When They Finally "Get It"
When I entered high school, I was placed in honors algebra. It was the most difficult class I took in high school. I remember going over and over each new equation, seeking to make sense of it. Finally, with help from my math genius friend, Jim, my brain would understand the concept. I would exclaim, “I GET IT!” There is joy when you struggle with a problem and finally can say, “I get it!”
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When They Finally "Get It" |
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When I entered high school, I was placed in honors algebra. It was the most difficult class I took in high school. I remember going over and over each new equation, seeking to make sense of it. Finally, with help from my math genius friend, Jim, my brain would understand the concept. I would exclaim, “I GET IT!” There is joy when you struggle with a problem and finally can say, “I get it!”
Recently, that joy came to me in a new way. Only, it wasn’t me who got it. It was the people I’m mentoring. After months of driving these young people around this island to do ministry, I am proud to say, “They got it.” Here’s the story . . . . When I first came to Dominica, the local church where I pastor was inward-focused. I felt compelled to challenge them to “go out” for Jesus Christ. It seemed like the biblical thing to do. I took them on outreach trips to different places on the island. The adults went somewhere every week. The youth went once a month. I was surprised by the great response I would get each time we went out. However, I found what they liked best was an opportunity to get out of the local village and escape the daily humdrum of life. They would go out, but they didn’t really “get it.”
When we arrived at our destination, the group would go to the local store for a snack, leaving me to set up all the equipment and get everything in order. Some of the group would walk to their relatives’ home or a close friend’s home for a visit. When service started, they would sit in the back. When I would ask everyone to turn in their Bibles to the selected passage, I noticed no one had brought a Bible. We were not a ministry team. We were a collection of people going out to visit a church.
One Sunday, I announced boldly we were making some changes to our outreach ministry. First, everyone who came would have a job. The people could carry in the supplies, set up the audio equipment, greet at the front door, or set up the chairs. Second, everyone had to bring a Bible. You could not board the bus without one. Third, team members must sit at the front and leave the back seats for the visitors and late comers.
At our next event, I asked the people to tell me what their jobs would be. I asked one young teenager who was really a handful. “My job,” he explained, “is to hold the flashlight so you can plug in the transformer.” Well, that’s a job! Next, I looked for Bibles. Two people asked me to wait while they ran home for their Bibles. When we arrived, everyone helped with the set-up, opened their Bibles at the appropriate time, and sat closer to the front. I realized after a few weeks that this organization seemed forced. The people were doing what I wanted, but there was something missing. The people didn’t get the big picture. They still were not a ministry team. I decided to ask the group to form a circle before the service and pray for the service. It usually took a while to find everyone, but it seemed worth the effort. I began to see a glimmer of hope in the prayers they would pray. Next, I asked them to give testimonies in the services. I had to be careful because I was not convinced that everyone in the group had been saved. One young person stood up and said, “I want to praise the Lord for life and health, and that’s all I got to say!” Finally, I told them we were going door to door with flyers to invite people to the services. This was a huge step for my Caribbean Nazarenes. I placed them in groups of three and dropped them off down the road from the service location. I told them not to come back with any fliers. Now I don’t know where all those fliers went, but no one came back with any.
Still, we were lacking something. We still weren’t a ministry team. The whole thing still required my presence to make it all happen. But, I kept on, week after week, month after month. This month we decided to do an outreach in our own village. I told them this was going to be different than all the other times we went out. They were going to minister in front of their peers, the people that saw them every day. I saw this look of dread come over some of their faces. I encouraged the people to pray specifically for a few of their friends. And, I challenged them to fast one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner the week before the outreach service. Then I turned the whole service over to the youth leadership. I showed up at 6:00 p.m. the night of the service with my truck to pick up the audio equipment. Zeke informed me it would require two trips, as they had located additional speakers to “enhance the sound.” Be careful when a teenager tells you he is going to “enhance the sound.” We proceeded to load the speakers that were as tall as I am. “You’re not going to hook up these speakers to the church amplifier, are you? “ I asked. “No boss, we got it all figured out. Trust us!” he replied. When we arrived at the village square, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a large, plywood platform. Observing my amazement, Zeke said, “We spent all day on it. You like it?” “I don’t like it,” I said with a pause, “I love it!” A big smile came over his face. Once everything was hooked up, I heard a voice say, “Pastor, aren’t you going to pray with us?” I looked up and there were all the young people in a circle at the back, waiting for me to pray with them. I didn’t know whether to shout hallelujah or start crying like a baby. The ensuing prayers were meaningful and from the heart. It was awesome! Then the service began to unfold. It’s really amazing what a couple of really large speakers can do with a huge amplifier driving them. I could feel the earth move, and I was standing on concrete. But the people began to come. It was the largest crowd we ever had. When testimony time came, it was obvious the testimonies were well-prepared. And, the newest Christians gave their testimonies. It was dynamic. Then came the “coup de grace.” Zeke had formed a new singing group with all the newest Christians in it. He wrote a really awesome, evangelistic song. It was a combination of rap and reggae and salsa. The crowd loved it. Then our dancers got up and did an interpretive dance to a beautiful song about God’s presence in the place we were. It was beautiful. A thought came to me in that moment. These young people were now a team, an evangelistic force in the community. And they did it themselves. They prayed for it, they planned and prepared for it, and they executed it. And all I could say to myself in that wonderful moment was, “They got it!” |
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마지막 수정 ( Monday, 05 November 2007 )
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