On a short visit to Fort Wayne last week my brother who works very hard managing a huge manufacturing plant and shredding his guitar for Pathway Church in the Fort said he didn’t think he could do what I do. He meant he didn’t think he could leave home and family for two weeks at a time.

But then I told him why I do it. There is a reason I leave home, my pets, my girls and my man behind now and then…

Morgan and her mom were second in line for a book signing. Typically autographs don’t allow for much time other than a personal greeting, a hug, and a quick photo. But Morgan’s mom came behind the table and immediately began whispering in my ear – right in front of Morgan. Mom was crying. During our label teaching Morgan had told her mom her label is “Failure” and Morgan didn’t see the label coming off any time soon. As the evening progressed and we began talking about adoption, Morgan let her mom know that label was attached to her own adoption. She had been unwanted by her birth mom, and therefore everything she did was bound to be a failure. “Would you pray for us?” her mom asked.

I pulled Morgan to the side and told her my own story. Long before Rachael and Marie were even born, I told her, the doctors had confirmed that my baby making machinery basically doesn’t work. I wasn’t going to be able to be a mom – not in the traditional sense. I cried for them and asked God for them before they were even born. I told Morgan that by the time the girls joined our family, they had struggled with some of the same feelings as her, but in my eyes they were nothing short of a gift. I was never going to have daughters unless God had given me Rachael and Marie. How could they be failures?? They were answers to prayer! I saw the light in Morgan’s eyes as she looked at her mom. She was a smart girl and knew I was talking about her mom, too. Morgan burst into tears, threw her arms around her MOM, and we prayed…

“Ok,” my brother said. “For that I would leave home.”

I’m happy to be coming home Sunday and ready for my months off before we hit the road again in August. I’ll get sad about leaving as the time approaches for fall tour, but I’ll be ready to go, too. I’m blessed to know why I do what I do, both on the road and with Centre Church. I think this is God’s desire for each of us – to be working and living in a calling rather than a J-O-B, but I also know many of us are not there yet.

I hope you haven’t given up! Why do you do what you do? If you aren’t sure, please come talk to us about it. It’s not that we have specific answers for you, but we’d love to pray with you and walk with you. We believe an answer is out there and it’s not too late to make a change. We get one life. We should be chasing the dreams God has given us. Amen?

P.S. Next time you grab a cookie at the Centre Cafe, ask Miki Benner what she’s up to these days! Check in with Andy and Janet Mylin. Ask Lexi about India, and Erin Stube about her kids. Sit in on one of Dave Anderson’s classes at Grace Prep. Introduce yourself to Charles and Erin and ask them what brings them to State College. Buy advance tickets for the Ballet Magnificat (right Abbey Helsel?) Keep chasing, Centre Church!!

Barker says he has lost faith in faith. He hasn’t. He has faith in atheism. He has faith in the non-existence of God, the fallibility of scripture, and the solidity of his new intellectually founded position. He’s betting the farm on it. We are betting the farm Barker is in serious error. He has chosen the road of hoping in things seen – the temporal – rather than eternal things unseen. There has been a war waging for this man’s soul for years and Barker isn’t even aware of it – in fact, he would deny the existence of the battle altogether.

But there is a battle. It’s not an equal and opposing war leaving us waiting with bated breath to learn of the victor. Jesus cried “It is finished!” as he breathed his last. The veil separating man from God’s presence was torn in two in the temple. Three days later there was an empty tomb. It is finished. The battle now is one where the enemy desperately tries to tear down the harvest before we reap, to tramp seeds into the rocks and thistles as we sow it. He knows he cannot defeat God, but he has his followers convinced otherwise.

People like Barker are a pest. He attracts the curious, the bitter, and those whose intellectual bent want to take him on in debate. De-baptism? Not possible.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:18

Those who “received” their de-baptism the other day changed nothing about their person by doing so. Those who don’t believe stand condemned by their own disbelief, nothing else. Offering a de-baptism is like picking up sticks already detached from the vine and throwing them into the fire. No life was taken. It was already dead.

On the other hand, 58 people in State College have new life and victory through faith in Jesus Christ. Their baptism didn’t save them. Jesus did. But their obedience evidenced the fact the old man is gone and they have been raised again a new creation. Alive.

Holy Spirit 58….. De-baptism guy 0

And by the way… if you were “de-baptized” this weekend, we’d love to talk with you. Jesus didn’t come into this world to condemn but to save. He raised us all from the dead. He loves you.

So what brings Ben to our little neck of the woods? Zombies. Humans verses Zombies, to be more precise. It turns out there is this game college kids all over the nation are playing and this is the weekend for Penn State. Maybe you have seen the green and orange headbands or the nerf guns around town? Here’s what’s happening. Follow along if you can…

There is a pre-game period during which the zombie infection spreads. One contestant (and only one) begins as an infected zombie. The rest (there are over 500 college students playing in this spring’s contest) wear a green headband to indicate they are 1) Enrolled in the game and 2) Still a human. Once a human has been tagged by a zombie in pre-game, the green headband comes off. This is the thrill of the early stages… no one knows who the zombies are, therefore players can trust NO ONE. There are two ways to protect one’s self from zombie infection in pre game. If a zombie is hit by a marshmallow or a sock, he/she must remain immobile (can’t chase humans – I’m guessing they could grab a cup of joe) for 15 minutes. Once the game officially begins, zombies must don orange headbands and can also be stopped by the dart of a nerf gun. There is no limit to the playing field (quick – what was that in your bushes?), though some campus locations (dining halls and classes in session, etc) are off limits. After all, about 139,500 of us around here aren’t in the game!

Yeah. So that’s what Ben is doing. I’m dying to find out at dinner if he fended of the zombies or if I’ll need to bring some old socks and stale marshmallows with me just in case. But here’s the thing. This Urban Gaming Club at Penn State, and the 300 kids from other universities (Ben came from OU – Go Bobcats!) have managed to find themselves not really in a zombie war… but in a tribe. While some other students apparently scoff at the gamers, I can totally see the appeal. Here you are part of a massive game with no geographical boundaries, 500 like-minded people having a blast, and just like that you are part of something bigger than yourself. There’s a common purpose, whether it’s fun and camaraderie or paranoia!

This is what we talk about when we speak of tribes and community. We all belong to tribes. And in a town like State College we are all probably no more than one degree removed from any identifiable tribe. Ben is our nephew. Boom – zombie connection. If I need someone to connect me with State College Little League? Boom – Jonathan Coll plays. Singing on Stage? Boom – Lexi Gresh cut her teeth on that stage. Penn State Athletics? Boom – Jamaal Tate, Susan Robinson Fruchtl, Randy Jepson.

Churches once thought of serving a community from the outside in, one family at a time. We believe we can love on State College from the inside out, one tribe at a time.

That reminds me… there is going to be a tribe, a literal tribe, at Centre Church this Sunday night. No, it’s not another Dollar Club, but Penn State and the State College Area School District are hosting their 9th Annual “New Faces of an Ancient People Traditional American Indian Powwow” at Mt. Nittany Middle School Saturday and Sunday. There will be some bleed time between their tear down and our church service. We’re going to make extra cookies. We’re going to be asking people what we can do for them, and we’ll be greeting them in our warm, welcoming, and wildly creative manner. We’ll see what happens when one tribe meets another! There was a time when this would have been seen as a distraction. One of those reasons it stinks to rent a building and not have space of our own. Now we see the folly in thinking like that. Without us having to lift a finger, 5000 people are going to be hanging out in “our” space this weekend. This isn’t distraction. It’s opportunity.

It became a ritual on those few sweltering days, searching for evidence kitty was using her boxes (she wasn’t) and then crawling around on all fours sniffing for evidence she was using the basement carpet instead. She wasn’t. The smell was stale, so kitty gets to live. She’s an indoor/outdoor cat and apparently the world is her litter box. But we weren’t about to live with a summer of kitty urine air freshener deposited who knows how many years ago into a floor covering we were only hoping to keep “fresh” for another couple of years anyhow.

As I write this, Jorn Junod and Johnny (they should start either Triple J Construction or a dude ranch, right?) are putting the finishing touches on our emergency floor-ectomy downstairs, but this 700 square feet of Pergo has put our rooftop patio project, planned for this summer, on hold for perhaps a year. Collateral damage. That’s what the hidden stuff does once it comes out.

I’m not mad at the kitty who did this all these years ago, just a little disappointed it derailed what I thought was going to be. It would have been so much easier if the carpet issues had just been disclosed when we bought the place. New flooring could have been budgeted. Our order of attack in remodeling could have been more efficient.

I’m not missing the real life application here. I think a lot of us have old stinky mistakes covered up with threadbare carpeting and spend too much time praying the humidity doesn’t reveal our little secret. Maybe we should offer full disclosure. I mean, look at the benefits:

1. Good bye old threadbare carpeting! You weren’t impressing anyone anyhow. You were old, worn, and obviously hiding years of hard living. I couldn’t believe the pile of dirt Jonathan swept up after the carpet was removed. Now the dirt is gone, and a beautiful, dark impenetrable surface welcomes people to our family room. Even the dogs’ claws can’t scratch this new covering. Jonathan talked last week about Jesus’ robes of righteousness, the covering we are offered in place of our own old, filthy rags. Impenetrable. Part of the full armor of God.

2. Bring on the humidity. When the smell in the basement first emerged, I told Jonathan there would be a moratorium on house guests until the embarrassing odor was taken care of. What if people thought we had caused that stench? What if we were regarded as unclean? Thing is, when the stink is coming from shame in our lives, what does such a moratorium look like? Can’t let people get too close. Can’t be truthful. Put up walls and keep a distance. Whatever you do, evade those personal questions in your DC group. Full disclosure allows for community and true healing. Everyone has a basement. Everyone has a past. Confess your sins to one another that you may be healed, isn’t that what James says?

3. At least we can start saving again. I was really looking forward to the patio on top of my carport this summer. It’s my pet project. My baby. Just imagine grilling in the treetops, sitting down to morning coffee eye level with the little cardinal couple feeding in our front yard. I had the flooring all picked out. And the railing… a very cool, modern, steel and wood combo. Turns out the house wasn’t ready for the patio yet. First things first. But it’s a good thing the truth came out when it did. Imagine if we had been in the middle of the patio project ($$$) only to find we needed to rectify the situation downstairs ($$$). God’s grace is good. He sets things in order and straightens crooked things before chaos can ensue. Disclosure protects us from collateral damage.

I encourage you to spend some time on your knees, face to the carpet today. If you happen to smell anything, disclose it. God is good. So are your brothers and sisters in Christ. There’s nothing better than the fresh covering of Jesus’ righteousness. Collateral damage minimized, life back on track…and this way, kitty gets to live.

Our job on the road is to serve and not be served. The result is typically a beautiful reciprocity, because most churches are authentic and warm. The crew that meets us at the door is well-versed in making our team feel at home, and we spend our morning in the van committing in prayer to serve our hosts. We make good friends, hear amazing stories of God at work in peoples’ lives, and generally have a great time together. What a stark contrast is found when a culture of serving has not been built! When the only services provided within four walls are services that receive a salary, the displacement between serving and doing a J-O-B are palpable. Centre Church… you ROCK.

One thing I have decided this week is that I don’t want to be a seeker of reward. I don’t want to be more concerned about getting out of the building before the alarms are set than I am about the fact that people are coming to Jesus. I don’t want to be inconvenienced by payroll to the degree of letting a guest know that I think their presence is a burden. I don’t want to tell people that our church could not meet their requirements for volunteers because “people just don’t volunteer for things around here.” That’s not the people. That’s a culture that has been created, taught, and modeled. And that’s not you. Centre Church… you ROCK.

So… that being said… do I ever need to speak up? Do I need to have a verbal testimony? At some point do I need to get a bit traditional and tell my story. All signs, again, point to yes. Here’s what the apostle Peter had to say about spoken testimonies:

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear.
Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.  I Peter 3:15-16

Many people believe, or perhaps hope, that it will be enough to live out a strong and silent testimony before our co-workers and neighbors. Many days it is enough. But good deeds can be done by anyone, and sometimes speak to nothing more than the goodness of the human spirit. The spoken word of one’s testimony can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit and points directly to God’s glory. The truth is, lifestyle evangelism and a spoken testimony work together symphonically! When one is lived and the other is shared, a work of art emerges that causes something to stir in the hearts of all who see and hear it.

Take Topher Yorks‘ recent testimonial film for example. Topher was encouraged by his pastor, Rob Tevis (Zion Community Church), to tell his story. Being a film maker by profession, Topher used his medium to weave a beautiful spoken testimony. Check this out:

Topher’s Testimony

What is your story? Half of your symphony is composed as you live your life out before the eyes of your neighbors, family and co-workers. They are watching. But what is your story? What will you say when you are asked to explain your life, your hope, and all that they have seen?

We can’t wait to hear your symphony!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13

Thing is, though Jesus defeated sin and death at the cross and by his resurrection… the final judgement hasn’t come on the enemy just yet. The forces of darkness are mortally wounded, but not yet harmless. This is why people are annoying (they are, it’s not just you!) This is why there are prodigals and persecutors and petulance! But these are not our battle grounds.

We fight the enemy himself. The good news is that when God tells us to be strong, he is not speaking of our own strength. We’ve seen how far that will get us. No, he is talking about the same power that raised Jesus from the dead! Put on that power! And when he talks about the armor we are to put on, it’s not that of our awesome American armed forces or even the ancient Roman Guard. Our full armor is the same heavenly armor that girds the angels, the messiah, and our Yahweh God! The attributes of God – truth, righteousness, and the love which fueled both the cross and the empty grave are ours to put on and stand firm in.

If there is a rough week ahead, think through Ephesians 6. Is is possible to put on this armor and stand firm? Is it possible to act like the people around us are not the ones to blame… or punish? Is it possible to be as strong as a death defying robber of the grave? Yes, it is. We pray that you will be well dressed in the week to come. And we are standing with you.

1. You get totally geeked up by the thought of the Church engaging with the community because you really believe that church happens outside of whichever set of four walls happen to house a weekly meeting for the purpose of corporate worship.

2. The day to day operations of your life offer you very little opportunity to interact with the people of State College/Centre County in a way that fulfills the passion referenced above.

There is an easy solution in the works for you and it is taking place next weekend, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon. Our very own (and awesome) State Theatre is beginning a new feature they call LOCAL FOCUS, the goal of which being to highlight locally produced performances. The first performance happens to be produced by friends of the Gresh family, Richard and Heidi Biever, and they have extended a welcome to local choirs and churches to join in, for it is an AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION production!!

The show is $15 per person, highlighting the musical genius of Rogers and Hammerstein, and is an audience sing-along led by Mrs. Anna from The King and I. Audience members will perform well-loved numbers from Oklahoma, The King and I, South Pacific, Carousel, and The Sound of Music. The end of Act 2 even includes a cast party complete with cake and punch.

Speaking of cake…. this may not be your piece thereof. But if you are looking for a way to engage with your community and rub shoulders with your neighbors, and you have a certain affinity for fun and musical theatre (that includes a number of you at Centre Church) then this is a great activity to drag your behind away from the TV set and out into the world. The same one God loved so much. Sounds pretty sweet, doesn’t it? O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A….. okay!

What: Oscar and I
Where: State Theater, downtown
When: Friday and Saturday, February 24 and 25 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, February 26 at 1 p.m.
Cost: $15

No, I’m saying the Grammys were last night. Don’t know if you watched them, seeing as an awesome thing called CHURCH happened last night as well! That’s what is better than a Grammy. Being part of a community that…

Prays for you…
Laughs with you…
Brings meals when you are sick…
Throws parties for your birthday and nuptials and baby birthing…
Cries with you…
Sends you off to foreign lands as a missionary…
Notices when you are not around…

You are noticed when you are not around. You matter. You are the Church.

Those Grammys end up dusty in display cases, tossed in the back of closets (it’s true) and one day we know that along with every other piece of metal, wood, and cloth from this earth they will be consumed by fire. Ashes to ashes… even that coveted statue that is the pinnacle of many careers.

But the Word of God will never pass away, and neither will what we have as members of this family.

You matter. Just want you to know that today!

While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them.For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.” Luke 21:1-4

Every once in a while something too good happens on the Secret Keeper Girl tour and I have to share it, believing it translates to the church at large. Such a thing just happened in Anniston, Alabama.

SKG Tour is sponsored by Holt International, also the sponsors for the Winter Jam Tour, and you may have seen the video featuring Autumn Gresh at intermission of that tour… and Autumn on stage for that matter. Our intermission “pitch” for Holt is very similar; with 64,000 international adoptions (Autumn being one of them) under their belts, Holt has is an appealing ministry. Abby, a little girl from Alabama thought so, too.

Abby approached the Holt table with her mom at intermission, looking pretty down in the dumps, tears pooling a bit in her eyes. “She can’t afford to sponsor a child,” her mom said, “but she wants to give what she can.” And Abby handed me a $10 bill. Now, I can afford the $360 a year to sponsor a child. The wife of a Green Bay Packers D-lineman sponsored five children at an event this fall. $1,800 a year. That’s generous… and probably in the budget. But Abby didn’t have much beyond her $10, and she had actually brought that money to the event to buy a memory for herself.

Good thing our God sees what is done in secret, though it’s not a secret any longer, so forgive me, Abby. No more than 15 minutes later Laura pulled a name from a basket containing 300 other names. The winner would receive a full set of our SKG fiction books, a value of $30, and who do you suppose won those books?

Not that our drawings always go hand in hand with the “Most Selfless Secret Keeper Girl In the World” award, but it’s a nice picture of God’s Word in action, isn’t it?

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:3-4

I don’t know if you are struggling with giving, or if your faith just needed a little boost, but hopefully the story of Abby and the Secret Keeper Girl’s Mite encouraged you today. No need to be afraid, for this is our King of Glory. The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle… and in product giveaways.

Abby and Mom