Gospel In Life....

I know some of you who read this blog think that all I do is play! but the truth is, I really do have a job. haha! Although I don't ever write about my job, I have been meaning to do so.  It is a big part of my life and I really love it!  I continue to be thankful that God opened up the opportunity to work on the Children's Ministry team at Redeemer and that I have the privilege to work with the team that I do.  This week the whole staff team at Redeemer had the opportunity to go through a brand new biblestudy/discipleship material that was written by Tim Keller called Gospel in Life.  It has been piloted at Redeemer this spring.  It will be used at Redeemer a great deal in the future, but it also available for purchase for other churches.  It is an 8 week study focusing on the Gospel and how it is lived out in all areas of life.

As I sat in a room with the other staff(about 75 of us there) going through this intensive study I was reminded I blessed I am.  A verse that I am meditating on right now in this season of my life is 1 Corinthians 7:17 "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, to which God has called him."   The life that God has assigned me to today is to be here living and ministering in NYC.  How cool is it to be on staff with a church that pilots a study that will be spread around the world.  How cool is it to be taught by Tim Keller and to be a part of a great movement in this city that is reaching the world.  The first section in this study is on the city.  As we talked through this section I thought about the day I knew that I wanted to one day move to the city.  It goes like this.............I was spending the summer in South Africa after my junior year in college.  My team was listening to a sermon by Tim Keller on ministry in the city.   I don't remember his exact words, but basically TK said, if 1% of evangelizing Christians would move to the city our world would be transformed for Christ.   After listening to this sermon I could not let go of that statement.  I could not tell you anything else that he said in that talk, but that one statement.  It just made so much sense to me.  From that day on I talked about the city, I dreamed about the city, I was determined to move to the city.  Although my family and friends were supportive to me, deep down I knew they thought I would never do it.  I will never forget the phone calls when I told my parents that I thought I might move to New York City.   I listened to their tones go from fear and discouragement to excitement and courage.  No one could argue with the fact that God was calling me here.  He opened a door and pretty much shoved me through:-)   Now almost 6 years after hearing that talk and 2 years after moving here, I can continue to confidently say that I think ministering in a city just makes sense.  J.N. Manokaran says, "Cities should not be seen as monsters...but communities of people with need."   It is easy to see the monstrous side of NYC, but the truth is it is just broken and needy.  You do not have to walk 10 steps outside your door to see the great need. At the same time, God is doing so much!  Redeemer is reaching the lost and unchurched.  Redeemer is reaching some incredibly influential people in our world who happen to live in NYC. And those people are reaching others....and so on.  There are some incredible things happening around the world because the Lord has raised up people committed to the gospel and committed to living their lives in this crazy city.   I will honestly say that I do not know if God has me here for long time, but I am here today and I want to  be a part of this movement.  What a privilege it is to be a part of such an influential church and to have the opportunity to get teaching and investment from some pretty incredible people.  This week was a great reminder that I really do have so much to be thankful for.  I can easily look at how I want my life to be different, but God continues to give me tokens to show me that He is taking care of me, He is blessing me, He has me where He wants me today.......and He really is using me for His glory in this city.

I really want to share some highlights of what I learned in this study.  I was incredibly impactful for me on many levels.  I know I will never be able to write it all out, but in my next post I want to at least share a little AND I would definitely recommend Gospel In Life for other churches.  It will challenge your socks off!:-)