Quick Hits from Baltimore

My life has been such a whirlwind lately. I want to take a few moments and get some initial thoughts to you.
- Kristy and Caleb have transitioned extremely well. Our son is as resilient as they come. He took this entire process of a move without one display of frustration or confusion. We had about two months to talk to him so by the time we actually moved he was beyond prepared. It also helped that we were actually moving TO family instead of away from family. He has seen his grandmother, aunts and uncles more in a week than possibly his entire life. Kristy is doing wonderful as well. She's due in mid-January so she's getting an extra crown in heaven for her long-suffering but she's not allowed her burdens to become the burdens of others. She's a champ. I love her. She's a rock for a crazy man like me. Her castle is coming together quite nicely as we are down to just a few boxes needing unpacked and a few pictures needing hung.

- So far I've been able to keep working hard during the entire move. Moving around Thanksgiving gave us a natural 4-day weekend to unpack and get things set up. Fortunately for me the rest of the world was sitting around watching football while I got my office set up and our house unpacked. That allowed me not to miss any time on the grind. - Kristy and I talked about the fact that we feel like we've slid into this new life rather nicely. The area is very familiar to me and a little familiar to Kristy. I've already seen some of the ways I naturally fit this environment and pace of life.

- Fund raising for the church is moving along. We have a few churches give verbal support that we need to turn into commitments and we've been fortunate to meet a bunch of people along the way. For us to do all God has called us to do it requires that we start with a back-hoe, not a garden hoe. My prayer and expectation is that we will raise the commitments we need by early spring so I can begin focusing all of my effort on loving and reaching the city around me. If you're wanting to partner with what we're doing feel free to check out TheBaltimoreProject.com for more info on that. Electronic giving is up. If you're with a church, small group or run your VBS, get in touch with me personally. If you're an individual please sign up for our prayer alerts and set yourself up for a one-time or monthly contribution. Thanks in advance!
- I'm so passionate right now about the concept of redemption. Everywhere I go I see potential for redemption. My entire city is in great need. I spent almost two hours this morning on the first 7 verses of Nehemiah as I couldn't help but to see the parallels leaping off of the page. I hope to share some of the lessons.
- The word and concept of 'honor' has been on my mind for months now. It won't go away. I'm trying to practice honor in my personal life as often as I can. Scripture is clear that we're to not only show respect for human beings around us but to 'honor them above yourself'. We're to consider their well being above our own. When we remain cognizant of this thought and hold it captive in our mind's eye it radically changes how we conduct ourselves. As a practice in my own life it's been challenging and rewarding at the same time. One of the ways I want our church in Baltimore to make a radical statement to our city is through the radical level we carry out honoring one another. My prayer is that everyone we touch walks away with a sense of wonder that we went out of our way to honor them.

- There is a remnant in Baltimore. It's under the surface but it is here. Everywhere I go I come into contact with people who seem to be on the edge of their seat waiting for someone to call out the power of God that is at rest within them. What's crazy is the place I most recently saw Jesus the most was at a Christmas party with an inner-city kids ministry. There were about 7 other adults at this party but they are radically sold out for Jesus. Two of these couples are high-end educated young people who have turned away from suburban church-ianity for the loving chaos of inner-city ministry. The remaining three people run the work. The Pastor is a man of God who speaks Jesus in a powerful way each night and weekend as he works at Home Depot the rest of the week. His wife to whom he will be giving a kidney to in 2009 and a twentysomething missionary who moved from the Midwest and plopped herself down in a gang-infested part of Baltimore to love people with lives that couldn't be more different than her own. There is a remnant in Baltimore. I assure you.