Send Me!

I really enjoy Ed Stetzer, pastor, missiologist, and President of LifeWay Research. I recommend that you follow his blog and twitter feed.

Today Ed further develops his series on Developing Missional Churches for the Great Commission titled, Part Five: God Sends. This is a great read. If you time time read the entire series.

Here are a few quotes:

However, in repeating the truth that "God is a sender," we have failed to say, "Here I am. Send me" (Isaiah 6:8). It is a disconnect between believing that God calls and sends, and being willing to be sent.

Perhaps we have stopped contemplating that it is the personal Creator of the universe who has a glorious pursuit for His creation this is calling and sending us. Perhaps we simply have missed that we were created to advance the name of God throughout the whole earth, and God redeemed us to fulfill that purpose through us. Perhaps we have forgotten that Jesus told His disciples to wait until the Spirit comes before they start the mission, and the Spirit came and the disciples went.

We have the same Spirit in us today, and we have the same mission. Perhaps we have overlooked that when Jesus commissioned His disciples there were some there who were full of faith and some who doubted (Matt. 28:17). Because we believe that God only sends those with risk-taking faith, we conclude that God cannot send us.

Perhaps we have not heard that when He sends us, He sends us with His peace (John 20:21) and the assurance that He has overcome the world (Matthew 28:18, John 16:33).

Let me add a few thoughts. In fact, let me personalize this discussion a bit.

Perhaps I'm too comfortable? Perhaps my time spent with Christ is so infrequent that I no longer even recognize His voice. Perhaps my heart is hardened to the extent that I no longer even care about lost people and what's on the heart of God. Perhaps I'm too preoccupied with my selfish concerns.

Perhaps, I need to come to Jesus with the heart of a child, to look into His eyes, to hear His voice. Perhaps I need to decide if I want to really live as a disciple of Jesus or just go through the motions of playing church.

Ed writes:

Ultimately, churches and individuals make the choice to hear the sending voice of God and obey it. Obedience begins with embracing that God has a glorious purpose for His mission and He initiates the mission by sending His Son and His people. The truth is either we are sent or we have missed our orders.

I don't want to miss anything God has for me or our church. I want to live my remaining years on mission, helping bring the good works of the kingdom and the good news of the gospel to those for whom my Savior died. I want to obediently trust God with the heart of a child, ready to answer the call with the words. "Send me!"

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:17

The American Dream

Seth Godin has a great blog post on the importance of choosing your dreams carefully!

"Sometimes, though, we get sold a dream instead of creating our own. Is it really every girl's dream to become a princess, to be chosen by someone of royal birth and to have a $34 million wedding? Or is that the Disney-industrial complex betraying you, selling you short?

It's so easy to be sold on the combination of compliance, consumption and approval by the powers that be. Of course, you're entitled to any dream you like, but I hope you will choose a bigger one."

Somewhere along the way the American Dream lost its way. Here is origin of the term.

Historian James Truslow Adam popularized the phrase "American Dream" in his 1931 book Epic of America:

"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, also too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."

The American Dream ... a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are capable and recognized by other for what they are, regardless of birth or position.

So what do you dream about? Are you being sold a dream or are you in active pursuit of your own? We all have a dream. Is your dream worth giving your life to?

Scott Harrison has a dream of providing clean drinking water to the one billion people who don't yet have access to this basic necessity of life. You can watch his story at charity: water.

I dream of proving a lunch buddy for every student at Polk School. To impact this under resourced area of our community with the good works and the good news of the gospel.

I dream of providing a scholarship to every graduating high school senior in Cedar Rapids who develops a spiritual growth transition plan for their first year of college. To mentor and encourage young adults in their faith and life development.

I dream of a church that impacts eastern Iowa and the ends of the world with the gospel. People who love and live like Jesus and follow Him on mission.

These are my dreams. What are yours? Dream big!

MissionShift - Part 1

I'm reviewing the first section of the book MissionShift: Global Mission Issues In The Third Millennium. Ed Stetzer tweeted several weeks ago that he would give a copy of the book to anyone who would agree to review the book and join an online conversation on his blog. Never one to pass up a free book, I jumped at the offer. 

I was intrigued by the topic of mission and missiology. The first thing I noticed is that the book is published by B&H Academic. This is an academic work. I probably wouldn't have picked this book up to read on my own. However, if you willing to wade through the sometimes lengthy and complex discourse, this is a very informative and useful book. It speaks directly to the issues facing the church today and can act as a framework to help us interact, adapt, confront and transform culture.

The book is designed around three essays and then a series of responses to each:

1. Mission Defined and Described by Charles Van Engen describes Mission in the Past
2. The Gospel in Human Contexts by Paul Hiebert describes Mission in the Present
3. The Future of Evangelicals in Mission by Ralph Winter describes Mission in the Future

My assignment this week is to respond and reflect on the first essay, including the responses by Keith Eitel, Enoch Wan, Darrell Guder, Andreas Kostenberger, Ed Stetzer and David Hesselgrave. Quite a task for guy who has never studied missiology! I will try to keep my comments concise and to the point.

As Proverbs 17:27-28 says: Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Being a history major, I enjoyed Van Engen's comments about how mission has been defined differently over the years. He quotes Sidney Rooy: "If, like David Bosch, we define mission as missio Dei ["the mission of God"], we can say that this signifies the revelation of God as the One who love the world God has created, who is concerned for this world, and who has formed the church to be a subject called to participate in the historical project of establishing the kingdom of God....Truly, each generation must define mission anew."

I enjoyed the section on the Biblical meaning of the word mission. The word mission is rarely used in either the Old or New Testaments. "What is emphasized regularly is the concept of being sent, with an emphasis on the authority and purpose of the sender."

• The church is sent by her Lord.
• The covenant people of God are sent by God to the nations who are not yet part of the people of God.
• Jesus refers to Himself as the one who is sent: "I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose." (Luke 4:43)
• The followers of Jesus are also sent to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God, to invite all peoples to become Jesus' disciples and responsible members of His church. (Matthew 28:18-20)
• We need to continually remember that sending is an integral part of mission. Jesus Christ is the Sender, "whose authority defines, circumscribes, limits, and propels Christian mission."

During the Constantinian era, the concept of Christian mission changed drastically.

• The Decree of Milan in 313 AD recognized Christianity as an officially permitted religion
• In 325 Christianity became the favored religion
• In 380 Christianity became the official religion
• By 392 Christianity became the only tolerated religion [in the Holy Roman Empire]
• "In a brief span of eighty years, Christianity went from being a persecuted religion to the persecuting religion." In addition to the church, the empire [nation-state] became an agent of mission represented by persons designated by the emperor.
• In this era the mission of the church was extended through conquest, forcible imposition of the faith, destroying pagan religions, and mass baptisms.
• In the Constantinian model of mission, there was confusion between the temporal and spiritual. The Emperor represented the "kingdom of God" which led to a confusion of church and state.

In the late 1700s William Carey suggested a different way of understanding mission. His approach was rooted in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 and assumed the following:

• Salvation was individualistic, primarily concerned with a spiritual and personal relationship with Jesus Christ
• The primary calling of the church's mission was geographic. Christians were called to go.
• New converts should be gathered into churches resembling the sending churches and missions
• New individual converts should be extracted from their non-Christian contexts, gathered into Christian mission stations, and taught culture and civilization of the missionaries.

 The World Council of Churces was founded in 1948 in response to the "disastrous consequences of the church's silence and irrelevance in the crisis of Western Europe during the 1930's and the early 1940's." The WCC wanted to find a more relevant missiology and crystallized around the phrase missio Dei, "the mission of God." The WCC became characterized by:

• Radical secularization of mission
• A deep pessimism about the church as a viable agent of God's mission
• An emphasis on God's mission oriented toward, and centered in, the kingdom of God and the world rather than the church
• The world set the agenda for the church

This radical secularization of mission and caused S Neill to say, "When everything is mission, nothing is mission."

Reacting against the redefinition of mission by the WCC, Evangelical leaders came together in two major mission conferences in 1966 and later in Lausanne in 1974, Pattaya

• Calling people to mission for" unreached people groups" in places where they saw no viable church present. This led to many missionaries being sent to the former Soviet-bloc countries.
• An emphasis on the "10-40 Window", the least-evangelized area of the world where the greatest number of poor live.
• Evangelicals struggling to bring together evangelism and social action

 Van Engen concludes by calling for missional churches who are contextual, intentional, proclaiming, reconciling, sanctifying, unifying, and transforming. Van Engen footnotes Scherer at this point:

"Mission happens wherever the church is; it is how the church exists. Mission is the church preaching Christ for the first time; it is the act of Christians struggling against injustice and oppression; it is the binding of wounds in reconciliation; it the church learning from other religious ways and being challenged by the world's cultures....Mission is the local church focusing not on its own, internal problems, but on other human beings, focusing elsewhere, in a world that calls and challenges it."

I like that! Mission happens wherever the church is; it is how the church exists! I want to be that kind of church! I want to pray, trust, and work to create that kind of community here in Cedar Rapids. I want to be the church on the move that lives out the gospel and extends it to all people.

Happy Sunday!

You gotta love this video! On Easter Sunday, April 4 of this year, over 1300 people from Faith Church from Budapest, Hungary danced in the city's Hero's Square. What a way to celebrate Easter!

Here is some of the backstory. What do ya thing? How about Cedar Rapids doing something like this? Sort of like flash mob meets Jesus! 

Verse 1
That day will be remembered as the greatest day in history
The fate of the world changed in one glorious moment
When Life triumphed on Resurrection Sunday 
The hope of a people searching for life
The day will be brighter
The message of freedom rings in the sky
Spreading the fire
The flag of a nation ready to fly
Taking them higher
The heart of a land that rises to fight
Full of desire
When nothing is as you want it to be
Look up to heaven
Freedom was paid for on Calvary
The chain is broken
Making a way right to destiny
Borders are open
And Jesus has granted the victory
That Sunday mornin

Bridge
Joy in this life time, utterly free
More than the world gives, beyond what you see
For nations its time to rise their hope is in Jesus Christ
If the giants come, just hold on, the advantage is now on your side
Jesus, will take the final fight

Verse 2 
A light dawned that Sunday Morning it broke through the boundaries of time
Hearts start shining, calling to all mankind
Lets celebrate eternal life 
When nothing is as you want it to be
Look up to heaven
Freedom was paid for on Calvary
The chain is broken
Making a way right to destiny
Borders are open
And Jesus has granted the victory
That Sunday mornin

Serve the City

Serve the City has a new video out that reviews the events of the 2008 flood. Click here to see the 10 minute video. You won't be disappointed. And because we have been faithful in little, God has opened doors for greater service in our community. This is His work. We have the priviledge of being His hands, His feet and His voice.

Day 8

It's hard to believe that we have reached Day 8 already! It was a tiring but rewarding experience. The Cedar Rapids Gazette did an article on the conclusion of Eight Days of Hope. You can read it here.

Here are some of my personal thoughts and reflections (in no particular order):

• This group loves Jesus and loves serving him as a way of life. How else can you possibly explain why people from 44 states and 5 Canadian provinces would come to Cedar Rapids, sleep on a church floor and work for free!
• There is no way to adequately prepare a person and/or host church for one of these events. Last Sunday our parking lot was already full at 6:15 AM!
• Steve Tybor is incredible! He's too humble to take any credit, but others feed off of his energy and passion. His love for Christ is contageous! Being around Steve makes me want to be more like Jesus and to serve Him more faithfully.
• This group is well organized. How do you manage 1400 volunteers and do projects in 140 homes? 25 people from their advance team came to Cedar Rapids the week before the event to do assessments and begin work.
• Their leadership team is incredibly committed to their mission and to one another. Several on the leadership team are presently unemployed, yet they came anyway!
• I met some really talented people - electricians, plumbers, home builders, general contractors, carpenters, and a woman that does spray texture!
• God can do extraordinary things through ordinary people who make themselves available. The simple act of hanging sheetrock brought tears to the eyes of more than one home owner.
• Our church rocks! Everywhere I went I saw New Covenant folks. Thank you for linking arms with Eight Days of Hope to serve our community.
• Our students know how to work. I didn't see one of our students sitting around. They hung drywall, taped, repaired homes, painted, cleaned work sites and the church, and loved on home owners!
• My favorite part of the day was announcement time and home owner testimonies during dinner. I estimate that almost half of the home owners joined us for dinner. Hearing the home owners share from their hearts inspired all us to keep going.
• One of my personal hi-lights was seeing a home owner get a furnace purchased and installed. They were heating their home with a gas stove. The home owners joined us for dinner and worship on Saturday night.
• I can't believe that Eight Days of Hope does two of these a year. Where do they get the energy! OK, so I know where they get the energy, it's God inspired. I still can't believe that they do two a year!
• I really admire people who have learned or mastered their craft. It makes me wish I was more skilled in one of the construction trades.
• This group is characterized by humility and servanthood. That's a pretty powerful one-two punch. Maybe that's why God is so powerfully blessing this ministry.
• Steve Tybor made it clear that they would honor local building codes and ordinances. We worked closely with Code Enforcement and had a very positive working relationship with the City of Cedar Rapids. A special thank you to Jim Thatcher!
• Nine churches opened their doors to house over 800 volunteers from out of state. Thank you to New Life Community, St. Marks Lutheran, Faith Bible, Oakland Nazerene, River of Life, Bethany Lutheran, Trinity Lutheran, Concordia Lutheran, and Huss Presbyterian churches!
• New Covenant will continue to resource several of the home owners we have built a relationship with, to help them finish their home.
• Even though we worked on 140 homes, there are hundreds and even thousands left to be worked on. There is still a lot of work left to do. New Covenant must continue to be involved in some way.
• The lunch and sharing time at Palo on Saturday was one of the most incredible things I have ever witnessed or been part of. An entire community has been impacted.
• Vernon and his cooking team did a great job. They got up every morning at 3:30 so we could have a hot breakfast at 6:00 AM.
• I think I personally met people from over 30 different states!
• Dan Garrick is applying for the Construction Manager position with the Linn Area Long Term Recovery Coalition. I can't imagine a more qualified candidate. It would be totally awesome if Dan got the job! What a blessing he would be to our community.
• Butch and Juliene are awesome. They retired so that can volunteer/work with Eight Days of Hope. And they put in long days.
• Charlie and Greg served Palo like it was their own town. Tom Watson gave them a huge compliment when he said that all the work was done with professionalism. The Palo teams were turning out so much work that Tom had to call in two Cedar Rapids inspectors in order to keep up!
• Although there are a number of teens and young families who serve with Eight Days of Hope, it is primarily a "grey-haired" group. One man told me he is changing his retirement plans after serving here this past week.
• I'm thankful for daylight savings time!
• Charles is amazing. He needs to take a two week vacation!

I could keep on going, but I need to wrap this post up while it's still Day 8. To God be the glory, great things He has done! Thank you to all who had a part in this great adventure called Eight Days of Hope.

Day 7

Just when you don't think it can get any better, God pulls out all the stops and multiplies His blessings. This describes Day 7! You can click on the photo above to see a slide show of the day

Wow, where do I start. We had a hand-off meeting with the Leslie from the Long Term Recovery Coalition and others who are interested in seeing that the 105 homes we have worked on are not dropped. We left with an initial plan that will get us through the next several weeks.

I stopped by Palo to see the progress on some of the houses I visited earlier in the week. It so encouraging to see all that has been done. Greg was planning to leave today to return to Michigan but he decided to do additional electrical work for a home owner so he will leave on Sunday instead.

The city of Palo hosted a "Thank You" Pizza Lunch at the garden center. They planned for 450 and there may have been that many in attendance. Penny MC'd and introduced various home owners who shared what this experience has meant for them. I have never been part of a meeting like this in my entire life! Words can't describe what took place in that room over a pizza lunch! And of course Charlie was introduced and received a well deserved round of applause. Hope has been restored to an entire community!

I stopped on the NW side to visit some homes that are in process. It was so awesome to see someone from New Covenant in every home I visited today! Then I stopped in on Mark Forstrom and the house he and our youth group has been working on all week. What a transformation! This is the house that had terrible termite damage. Herman, the home owner, and his family came to dinner tonight and expressed his gratitude to our entire group!

From there it was down to Czech Village and to catch up with the progress on Nikki's house. This is the home Charlie Snodgrass, John Herder and our youth group has been working on. All the sheetrock got hung today and they made great progress taping. I called for a new water heater for her and that was delivered later in the day.

Over ten home owners were introduced at dinner. It is so encouraging after a long day to hear their heart-felt gratitude for what has been done for them. Mark, a volunteer from Pennsylvania, had the opportunity to pray with a 15 year old boy on the work site this week. Today the family came and joined him for dinner. Mark taught the 15 year old how to use the compound miter saw this week. He enjoyed it so much, he wanted to keep Marks saw. Mark did him one better. He invited the family onto the stage this evening and presented the young man with his own saw! This is good stuff! Mark is one of my new heros!

Steve reported that approximately $2 million of construction has been accomplished this past week, and 270 jobs have been finished! Wow! What a week. No wonder we are all a little tired!

But our sore backs and aching bones are a small price to pay for the many blessings we have all received. We have been blessed with food to eat, homes to live in, work to do, and new friends to enjoy. We have been blessed to be part of something God is doing in our community. We have been blessed to hear testimonies of changed lives. We have all received multiplied blessing this past week!

Day 6

I have to admit, it's Day 6 and I'm feeling a little tired! But it's all worth it. You can click on the photo above to see a slide show of the day.

I got to visit a home that New Covenant is working on. The home owner was so excited that someone was coming to work on her house today. Charlie Snodgrass and John Herder led a team of high school students on this job.

Two days ago I visited a home to take a look at a furnace that New Covenant purchased for a family. Larry and his buddy from Kansas are almost finished installing it. But the most exciting thing is that they invited the home owner for dinner and they came! What a joy to get to meet them and to tell them that we are praying for them. They stayed for our worship time and wanted to make a donation to Eight Days of Hope!

Tomorrow is our last full day. There will be a few tears shed tomorrow night. New friendships have been made and hearts have been knit together. Challenges have been overcome as we tackled them together and lives have been changed.

Who ever thought that people would come to Cedar Rapids from all corners of the United States with a common mission to bring hope and healing? Our city has been blessed, our lives have been enriched. Thank you for caring! Thank you for sharing! Thank you for coming!

Day 5

It's hard to believe, but the days keep getting better and better. Day 5 is now over, and it was the best yet. Over 100 jobs have been completed so far! These folks are incredible! You can click on the photo above to see a slide show of the day.

The hi-light for me was hearing the introductions of the home owners. George, the 70 year old who prayed to received Christ several days ago, joined us for dinner. He received a standing ovation! It was an awesome experience.

The testimonies during worship were also awesome. Several home owners shared with this has meant to them. One shared that this has renewed her spirituality and that she's going to work on a relationship with God! Another young girl talked about what it was like being evacuated from her home, questioning God and worrying about her future. She said she doesn't doubt God anymore!

Money can't buy what we have experienced this week. We can't organized it, explain it or completely understand it. We can only enjoy it. God's presence has been on this project, helping us overcome every obstacle.

And a huge praise. We received this email from Jim Thatcher from Code Enforcement.

Thank you Steve, Charles, and Kim and to all of 8 Days of Hope and their support volunteers.

GREAT JOB!!!! I hope that 8 Days of Hope is enjoying their visit and service to God as much as we enjoy having 8 Days of Hope here! Thank you to ALL the volunteers for serving our community in such an awesome way! I'm not at Westdale often, yet I personally heard a couple of citizens complimentary to 8 Days of Hope for helping them!!

Please join me in thanking these incredible servants.

Day 4

Day 4 is finished. It's hard to believe that we are at the half-way mark. You can see a slide show of the day by clicking on the photo above.

It was an incredible day. Some things have to be experienced in order to be understood. I think Eight Days of Hope is like that. It's hard to convey with words what this means to the home owners and volunteers. Words aren't adequate to express what goes on at the job site or around the dinner table.

I visited several work sites this morning. Kimberly Sanchez, a custom home builder from Virginia, had a team of 15 working on a home on 8th Street NW. Kimberly has been building homes since the 1990's. She describes that some people find their passion and for others, like her, their passion finds them! Kimberly's team has been working on electrical, plumbing, HVAC, painting, finish work around windows and doors, installed hard-wired smoke alarms through-out the house, and more. Kimberly and her team are doing an incredible job for this home owner!

I walked down the street two houses and got to see volunteers working on electrical and insulation. Regan Huckfelt was working on electrical in the kitchen. The team in this home was making great progress!

I stopped at the home where Mark Forstrom and Roger Overson are working on the SW side. This is a home that has been devastated by termites! This team has been working hard to restore and repair this home. Great job guys!

I stopped by another home that was abandoned on the SE side. A team is going to stop by tomorrow to board it up. What a bleak contrast to the homes that are being lovingly restored in other parts of the city.

My last stop took me to a house where the disabled home owner is living on the second floor, heating the home with a gas stove. New Covenant and Eight Days of Hope are installing a new gas furnace. The two volunteers say they hope to have it operational by tomorrow!

Over ten home owners joined us for dinner this evening. It's so fun hearing some of their stories, and seeing the joy on their faces. Penny from Palo said that they felt like a sinking ship, lost and forgotten. She thanked everyone for their help and encouragement.

Preston shared some stories about his cross-country bike ride to raise awareness and funds for Eight Days of Hope. And we finished the day with an inspirational time of worship. Steve Tybor shared his testimony about how Christ delivered him from a life of addiction. Thank you Jesus for your grace!

Day 3

Wow, we just finished Day 3! It was another incredible day. During breakfast Steve Tybor asked if the person who had gone to the ER for stitches the day before was present. And of course our own Jeremy Bushlack proudly walked up to the platform for public humiliation! But Jeremy can take it!

Over 66 jobs have been competed so far. Over ten home owners joined us for dinner. One home owner said that it had been months since she had smiled so much! Another gave a special musical "Sweet Home Alabama" birthday card to one of the volunteers who worked on her house.

On a fun note, a handmade quilt was donated and auctioned off after dinner. The bidding started at $50. The quilt ended up bringing $800! All the proceeds go to Eight Days of Hope.

And best of all, one volunteer reported how one 70 year old home owner prayed to cross the line of faith! We talked after dinner and I sent her on her way to Lemstone to buy a large-print Bible!

I was able to go to Palo today to see the progress being made on four different homes. I stopped in at City Hall that is being officed at the Farm Services building. Penny thanked us for bringing hope to the entire town of Palo.

You can read the latest article by the Gazette here. You can click on the photo above to see a slide show of the day.

Day 2

Day 2 is in the books! And what a great day it was. We started the day out with devotions in the Activity Center. It was standing room only with volunteers standing out in the hallways trying to hear! You can click on the photo above to see a slide show of the day.

Three home owners joined us for dinner. One painter didn't have anything to do so he grabbed two other volunteers and painted our Activity Center! Now that a "can do" spirit!

You can read about Day 2 in this Gazette article. Here's my favorite quote from the article.

Volunteers have already made some real progress like restoring electricity for the first time since the flood." It's kind of a cool symbol, too because now there's more light in my life and more hope,” she said. Just a few weeks ago, Kuzela was planning to board up the place. Now, she's thinking about celebrating holidays here once again. "I'm surrounded by angels. That's all I can say,” she said.

Day 1

Day 1 is in the books. We began with breakfast and ended with worship. I'm whipped! But what a day it was. Over 600 people out into the neighborhoods in Cedar Rapids, Palo and Vinton. I heard many incredible stories of hearts being touched by the graciousness of God's people.

A special "thank you" to our New Covenant church family. You were gracious hosts! The parking lot was full and the halls were crowded. A "can do" spirit overcame some challenges and difficulties.

You can read a KCRG article here and the most recent Gazette article here.

Click on the photo above to see a slide show of the Day 1.

Preparing For Hope

It was a busy day at New Covenant. Things were hoppin! Over 250 registered, picked up their t-shirts and got their housing assignments. Thanks to a generous donation, we were able to feed all of them dinner. So far this weekend I have met people from West Virginia, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, Texas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Oregon.

Vernon Boteler and the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team arrived and set up their food trucks and a shower station. Ten men and three women will be getting up each morning at 3:30 AM to begin cooking breakfast for the team!

Butch Price and his advance team where out doing home assessments and preparing jobs assignments for tomorrow morning. Mike Fialla led us in a great time of worship after dinner. You can click on the photo above to see a slide show of the day. You can go to this link to see a great piece that KCRG did on Eight Days of Hope.

We expect another 450 people to arrive tomorrow. Breakfast will be served from 7:00-8:30 AM, orientation at 9:00 and then out the door and to work assignments. Dinner will be served from 5:30-7:00 PM and then worship at 8:00. It will be quite a day!

Multiplied Blessings

Things are starting to get real exciting! More people are arriving from out of state, materials were delivered to our warehouse, and donations were dropped off in our office. It's going to be an incredible week of ministry and activity!

We were told yesterday that General Mills was going to stop by with a donation of two pallets of cereal. When General Mills called to confirm the delivery they mentioned that they had four pallets. When I went outside to meet Scotty, the driver, he mentioned that he had nine pallets. And when he looked inside the trailer, he found twelve pallets of cereal! We unloaded three pallets at New Covenant and took the rest to the warehouse. You can click on the photo above to see a short slide show.

On a project this size, there are many challenges to overcome. New problems spring up at every turn. But I'm praying that God will turn every challenge and problem into a blessing. And that just as our two pallets of cereal turned into twelve, our community would experience God's multiplied blessings.

2 Corinthians 9:10-15
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Hope Is On The Way

We're another day closer to the launch of Eight Days of Hope. The advance team was out doing home assessments, ordering materials and even started several electrical jobs. They're working hard to ensure that there will be 100 projects ready for volunteers on Sunday morning!

The Gazette has a great article on one of the homes that Eight Days of Hope did an assessment on today. You can read the entire article here. Here are some of the hi-lights of the piece.

Louis McDaniel lived in this home for thirty-two years with his elderly mother. Then, the flood washed them both out and destroyed almost all of their possessions. "We've had some family members here trying to help when they can. Other than that, I've been doing most of the work myself,” McDaniel said.

He worried he might not ever be able to move back."A whole lot of stress. It's affected my moods. I'm usually in a really bad mood. Real mean. Nothings going right,” McDaniel said. Then, Eight Days of Hope showed up at his door with a plan to turn his life around.

"We need to clean this place out. We're going to mold treat it. We're going to put some insulation in. We're going to get his electrical finished up," Eight Days of Hope volunteer Dan Garrick said. Garrick lives in Oregon and is still learning about how the disaster affected Iowa.

Garrick is visiting dozens of the homes and trying to determine exactly what kind of repairs each one needs. He takes key measurements and places orders for all the materials crews will need next week."I can guarantee you there's 1300 people that love the lord and love you guys in Iowa. We're going to be here to help you guys,” he said.

McDaniel said, "For the first time in almost four-and-a-half months, I actually see some hope…I can't wait to get back in here."

We enjoyed having over 20 of the advance team over for dinner tonight. What an awesome group of men and women! They all volunteer their time and pay their own way to Cedar Rapids. Many are self-employed and don't have any paid vacation.

They come from all parts of the country - Oregon, New Hampshire, Michigan and Mississippi. But they all have one thing in common - they love Jesus Christ and want to serve Him using the skills and talents He has given to them. Welcome to Cedar Rapids and thank you for caring enough to come.

Hope and Healing

Today was a very important day. The advance team from Eight Days of Hope is in Cedar Rapids doing home assessments and planning for next weeks event. There are now 1341 people signed up to volunteer!

24 people gathered for lunch at New Covenant to discuss the Cedar Rapids building code; mechanical, electrical and plumbing inspections; and city expectations. Jim Thatcher, Code Enforcement Division Supervisor led the meeting.

This was an unprecedented meeting with city officials, union representatives, Serve the City and Eight Days of Hope volunteers sitting around the same table discussing how to best serve the people of our city. A special thank you to Jim Thatcher, Chief Electrical Inspector Gabriel Hart, Chief Mechanical Inspector Randy Croft, Building and Trades Manager Lyn Wedemeier, and Wayne Engle from Esco Electric for their willingness pave the way so that volunteers from groups like Eight Days of Hope can work in our community.

This evening Jim Thatcher gave the City Council an update on Eight Days of Hope. Charles Daugherty from Serve the City and Steve Tybor from Eight Days of Hope addressed the council and thanked them for their cooperation. Afterwards the Cedar Rapids Gazette and KCRG channel 9 interviewed Steve Tybor regarding the upcoming project. You can read the Gazette article here.

As Steve Tybor was leaving the City Council meeting, one man reached out his hand to thank Steve for coming to Cedar Rapids. He told Steve, "Take this, it's all I have on me" as he stuffed a wad of bills into Steve's hand. It was four, one dollar bills!

You can click on the picture above to see a slide show of the day. Tomorrow is another important day. Several teams are going to start electrical projects while others continue to do on-site home assessments. Pray for skilled volunteers, materials and the right mix of projects. And pray that we would be used of God to bring hope and healing to the residents of our city.

1000 Strong and Counting

Great news, as of 7:24 PM tonight there are 1000 people signed up to come to Cedar Rapids with Eight Days of Hope! Wow! 684 people are from outside of Cedar Rapids! We are told that during the last week 50 people a day usually sign up. So we might go over 1300!

And there was other good news today. Last night the Cedar Rapids City Council passed ordinances allowing volunteer groups like Eight Days of Hope to do mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. Jim Thatcher, Code Enforcement Division Supervisor with the city, did a great job moving these ordinances through the system. This is historic and praise-worthy stuff. Many didn't think this could be accomplished before the arrival of Eight Days of Hope.

The bottom line is that people will be helped and homes will be repaired because of this action. Right now we have 91 Homeowner Repair Request applications submitted. In addition, we are asking the Linn Area Long Term Recovery Coalition for 20-30 more homes to work on. In looking over the applications, our volunteer teams will have plenty to do. And most of the homes need furnaces, hot water heaters and electrical wiring.

Pray that God would provide the right mix of homes, volunteers and materials. And pray that our entire community would see the visible expression of the body of Christ as we serve our city in the name of Jesus.

All It Can Be

This morning during my quiet time I read Jeremiah 29:7.

Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.

Israel was about to be taken into captivity to Babylon. There was a lot of confusion and mixed messages regarding God's will. Out of this seeming disaster Jeremiah speaks to his people with clarity and confidence - to seek the peace and prosperity of the city of their exile. Absolutely incredible!

I knew that today was the Redevelopment Plan Open House downtown. This was the third meeting soliciting feedback regarding the redevelopment vision and plan for our community. As a follow of Christ who loves my city, I knew that I would probably be good for me to attend this meeting. But after reading this Scripture this morning, I knew that I had to attend.

And so late morning I made my way down to the Crowne Plaza ballroom. It was good to see the long-range vision regarding what our city may one day look like. It was good to hear the concerns and questions from affected homeowners as they try to gather information in order to make a decision on their property. And it was good seeing our community leaders making themselves accessible, answering questions and listening to concerns.

I was reminded again today that it's not business as usual in our city. The future of our Cedar Rapids is up for grabs. As followers of Christ we need to pray for our city and seek its prosperity. We need to engage the process and help make Cedar Rapids all it can be.

Eight Days of Hope Update

The Cedar Rapids Gazette has an article today about Eight Days of Hope and the progress the city is making to allow out of state volunteers to do mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. We've had lengthy discussions with Jim Thatcher and the City of Cedar Rapids regarding these certification issues. We're pleased with the progress we're making and we believe that everything will be in place so that licensed, out of volunteers can work in Cedar Rapids during Eight Days of Hope. You can read the Gazette article by clicking on the Eight Days of Hope logo at the top of this post.

Just as a reminder, Eight Days of Hope will be in Cedar Rapids October 26 thru November 2. You can sign up to volunteer in this rebuild effort by going to this link. Please pray for this ministry and the many details that need to be worked out. Pray that we can be a blessing to our community as we serve together in the name of Jesus.