Wonderpowers: Activate!

Last night I went to Willow Creek Church, which I do once in a while, and Harvey Carey was the guest speaker. About three years ago, this guy started a multi-racial church called Citadel of Faith in central Detroit after years at working at a black church in downtown Chicago. That church is now the fastest growing church in Detroit. Now in South Barrington, it's a middle class to upper class white area. In other words, when they acknowledge something in church, they don't raise their voices above a certain decibel. Not after last night though! This guy was very animated, but more than that, he gave a great speech. He discussed the body of Christ and referenced Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

He opened by mentioning superheroes (appropriate with the Superman craze), especially Wonder Twins, those comic book guys who when they come together have all these crazy powers and capabilities. But by themselves, they could barely do anything. They would come together by saying "Wonderpowers: Activate!" They needed each other. And it's the same way with the church.

He talked about the necessity of the city and suburbs coming together for God and some of the things his church is doing to make a difference in Detroit. One was urban camping. Over the summer, 55 men are going to pitch tents in front of crackhouses throughout Detroit, even the roughest sections. They're doing tents, because you can always move it around. And as he put it, it's a lot harder for a person to buy drugs when they hear God's praises being shouted with genuineness. But there are too many divides as far as people groups go in the church. And that is one of the enemy's best tactics to quiet or damage the voice of the church in the world.

One of the things we're hearing over and over in the church world is how we need to get out of our comfort zone. You can't grow as a human being if you don't get uncomfortable. And I know that and I think more and more Christians are figuring that out as well. The question is what are we doing? Well my trip to Mississippi was a great start. But once I come back here to suburban Chicago, where life is relatively safe and predictable, how do I grow? How do I stretch? How can I encourage others to do the same?

There are plenty of problems in the world and I know I can't change everything. But I don't want to become a person who reads the newspaper every morning, get frustrated at the bad news, and wonder "Who will do something about it?"

So what I pray for, not just for me, but for others, is courage to not give in to fear. And the boldness to get out in the world and give hope where hope is needed.

http://ww.citadeloffaith.org/main.htm