I am crossing

WHERE ARE YOU AFTER SUNDAY?

Sometimes my brother I can’t wait until Sunday
Cause you are different from Monday through Saturday
You hug me smile for me preach to me and also feed me
I love Sundays because it feels like you are there for me
But on Monday you are this different person
Too busy to give me attention
Because you are so much taken
To cross to my world and love
To show me that Jesus is alive
So I am afraid Monday through Saturday
Hidden and hurting for no one comes my way
I come to your way many, many times
You always keep your distance
Oh my brother where is your faith
That stands to take a good cause
You are wonderful on Sundays
I miss your love on other days
Come my brother see how poor I am
Touch me and teach me with your love
Why are you best only on Sundays?
Come see why I am in tears
Get out of your Sunday fence
Let the poor be glad by your message
Be a model in prayer and courage
Where are you brother? I miss you
Let everyday be a Sunday for you
But I still love you!

A Cross-Cultural Reflection on Contentment!
I remember a book written by a guy from my country entitled “I do not want to be born.” It was about a baby in his mother’s womb saying, “ I do not want to born.” The book was explaining the reason why the baby does not want to be born. It was an attempt to show how this world is unfair for babies who born in the midst of pain, poverty, and injustice. How this world is making them a victim of the a tragedy of not their own making. It is a book which shows the attitude of people where I am from. After growing up and becoming an adult I remember cursing the day I was born. There were many times I was forced to remember the message of that book and wanted to go back to my Mom’s womb to say, “I do not want to be born” There were horrible and bad days and nights in my life. If the story ends there I could have been the kid in that book who would love to say, “I do not want to be born.” But, thanks to God the story does not end there! It only began!
There is love that came from heaven to earth to touch and change people like me who can be the victim of their own brokenness and the sin around them. God came and touched my life with his love and grace. Today I do not see my life as entitlement and a person who is deprived of that entitlement, but I see it as a privilege. Surprisingly and thankfully, I am happy I am born. I work in a cross cultural context where I see people who think they deserve more, or people who are not happy with what they have or who they are. Because of the grace of God I am content and happy I am born and I know I am born for a purpose.
The more I live my life and the more I understand how much God has blessed me, the more happier I am becoming. In the midst of imperfection, pain, trouble, the ups and downs of life, what makes me happy is the fact that God has positioned me to give myself to him and others. Everyday, I am discovering that there is nothing joyful than the privilege of being able to extend a helping hand. Am I saying, “I am not selfish?” No, Believe me there is a lot of selfishness in me. Ask my close friends and my wife. But what I am saying is: the more I discover the joy that comes from giving is the less selfish I am becoming. I am not learning this just from myself only. I have wonderful friends with a beautiful souls who are joyful in the continual act of giving to me and others. I never thought I would say this just few years ago for I am programmed to see the selfishness in and around me. Thankfully, I got lucky and loved by God and many of his children to be able to say this. PRAISE THE LORD!
I think the one thing that helped me to be thankful is to ask the question: “Is whatever I have a gift or something I earned?” I guess the answer to that is, even if there is something I think I earned, it is in bigger context of the gift that is given to me. God gave me life, and everything I earn in life is because I had been given life. But this goes beyond the fact of being born. Because I see the gift of God in everything that is happening to me from the small act of smile from unknown people to friends who stood by me in the midst of difficulties. Therefore, there is nothing I can be complaining for the things I do not have or take credit for the things I have or accomplished for all of those happened because I am allowed to live and to be loved. Therefore, as many of my fellow Africans would say, “Thank you God for life!”
This brings me to the most important question: “Why are most people in the world, including those who claim to believe in God are not happy?” I think the answer is, because they see their life and everything in it as something they earned not something that is given to them.
I think the knowledge of contentment is freeing more and more from the slavery of past brokenness, the worry of the present and the burden and dread of uncertain tomorrow. Yes, life is a free gracious gift of God, and it is not so hard to give to others who can not respond in kind when you understand that.
Because many of us feel entitled to everything we have and we want to have and scared of loosing what we have we became less giving and less happy. One of the amazing thing to watch is how many Christians in America are responding to the economy crisis. It is making many people more generous and more dependant on God. I think it is a good thing for many people and churches around to understand what they have is a deposit from God to use it for his glory than a center where they can entertain the insecurity the enemy tries to impose on them. Therefore, I believe God is bringing more joy to many of his children while the world is in turmoil and does not know what to do. Many people are understanding what they have is not what they earned but it has been an opportunity to share it and blessed by the act of sharing.

The need of perception to accept all what we have or done as a gift is not only needed in the lives of the well to do. It also is needed in the lives of people who think they have been deprived of their “right.” Let me illustrate:
This is more apparent in the life of Immigrants and Refugees, like me, who came to a place like America. Because of the bits and pieces of things we hear about rights, and because of the pain and suffering we have been through, we feel entitled to get what we want to get. Therefore, as soon as we arrive in America we start to make sure to get that “right” that has been taken from us using whatever means. We resent any one whom we think is in our way. Because of this mentality we end up being bitter in the first few months or years of our time in America. We also end up shaping certain ways of relating with everyone because we are still operating with the kind of mentality which demands things from others than being thankful of what we have; it is a very depressing and poverty stricken mentality. If we arrive in this country with a mentality or intention of giving what we have, not necessarily financial, how joyful our lives would have been. I am not saying it is easy to come to a new country and start a new life, I am just reflecting on my own and many other fellow alien lives; how much would we have saved ourselves from a lot of pain and sadness had we came to this country with the mentality that says, “I am going to America and I have a lot to give.” By contrast, because of the expectation that everyone has to give us something we end up in a lot of sad and unnecessary cultural shock at least in the first few months or even years of our lives.
Because God has a sense of humor he taught me this lesson by making me an Immigrant first ; and now I am, because of the work God has given me, helping many other people that come to this country. What a wonderful way of seeing myself in the lives of others! I was so mad why people were not able to see my need and did not meet it. But because of God’s grace and mercy , now I am on the giving end and I try my best to give and bless others. But the people who are on the receiving end does not seem to be happy with what they get. Because the standard they set for themselves is not met and they came to this country with a demanding mentality. When you are on the receiving end of the gift it is very easy to focus on what you did not get than what you have. Unless God has mercy on us and change our hearts, a mind which is focused on getting something out of everyone and everything is an endless pit. I have been learning the best way to contentment is to know everything we have is a gift and mostly it is given to us to use it or to bless others. It is joyful to know this powerful truth.
It is wonderful to be able to give because the joy is ineffable. It is wonderful to understand that who we are and what is given to us in all forms is not a right but a gift. Even when people do not appreciate whatever gift I am able to give them God made me happy just because of the act of giving. To me, life is less pain and more joy since I learned to give without expecting back. Jesus was not kidding when he said, “it is a blessing to give than to receive.
I am so happy I am born because I am given the privilege to be the channel of God’s gift, and make the lives of many better. In my little world, I am learning to understand the happiness of being born in this world is the ability to find a joy in giving what ever the receiver’s response may be. I am glad I am born even into this bad and selfish world because it is the perfect place to find that joy of giving for there is a lot, really a lot, of need. Because I am where I am right now I would not say, “I do not want to be born” for I am the happiest I can be so far and I believe the best is yet to come. No place in my life to say, “I do not want to be born.”

Sky is a 12 year old Liberian Boy. Sky comes to our building almost every day. We were together at the building the other day when Sky shocked me saying, “Worku I wish our fridge is as full as yours. I can tell you that there was not a lot of stuff in the fridge. All the people who are serving God in our building can attest to that. I was wondering whether Sky is expressing “the grass on the other side of the fence is always greener.” way of thinking or if he really is hurting at home. But I want you to know what God is sending me to my way these days is making me to be thankful for what I have than to be complainning about what I do not have.

You know life can be enjoyed when you are not willing to define by the public. But when you define with what God made you to be and when you are willing to open those blind eyes to see how much God has really blessed you. You know I understand you need to be a steward in a community and also represent God in the community. But being part of a community is to see how much you are blessed and do not see your haves and not have’s but the standard out there.

May be I am saying this a lot because I am coming from a poor part of the world and have seen not only “Relative Poverty,” but also “Absolute poverty.”
But when I see people in this culture it, sometimes, shocks me how much God has blessed and they take it for granted. There are many Sky’s who would love to have what you have and would jump up and down with joy for being alive to see this day.

I think the first step to bless others is to know how much we have been blessed. And the second step is, to accept what we do not have as a part of the expression of the love of God. As it says in Hebrew 12 God disciplines his children and be patient or gentle to be disciplned by God. Meaning, act like Children. God disciplnes his children not because of the mistake they have done but because he wants to see growth in them. The Hebrew 12 Passage ask us to accept discipline by God as a part of being in the family of God. Perhaps God is not giving us everything we wish because he sees much better things for us, again as it indicates in Hebrew 12.
As a person stand between two worlds I am thankful to see that the God I worship is a God of blessing even in the midst of painful circumstances. I hope this message finds you and open your eyes to see the amazing God who loves to bless in your life!

There is this story told about love.
There is a love that loves because its object of love is loveable. There is a love that loves beauty which is a good love. There is a love that loves a good character. It is a good love. There is a love that loves skill. That is a great love. But there is a greater love that loves not the obvious things. This love creates something loveable from its object. Under normal circumstances that object of love is not sooooooo loveable but this is beyond what you can see on the surface. It is a love which sees beyond what is seen. Just like the love Rosemary has for her toys.
Rosemary is the daughter of one pastor. When she was a kid she got toys made out of cottons. She loved them. After the toys of the cottons Rosemary got many kinds of toys made of rubber, wood and of other materials. The toys that are bought lately are so much better, in many ways, than the toys that are made of cottons. And when you see the toys that are made of cottons you will observe some important signs. They are getting dirty because they are made of rugs or cottons. They are also getting old. If you think in your right mind, you really want to throw away this old and dirty rugs. But it is impossible to do that if you are Rosemary’s friend. You are to love these old and dirty cotton rugs if you want Rosemary’s favor. It is impossible to love Rosemary and hate and throw away her old dirty toys. Just like Jesus’ love: Some of you may want to kick some people out of the church just because they are dirty rugs. They never get it, at least in your view. But if you love God you can not ignore or kick out his dirty and old rugs like me and you - oops! sorry for calling you names let us stay for now that I am the dirty rug. This is specially true when you serve God in a cross cultural ministry.

I have a challenge to all of you ; Do you really love the unlovable? Are you really willing to go out of your comfort zone because you are willing to understand the people you are serving? I am not trying to play a guilty trip here. But with all the ministry we are doing and with what is going on around us; I really want to remind you some important points to consider.
1. Loving others is a gift . We do understand this when we know how much we are loved freely. When you say you love others, if you are talking godly love, you are saying I am willing to give your love without expecting anything back. Godly love is a love with no strings attached. Hebrew 6 tells us how God’s faithfulness is so deep in loving us regardless of our response to it.

13For when God made [His] promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear,
14Saying, Blessing I certainly will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you.(A)
15And so it was that he [Abraham], having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained [in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come] what God had promised him.
16Men indeed swear by a greater [than themselves], and with them in all disputes the oath taken for confirmation is final [ending strife].
17Accordingly God also, in His desire to show more convincingly and beyond doubt to those who were to inherit the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose and plan, intervened (mediated) with an oath.
18This was so that, by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled [to Him] for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before [us].
19[Now] we have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot [a]break down under whoever steps out upon it–a hope] that reaches [b]farther and enters into [the very certainty of the Presence] within the veil,(B)
20Where Jesus has entered in for us [in advance], a Forerunner having become a High Priest forever after the order (with [c]the rank) of Melchizedek.(C)
An ability to love unconditionally comes from understanding that we are blessed and given unconditional love by the one who knows how to give freely. Do you really have hard time to give love to others? Do you struggle accepting others as they are? Then may be you need to look at how much understanding you have to the love God has given to you.

Because I came to learn about it through many painful experiences; I believe most of the problems we see in Churches today is the outcome of the people who grow up looking but not finding an agape love that satisfies in and out. The sad thing is many people are still looking for it and somehow we fail to point to many helpless people what it really meant in words and action. Our actions and words need to be in concert to understand that many of the problems we see in Churches today is a cry for agape and we, who claim that we found it, need to be gracious enough to demonstrate it.

I think because of the context we live in this age of globalization, loving others need to start from understanding who they are and where they come from. We all have culture and background we came from. But we need to get out the nest and learn to think outside of the box we made for ourselves. Because as we agree with J.B. Philips, that our God is not a small god, He is the God who, not only makes history happen, but also changes and leads the course of history. He is the God of Genesis, more than originality making something to exist which has not existed before in any form or status. It is a recognition of this quality of God when we join him to go to the journey and joy of discovering others. We will know their pain and joy; their happiness and gladness; all who they are, and making it to heaven together. Intimacy is very scary. But if we meant to do God’s will that is the best way to make things happen in God’s kingdom. Are you willing to understand others? Agape is a movement that adapts and lives out every change we face:

There is no perfect storm out there that can sink the church of Jesus Christ. No matter how much or how rapidly culture changes, the church is designed to prevail. Yet with each culture shift, it is painfully obvious that the church has become an institution rather than a movement. (Mcmanus)

I think agape love is a movement to be able to say to the most distinguished sinner: I love you regardless and I want to be part of your pain and change because of what Jesus has done to me. It is truly a Stubborn love to use my title. The storm of hatred, and an organizational legalism in the church without the call of grace or agape love putting many sinners out and making many ministries a waste. We need a movement of love that embodies grace, forgiveness and true reconciliation if we mean to move with a movement of love. Loving others is invading them with grace and gift so that it will be contagious in bringing the change we have been looking for a long time.

Loving others is not something that will be decided by majority. Loving others or extending agape is a personal decision to extend grace only, and only by the influence of the gospel. You do not give agape because others support you to do it or not, you do give agape because you understand how deeply bad sin is, and the only way out of it is the love of Jesus Christ our Lord.

That is why Scripture tells us. When Jesus saw Zeccheus or that woman who washed his feet with her tears he loved, he gave agape against the odds. It is a sad time when we see that the Church puts its work aside from giving grace to others. Giving grace is the Church’s main work regardless of the sad situation of the sinful world we live in. We want to be loved because the sinful world deprived us of that love.
That is obvious through our upbringing and through our day today relationship. If we understand that the sinful world is in deep trouble because of the lack of love I think it will make it easier to give love to others regardless of the situation we are in. Today: Education, Position, Money, Status, etc… are replaced loving others. God is committed to make sure to glorify himself by bringing agape in his church. This is not our church, this is God’s church and he is going to bring agape whether we like it or not. His seriousness to bring love can be seen in the Book of Jeremiah 1,

5Before I formed you in the womb I knew [and] approved of you [as My chosen instrument], and before you were born I separated and set you apart, consecrating you; [and] I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.(B)

The word ?knew? here is the same word used when Adam new Eve. God knew or loved Jeremiah even when he does not know who he is. And decided to treat Jeremiah as great regardless of his failure. You can see this theme coming up in the whole book of Jeremiah. His love also is seen in the fact that he was willing to give Jesus Christ for all of us. Many significant changes happened in my life when I know I am loved and how beautiful it is to God making me that change. Lord Please make me an agent of your agape that will bring eternal change in the lives of many!!!

The only way the Church of Jesus Christ stands out is in its unconditional love. Jn.13:34-35. Romans 13:10 etc… Long time ago back home I have seen Christianity is different from a religion. The power of the Gospel makes a difference in a person’s life because it pleasures in giving unconditionally. If you see any other aspect of the church it is similar to other religions around. Including spirituality. Many religions have a similar or sometimes better expressions of spirituality than Christianity as a religion.

And then the Buddhist moved in across the street. He was different than the Atheist. He has a value for spirituality and mysticisms that surpassed the religious fervor of many church attendees. Spirituality was sometimes more central to his life than ours, and we wanted to explain to him how believing in Jesus was right. The global religious banquet created a buffet-line approach toward faith. People suddenly have greater options and choices of religious expression, and the blank dismissal of other cultural values and faiths seemed to only validate how wrong fundamental Christian thinking had been. These new people was not suppose to be nice people, it wasn?t suppose to be so easy to like them?the spiritual expression such as Zen, yoga, meditation and discipline appear to be superior to the average experience of the American church goer. (53).

The only way, that distinguishes biblical Christianity from other ways of religion is the practice and concept of agape. Otherwise, we can be caught off guard because other religions are the same or better than us the rules we are proud of to know and practice. We are winners becaue our love needs to be known in accepting the worst of humanity and bring change in his life. Most of the rules we are trying to apply in the churches are found in many forms in other religions. That name or rule can not distinguish us from other forms of faith, only the grace or the agape of Jesus Christ. I hope you understand that I am not trying to overlook rules and other forms of religious practice. But sadly I have seen many people taken by them at the expense of many people who can be redeemed otherwise.

It worries me sometime that church leaders can play lovers without loving so that they can improve their resumes at the expense of the oppressed. Leaders who earned their leadership through giving and loving can be put aside by leaders who are aiming to the hierarchy at the expense of the community. Oh how many times the African grass gets hurt? I just wrote a very deep letter with tears to one of my friends to help me to pray as I go to share this love to friends who are ministers and who are considering to be ministers.

Let me suggest some ways how to be more agape centered :

If you want to give agape to people who have been oppressed please be incarnational. Many people think becoming incarnational is mainly geographical. You can be sure you can locate with people in the same area or neighborhood but they would possibly never understand what the world you are made of or what in the world you are talking about. Is your ministry comes from you or from your relationship to the people?

In 1Cor.13:1-3 it is saying your speech without an action of love is meaningless. Because love gives meaning , quality and depth to what we say. Knowledge/ shepherding without love is also meaningless because if you know and you are a teacher you need to know how to love. If you can not bear the smell of the sheep you can not be a Shepherd. It is actually a message that can also be found in 1Peter 5. Where Peter commands the Shepherds of the congregation to be example in love and humility not in demanding authority. It is very easy for the church to be an organization without being an organism. The people who made history in salvation are people who are willing to go further at cost of their advantage. Or people who are willing to give up so that God can be glorified and others can get the advantage. In Matthew Jesus shows his disciples that the best way to show others the value of the Kingdom is taking really risks of love. Loving without knowing the result and the return. That is very difficult to take for our trained minds. Because we imagine results in our minds as we work. When you love you may not know what will happen but anyways you love. Love is a walk of risky faith. Jesus loved but he was rejected. He gave love but he never got it back. That is sad. Love is a giving away of our lives knowing and trusting the God can and will make the best use of it; Not in a way we expect but in a way he chose.
It is like Jesus going to a solitary place with his disciples but the people came, instead of saying, I am tired. He has a compassion on them. What a LOVE !! Loving others is having the ability to sort between our feelings and God’s command and a heroic move to choose the later regardless of our feelings.

If all the people we love have responded perfectly to our love I bet you that your love is more of a seasonal love than a tested love. Because agape love is a love that is tested and able to see beyond the failure of a friend say to him, “I love you.” I love because I know how much I am loved not because there is that response from the people whom we gave love.

I have given many things to many people freely. Including my time my advantage and my money. Some people have been so good and responded to my gifts. Some never. But I am asking God to help me everyday to find my joy in loving not in the result I got from loving or giving. Do you love the people you preach? !. Then your preaching should come from your relationship with them. The true preacher decides the most illiterate person in his church would understand what he preaches and he prepares his massage based on that.
Your glory as a leader also is important. What it means to you that God called you to this ministry? It means you possibly be different. You will have weaknesses but as a leader you are really an empowering force that will help the church to become an organism in its walk with the Lord.
What breaks my heart in any church is when I miss the things I became a Christian for. Grace and Reconciliation. I have seen you can affect a person’s behavior more in Love and applying rules in love than being dogmatic about your self made rules.

Do you have that love which stays and wins? God needs to give you and me that Love. Reconciliation needs to be understood from the Context of love. We Africans have been leveled in and outside of the church with many names. Some of it is we deserve. But when we come to the church it is possible there are many people who want to remind us that feature of us than really take that incarnational way of approaching us and doing the ministry of reconciliation.
In my next blog entry I will talk about grace and reconciliation separately.
But my question to you is are you ready to be stubborn lover? I hope you do.
Amen Jesus!

Dear Friends,
This morning God was speaking to me through my pastor. Do you remember that lady in Israel who was bleeding for 12 years before she came to Jesus? The message was about her. She was not suppose to touch any one, she was not allowed in the temple. She was suppose to be outside of the city. If she was to follow the culture and crowd of that time she was not allowed to touch any one, let alone Jesus.

But when She was desperate she came to Jesus. Against the crowd she made her way through and gripped Jesus’ cloak. she was instantly healed. Most of the time though we do understand how much we need Jesus we do not do the most unpopular thing until God bring us to our desperate hour. As my Pastor suggested, God has seen her first and that helped her to come. All the desperation and the bleeding helped her to decide to come to her solution at last, thank you Jesus!

to me the beginning of this year was like that. In the past 4 years one of my brokenness was the fact that I did not want to upset any one. At my own cost, because of the community I serve and in the name of not to be in trouble.
I avoided confrontation, I avoided fight even when it is worth fighting. I waited till the last minute. Just like this woman, when I am desperate I came to Jesus and did all the things I did not want to do. Interestingly, that is when I saw Jesus working in me.
One of my friends was telling me last year, in the midst of the pain that I was going trough, God is growing me to become a leader who tells people the truth in the context of justice and mercy. Though it has been a bumpy ride, because of my disobedience to God, it is one of the best changes God made in me. My desperation brought me to Jesus. Because of the fear of rejection and not wanting to be uncomfortable; I waited until the last minute to make the choices and changes that I needed to bring to myself and to the people I serve. The more I did not want to confront people, including those who hurt me, to avoid confrontation the more I became miserable.
God brought me to the hour of my desperation and I was able to walk with him and there is healing and restoration. Believe me it seems easier to go with the crowd, and may be continue bleeding until God brings you to the healing. But it takes, to most of us, a lot of desperation to crack thorough the crowd and get the grip of Jesus. The Church of Jesus Christ is not a pleaser institution it is a counterculture movement. It is not an institution that tries to catch-up. It is a movement that is a forerunner and changes times.
Because God is moving me in the direction I never planned there will be people who would be upset and mad. Because of the cross cultural movement I am in, and most people choose not to cross, when things change I know I would be levelled and may be rejected. But because this is the healing movement of God I had to make difficult choice and changes because of the Justice and mercy of God to me and people I chose to serve.

My last four years again and again, taught me that it is possible to be a crowd that seemingly follow Jesus but not really come into grips with him. It take one desperate soul to see Jesus with all of his might and go against the odds. In this ministry, where I am constantly reminded that I am alien and Immigrant; I had to pay a price I never expected because of people who chose not to apply humility and servanthood in a cross cultural context. But the God who crossed from heaven to earth helped me to grow and touch many lives regardless of my delayed obedience. The God who chooses one person in the midst of the crowed who probably missed him is walking with me everyday regardless of the crowd’s view of me. Many people have the mentality of making everything as normal and routine as much as they can so that their comfort zone would not be shaken.

The new year started with that desperate call to Jesus and he is proclaiming a year of Jubilee to me and the people I serve. I am free and I am loved and called by God with who I am. I am one of a kind as each one of you are.
I am not naive to forget that there are people who may consciously committed to be different from me. But I am learning to listen to God, only God. If that is a mistake it is worth making. I am trusted the God who gives life to the dry bones and stops a 12 year bleeding.
THANK YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply Forward

Dear Friends,
Today when I woke up the Lord was brought this song in my language that is deep and touched me to the core.
We have made if thus far
because you Shepherd us
in bad and in good protected us
glad tomorrow is in your hands
as we love and continue to live
in your miracles
I live and continue to live because of God’s miracles. I stay and continue to stay because of God. Recently the Lord brought a choice in my life between convenience and truth. We live and do everything we can to get convenience. When you see the TV ads you will see how much we are after convenience. You can see that creeped in the Christian community which is trying to do ministry at the least convenient way. There is nothing wrong to have convenience. But when it governs our thinking of living and relating there is a big trouble.

Many of us who lead God’s people are trapped, knowingly or unknowingly, in the convenience dilemma that will touch our core values. The sad thing is,most of us are not even aware of it. This is not new you can see it through out salvation history. To remind you one; the Israelites were in the wilderness and so inconvenienced that they demanded to go back to Egypt.
I have recently learned in a very hard way to look what God has called me to do though mostly it inconvenienced me and others. The Church needs to watch lest it sacrifices God’s new movement for the sake of organizational convenience and familiarity. Those choices and changes we are making are happening because what God is doing in our communities is at stake. As McManus, points out the church is an organism that brings changes in all of its aspects.

As I said many times, because some people try to put others in a box of their own they find it very difficult to accept the growth and the change God is doing in our lives.

But God who calls a fisherman, a forgotten Shepherd, a given up farmer like Gideon, or a death row hopeless like Mordecai he called people whom you would not expect to be part of the kingdom. If anyone recognize that they would not have a problem with what God is doing in the lives of the people who are not expected to be on the top column of the suburbia Church shelf.

Here at RISE TOGETHER MINISTRIES God is allowing us to to take unusual steps in making sure not just justice and mercy, but biblical justice and mercy is applied in our lives and others. I personally believe that I am the least to deserve God’s grace and mercy. Because I am one and on the top of the worse. But God has extended that mercy to me. Just like those workers who did not like what their masters paid to the latecomer workers(Matthew 20). God decided to pay attention to me to the least one and bless me. Some people may not like that. But it is the master’s decision and when it comes the master’s decision no one can have an option.

And that love and extended grace made me to love and stay with people who would not be lovable or acceptable otherwise. To some people of “order and importance,” that is not acceptable. Others who have received grace and mercy from God joined in the work.

My pastor was preaching about prayer this last week. One of the important thing God has taught me from his sermon is Prayer is entering God’s character. It is not being able to explain his intellect. It is willing to be loved and accepted by him. It is allowing God to do new things in our lives. Some people try to figure out what he is thinking or even try to figure out God while he is inviting them to share his heart and his grace. What a loss!
Because some people are not willing to move with the God who creates new things does not mean God stopped working. If the God I worship is a God who has been put in the box of some suburbia mentality I would have gone long time ago.

The God I worship is a God who allow me to enter his heart and be loved by him. Out of that grace and mercy come. It is an experience that make me joyful and move me in the new direction that he designed for me and the community I am privileged to serve.

The more I think about it the more I love the work I do; and the more I fall in love with my God. I do not think I will allow anyone to take that away from me because they are not willing to move out of their box.
I love God and more that that it is a great joy to be loved while you are broken!

Dear Friends,
Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Last night Ache, a person we are working with, called me and told me his roomate, who had been in the US for a while, left without notice and took all of Ache’s belongings as well. He had nothing even to protect himself from this cold weather. Last night I made sure he had a place to stay with some of the other families. Then this early this morning I brought him some furniture and clothing.

This experience made me think about the Scripture I read this Mornning from Isiah 40 “Your God is Coming.” What an awesome God who comes to those who are at the bottom, and those who are the forgotten ones. There were many times my God has come to me through people who are willing to be used by him. There is a lot of betrayal, injustice, and pain in this world. I am learnning that to make a differeence we all need to pray that God will bring leaders who are willing to be forrunners rather than runner-ups. This is especially true for the diverse communities God is forming in churches these days. We need to pray for people who are willing to learn and decidedly, have a policy to be gracious to his or her fellow man, or as one author put it, people who are willling to practice ‘Gracism.”

I see in many parts of the world, people who believe they are doing cross cultural ministry, however they are not yet willing to truely cross over the the cultures they are trying to reach. Sometimes, as one author puts it, many people who are trying to do cross cultural ministry, while staying at their comfort zone, are “people who are trying to push the bus while they are still in it.” If you need to push this bus of cross cultural ministry there is a big need of to get off the bus and pushing it together. “” Superiority cloaked in the desire to serve is still superiority.” God is asking each one of us to give the best of what we have to the worst and the most undeserved. When you come down to it, that is what grace is all about. God came to us, we who are enemies and sinners.

As I tried to mention to some of you before, there is a lot of amazing knowledge in America, I am trained by Americans who loved me and who were willing to come to where I am. Whatever my teachers taught me, there is one thing that remaines in me, most of the world comes here with a broken heart and and an empty hand. Big knowledge can never heal a broken heart or an empty hand. It is time to get off the bus and be a healing and a blessing.

My prayer to many of God’s people is that they will be a people whose are willing to have a paradigm shift in order to give grace to the worst and most undeserved. Your God is Coming! “God, make us people who are used by you so that your coming will be realized!”
When I see what is going on the the 103 families we are working right now (after Christmas that number will grow), we need to pray for harvesters not only seasonal visitors, but people who are willing to stay with the most undeserved ones. Please pray for us. I think with every thing Going on, God is doing a new movement. As most of you hopefully agree with Mcmanus, the Church is a movement not an institution. With this movement and coming of God we need to move with God. As Mcmanus, Says,
It appears that if we are unwilling to move with the wind of God, we will be moved by the whirlwind of God. One type of
movement is a journey into God’s future; another uproots us from all the securities we refuse to relenquish.
I really think God is raising up leaders, slowly but surely, who are eqquiped with giving grace and willing to make real sacrifices so that they can love others as themselves. Some of the leaders God is calling are tired of playing a catch up game because they want to be forrunners like the New Testament leaders. When people, in any church, are willing to cross and see the God size movement they are willing to stay on the altar as living sacrifices. Yes, it may look and feel good to get off the altar. But if we are the tools God uses to show to the opressed that ” their God is coming” then we will stay on the altar and move with the wind of God.

God is not calling people who are “benevolent opressors,” or people with good intentions that are only willing to serve with in their own frame of reference. Ache, and others who are experencing opression and injustice, as if they had not already suffered enough oppresion in their own country, will be blessed when they see people who stoop down in order to lift them up. A people who are giving up on keeping up but a people who are willing to be far ahead in order to impact others and bring real change. This change is not only in the church but to the whole world. This change requires a cross cultural humility, which means literally leaving a comforts zone eventhough it is difficult, in order to trust people who are not so good in our eyes and standards! God help us to move with your wind! God Make us forerunners.!

Dear Friends,
First of all I ask you not to read this if you do not have time and really involved in the busy american life. I know what it means for it took me more than two monthis to write this.
As you all know I live a life that is cross cultural in its all aspects. I am blessed to live in it. My wife is a gracious person who knows how to cross to where I am. I honestly can tell you I thank God everyday for her patience and grace. I have many wonderful friends who stayed with me through the years though our skin colour and accents are as far as east to west of the globe. I love living cross cultural life. since very early in my ministry my life has been characterized by cross cultural elements. I helped missionary friends to learn my language while they help me to learn English, I was literally discipled by a missionary brother who is still deeply love me and very close friend, I was educated mainly by missionaries who were not born in my country, I went to Asia to get my first Masters degree I talked the talk and walked the walk of cross cultural life. I enjoyed this life even when it is difficult for it is God who called me to CROSS.
My view of the American church is what I saw in my missionary friends back home. I have missionary friends who stayed home almost at the expense of their lives while the city I live was besiged. I know missonary friends who saved every penny they have, wearing torn pair of shoes, and very, very cheap close in order to reach the people in Africa who did not hear the gospel. One lesson, that remained all of these years in my life is the fact that any of those friends never thought what they are doing is a favor to the people they serve or to myself. The American missionaries in Africa are the jewels of the American Church who represent Christ in an amazing way. It is a privilage for me to be their friend though I do not deserve it.
Though I am blessed and continue to be blessed in this cross cultural life it is not free of the struggles. I belive most of you who get this e mail know me or crossed my way in good and difficult times. Therefore it is important to me to share you my struggles as an African. Some of you may read my blog www.kishawork.stlouisblogs.org but here I really want to share specific struggles as an African who is trying to cross to the settled culture, be a bridge between the American church and the “new Americans”
1. Is Cross Cultural ministry a favor or a privilage? I can tell you at this point God gave me a wonderful ministry that I have to lead and be accountable for. “RISE TOGETHET MINISTRIES” is designed to rise together above all the differences. One of my struggles I saw in the ministry is I come across many people who see what they do to the poor aliens we are serving as a favor and they want something back for it. I am throwing to all of you this question: Is ministry a favor you give or a privlage you recieved? Jer.20:9; 1Cor.9:16, 19. The reason I am throwing this verses is the fact that in God’s community, it is a body working together no body is doing anybody a favor. As many of my friends do, I hope, pray and dream to see many churches and communities to be giver of themselves to Christ and others without expecting anything back. LORD MAKE THAT DAY CLOSER THAN EVER! If you struggle with the issue of being rewarded for everything you do in the kingdom I think it is time to search your heart and evaluate why you are doing ministry. I always try to be honest when I tell people about our ministry that it is not easy. I will stand with people who have difficulty when they serve God. But it really makes me wonder the faith of the people who think they are doing a favor for serving the God who saved them. Hopefully you know what I mean!
2. It is part of this culture, which I struggle with, sorry for being honest, to beg others to serve the Lord. Sometime we try to show people that it does not cost much of their convinience to serve God (Luke 9:23-34; Romans12:1-3). Serving God is not convinience. It is a process, a change. It can be uncomfortable. It took death on the cross for Jesus to save us.Do you think anyone would be inconvinienced to serve this God? My view of ministry is the fact that people need to know that serving God in Cross cultural ministry is a process of getting life through everyday dying to self and convinience. It is very inconvinient and difficult. I am not going to beg anyone to come and serve Christ. But I would love to offer the opprtunity to serve this God who inconvinienced himself even to the death of the cross. I understand serving God depends on the maturity and understanding of the person. But many people who volunteer in ministry, want to be treated as kings and queens just because they volunteer for ministry. Though as ministry leader, I always recognize the volunteers that are coming to may way I do not think I should beg anyone to serve God. I think my work is to presernt the opprtunity to relate and serve. Anyone serves because of the call in his or her heart and the reward that we expect from God. In many parts my country people give their full time to serve God without knowing where their next meal comes from. Why is it difficult to get volunteers in this culture who are sure of their next meal and shelter? It is a dilemma for me. Why do those who come want to be treated like kings and queens in the name of serving the King of Kings? It is a dilemma for me. Please know that I have many friends and people I know who are volunteering sacrificially. But there are people who are trying to climb on two trees because they have two feet. They are trying to serve without sacrifice, to live without dying to be a living sacrifice without staying on the altar. GOD HELP US!

I just remember the joke I read on Reader’s Digest where a pastor and a cab driver went to heaven. The pastor was given a small house while the cab driver was given this big villa. The pastor asked, “I have been preaching all my life. and got this small house while this ordinary cab driver got this big villa” to which St. Peter Answered, ” when you preach people sleep, when he drove people prayed. Therefore he caused more people to talk to God than you did.” I am looking for a day where people who volunteer for Jesus cause more changes in the community by leaving their comfort zone to Cross and bless without expecting back from the poor people like us. For their reward in heaven is greater than any one can imagine. JESUS COME SOON!

I am a refugee-A refugee from Africa
Leveled many times and ignored
Laughed at or misunderstood
If there was no God I am doomed
I am a refugee from Africa
Who crossed to America
Who is willing to give
Who is for others to live
Topic of a discussion
As if I am wrong in every direction
Regardless of gossips
Those thorny discussions
I cross to Many people
Who are not willing to cross to my struggle
I am a refugee from Africa
Who came to live in America
But this rock is shaken every day
From here to there it sway
When I try to make it a refuge
It doesn’t have a strong place to lodge
Therefore God has become my Refuge
When people are willing to indulge
To level me and laugh at me
Lord please rescue me
Yes I am a refugee here in this Land
But even Americans they do need you Lord
So be my refugee and Let me rest in you
Unshakable unchangeable loving joy to me are you
Thank you Jesus for loving me and caring for me
Even when they do not understand me
But because you are my refugee
I will glorify thee
I will cross everyday and love them
Will be a channel to your kingdom
Even though they do not cross to where I am
I will cross to them
Extend your grace and mercy
Be present in their territory
For you are my refugee and rock
I am blessed because you are my luck
I am a refugee from Africa
Who is called to America
God is my joy and my banner
Who helps me to bare!

I am trying to understand you Jesus
How much meant to you the cross
adjusting to me so that I can see
coming to my life to the dust and the dirty
Yes Jesus I see now while I am sharing
the pain and the groan the suffering
because I am sharing it a little bit
living in another land which is different
to be leveled by many names
to be seen as different and useless
Yes Jesus I see how you felt when you are here
to make for me better
Though I feel that way
I will continue to live your way
To love when I am rejected
to cross even when I feel unwanted
to live not for a club but a cause
to have a life of eternal use
to respond not to my pain
but to you and your people gain
to go to the other people territory
though they do not want me in their story
I have decided Jesus to cross
even when I am not give notice
Because you matter most to me
I am not needless I need you
I am not needy I have you
But I believe I am needed
though it may not be understood
One day before you I will have a reward
that will make me joyful
I have decided to make your will
to adjust my life to your plan
to go and cross the other clan
make me oh God please your Man!
Glory to you AMEN AMEN!