Friday, January 23, 2009

It's Just What We Do

The sun is setting and the temperature is dropping into the 50s with the wind blowing in from the north. Perfect time for a snowball. As I sat and savored every bite of my stuffed praline snowball, I wondered out loud, "Where else would this be normal?" There are a lot of things about living in the New Orleans area that produce that reaction. Most of them bring a smile to my face. The way we find a reason to celebrate anything, even if it doesn't make sense. The way we turn our noses up to Starbucks because we already know what good coffee is all about. The fact that we're geographically in the South but don't drink sweet tea. The fact that we actually believe King Cake is some sort of confectionery masterpiece.

I could spend all day listing things that make life what it is in New Orleans but don't make sense anywhere else. I could spend double that trying in vain to explain why we do these things. Honestly, we don't know ourselves. It's just what we do. The best thing in all of this is that with all our cultural triumphs, oddities and downfalls, Christ loves New Orleans. This is the driving theme in our outreach as we rapidly approach Mardi Gras. There will be many who come to our city during this time, claiming to represent Christ, with the message "God hates you." They'll be in our people's faces with bullhorns and signs driving them further and further away from the truth because they fail to understand the heart of the Gospel.

Do people sin during Mardi Gras? You better believe it and so do I. Does sin offend a holy God? More than we can possibly understand. Is God's wrath for their sin justified? Without a doubt. Is there a way to avoid God's wrath? PRAISE GOD YES! A way was provided out of love and it is out of love that we must reach out to New Orleans during Mardi Gras (and any time for that matter). Believe it of not, we actually show up at parades and help people have a good time. We give them food and water, clean places to use the restroom and chairs to rest their feet. We play with their children and serve hot chocolate when it gets cold. Do we confront sin? Yes we do, but it's done from a place of love, the same way Christ provided our salvation. We love New Orleans because Christ loves New Orleans and died for her. Our intent is to make that love known because it's just what we do. It's what we must do.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Sharing the Peace of Jesus

If there's a city in the United States that needs to experience true peace, it's New Orleans. Actually, they all do, but I live here and am therefore daily confronted with this need. From neighbors that live in anxiety due to illness to those that live in fear because of their street-thug lifestyle. From the angry driver on the interstate to the angry resident protesting on the steps of City Hall. From the elderly women too afraid to go outside her house to the mother still grieving the loss of her two year old son who was murdered by a father no longer wanting to pay child support. The New Orleans area is messed up because of one thing and one thing only – sin. The drugs, the violence, the poverty, the poor education, and so on have their root in the fact that people sin and that sin ruins everything. In other words, the problems in New Orleans are, to quote Blind Willie Johnson, “nobody’s fault but mine.”

With an equal share of the blame and monopoly on the truth, The Church is the only group in position to reach beyond itself and offer a viable solution that strikes at the heart of the problem. This is what Sharing the Peace of Jesus is all about. Its aim is to turn The Church loose on the New Orleans area to pray for each household in the city, share the Gospel with each person in the city and then gather in the harvest from what the Holy Spirit has done through these efforts.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be going through the four milestones of Sharing the Peace of Jesus: praying, engaging, sowing, harvesting, and explaining how our churches intend to fulfill each aspect of this strategy.

Check out this video to learn more about our strategy.

Monday, January 05, 2009

2009 - A Year of New Beginnings

While the rest of the world records the passing of years in B.C. and A.D., we in the New Orleans area have adopted our own designation for the advancement of time. Because August 29, 2005 marked such a dramatic turn in our history, all historical items area referred to in reference to this date. For example, we’re entering into the fourth Mardi Gras season after Katrina and we just had our second snow since the December before Katrina. It’s basically a B.K. and A.K (Before Katrina & After Katrina) timeline and for many of us, it will be the dominate timeline for the rest of our lives.

This is important to remember as we enter into 2009, or the fifth month of A.K. 4, because each new year brings us further into our recovery and as we make this journey we have questions to answer and obstacles to overcome. As we’ve pushed forward, I’ve given my own description of each year. It helps me see where God is taking us and how that differs, the majority of the time, from were we think we are supposed to be. This is how I’ve labeled the past several years:

2005 – The year of Katrina
2006 – The year of preparation
2007 – The year of prayer
2008 – The year of turning the corner

So what do I think 2009 will be? I believe this year will be the year of new beginnings. For all the work we’ve done since Katrina, I really believe we are just getting started. Some believe we should already be done and have this Katrina business behind us but they don’t live here and are only thinking about the bottom line. However, where the rubber meets the road, things are about to get very interesting. Yes, even more interesting than they already are. 2009 will bring a completely new BAGNO, new Director of Missions, new staff, new vision and direction. It will also see new ministry opportunities that did not exist before Katrina. The Sharing the Peace of Jesus evangelistic emphasis will give our churches the opportunity to reach more people in 2009 than in any year before. Church planting efforts in places like Central City are now underway, an answer to at least three years of fervent prayer. These are just the things I know are taking place in 2009. No doubt there are numerous surprises the Lord has for us and I am excited about being a part of His great plan.