Ann Collins leaves for work at 4:45 every morning she begins praying—for her neighbors, for her co-workers, and for her customers. Most of all she prays that God will let her be a blessing to at least one person that day.
For about a year Ann has worked at Starbucks in Germantown. The job, she says, was given to her by God. After no longer being the primary caregiver for her mother-in-law and father-in-law as she was for several years, this wife and mother of two children in high school found herself with some time on her hands. That’s when she began to submit her application to several local Starbucks.
“I thought it would be fun. I didn’t want something to be in competition with my family,” shares Ann who works the first shift and is home before her kids return from school.
Shortly after she began serving coffee, Ann realized the product was really secondary in her job. Her passion is the people.
“People are so eager to connect,” she observes. “There’s a place inside everybody that wants to share their life. They want to matter.”
Ann sees her ministry as touching that place in people, connecting with them and encouraging them through a kind word or short conversation. Her kindness has led many of her customers to share a part of themselves. For some it’s a picture of a new pet. For others it’s more personal—the desertion of a spouse or death of a brother—and Ann offers a hug and the promise to pray.
“I just want to be a blessing each day to those I work with and anybody I encounter,” Ann adds. “I want to bring God glory. I want to be a reflection of Him.”
10/12/08
Ladies Retreat Refreshes and Renews
Laughter and chocolate were plentiful as more than 80 women gathered last weekend at The Country Place in Moscow, Tennessee, just 30 minutes outside of Collierville, for the second annual She Community fall retreat. Surrounded by breathtaking scenery, women of all ages and stages in life enjoyed a wonderful time of worship, studying God’s Word, deepening friendships, and drawing closer to Jesus Christ.
“I looked forward to spending time with friends and meeting other women in our community,” shares Meredith Tate.
“It was a blessing to have the majority of the women from my small group there,” adds Vivian Reesman. “The Lord used the time to deepen our relationships as daughters of the King, wives, and mothers.”
The retreat kicked off Friday night with a delicious dinner and Living Hope’s own version of What Not to Wear. While Valery Wright and Diane Butler shared fashion tips and revealed three amazing makeovers, their main message was to encourage the women to find their beauty and value through their identity in Christ. Following the first round of door prizes (there were three altogether), participants gathered for worship and a look at John 4 with guest speaker Cindy Morris. The evening concluded with a bonfire and s’mores.
“I was so blessed by Cindy’s testimony and faith in God,” notes Vivian. “The Lord has used her in a mighty way to touch the lives of the women in our church. She is a living testimony to God’s love and faithfulness.”
Cindy, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, used the story of the woman at the well and the image of water to share how God can transform our desires to His. Her message was especially meaningful as the group gathered for Saturday morning devotion at the outside amphitheatre facing a smooth and peaceful lake.
“The most important thing I got out of the retreat was all the uses of water,” explains Katie Schillinger. “For me, the most meaningful was cleansing which I am not even sure got used. There has been a lot of hurt in my life recently, and when I stopped to think about it, the cleansing Water from Him has really been doing its job.”
The retreat concluded on Saturday with an opportunity to hear from speakers representing the five focus areas for Living Hope’s “serving our world”—The Neighborhood School, Refugee Empowerment Program, Indonesia, Kenya, and Afghanistan. After lunch it was time to return home—if not more rested, then certainly refreshed and renewed.
“Even though the time was short, the retreat really helped me to get my focus back on Jesus. I can get so caught up in my daily to-do-lists, that I slowly begin to put Him on the back burner,” notes Tara Lewis. “It was a sweet time to draw close to my Jesus and remember why I love Him so!”
10/05/08
God Fulfills His Purposes
Things can really change fast. A “chance” meeting for Mike Shea during his second trip to Central Asia in April 2006 resulted in major life changes. One year later, he was developing a platform for equipping servant leaders for an international humanitarian aid organization. The exciting opportunity to occasionally work with people he loves somehow became a career.
Today Mike’s vision is to expand leadership development to 30 nations throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He is thankful to still have the freedom to continue working with his friends in Central Asia as expansion occurs.
“One of the greatest challenges I face in this adventure is trust,” Mike shares. “How can this dream possibly happen? All I need is what I don’t have—more staff, additional volunteers, open doors to new places, new partners in new countries, and additional financial resources. You get the idea. The vision is bigger than me.”
The Psalms speak to Mike’s heart like no other book of Scripture. Nearly three decades ago when wrestling with trusting the Lord with his future, he stumbled upon this verse: “The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever” (Psalm 138:8).
“I am learning, very slowly, to trust Him to fulfill His plans through life events,” Mike notes. “Last year, I had to make a choice of whether or not to commit to a trip when I didn’t have the resources to go. The Lord seemed to say in my spirit: ‘How you make this decision will determine the kind of project this will become. Will your decisions be based on your resources or My calling?’”
Mike admits he was scared. He prayed for God to bring scripture to mind to help him understand His will.
“One of the scripture verses was Peter sinking in water when he took his eyes off Jesus,” Mike remembers. “I felt like He was saying that my problem came from me focusing on my circumstances. As you probably guessed, at the last minute God provided the resources for the trip. Still, looking at life in the rear view mirror is so much easier than looking forward.”
In a few days Mike will lead a team into a city where God has opened doors to expand this year. He has been amazed to see how many roadblocks fell for this to happen. The Lord continues to “fulfill his purpose.”
09/14/08
Making a Connection
Justin Stovall didn’t know what to expect when he attended Living Hope’s Connection two years ago. He thought the experience might be similar to a blind date—awkward, uncomfortable, and maybe a bit forced. Married to Kelly just a few short months, Justin had gladly left the dating scene behind, and the thought of spending an evening with not one but many strangers did not really appeal to him. He was, however, pleasantly surprised.
“It was more than I imagined,” Justin shares. “It was pretty relaxed, and the food was great. Connectors were there to introduce us to people in our age group, so we weren’t having to go up to people and introduce ourselves.”
On that night six couples connected to form the group led by Tommy and Sherry Killough, and in the last two years they have formed deep relationships. They have also gone on to birth three other groups.
“The people in my small group are always there for me,” Justin adds. “They know my struggles and I know theirs. We hold each other accountable. Kelly and I have both grown spiritually, and as a result, our relationship has strengthened. It has been an absolute blessing.”
08/31/08
Returning to God
Throughout his life, Don Newman had a lot of prayers answered the way he wanted—except the prayer to save his first marriage. Shortly after his divorce 10 years ago he tried to pray, but he couldn’t. Eventually he quit trying. Then he quit going to church.
When he married Becky four years ago, he marveled at her faithfulness to pray, and he agreed to attend church with her. They have attended Living Hope and been active in a small group from the beginning. But it wasn’t until Don was diagnosed with leukemia that he began to find his way back into a growing relationship with God.
“So many people told me they were praying for me—people in our small group, at work, the parents of the kids I coach,” Don shares. “I really appreciate how much concern they showed me.”
About two months ago while he was out walking his dog, Don attempted to start praying again. He began expressing his love and appreciation for God’s creation.
“Then I asked him to forgive me for the lack of relationship I had with Him,” Don remembers. “Somehow in this praying I told God thank you for my leukemia because it brought me back to Him.”
Since his diagnosis in April, Don has undergone four rounds of chemotherapy for three days at a time. His doctors are hopeful that he will be in remission for three to five years. During the lows of his treatment, which left him weak and sick, Don appreciated the care of those in his small group—especially since many in the group have recently been through their own struggles.
“They brought food and books to read which has been encouraging,” Don adds. “But most of all I appreciate the relationships and prayers. We have become a close-knit group.”
08/24/08
Ugly Mug and Missional Living
Living Hope is always on the lookout for fellow Memphians who embody the Gospel in exciting and innovative ways. Ugly Mug Coffee is doing just that. Started as a church-based collegiate coffee house ministry years ago, Ugly Mug has grown to become a leader in the specialty coffee market as well as an influencer among a growing number of “missional businesses.”
Ugly Mug, a for-profit, Memphis based coffee company, is driven by the double bottom line: make a profit in the market and make a difference in the world. Locally that means that Ugly Mug makes a difference in the neighborhood surrounding its Binghampton offices. Employees from Ugly Mug regularly volunteer at two Binghampton elementary schools—Brewster and Lester—and network with other area businesses encouraging them to do the same. Additionally, Ugly Mug hires people from the neighborhood, as evidenced by the hiring of recently resettled refugees; one from the Sudan and the other from Afghanistan.
But Ugly Mug doesn’t stop at making a difference in Memphis. They seek to make a positive impact in the lives of the international coffee growers they work with as well. Where possible, Ugly Mug works with farmers engaged in environmentally sustainable farming methods and economically sustainable trading practices. For those farmers that aren’t, Ugly Mug has partnered with international organizations that assist farmers in making the transition towards organic and sustainable farming. All this is in an effort to care for the farmer and the land they farm and communicate God’s love for people and the places they live.
That message and the godly passion that under girds Ugly Mug strikes a harmonious chord with Living Hope’s mission of serving our world—a mission that includes tutoring school children, hiring refugees, supporting coffee growers, and caring for God’s created world. Ugly Mug is giving witness to the redemptive nature of the Gospel in the way they conduct their business, invest in Memphis, touch the lives of farmers, and care for the environment.
Today Living Hope will begin serving Ugly Mug coffee in fully recyclable cups. Not because we just want to be “green.” But because we want to reflect, in ways large and small, that God is a redeeming God—a God who redeems souls, lives, families, farms, and even the earth. Showing that we care about our environment by responsible stewardship of items we buy and use is part of what it means for us to be a holy and missional people.
08/17/08
Caring in Community
Micah Benjamin Cox entered the world Wednesday, August 6, at 8:29 p.m. weighing 6 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 19 ¼ inches long. His long awaited and much anticipated birth ended more than four months of bed rest—including nine weeks in the hospital—for his mom Heather and was the answer to the fervent prayers of family and friends. Micah’s dad Ben and 22-month-old brother Isaiah were thrilled to finally have their whole family at home together.
“It is an indescribable feeling to actually have Micah here after all the ups and downs we went through to get him here,” Heather shared in her online blog created to keep friends and family up-to-date on her pregnancy. “Ben and I cannot express our gratitude enough for all the thoughts, prayers, and visits throughout my pregnancy. I know there were many times where we became very weary, but we truly believe that through your prayers we were strengthened and saw God answer so many of our prayers!”
Among those praying for and supporting Heather and Ben during this difficult time were their Living Hope small group led by Joey and Joanna Goforth. Many of the ladies in their small group visited Heather in the hospital weekly and provided meals for them while she was on bed rest at home. Joey went to lunch regularly with Ben, and the Goforths often had Ben and Isaiah over to their home.
“It was amazing really because we were only in their small group for a couple of weeks before I had to go on bed rest,” explains Heather who, along with Ben began visiting Living Hope this past February and were plugged into a small group by March. “We had been a part of a house church for three years prior to coming to Living Hope. There was no one our age there, so we felt isolated. Our small group showed us the community we had been searching for.”
One of the most amazing acts of community Heather experienced throughout her hospital stay was during one of the visits with the women of her small group when Joanna came prepared to shave Heather’s legs. She recounts the experience in her July 1, 2008 blog entry, “The True Definition of Community.”
I had been complaining about not being able to shave my legs because of being on bed rest, so Joanna came last Thursday with her water basin (tin bowl), towels, shaving cream, and razor. Since Jesus washed the disciples feet, this must be the girls’ alternative. Talk about having a servant’s heart. I laugh even now thinking that someone would actually do this for me, but it was such a special treat.
08/10/08
From Arecibo to Memphis
When Janet Zimmerman and Ginny Germann were in Puerto Rico this summer, they had Memphis on their mind. These young ladies were not necessarily homesick, but as they gave a week of their summer to help those in need in Arecibo, they realized that the same needs were prevalent in Memphis. They saw that the opportunities they had to minister in another country were the same as the opportunities within their own city.
Janet and Ginny were part of a group of 15 from Living Hope’s Student Ministry led by Leslie Presson and Sarah Overcash that finished construction of a home and conducted Vacation Bible School in partnership First Baptist Church of Arecibo.
“After going to Puerto Rico, I saw how much the church we stayed at and worked with helped their community,” explains Ginny, an upcoming junior at Houston High School. “It made me realize that our church could have the same impact in Memphis.”
Shortly after returning home, both young ladies also served with SOS (Service Over Self) in the Binghampton area of Memphis along with 23 other students and leaders from Living Hope. They were joined by more than 100 7th-12th graders from churches across the United States.
“It was a great experience for our kids,” notes Student Pastor Greg Jackson. “We wanted them to experience areas in our city that struggle with real poverty and spark ideas for things we can do long term not only to help, but also to get at the root of the problem.”
In addition to home renovation, the students went out to eat in the downtown area and then purchased food and distributed it to the homeless during their free time on the Wednesday of the project week.
“I always thought Memphis has problems, but there’s nothing I can do,” admits Ginny who now sees things differently. “I never have an excuse not to be helping—even if it’s just building relationships. That’s so important.”
Janet returned this past week to visit the family whose home she worked on, and Ginny plans to do the same.
“We got really close to the family,” adds Janet who is set to begin her freshman year at University of Tennessee and is prayerfully considering working as an intern in Puerto Rico next summer. “They have a daughter my age, and we’re good friends now.”
08/03/08
Caring with Kickball
A few weeks ago one small group from Living Hope learned that sharing Christ’s love in our city can be as simple as playing a game of kickball. This group, which includes Harley and Susan Combs, Ron and Linda Davis, Alan and Pam May, Jim and Janine Young, and Jeff and Nancy Cox, recently spent several hours one Monday evening eating pizza and playing a game of kickball with the residents of the girls’ dorm at The Neighborhood School.
“We spent time with them to get to know them and let them get to know us before we take them for activities outside of the school area,” shares Harley who was nicknamed “Mr. Motorcycle” by the girls. “We really had a good time and enjoyed the evening. The girls seemed to have a lot of fun also.”
According to Mike Studdard it was the first time a small group of couples had volunteered at the girls’ dorm—and they made quite an impact.
“We have several individuals that come in for different activities with the girls, but this is the first group that showed up as couples,” Mike explains. “The girls found it fascinating because they don’t see couples together in their neighborhood. They see moms, aunts, and grandmothers.”
The girls were also transfixed by a photo presentation by Alan and Pam May of the children from the orphanage in Kenya where they recently served. Next week, some of the small group plan to return to the dorm to help the girls write letters and become pen pals with the girls at the orphanage.
“They really connected with the pictures of the kids in Kenya,” Harley remembers. “I think some of it was the fact that they also lived in a dorm setting.”
Anyone who volunteers at the dorm must complete an application and have a background check. The cost for the school to process the background checks is $60 per person, which they gladly pay to protect the residents. This small group, however, sent checks from each couple for $120.
“Another unique thing about this group is that they called the dorm ahead of time to find out what the girls would like to do instead of just bringing something for them to do,” Mike notes.
Next month, however, the girls have asked to go roller-skating, which may be a little more than group members bargained for!
“I’m sure not all of us will skate,” adds Harley. “But I plan to, and hopefully I won’t break any bones!”
07/27/08
Football, Friday Nights, and Fairley High
For Mark Hogan, Earl Williams, Mike Presson, David Falconer, Gene Boyd, and Jeff Kinsley, football is more than a spectator sport. For the past few years, it’s been a tool they’ve used to minister to and share Jesus Christ with the Fairley High School football players. Through Fellowship of Christian Athletes, these men, along with their wives, mentor the guys on the team and minister to them and the coaches.
On Monday nights during the summer, the couples attend the team’s practices and often bring their children with them. The team is divided by classes (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors), and two or three couples are responsible for each class. They lead a short devotion and share snacks. The most important sharing, however, comes as they sit around and talk, trying to get to know the guys and break down racial barriers.
During the season, they feed the team a meal on game day and share a devotion. They also attend all the games—both home and away. The men are on the sidelines with the guys to encourage them, give them water, or take care of injuries. Their wives and children are in the stands to cheer on the team.
“Really what we’re trying to do is help these boys become men,” Earl shares. “Out of the 13 or so guys in my group, only two live in what we would call a traditional two-parent home. The rest live with their moms, grandmothers, uncles, or aunts. We try to show them a different way and help them understand what opportunities are out there.”
This coming weekend, July 31-August 3, these FCA volunteers will be with the Fairley team members at the regional FCA camp at Grace Evangelical Church. The young men will focus on character development issues as well as football skills and will worship together on Sunday morning.
“It’s really about time—spending time with them,” Earl adds. “We’re trying to make a difference in these guys’ lives and you can’t do it in a one time pop. It’s an ongoing thing. We try to be sensitive to what the guys’ needs are.”
One thing they’ve added this summer in trying to respond to the needs of the players is ACT tutoring. This is offered primarily to the seniors to help them improve their ACT scores for college entrance. Also, in partnership with Living Hope, three of the players were able to attend a national FCA camp this summer.
"We are so grateful for the support of Living Hope and individuals," Earl shares. "It really makes a difference in what we are trying to do."
07/20/08
Childcare or Kingdom Community?
by JR Rozko
The first church I served at as a pastor was very large. We had all sorts of programs and services for people to choose from. We invested a great deal of time and energy as a staff in trying to figure out the best ways, times, and methods to get people involved in church activities. One of the things we were constantly wrestling with was how to have the necessary volunteers to pull everything off. No area of ministry struggled more for consistent and dedicated volunteers than our children’s ministry. My good friend Cyd, our children’s pastor, would ask the staff every single week to please talk to others about serving in the children’s ministry. It was an area of constant need and an utterly shameful reality which screamed of just how far off course we were in living out God’s dream for his people.
In retrospect I am able to see that this need was a direct result of the skewed understanding we had of what it meant to be the church. We approached the church as though it were a volunteer organization. Basically, our mentality was, "People have busy lives already, we need to do what we can to make it easy for them to participate in church activities and be careful not to ask too much - lest they leave." But the church is not a volunteer organization - the church is a family, a community invited by God to embody God’s good news of the Kingdom to the world around us. This makes all the difference in the world in terms of the way we approach how we live, worship, and share life together.
Children are God’s gift, not only to parents, but to the community of the church. In the context of this community, it’s not that we need volunteers to care for kids. Rather, it’s that part of the identity of this new community is a mutual concern for each other, including a vested interest in the care for each other’s children. In a culture so thoroughly individualistic, where we are led to believe that it is ultimately to ourselves that we are accountable and responsible, the church stands as a contrast. In the community called church, we find our true identity not in ourselves, but in our relationship to others.
For Living Hope, our desire to be a missional church community means that we are seeking to live out a peculiar existence; an existence in which the needs of others come before our own and the care of children is seen as a communal, not private, affair.
Practically speaking, here’s what this might mean and look like. Each Sunday morning people gather to worship - some gather at 9:00, others at 10:45. During these times, children who can’t or don’t participate in the corporate worship gathering, meet in age specific groups. This is our divine opportunity to experience what it means for the church to be different - to reject the dominant consumer culture. This is our opportunity to invest a little bit of time with the children of our community - to show mutual (and opposed to individual) concern and accountability. It’s not about volunteerism; it’s about Kingdom community.
Of course the ways in which we ought to show mutual concern and accountability run far deeper than this Sunday morning opportunity. There are implications for our small group times, for sharing meals, for sharing resources, for taking vacations, for involvement in extracurricular activities, and so on, but there is something unique about the significance of caring for the children of our church community during those times that we are gathered corporately.
Whether it be on Sunday mornings or at other times caring for the children of our community is an invitation God extends to each and everyone of us. If you are ready to explore this invitation please feel free to contact Anita Sisk () to discuss it further. She will be the first to tell you that we don’t need warm bodies, we need people who are excited to push further into what it really means to be the people of God as a missional community.
07/13/08
Not Ready to Retire
At a season of life when most people are looking forward to or are already enjoying retirement, Marvin and Linda (last name withheld for security reasons) have accepted a new ministry assignment under the Masters Program of the International Mission Board (IMB). Designed for those 50 years of age or older, the Masters Program provides an opportunity for empty nesters or retirees (there is no upper age limit) to serve overseas, utilizing the maturity, skills, and experience they have gained over a lifetime. This program is especially designed for people who want to serve God through international missions as their next career. For Marvin and Linda, however, missions has been their career all along.
First appointed in 1969, Marvin and Linda served 34 years in a predominately Muslim country in the Pacific Rim. In October they will return to the same country to begin their three-year renewable assignment. As a team, Marvin and Linda will conduct seminars to teach and train church planters and pastors of small rural villages and developing urban communities. They will also coordinate volunteer teams from churches in the United States who will lead spiritual renewal services and discipleship training for a 10-day period just before these seminars.
“The IMB almost had to close the program because it required both the husband and wife to teach in the national language,” Marvin explains. “Linda is a teacher, and she has mastered the language, so when we learned about this need we knew it was the assignment God had for us.”
Marvin and Linda retired from service with the IMB in 2003 because her parents were in very poor health. This past April in a World Missions Conference at their church in Pensacola, Linda felt she had been released to leave because her father had since died and her mother is now being well cared for in a nursing home.
“We have several very good caregivers who go by and spend time with her, and we are in touch with them by phone,” Linda shares. “The Lord has given me a peace about that.”
God has also faithfully given them a plan for their home and cars while they serve out their assignment. Marvin and Linda offered their home to the association in Pensacola to be used for a missionary residence, and already a missionary from the country that is so close to their heart is living there.
“God has put everything together so that when the time comes to depart in October, we’ll be ready,” adds Linda.
Another blessing is the opportunity they have had to spend time with their daughter Kim, son-in-law Trey, and their two granddaughters, who live in Germantown and attend Living Hope. Their son Kyle and his family serve in the area where they are going, and they look forward to working with him and seeing their daughter-in-law and other four grandchildren on a regular basis. Marvin and Linda’s youngest son Keith is the Minister of Youth and Music at First Baptist Church in Lexington, Mississippi, where he lives with is wife and three children.
“It’s going to be very challenging to get back in the language after being away for five years,” Linda acknowledges. “We really need a lot of prayer that we can be fluid in the language and be good mentors.”
07/06/08
Serving Our City
Normally doing laundry for three hours would not be high on Vicki Windham’s list of fun things to do on a nice summer morning. But after washing clothes for Service Over Self (SOS) staffers this past Monday morning, she was ready to go back for more.
“I called Anita (Sisk) to see if there were more slots available,” Vick shares. “It was so rewarding. Even though I was doing something for someone else, I got so much out of it.”
Service Over Self began as a two-week inner city missions experience in 1986, and has now grown into a year round Christian community development organization. During the spring, summer, and fall volunteers spend a Saturday afternoon or a full week in the heart of Memphis working along side needy homeowners. While they seek to introduce a change in living conditions by repairing and renovating houses, the ultimate goal is to introduce homeowners and neighborhoods to the One who can change a heart—Jesus Christ.
During the summer months, SOS depends on churches in the Memphis area for a number of tasks including preparing and serving meals, offering prayer support along with delivering popsicles to weary participants, and doing laundry for summer staff.
When the need for volunteers from Living Hope was announced for the week of June 29-July 5, Ron and Debbie Favaloro’s small group saw it as an opportunity to get involved in serving the community.
“We’ll be together two years this October, and we are real good at serving each other and serving in our church,” Ron explains. “As Gib has said before, however, there is more that we need to be doing. We want God to stretch us and show us what He wants us to be doing.”
The Favaloro’s small group spent their regular meeting time on Sunday night together at the SOS building on Poplar in the Binghampton neighborhood serving pizza and lemonade to almost 200 campers, cleaning up afterwards, washing dishes, and sweeping floors.
“It was very well-organized, and we had a great time,” Debbie shares. “Working side by side with others in our group was a lot of fun.”
Volunteers from area churches provide an important and necessary ministry to the SOS staff and campers according to Tangi Holmes, Volunteer Coordinator. The experience also exposes volunteers to the work of SOS, the inner city, and God’s heart for missions.
“I was so impressed with SOS,” Vicki adds. “It was well organized and safe. It was very powerful, and the campers learn at an early age to work and get enjoyment out of helping someone else.”
06/29/08
Micah 6:8 Summer Rolls On
“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
Hello Living Hope family. I want to share some of the cool things that God is doing in and through our students this summer. Our middle school students kicked things off with a weekend just for them. The guys learned how to be a real hero by living for God’s glory, and the girls talked about whatever girls talk about when they get together. The weekend also included a huge area-wide scavenger hunt, digging a trench in the Aerts’ yard, and a trip to the Humane Society. It was a great way to get the summer started.
Next, our middle school and high school students ventured to BigStuf Camp in Panama City. We worshipped freely, played on the beach a lot, and talked about what kind of messages our lives are broadcasting. This week was a great marker for me, spotlighting how far we’ve come since last year. God has developed some real community among our students, and it was deepened at BigStuf.
Camp definitely set the stage for our first mission trip of the summer to Birmingham, Alabama. Our middle school and high school students amazed me with their focus, hard work, and—most importantly—their love for the kids and teenagers we met during the week. Pastor Justin Burkhead, a former student and good friend of mine, said, “This is by far the best group we’ve ever had come work with us.”
As they led Vacation Bible School in the morning and built relationships with local teenagers in the evenings, the students reflected Christ every day. And perhaps my favorite thing about this summer is seeing our high school students continue to mentor and pour into our younger students. What a fun thing to watch!
So, I just want to close by saying…Thank God for interns! Brooke Williams and Jessica Gibbs have been amazing this summer. If you haven’t met them, yet, please take time to thank and encourage them.
Please be in prayer for the rest of the Micah 6:8 summer, which includes multiple pool parties, a High School Lake Retreat, a trip to Puerto Rico, and S.O.S. to close things out. I hope to have a video/slide show recap to offer when Summer 2008 is done. I am truly thankful to be your student pastor.
—Greg Jackson
06/15/089
Life-Changing Week for Living Hope’s Kids
This past Monday afternoon, 29 children (3rd-6th grades) along with five adults from Living Hope headed to Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee, for Centri-Kid. They joined about 240 other kids from 20 churches for a week of worship, Bible study, Track times, recreation, and free time. For most of the participants including 11-year-old Morgan Sparrow, however, the best part of camp is the party!
Each evening features a party that is just for fun. Sometimes the party is in a game show format and sometimes it’s a recreation-based activity. The setting may be indoor or outside. The last night’s party is a chance to see what the performance track times have been working on all week.
“We listen to music and just go crazy,” Morgan adds. “It’s really fun.”
This is Morgan’s first year at camp, and she has enjoyed meeting new friends—both from Living Hope and other churches. She’s also enjoyed the messages from the camp pastor along the theme of “Living Out the Script.”
“The script is the Bible,” Morgan explains. “After the Bible study, we go back to our small group to talk about what we learned.”
Centri-Kid is staffed by college students who spend their summer leading camps across the country. Their main goal is to build relationships with the participants and help lead them to a deeper walk with Jesus Christ.
With 300 people in attendance, Centri-Kid got its start in the summer of 2000. In just eight years, Centri-Kid has grown to over 20,000 campers in 27 locations across the country.
“We have been going non-stop,” adds Anita Sisk, Children’s Pastor for Living Hope. “But the kids are having a great time.”
06/08/08
Preparing for Ministry
Chris Acuff had wanted to take seminary classes for a long time to become better equipped for ministry, but with family and work obligations, he wasn’t sure how he could. He didn’t feel led to quit his job or move his family. When he heard about The Master of Christian Studies program being offered by Union University at the Germantown campus, he knew it was the answer.
Beginning in January 2006, Chris began taking eight-week classes including Christian Ethics, Church History, and Theology one night a week. On May 17, 2008, he was in the first class of 10 to graduate in ceremonies on Union’s Jackson campus.
“I believe I am more equipped to serve God’s people than before,” Chris shares. “I also have a better idea of my gifting and how I can use it.”
In addition to the practical aspects of his courses, Chris also enjoyed the diversity of the program. His fellow classmates were diverse in race, gender, age, and church background. About half were employed in full-time ministry, and the rest were lay people like himself.
“I was neat to have those different backgrounds,” Chris notes. “One of my desires is to unify and connect people from different church and denominational backgrounds to work together and move forward.”
A Project Manager in commercial building and renovation as well as someone who has experienced grace and restoration in his marriage, Chris knows God is calling him to be involved in His redemptive work—whether it’s restoring broken neighborhoods and communities or restoring broken marriages. As he seeks God for direction and the next step, Chris is integrating his faith at work and using what he’s learned in his current vocation.
Perhaps the greatest lesson he learned, Chris shares, is that while he loves theology and is grateful for the opportunity to study theology, it is no substitute for a growing, personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
“Too much theology and no Jesus will leave you dry,” he adds. “Theology for theology’s sake is a waste of time. Like the Bible says, ‘Too much knowledge puffs up.’”
06/01/08
A Journey of Restoration
The financial success that Ashley Ragen began to enjoy about 15 months ago when he left his position at FedEx to work for a small company did not come without a cost. While his salary doubled, so did his stress level as he started working 60 to 70 hours a week.
“Stress does some crazy things to you,” Ashley notes. “It affects every dimension of life—even spiritual. You eventually learn that you must give your cares to God and learn to manage it. That means setting priorities. However, when 60-70 hours per week is required, time with family and friends is not a reality. There is just not much left to give.”
So, why would he stay? Two reasons, Ashley shares, pride and money. He wanted to project success, move up in his career, and not be a quitter. Not to mention, he was making two times his previous salary.
One of Gib’s messages during the recent Epic series, however, caused Ashley to think about how God was working in his story. At the end of the second message in the series, Gib asked the questions, “Why do you work where you work?” and “Why do you do what you do?”
“I knew that I could not truly serve God in this company,” Ashley explains. “I knew that I had to leave.”
Then a remarkable, “God thing” happened. FedEx had been on a hiring freeze for four months and was projected to continue for several more months. But out of the blue, Ashley received a call and was offered a job to return to FedEx. They had opened up just a couple of positions, and he was offered one of them.
“I know that God made this happen,” Ashley says. “I feel like a 100 pound weight has been lifted off me. I’m full of life again and have the desire and time to serve others and my family. My salary has been cut in half, and I’m the happiest man on earth. The Epic series ended in Restoration, and I have been restored.”
05/18/08
Standing in the Storms
Jeanne Hamilton has had a few “Peter sinking” moments, as she calls them, since she was diagnosed with breast cancer six months ago. But her friends at Living Hope—especially her small group—have faithfully helped her to stand firm when life’s storms threatened to overwhelm her and her family.
“Whenever we’ve had down moments, God has used people to love us,” Jeanne shares. “Someone from my small group takes me to my chemo appointments and stays with me. They have called, brought meals, and sent flowers. They laid hands on me and prayed for me. They have cried with us, and they have celebrated with us. They have been through this with us every step of the way.”
It was November 26, Jeanne and her husband Steven’s 24th wedding anniversary, when her doctor called with the devastating news. A routine mammogram and subsequent biopsy revealed she had cancer. In the midst of planning for her son Ryan’s December wedding, Jeanne and her family, which also includes 17-year-old son Brett, were stunned and confused.
“I had just started a new job as Leadership Development Manager for Youth Villages,” Jeanne explains. “We really believed God had given me this opportunity, and we wondered why He would open that door and then allow this to happen.”
Following surgery on January 2, doctors thought they had gotten all the cancer. Two days later Jeanne received more bad news. The cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
“God has been so gracious to us,” Jeanne adds. “There is a friend in my small group that had breast cancer right before me. God used her to lead me to a great doctor. He knew exactly how to treat me, plus he was a believer.”
Jeanne has completed five rounds of chemotherapy and will have her last round at the end of May followed by radiation. Amazingly, she has missed very little work because most of her sickness has been on the weekends. Most importantly, her prognosis is good.
It’s been a tough journey, Jeanne acknowledges, one she and her family could not have made without the community of their small group.
“We have felt God’s love during some really dark times because they surrounded us,” she adds. “They have truly walked this path with us.”
05/11/08
Redemption in Indonesia
On December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake with an epicenter in Sumatra, Indonesia, triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coast killing more than 225,000 people, injuring tens of thousands more, and leaving 10 million people homeless. It has been described as one of the deadliest natural disasters in history—and no doubt one of Indonesia’s darkest days.
In contrast, when Living Hope’s Mission Pastor Matthew Watson visited Indonesia more than three years later, he was struck by a sense of hope. Along with evidence of physical redemption that he could see, Matthew heard story after story of spiritual redemption. God is definitely at work.
Matthew and Directional Pastor Pete DeMoss recently returned from a vision trip to Indonesia where they met with Louie and Twyla (sister of Terri Guffin), Kyle (brother of Kim Martindale), and a couple with whom Matthew went to seminary to see the work they are doing in rebuilding communities and explore ways Living Hope can support that work.
“It was an encouraging visit,” Matthew shares. “They are doing a fantastic work there. We went to a number of villages where they had rebuilt homes, and we saw farming and business co-ops to help people get back on their feet financially. The believers get into a community and get to know people, and they are able to build relationships and share Christ.”
Matthew also shared that national believers are being trained and mentored, and they are sharing their faith as well and making an impact in their communities. Different initiatives such as training educators and business leaders will allow even more opportunities to build relationships and share Christ. Living Hope is hoping to be involved in some of these initiatives. While he is not sure at this point exactly what form Living Hope’s participation will take, Matthew is sure of one thing.
“God continues to be in the redemption process—redeeming lives, souls, homes, and the land,” he adds. “We want to make sure we are supporting the missionaries on the field and their overall strategies. We want to listen to what their needs and hopes are.”
05/04/08
Missional Living
During the last year and a half he and his wife have been involved at Living Hope, Zack Wiggs has seen a dramatic change in the way he views things. As a young adult couple, Zack and Elizabeth are seeking to live missionally by loving God, living in community, and serving their world. Part of Zack’s world includes the bank where he works and the young man who recently confided in him about what was going on in his life.
“About a month ago I had a new employee, and we started going to lunch,” Zack explains. “As we built a relationship, he began to feel comfortable with me and told me that he and his wife were on the verge of bankruptcy. He is a believer, but they have gotten away from church.”
For 20 or more minutes, Zack was able to share how God had changed him and was working in his life. He also invited this co-worker and his wife to dinner at his house so he and Elizabeth could minister to them more.
Zack is also finding a way to put his skills to work to help build relationships with people in the inner city. He and a co-worker have sought permission to talk to area high school seniors about basic financial life skills like balancing a checkbook and avoiding credit card debt. Currently, they have plans to meet with seniors at Craigmont and Whitehaven High Schools for about 30-40 minutes once a month.
“Whether it’s the inner city or a co-worker, the key is to build relationships,” Zack adds.
04/27/08
Being a Woman Servant
Lisa Watson, wife of our Mission Pastor Matthew Watson, spoke to more than 60 women at the She Community tea and luncheon on Saturday, April 19, at Southwind Country Club. Sharing from her heart and Scripture, as well as from her ministry experiences, Lisa talked about Doula, A Woman Servant. She both inspired and challenged the women of Living Hope who were able to attend.
“The most meaningful thing to me was Lisa sharing from her heart,” notes Kim Martindale. “She stressed that the poor can teach us to rely