Worshiping Our Way to (Social) Change

Today marks my first blog post since beginning college that's not about setting goals--I know, more than a little ridiculous! I'm writing from the Red Eye in Saginaw, one of the world's best coffee shops in my opinion. Amazing espresso drinks with rich flavor, a relaxed atmosphere that draws all types of people, local artwork hung on the walls, the home of many good talks with friends over the years...If you mix Ambrosia and Sweetwaters in Ann Arbor, you might come to something close but still unmatched by Red Eye as far as I'm concerned. The perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon while my mom's away at work and I'm in need of a place to get away to be more productive rather than being invited into my warm bed by the conniving cat who just wants to be scratched behind the ears and spend a leisurely afternoon reading and napping. haha

As for the title of this post, it's in reference to this Spring Break so far. A year ago, coming home from my third ASB trip, I began praying through whether or not to commit fully to ASB as a site leader for the coming year or to let it go and be open to what God would do instead. I felt peace with God calling me to let it go, and as I'm wrapping up this break, I'm thankful that God gave me that peace because this past week has been one of the best breaks I could have asked for...a chance to get to know my life group and class members on a whole new level, explore the city of Detroit and see how God is working there, enjoy satisfying times of worship both corporately and individually, and spend a few days at home with family.

Last Saturday, as we were reading the BRP before heading out to serve, I read 2 Chronicles 29. It struck me that Hezekiah's first act as king was to restore the temple for worship. He had the discernment to understand that the source of all of the nation's troubles was disobedience, a lack of worship. So rather than raise up an army, devise some policy or strategy, Hezekiah simply leads the people to worship.

This struck me especially because the night before two IMAX brothers shared their life stories and the time of worship following was powerful--It reminded me of the power of community on a personal level for the first time in months and brought a strong reminder of God's presence restoring each person personally as well as a corporate unity. I also felt God's power to heal the tension in one of the member's families that we were staying at. Above all, I felt God's spirit preparing us for our work in the city of Detroit as well as back in Ann Arbor for the remainder of our trip.

So, then, as I read Hezekiah's story early the next morning, it brought a fresh conviction that what will bring change in the city of Detroit, on the campus of U of M, within our hearts, is not just actions or good deeds but the building of Biblical community and worship. I think I understood for the first time what John Piper meant when he said, "Missions exists because worship doesn't." God may not call me into the city of Detroit now or maybe not even in the future, but I'm content that if all He says is "pray" that that is calling enough to stay behind and pray for the work that He will do in the city through other brothers and sisters--the doors He will open, the community He will build, the worship He will bring forth, the change we'll see in the city.

My Break in Brief

As usual, I neglected to take pictures--I'm always too distracted by just experiencing to stop and record the moment--but if others post, I will put some up here!

• Friday night--delicious Lebanese dinner, life story sharing & worship at Marla's grandma's house in Dearborn Heights with IMAX.
• Saturday--Full day in Detroit: partnering together with Wayne State students and other Detroit residents at Blight Busters demo-ing the sites of seven abandoned houses to create an urban farm, exploring midtown (Ren Cen, People Mover, skating at Campus Martius), continuing our culinary tour of Detroit with sweet potato pie and soul food near our service site and Mexican food in Southwest.
• Sunday--Back in Ann Arbor with the kids in Building Blocks. IMAX did lunch outreach going out two-by-two and it was crazy to see the number of connections in the people we met. Almost every person we met was in some way connected to someone else in the group or to our church in some way. Praying that God will continue to work through these connections! We also spent some time resting before eating a feast at Chia Shiang and heading to Sugy's place in West Bloomfield.
• Monday--woke up to an amazing Korean feast prepared by Sugy's mom before heading to Wayne State campus for a tour and connecting with the U of M Detroit Center. We had a lot of good conversations with students over lunch as well as connecting with some U of M students from New Life who are down there for spring break to lay down roots for their church plant in the coming year.
• Tuesday--a lazy day in Ann Arbor: worship, laundry, and a few hours rooted in Starbucks sending out resumes to potential jobs.
• Wednesday--brunch at Cloverleaf with Erica and an interview at Greenhouse Montessori (a flop but a good learning experience!); at night, a chill potluck, Jeremy Lin, and spoons with Remedy + Janice :)
• Thursday--whirlwind day in Dearborn/Detroit with Remedy: connecting with two men doing long-term outreach in Dearborn, one of whom led us on a prayer tour of some of the ministries and brought us to lunch at a local restaurant. Afterward we went to tutor at a Catholic organization that works with several local elementary schools to put on an after school program and then headed over to a Bible study at Citadel of Faith. Although unable to stay for the whole study, I was intrigued by the informal structure that allowed for people of literally all walks of life craving a Bible study to drop in. There was clearly a core group made up of men and women from some type of adult assisted living, young professionals working in the city, older adults married with kids, etc. but also others who streamed in throughout the night. Our group didn't at all feel out of place even though it was our first time there. The night flowed from informal ice breakers to a testimony sharing broken up by requests for some of the more committed members to lift up prayers for specific requests raised, and then into a whole group discussion of evangelism before focusing on 1 Corinthians 3:7-10 in our smaller groups. I'm not sure I would trade the intimacy of our LIFE group setting for this model, but it was an interesting glimpse into what Bible study can look like as a community in the city.
• Friday--Back in Saginaw for a few days to spend time with family, rooming with my mom while our neighbor's son is staying over at the house for a short while--woken up this morning by one of our "new roommates" (a puppy) running over my bed and then our cat cuddling in, quite annoyed by the dog. haha

And that brings me back to sitting here at the Red Eye. Praying that the rest of the break will be an intentional one, and a restful one. Even though there have been moments of rest throughout the break, my spirit still feels like it's running from one thing to the next, but I pray for a content spirit that is ready to dive into these last few weeks of senior year with a focused spirit resting in God even in the busiest days, a worshipful spirit. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD." (Zechariah 4:6)