There is a God who loves them

I’ve been helping at the Inner City Church for a few weeks now, and it’s been a great time of serving, learning, and growing. My last blog post was a rant about a worship song I don’t care for. Today, I want to write about a worship song that has taken on new meaning for me recently because of my involvement with Inner City. It’s Michael Gungors song “Wrap me in Your arms“.

The song, to be completely honest, is a bit too touchy-feely for me to get into right now. I know God loves me, and I enjoy singing about His great love. But things in my life are great, and I don’t find myself hurting or in need, wanting him to wrap me in His arms.

At the Inner City Church, though, I am around people who are hurting and in need, yet I realize that I don’t always want to proverbially or literally wrap my arms around some of them. People aren’t always lovely. The lady who told me she had an abortion because she didn’t want to carry a gay man’s baby comes to mind. So does the mentally handicapped boy who came to church Sunday with dried snot and blood on his face. Or the child who I had to physically restrain Sunday morning so he wouldn’t endanger other kids. And espcially the preteen who can’t go two words without a vile comment about women popping out of his mouth.

These are people who are stained by the sin in the world, and they aren’t pretty. Others at the church are far easier to love, but they too are hurting and in need. They desperately need to know of a God who loves them. Lately, I’ve found myself wanting to change the song’s lyrics to make it a prayer on their behalf:

There is a God who loves them
Who wraps them in His arms
And that is the place where they’re changed
And that’s where they belong

Take them to that place Lord
To that secret place where
They can be with You
You can make them like You

Wrap them in Your arms
Wrap them in Your arms
Wrap them in Your arms

An Unexpected Opportunity

The plan I had in mind for my future at my church seems to be going in a different direction. I had planned to start something to reach out to international students at local colleges. I wanted to begin with a “host an international student for a day” event, where families in our church would agree to host a student for a couple hours on a Saturday. It’s one of those experiences that too few internationals get and an opportunity the church misses to welcome foreigners in our midst. After that, I hoped a couple Christian students would begin attending the church, and I would just see where it went.

I’m not abandoning that idea, but some unexpected opportunities with the Inner City Assembly of God church have come up. One of my coworkers and her husband are leaders in the church, and my church’s pastor is working with their pastor to connect our people to their ministries. Sarah, my coworker, told me a week ago they needed help Saturday cleaning their new property before a big event. I shared the need with a few friends, but the next day, I discovered our pastor had committed to having a group help that day – but didn’t have a group to go because he learned of the need after Sunday’s service. Although it was last minute, six of my friends and I went to help last Saturday for a couple hours.

Talking with Sarah and her husband Garrett, I learned that one of their biggest needs is for some people to really commit to the church. Garret told me about how he had basically cut ties with his old church to focus on the inner city work. Garrett and Sarah have been in the kitchen cooking for the hungry for weeks (months?) during services because they don’t have enough volunteers, and they need some people to come on-board and help at the church every week. The assistance of occasional volunteers is helpful, but they really need people who will be there consistently. It struck a chord with me, and I told Garrett I would think about it. Despite mentioning that churches can get upset when their people leave for projects like this, he told me to spread the word, and I wondered how he expected me to do that.

The next day at church, my pastor and I talked about the inner city church. I asked what his plans were, hoping to better understand them so maybe I could use my “network” to strengthen the partnership. He said he wanted us to be involved in anything they needed and felt comfortable with us doing, so I told him what Garrett said about needing help Sunday mornings. He said he wouldn’t have any problem with me making that my “Sunday morning ministry”, but that he would rather I “make it a ministry than do it solo.” When I asked him what he meant, he said he would prefer me to take four or five other people with me. So long as they were solid Christians, he didn’t care if the Rock couldn’t continue counting them as attending or members. I stood their, dumbfounded, and he laughed, told me to pray about it, and let him know how God led me.

I have the coolest pastor ever. When was the last time you heard of someone telling her pastor, “I want to go help at another church on Sunday morning” and getting the kind of response I got? I don’t think that’s a good time idea is the norm, not please take other people with you.