I didn't crush a single brick, break a baseball bat, blow up a hot water bottle, bend a steel rod, or tear a single phone book into pieces, but I am tired! Not the same kind of tired as Josh Whisenant and John Eskridge are experiencing, but tired nonetheless. The last four days has been a whirlwind of activity. It's a good tired. The kind of pleasurable exhaustion that comes from being part of a team who has finished a particular mission. Not the complete final "Mission Accomplished" - that will come when Jesus does - but a particular mission has been completed. God has done a marvelous work in our midst and a number of us were able to be a small part of it.
It has been my distinct pleasure to get to know Josh and John (from John Jacobs' Next Generation Power Force). I knew what they did for a living and that is why we brought them here. I didn't know, however, what they would be like as people. What a great couple of young men they are! What the public saw were two powerful, self disciplined young men who could perform amazing feats of strength. Both were 29 years of age. One was an incredible hulk of a man - 320 pounds of power. The other stood 6'4", 240 lbs, and was the most impressive physical specimen that I have ever seen. One a white, former school teacher with spiked hair who was a dynamo of energy and a passionate preacher. The other, a black man with dreadlocks and three Super Bowl rings who had inflicted physical punishment on NFL quarterbacks and running backs for five years with the New England Patriots.
Different races... different backgrounds... different personalities... different styles... one common motivation... one common goal. Their motivation - loving Jesus with all their hearts. Their goal - leading young people (and adults) to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Their method was "different". The music was loud, the physical feats they performed were outrageous. Their physical appearance was stunning. And it all worked together to grab the audience's undivided attention while they did what they came here to do - share the Good News of Jesus Christ. In response to the invitations given, more than 80 men and women, boys and girls publicly responded to the call.
Souls were saved - new subjects were added into the Kingdom of God. Christians were challenged to take a greater stand for Christ. And the Devil was mad. How do I know that? It was obvious from the hate note that was found in one of the offering plates. The folks who found the note were surprised. A couple of people were angered, but I reminded them, "No, that's a good thing." That simply means that God was doing a wonderful work in our midst and the Enemy was furious yet unable to do anything about it.
When the Gospel is preached it draws a line in the sand. Jesus said, "You are either with me or against me...". The message of salvation through Jesus Christ is a polarizing one. People are called upon to make life and eternity altering commitments and the king of this world will do everything within his power to derail the message. The beauty of it all, however, is that he cannot overcome the message of Grace from our Father in Heaven.
Most of us think of the "team" as Josh and John, but the "team" members number far more than two. They include the Finance Committee of our church who, even in the face of a tight financial situation, voted by faith, to commit the monies required to host this event. (They agree that it was worth it!) The Team includes those who spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars gathering the required materials for the program. The team includes those who used their own $3.00 per gallon gasoline to make not one, but two trips to Charleston late Saturday night to pick up the two Power Force members. The team was made up of the guys who worked the sound booth, served as ushers, and the men and women who were willing to donate their time to counsel those who responded to the invitations. The Team members were young and older. They included the folks who cooked and served wonderful meals for Josh and John, and the guys who took valuable time off from their jobs to take Josh and John to four school assemblies. The event couldn't have come off without the ones who labored physically by carrying plywood, bricks, concrete blocks and two by fours. They worked for hours to set up the stage area and to protect the surrounding instruments from any possible damage. They labored even longer hours cleaning up the debris and putting things in the sanctuary back into place. Team members set up radio interviews, sent notices to media outlets, put up posters in the community, and passed out fliers on their own time. Hundreds of man hours were expended.
A tremendous amount of time and effort went into the event. Josh and John have moved on to other cities to share the Gospel. We are all tired - but it is a "good tired".
The Power Force came to us at no set charge. They work by faith and depend on the love offerings of the congregation to fund their ministry. Their target goal to cover the expenses needed to send them, pay their salaries and to keep the large Akron, Ohio based ministry going was $4,000. I wasn't sure that the crowds we expected would be able to cover that amount, but once again God provided for the need through His people. The final offering tally was $4,090.
As a result of the combined efforts - God blessed, and more than 80 people have a new or revitalized relationship with Jesus Christ.
This weekend's mission has been accomplished but the work is far from over. The mission continues. More than 80 people need followup. Some have ties to other churches. We will share the decisions of those folks with the churches they identified on their response cards. Others will need to be discipled by us. Some will need to be baptized. There is still much work to be done from this harvest time and yet the fields are still ripe for more harvest.
Workers are needed...
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