Volunteers

I have to confess that I am still a rock n roller at heart who played in a rock band in High School. I had to go see ‘Taking Woodstock’ both to get a better feel for the setting surrounding this incredible event and relive a little of my teen hood. My wife and I trade off seeing Anne flicks and then seeing Dave flicks. One of the great songs that in many ways represented the mindset of my generation, at least in theory, is the Jefferson Starship song, Volunteers. I was barely a teen when all of this happened but lived for a few years in the shadow of Woodstock while playing in a band and then becoming a Christ follower.

As we start our second year both of doing our tutoring club and painting houses of low-income families I am humbled and amazed at how many friends I have who have volunteered to make New City Phoenix a reality. I admit to being a hyper type that loves multi-tasking but realize my limits. So God is teaching me about the miracle of multiplying the effort of one through many. We will paint a house of a Hispanic family in a week and will have around 30 people helping out. The morning will go by fast, everyone will get to do a little bit of work, make a new friend, get paint on themselves and leave a few hours later with the house freshly painted. The gospel will be visible to the family we have helped, to those who have helped and to the neighbors. Many will be shocked that you can have that many people in one place and not have a riot, leave trash or be totally too noisy.

I believe that one of the most powerful tools of the church is to catch a vision to be kingdom minded and see the church as more than your local fellowship. I love the diversity of the work that I do especially when you bring people to the hood from the suburbs. I totally believe that we can learn from each other if we are willing to rub shoulders and be humble enough to listen first. The sad reality is that we live in a vacuum where we shop at the same place, live and play in the same places and avoid anything that is different. The church has become totally homogeneous. The church in heaven will be multi-colored, multi-lingual, etc…. I personally want to experience that today!

My simple lesson is to see that the body of Christ is made up of many members who all are important. This last year I have been thrilled to see a group of kids help me do church and mercy work. They are incredible because they can set up for anything we do better than most adults. Yet, if I had chosen to exclude them and just do it on my own I would be missing out big time!!

Yes, there is a risk involved in allowing people to get involved who you don’t know and have different backgrounds. I believe that the benefits far out weigh any of the possible clashes. So make a new friend who speaks a different language, lives in a different neighborhood and loves food that you have never seen before. The Spirit of God is on the move to shake us up to see that Jesus isn’t a white dude or a black brother but all of the above. Heaven isn’t going to be decorated by only one people group.

So I will always remember the Starship’s song Volunteers of America as a backdrop in my life to see the church extend itself to connect with all different types of people. So volunteer, use your gifts, draws others into ministry that are afraid and discover the amazing blessing and benefit that happens in being kingdom minded!

Dave