Tap the Brakes on That One...

I don't really even know where to start...oh wait, maybe the beginning! This morning I rushed out of bed and took a shower before heading up to the store. I bought water, orange juice and gatorade for the 'free donut giveaway' at the church. I should have known it was going to be a weird day because me and Brad just didn't make it to the church in time. The idea was to catch the kids waiting for the bus (it stops right in front of the church) and give them free donuts and drinks and let them know what we're up to on Wednesday nights. But when we got out there to set up everything the kids were piling on to the bus and it was pulling away! So we hung out for about an hour or so to see if anyone would take us up on our offer. We had a huge poster board that made it clear we had FREE donuts. Nobody stopped. It was a good to test the waters on that though. Next time we'll know about what time the bus picks up the kids.

The plan already was to head downtown and hang with some homeless people so we packed up our donuts and ice chest and headed out. We drove south of downtown and cruised the streets and thats where we came across our buddy, Ray. Ray was sitting by himself on the curb, so we pulled over and offered him donuts and orange juice (I don't know why we even ask...i've never had a homeless guy turn down free food or drinks). Then the people came out in flocks! We had no idea but the abandon warehouse that Ray was sitting in front of was actually shelter/workers pool. So Brad and I had the privilidge of giving away donuts, orange juice, water and gatorade to about 30 homeless men and women. Driving through there we would have never guessed that there were that many homeless people in that abandoned warehouse. Ray told us that early in the morning there will be as much as 150-200 people packed in there. I'm not excited about hearing there are that many in that one building but I am excited to know so we can reach out to them soon.

After that, we got in the truck and headed to Mickey D's for breakfast. We were getting pretty hungry because there were no donuts left for us (of course that was just fine with us)! I like to do this thing where we go eat and find a homeless guy to eat with us and pay for his meal. I guess I just like the idea of building a relationship instead of sticking my nose up and throwing money at a homeless person. So we parked and spotted a guy by the name of John Tucker. We walked over to him and started to conversate with him. He supposedly had just got out of a 12 year stint in jail and wanted to go to a shelter and get fed and cleaned up. I offered him to come eat with us but he refused. I was ok with that and gave him $5 for his shelter fund. There's a good chance he wasn't going to use the money for that but I don't think Jesus would have care. He would just give with a loving heart...so that's what I did. Some people say that the last thing you give a homeless person is money but I guess i'm cool with giving anything [everything] to the homeless. It was so awesome though because both Ray and John remembered me in the black car last Friday giving away sack lunches! It gave me a good feeling...like we were really making an impact.

After John was on his way we headed to the back of Mickey D's and strolled down about 50 yards down the street looking for a homeless guy to reach out to. We found no ono but when we got back, we met another guy by the name of....not sure if this was a nickname...but...Cando [??]. I'm thinking it was his nickname, like this guy could do anything for you (can do!). Once again...that's just a guess. The guy was just a little out there and seemed (not putting the guy down, it was reality) like he had the mind of a 9-year-old. So we invited him and and sat down and at breakfast with him. I love when the homeless guy brings up and talks about God and stuff. The guy kinda gave somewhat of a testimony saying that he had done some things that probably deserved punishment from God and that he knew why he had fallen so far. But what was even more amazing was the hope he had. He didn't seemed worried about anything and knew that God would continue to supply his needs. He talked about seeing rich people roll up with their nice rims and shiny cars but he noticed they never seemed happy. It was like he totally understood some of the things Soloman lamented on in Ecclesiastes, that true joy was found in the Lord. As far as I could tell, Cando had found peace in His heavenly father.

So as our day of ministering to the homeless seemed to be coming to a successful end we looked out the window and Brad's truck was being towed!! We ran outside and there was nothing we could do. Apparently, there was a Mickey D's employee outside monitoring the parking lot at all times and saw us walking around and thought we weren't customers and had us towed. They are keeping close watch this time of year due to the mass amount of Fair goers. Anyways, the guy was non-apologetic and claimed we walked over to the fair (which we did not). I never wanted to cuss someone out more in my life (I know that sounds bad and you're probably thinking, dude...c'mon...you're ministering to homeless and you wanted to cuss?) but i'm not trying to act like the all high mighty Christian...I was definitely seeking the Lord to bless him with my FIST! But I kept my cool and drug Cando back inside who was upset by the fact that this guy, who was feeding him, was getting his truck towed. It was hilarious because all the customers inside saw what was going on and were all going up to the counter asking if they'd be having their car towed for eating inside! Haha! So we called the cops and they came and only could say it was a civil matter between us and the guy. What really killed me was when the lady cop started lecturing me about feeding homeless people. Saying that WE were part of the problem that exists in Dallas. That sure hit me pretty hard. We debated for a few minutes and she tried to use the "teach a man how to fish, don't give him fish". Which she was paraphrasing scripture but using it totally out of context. Jesus didn't call us to offer homeless people jobs but to willingly give them everything. Some of them do work, like the shelter we found earlier in the morning. But just because they live on the streets or in shelter doesn't give her the right to say we shouldn't help them. Then the guy that had Brad's truck towed said somthing that really shook me up. He said, "We shouldn't be around this part of town. A lot of people get robbed and bad things happen. You need to stay away from those people, they are nothing but trouble". I could not believe he told us to stay away from that part of town. Maybe he doesn't need help and he wants to be secluded but there are people who are reaching out for help. That was right after I told him that we weren't mad at him (a complete lie) for having the truck towed for no reason and him knowing that we were NOT in the wrong.

I thought I would leave Dallas today feeling sorry for Ray or John Tucker or Cando but it was the people with a warped perception of the world we live in today that I truly was heart broken for.

Skeptical

It seems the more I learn the more skeptical I become. I start questioning how things are done at church. Why we have to go to church at a certain time. Why church is confined to a building. But the most recent one has been how we approach salvation. Some would always say that if you were questioning your salvation it was just the devil trying to cast doubts in your direction. Now i'm starting to think that I should question my salvation and doing that is in everyone's best interest. If we really believe in Christ and have received him into our heart, why aren't we doing that things He has commanded us to do? I know this approaches the borderline of works-based salvation but think about it! Does salvation include not only believing but doing? I know this is a touchy subject but it's something that has really got me wondering...

Wednesday night we headed over to Fort Worth to lead worship at Northwest High School w/Trey and I was really wondering about certain evangelical approaches and presentations of salvation. Does salvation really occur when we scare youth with hell or stories of kids dying? Please don't get me wrong...I think the event was wonderful. 500 kids getting together to attend an event hosted by one of the most humble and kind hearted guys I know (Andrew Vandergriff). By the way, check out their website. He is the youth pastor of Aurora Baptist Church:
http://thesourceabc.org/

It really made me understand how important discipleship is. I mean you can save a kid from hell if that's what you think you are doing (which I questioned above) but where is the transformation of the heart and how much time and effort do we put into that?

Anyway, a note on that youth rally or whatever you want to call it. I'm pretty sure that's one of the biggest crowds i've ever 'performed' for. There was a total of in between 500-600 youth and adults. I definitely wasn't paralyzed with fear and didn't really have any difficulty singing. I remember back in high school I used to be so terrified of getting in front of the class and speaking. I literally almost would become paralyzed and feel like my mouth wouldn't open all the way...I bet it was pretty hilarious to watch me! Anyways, I just feel the Lord working in my life because I don't feel that way like I once did. It's like God has given me a voice and I know for sure it's 100% His doing. Even though Wednesday night we didn't have time to sound check or run through any of the songs I still felt confident and really didn't feel nervous or paralyzed with fear. It's like if you would have known me and how I reacted to being in front of a crowd and speaking 7 years ago compared to now...you'd be amazed. This has nothing to do about trying to brag or anything it's just crazy thinking about things like this.

Tomorrow Brad and I are going to test drive an outreach idea. It's nothing original or anything but it's something we haven't done for a long time (if Andy even did back in the day). I didn't know this until last week but apparently the bus stops and picks up kids right in front of the church. So we're gonna set up a table in front of the church and give away free donuts. It'll be a chance to start and develop relationships with youth (and maybe even some adults) who live in our community surrounding the church. My thought process is that if we start to do little things with much love, we'll really start to have an effect on the community around us.

I have to be brutally honest. I'm not against international missions and going to help out in other countries but if we can't be missionaries to our own community how can we travel thousands of miles to other countries and do mission work. I knew that when the India trip was being planned God was really speaking to me and advising me to save my money and that he had some big plans in the community around our church. I'm starting to understand what He was saying. Before I can love someone thousands of miles away I have to learn how to love my neighbor and I think when God commanded that He was speaking about the community that we live in.

Thank the Lord for Closure

What a weekend! Friday was something I had been planning on and looking forward to for some time. Kip and I went downtown to reach out to the homeless. The night before I had spent some time at the grocery store buying stuff for the sack lunches. I didn't realize how much work goes into making sack lunches!! I woke up around 7:30 Friday morning and made 36 sack lunches. I was worried about that not being enough but just that took me and hour and a half! The sack lunch was pretty simple and included either a ham and cheese or turkey and cheese along with individual serving of pringles, banana and a pack of gum (you'll have to read The Irresistible Revolution to understand). I also bought bottles of water to hand out with it. It was crazy how desperate the homeless ppl were for water. The reality is that we take the most simple things for granted. Maybe instead of paying $2 for DP at restaurants...I should go with the free water.

So I picked up Kip at his apartment and we headed out for downtown. The first adventure on the agenda was to hit the Mickey D's across from Fair Park and see if there were any homeless guys hanging around. Back when I worked for Bridgford Foods we often headed over there to pick up breakfast in the morning and I always saw homeless guys asking for money and sometimes even saw them inside with the little bit they could afford eating at a table. But this time around...nothing. So I remembered the Mickey D's downtown by the bus station so we headed over that way. We parked and just waited for someone to walk up to us. It took longer than I expected. It's funny how in the past when I didn't want to be bothered it seemed there were always homeless ppl bugging me. Now we were waiting for them and couldn't get one to save my life! But...finally after 20 minutes or so a guy came up to us and Kip will have to tell you his name because I can't remember. The thing about this guy was he didn't want a sack lunch, he didn't want us to buy him mickey d's (even if i went inside, bought it and brought it out) but he kept asking us for money and eventually a bus pass to Beaumont. So Kip took him over to the bus station and on the way over there ran into our next buddy, Edward. Edward headed my direction as I waited in front of Mickey D's and I took him inside and we had an early lunch together (it was after 10:30). It was cool how humble he was about everything. He didn't seem to want to rock the boat and just wanted to stay out of people's way. But I convinced him to sit down with me. We talked about everything from God to church and where he was from (New York). Then I gave him a sack lunch and water and he was on his way. I remember thinking later that night when it was getting dark....wondering what Edward was up to. I was hoping that maybe he thought about what he did that morning and the friends he made in me and Kip.

After eating with Edward, we headed out to hand out the rest of our sack lunches (we still had 34 lunches). It took us quite a while and a couple of times my car started overheating. We didn't expect there to be a high of 98 degrees. It was pretty freakin amazing though. I couldn't believe how much joy I could get out of something that did nothing for me. I think there's definitely a deception in the selfish way we think. We think that anything that brings joy is something that is done to make us feel satisfied. But the most amazing thing was seeing the look on the guys face when we rolled down the window and asked if they were hungry and that we had water and sack lunches. This wasn't the same as when they head down to Big Heart (which is a wonderful ministry that our church will help out with this Saturday morning) and expect to be blessed. This blessing is totally unexpected and on an afternoon that they are probably unsure of where or when they'll get their next meal.

All in all I feel like it was somewhat of a success. I'm praying about going downtown and doing the same thing this Friday morning. It'll be my last opportunity until October 27 (which is my next Friday off). I'm praying that God will show me what we did right and what we could do differently.

If you read this pray about it and let me know if in the future you'd be interested in joining this ministry.



As for closure...I'm pretty sure I got it last night. I wonder if it really is closure...but then I know what it feels like to be confused and not have clarity and what I'm feeling right now is the exact opposite of that.

Breath of Fresh Air

http://www.thevillagechurch.net/resources/sermons/041606_hebrews15.html

We Can Breathe Easier

I think everything is going to be ok. I was driving home from work today and noticed the 'Welcome to Mesquite, home of the rodeo!' sign is gone. All protests outside city hall are cancelled. Thanks for everyones support.

So I have to admit i'm frustrated about everything. You name it and i'm probably frustrated about it. More than anything I might just be frustrated with myself. I want to be salt and light. Sometimes I just feel fake. In the past i've been so arrogant and probably still am at times. I just want total change and what I like to call new salvation.

I decided that everything is a possibility and i'm done shutting doors to things that just might be a reality for my life. Except for homosexuality which will never be a possibility. lol. Which leads me to a question:

How awesome would it be if a gay or lesbian couple came to church on Sunday?

Or a drunk man or woman?

Or a guy strung out on Meth?

Or a woman who just had an abortion?

Or a guy who just got out of jail for armed robbery?

I think we should pray that broken, jacked up people enter our doors on Sunday morning. Not so we can preach to them and tell them how bad they're living or how they need to get right for Worship. But just to build a relationship with them and let JESUS impress upon their heart on HIS time.

What if we became salt and light instead of ignorant moralists who think we are on a different level? Aren't we all in the same boat here?

What if Christianity became less about beer and rated R movies?

What if we stopped telling people how much they need Jesus and started letting Christ live through us as servants to our community? I mean really...how convinced would a lost person be by someone who knocks on their door to tell them how evil and wicked they are?



I could go on...I have so many questions like these to ask myself...

Out of Sync

Yesterday I felt just a little bit out of sync. The day started off good but then out of nowhere the devil decided it was time to beat me down with the past. The whole day was puzzling considering how things were going so I started thinking about things...

Maybe God didn't create us to know and understand everything. Maybe mystery is one of the important ingredients of our faith. If we knew everything why would we need him to answer prayers in times of turmoil? Lately, I've been so excited about starting a community outreach ministry and most days I could talk for hours about my dream. Then there are THOSE days. You ever wake up in the morning or after a nap and freak out because you don't know where you are at or what's going on? That's how I feel some mornings but it carries through the whole day. One day my dream is huge and the next I'll be lost and blind and feel like I have no clue where I'm going or what I'm doing. Now some people might say "Well that's just the devil trying to get in the way of what God's doing." But I started thinking...Maybe I disagree. Maybe God is putting the blinders on me and saying "Daniel, just follow me. I know you can't see but that's the whole point. Just follow my voice." When I put things in that perspective, I started to feel a lot better. Maybe those are the days that we concede the fight to the devil when really those are the days we should be thankful for and understand it's just His call to walk with Him by faith. A lot of times I tend to get a bit depressed but I just need to realize that EVERYTHING comes from God, even sorrow, which is just His mercy in disguise.

The Early Church Might Be Closer Than We Think

Matt has been preaching a series in Ecclesiastes. Solomon stresses that we could never be satisfied with the riches of this world. Everything under the sun is utterly worthless. Vanity, vanity says Solomon. If you take some time to listen to some of the sermons (www.thevillagechurch.net) or read up in Ecclesiastes you'll find Solomon doesn't exclude ANYTHING. EVERYTHING is vanity.

Through this series (which isn't even close to being over) I am starting to come face to face with some bitter truths but it hasn't hit me so hard because it really is going along with what my heart desires. Everything i've been dreaming up in reaching out to the community and reaching out to my friends. I'm pretty sure i've found (and recently experienced) what true joy is and that it will never be in the American Dream or in how many things you dream about owning (cars, houses, guitars, etc.). It is simply letting God work through us and giving unselfishly to others. I love this exert from The Irresistible Revolution:

We dreamed ancient visions of a church like the one in Acts, in which "there were no needy persons among them" because everyone shared their possessions, not claiming anything as their own but "sharing everything they had" We knew we could end poverty. The early church did, and the homeless families were doing it.

Shane and his buddies had been living with a community of homeless people who had taken shelter in an abandoned Catholic church in a suburb of Philly. The 'members' who lived in that church realized that they all needed each other and that when sharing with one another, they would all survive.

It really struck me that these poor, homeless people might be closer to the Kingdom of Heaven than most of us.

In community when one weeps, everyone weeps. When one rejoices, everyone rejoices. No poverty exists in community because everyone shares. What God has given to us is not meant to be held back for our selfish needs. Maybe we don't give everything we have to the poor but lets atleast find joy in giving what God gave to us in the first place.

We tend to ask God why so much poverty exists in the world. I think God would come to us with the same question...

She's Amazing!!! Now...Where Is She...?

Brad and I were talking tonight about what the one would have to put up with if they wanted to marry one of us. Lol. It's gonna have to be one extraordinary girl. I'm not going to be chasing the American dream and there's a good chance i'll be spending my life following Jesus and barely getting by. I bet one of these days I might be crazy enough to sell everything i have and give it to the poor. Most girls are looking to find a guy who can not only love and protect them but support them financially. This girls gonna have to depend on God to provide not me! Lol

Well, the visitor ministry is about to get off the ground. I've been workin on it a lot lately, one meeting and it'll be in progress. It's been forever since we had our first community outreach meeting and I feel like this is all going so slow. I'm so excited because it's all about to happen.

A week from Friday (Sept. 22) i'll be going downtown for the first time to hang out with some homeless people. I'm going to have about 4 or 5 Fridays off this fall. The plan would be to go early in the morning and find a guy or two who'd want to go eat breakfast, take them to a fast food place and sit down and just talk life. Then we'd pass out some sack lunches until lunch then do the same we did at breakfast for lunch. If you read this (which no one really does...lol) email me if you're interested in going with me. We don't need a lot of people...this will be a bit more personal and relationship building.

"You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too. But I guess that's why we have highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest"

-Rich Mullins

You Are Kidding Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8PlogizYOM
News Report

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0McfIrH8Kk
Music Video

I really can't put it into words...you'll just have to watch.


"We can do no great things, just small things with great love. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it"

-Mother Teresa

I never really paid much attention to Mother Teresa. Maybe because I was brought up to think that all religions other than Baptist are pretty much wrong and the people misguided. I'm coming to find out that she was a follower of Jesus and i'm convinced that Jesus would take her as a disciple over most Baptist. This all sounds pretty harsh of me. I know i'm really downing that Baptist religion but i've been one all my life and I don't like what i've been.

I've been praying a lot lately about community outreach and it seems every Matt Chandler sermon I listen to is geared towards my dream. Also me reading The Irresistible Revolution couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I always read in the morning and I am so overwhelmed with emotion. I can feel my thought process changing by the minute and I just pray The Lord continues the transformation of my life. Matt asked a very good question in one of his sermons. What if we attacked the culture of no porches and HUGE backyards? It was crazy he said that because me and Brad had been discussing what kind of house we'd want to rent in our community and decided we needed a huge porch.

On a personal note: I thank The Lord for all he's done, what he's put me through and the amazing things he is going to do. I know that the desert is coming for me. I know that I need some serious time with God so he can speak tenderly to my heart. I'm so ready for it and i'm so thankful for the peace he's already put in my heart and the happiness in my life.

Found love beyond all reason
You gave Your life Your all for me
And called me Yours forever

Somewhat Offended

Warning:
I don't want to come across as an arrogant person although some will automatically assume one thing or the other. This is no more than a defensive response to me being offended.

I'm sick and tired of people who do nothing but talk down about Mesquite. Now this is not me speaking of those who say we talk like hicks and all we have is the rodeo. I get it. At the Dallas-Mesquite city limit where 30 and 80 split there is a billboard that reads 'Welcome to Mesquite! Home of the Rodeo!" So I get it. I understand and mark my words that billboard might be burnt down some day. There is a plan in place...I mean...I heard...uh...ok back to the point. It's not those people I'm talking about. It's the ones who question the character of the people who live here. The ones who say there is no sense of community in the city of Mesquite.

If you're one of those people you need to either get out or do something to change your community. Leave your church, sell your house or don't sign that 13 month lease. It's the people that complain but yet they still live here and take up space. In a way i'm calling out myself here too. I don't talk bad about Mesquite, I love living here but sometimes I do feel like I just take up space in the church and am unproductive as part of the Body of Christ.

I started wondering the other day what is a Christian? There is a guy that chats with me in an alley from his backyard in West Dallas. He is a strong democrat and openly homosexual. He has a very poor outlook on Christianity mainly because of what he sees in George W. Bush. I wonder how I would respond if he asked me about Christianity. I thought about a short answer and came to the conclusion that a Christian is not someone who tells an individual how to live but is a servant to that person. My answer did cause a dilemma but seemed atleast half-way correct. Jesus spent much of his time serving others but when it came down to it He was very bold in telling people what God expected of us. Where do we draw the line?

That's What I'm Talking About!

That's What I'm Talking About! That's What I'm Talking About! That's What I'm Talking About! That's What I'm Talking About!

-Grizzly Man


I am so freakin pumped up right now. I see where we are lacking. I see the need for change. I feel the spirit speaking loudly that the time has come. It's not tomorrow or next week or some future date that we know will never come. There's no more talking about it and there's no more dreaming of what's to come. It's happening and you better be ready.

Last night Matt Chandler said something that really put my life in a stop down and brought tears to my eyes. I can't remember the exact quote. I'll have to wait until the sermon is available for Podcast. But he said something to the affect of "why are we romanticizing about the past when it really wasn't that great to begin with." Lately i've been thinking about the past two years and all I can think of are the great memories. It's like I convince myself I can never be that happy again. But was I really that happy? I'm starting to realize there's something amazing on the horizon and the fruits of our labor will never come to pass if we keep looking back and marveling on past relationships or how God has blessed us instead of what he has planned and is going to do.

I wish I could quit my job. I feel like there's so much to do and so little time. I feel like i'm wasting my time making money just so I can have a nice car, eat at expensive restaurants (i'm talking about any place you are served) and wear clothes that are continually acceptable to our society. Not to mention the rediculous amount of money i spend just to drive to work (probably $150 a month). I think it's time for somewhat of a lifestyle change. I have no clue what that looks like but i'm waiting for God to show me.