More inspiration from the Front.

Good Day. 

People brush by on the street, avoiding eye contact, most of them wearing dark clothes, personal boundaries made clear.  They all seem to be in a hurry, trying to get through the neighborhood quickly I think.  One definitely does not travel to the Brooklyn Tabernacle for nearby shopping or site seeing, because the area is a rough one.  And thinking about it, I stick out in the crowd on the subway train, and on the corner awaiting a walk sign—not very many blondes, and no pink to be seen! 

But walk through the doors of the church, and everything changes.  The beautifully-restored art deco theatre is inviting enough, but the people—oh, the people … how amazing!  Don’t get me wrong—this is no cult thing, nor is the pastor some Know it All or power monger.  Jim Cymbala is just a simple man who has been faithful, (forty years now!) trusting a God who has always been faithful, always been good.  There is a sense of urgency within the folks who stream through the doors to worship God, as they come from all over New York City’s five boroughs to praise God, hear his Word, pray and be together.  There is such diversity in the ranks—on every level—age, race, native tongue, and economic status—all donning their ‘Sunday best’ to meet God.  The sisters sing with emotion and fervency, and there is nothing like seeing a formerly drug-addicted gang member raise his hands and sing out to God … it is beautiful!

In the last two and a half days, I have heard eight of the finest sermons ever—again, from ministers of quite divergent ages, denominations and styles.  Permit me to share just one point from Tim Dilena, (a man who pastored for 20+ years in the rough inner city of downtown Detroit)— that has broad application. 

Dilena took us to the well-known chapter of Hebrews 11—you know, the one that folks call The Hall of Faith.  But he did not start at the top and say nice inspiring things that most have heard before; he went to verse 32: “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and…” Dilena posed the question, ‘God, what do you see in these guys that I don’t see?’ It is not surprising that Gideon, David and Samuel are listed in this chapter … but Barak, Samson and Jephthah give one pause.  Interestingly, all three are written about in the Old Testament book of Judges, and also listed together in this one verse in Hebrews.  

From Judges chapter 11, we read that Jephthah was the son of a prostitute and a man named Gilead; he was hated by his brothers and their mother, Gilead’s wife.  They hated him so much they drove Jephthah out of the house, penniless.  He settled in another area where he became the leader of a tough gang [of adventurers, the Bible calls them].  Some time later, the Ammonites attacked Israel, and guess who the Gileadites came to ask to lead and save them?  That’s right—Jephthah!  Wait … help them?  Are you kidding me?  They had cut him to the core, drove him from his home and homeland, and now they want him to rescue them?  Seriously. 

Jephthah did . . . he went back and rescued them. 

Going back meant he had to be willing to forgive them; the people that were the closest to him in the world had rejected him and hurt him deeply. Hurt seems to be proportional to intimacy, have you noticed that? He forgave them, and God honored him.

Want to be honored by God?  Forgive others.  Want to be forgiven yourself?  Forgive others.  From our Lord, “Yes, if you forgive others for the wrongs they do to you, then your Father in heaven will also forgive your wrongs. But if you don’t forgive others, then your Father in heaven will not forgive the wrongs you do.”  Matthew 6.14-15

[I call Brooklyn Tabernacle ‘the Front’ because that’s how it seems to me; the ministry is literally the front line of the battle raging between darkness and light, goodness and evil, in the midst of a hurting, broken city.  Not so different from many other cities, just a whole lot more obvious.  Someday, I hope to live and minister right there myself.  That’s how much it means to me.]

We are all in need of forgiveness, so we sure better figure out how to forgive others. 

Christine