Question: What does it mean to be “Familia”?

Written by Greg Smith, CBF Field Personnel

I remember, as a young seminarian in the 1980s, taking a Christian education course on ministry with adults.  One of the key points brought out in the required readings focused on what constitutes “family.”  I remember one of the authors noting that “family” wasn’t necessarily confined to the typical “American” ideal of the “nuclear family,” that is, mom, dad, brother, sister, dog, cat, canary and a couple of goldfish, but rather “family” could range from one person (the single adult) or to the large, extended family.  The point often made was that, in ministry with adults, the pastor/minister shouldn’t approach the single adult as less than “family,” but that all configurations of family are equally important.  “Family,” in other words, comes in all shapes and sizes.
Later, as a global, cross-cultural worker (read “missionary”) in Latin America, I discovered the inclusiveness of “family.”  Family members may be related or not related; of the same or different cultures; speaking the same or different languages; sharing the same or even different heritages and backgrounds.  For these my Latin American “brothers” and “sisters,” “family” is only limited by who we choose to include or not include in our family.  We can make families as wide and as open as we want.

These factors are important as I think of family.  For me, when I think of family, I first think of my wife Sue and our children Jason, Kyle and Jason’s wife Myra.  I think of my parents, my sister and her family, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and her family, and other significant relatives.

But, perhaps at a different though still important level, I’ve learned to think in broader terms when family comes to mind.   Because family or familia is as broad as you make it.  While we are born into a family, marry into family and give birth to family, we also extend family to others who become significant in our lives.  They may or may not form part of the “inner circle” where spouse, children, parents and others tend to reside.  But they are still family nonetheless.  They are family because they have touched our lives in special ways, and added real value that wouldn’t be there if they hadn’t been there.

As once primarily Costa Ricans filled our lives as familia (because we lived and worked in Costa Rica), today Latinos of differing Latin American backgrounds, along with colleagues who work alongside me in Latino and Christian ministry, create for me what it means to be family.  My life wouldn’t be the same without these significant others, not just because I work with and among them but because they share their life, their stories, their joys and their sorrows with me.  We’ve learned to laugh together, sing together, worship together, eat together, joke together, and live together as family.  Truly familia just wouldn’t be the same without them.

Familia is one of God’s special gifts to me for which I am truly grateful.

¿Qué es familia?

Recuerdo que, cuando era un seminarista joven en la década de los 80, cursé una materia del departamento de educación cristiana sobre el ministerio con los adultos.  Uno de los puntos clave presentados en las lecturas obligatorias se centró en lo que constituye “la familia.”  Me acuerdo que algunos de los autores señalaron que “la familia” no se podía limitar necesariamente a la ideal “típica” y “americana” de lo que se llama la “familia nuclear,” es decir, a la familia que se constituye de mamá, papá, un hijo, una hija, un perro, un gato, un canario y un par de peces de colores, sino más bien el concepto de “familia” se puede variar de una sola persona (como soltero o soltera) a la familia más numerosa y extensa.  El punto es que a menudo, respecto al ministerio con los adultos, el pastor o ministro no debe conceptualizar al adulto soltero como menos de “familia” porque todas las configuraciones o agrupaciones de la familia son igualmente importantes.  “Familia,” en otras palabras, permite todos tamaños y todas formas.

Más tarde, como obrero global y transcultural (léase “misionerio”) en América Latina, me di cuenta de que “familia” es un concepto inclusivo.  Es decir, la familia de uno puede incluir a otros que no son parientes; que no son de nuestra cultura o no hablan nuestro idioma; o que no comparten el mismo patrimonio.  Para estos mis hermanas y hermanos latinoamericanos, “familia” incluye a quienes queremos incluir.  “Familia” es un concepto tan ancho y tan abierto como deseamos que sea.

Estas ideas son importantes para mí cuando pienso en lo que es la familia.  Para mí, cuando pienso en mi familia, en primer lugar pienso en my esposa Sue y nuestros hijos Jason, Kyle y Myra, la esposa de Jason.  Pienso también en mis padres, mi hermana y su familia, mi suegra, mi cuñada y su familia, y otros familiares importantes.

Pero quizá en un sentido diferente aunque también importante, he aprendido a pensar en términos más amplios cuando medito en el concepto de “familia.”  Porque digo otra vez que la familia de uno es tan amplio como uno permite que sea.  Aunque nacimos como niños en una familia, y formamos parte de la familia de nuestra esposa o esposo si nos casamos, y producimos niños que son miembros de nuestra familia, también les damos a otros que no sean familiares el derecho de ser personas significativas en nuestra vida.  Ellos pueden o no formar parte del “círculo íntimo” donde el cónyuge, los hijos, los padres y otros tienden a residir.  Pero no obstante siguen siendo “familia.”  Son familia porque han tocado nuestra vida de una manera especial, y añadieron valor a nuestra vida que no estaría presente en nuestra vida si ellos mismos no hubieran estado presentes en nuestra vida.

Como los costarricenses en un tiempo eran principalmente nuestra familia (porque vivimos y trabajamos en Costa Rica), se compone nuestra familia hoy día de los latinos de diferentes culturas latinoamericanas, junto con nuestros colegas que trabajan con nosotros en el ministerio latino y cristiano.  Mi vida no sería igual sin la presencia de estas personas importantes, no sólo porque trabajo con ellos sino porque comparten conmigo sus vidas, sus historias, sus alegrías y sus tristezas.  Hemos aprendido a reír juntos, cantar juntos, orar juntos, comen juntos, bromear juntos, y vivir juntos como familia.  En verdad mi familia no sería igual sin ellos.

“Familia” es uno de regalos más especiales que Dios me ha dado, y siento verdaderamente agradecido.

Pilgrim Practices: Discipleship for a Missional Church by Kristopher Norris

I remember during my early days of ministry a youth committee meeting where we attempted to determine the major components of our ministry for a “vision statement.” (This was back during the days of the “Purpose-Driven” craze.) I remember one committee member suggesting we include “discipleship” as one of our four or five ministry components. I responded, with the brashness of an overly-eager seminarian, “Why do we need to include discipleship as a separate dimension when we already have Christian education?” Such a naïve response, in retrospect, betrayed not only the way education consumed my life as a divinity student (and now as a PhD student), but also a fundamental misperception and misunderstanding about the nature of Christian discipleship. I conflated discipleship with education, limiting it to what happens in the Sunday School classroom, small group study, personal scripture devotions, or one-on-one mentorship. Discipleship was what happens to an individual person as they study the Bible and develop their own particular Christian skills and faithfulness.

This ministerial mishap is perhaps one of the underlying personal (perhaps psychological) reasons I wrote the book, Pilgrim Practices: Discipleship for a Missional Church. It, in a way, is an effort to correct the misperceptions of my youthful overzealousness and narrow, individualized vision of the Christian life. Today’s culture of transient identities and fleeting commitments compels us to think of life in such individualized (even consumerist) terms; we can buy ourselves an new look with a few clicks of the mouse, achieve a new social status of we work hard enough for that promotion, or feel trapped because we do not have the resources to make the changes we feel are necessary in order to become happy. This culture makes it difficult to determine what discipleship means in our contemporary context, what it looks like to be disciples of Jesus Christ. For those of us who seek to remain faithful to God’s mission and calling in a swiftly changing time and landscape that can make it difficult to do so, discipleship must entail more than educational programs or individualized mentoring.

In today’s world, just like the world of the fledgling Christians in the first century, discipleship entails a particular way of life. While the specifics of that way of life may change according to the needs, customs, and technologies of the time and location, the fundamental mission of the life of discipleship remains the same: to discover our identity in Christ and with each other, and to participate in God’s mission through particular and peculiar practices derived from the story and message of scripture—practices like listening, welcoming, praying, speaking wisely, committing, and witnessing. In other words, discipleship is a lifestyle that cannot be lived on one’s own, and being a disciple ultimately means engaging with others on a journey of faith sustained and cultivated through practices in and with the church. It is more than an educational program, more than a list of obligations; it is primarily an identity requiring a journey pilgrimage of transformation that cannot be developed apart from the community of the church.

The popularity of the language of “missional” among CBFers as well as leaders of other denominations has been a needed corrective to stale, procedural visions of the Christian vocation, offering a more holistic vision of what it means to follow Jesus. Many missional resources, however, tend to perpetuate the shallow conceptions of the church and Christian life with vague and undetermined notions of joining “God’s mission.” Retrieving an emphasis on discipleship as a mode of life constituted by formative practices within the community of the church serves as a helpful and deeper complement to this recent missional turn. “Missional living” is not something we can achieve by attending conferences, holding worship in a coffeehouse (or bar), or even starting a local ministry project. Missional living, understood in terms of discipleship to Jesus, encompasses our entire lives. It snatches us up and does not let us go. It forms us in ways that reorient us from our consumerist American culture of freedom, power, and (mythical) notions of unlimited opportunity. It calls us to everyday practices that mold us in the image of God and works to subvert the dominant frameworks of our society. It teaches us that God loves us and calls us to share that love with the world in every moment and every circumstance. It teaches us that we cannot do it alone. Discipleship is a long and difficult journey. We will need the help of God, and of one another.

Kristopher Norris is the author of Pilgrim Practices: Discipleship for a Missional Church. A pastor from North Carolina, he is now a PhD student at the University of Virginia studying Christian ethics. His book is available at online retailers such as www.amazon.com, as well as directly from the publisher, https://wipfandstock.com/cascade_books

Question: What does it mean to be “Familia”?

Written by Joe Kendrick, Senior Pastor at Bruington Baptist Church.

There are days that I think, “Connor’s lucky to have me as a dad.” and there are days that I think, “I feel bad that Connor got stuck with me as his dad.” Both are severely narcissistic, yet that’s what I think sometimes. A majority of the time I look at him and think, “How in the blue hell did I get so fortunate?”

Connor turned 2 just a couple of weeks ago. I’m amazed at how fast this year has gone. It seems like yesterday he was just two months old and laying in my lap at 2 am. refusing to go back to bed. It has gone by quickly. Too quickly but not quick enough. Watching him reach his milestones of rolling over, smiling, his first tooth, crawling, cruising, walking, and speaking all have been a magical ride. And now he’ll eventually learn to count and do other 2 year old activities. Life certainly moves fast.

During Lacy’s pregnancy, I would have severe panic attacks when I thought about Connor growing up. I remember driving and this mental flash of Connor’s life gallops through my mind. In 30 seconds I went from preparing for his arrival, to his first day of school, to his high school graduation. Next thing I knew, he was 30 and I was 60. My heart began to race, my pulse was high, and my arm went numb. Textbook panic attack; if I had read about panic attacks in a textbook. I failed biology my first time around.

He’s now a 2 year old.

I hope he doesn’t get in a hurry to grow up. I hope he takes his time. I hope I don’t force him to be in a hurry to grow up. I hope I take my time.

It’s hard not to feel like you’re in a parental competition with other parents. The age of Facebook and Twitter make it hard not to think that you’re child will fall behind if he doesn’t keep up with the Kardashians (whoever they are). I keep reminding myself he’s not. Everyone comes into their milestones in their own time and in their own way. I keep reminding myself, “You’re here to help him pick himself up when he falls. You’re here to cheer him on. You’re here to love him.” I’m here to love him.

He’ll come into his milestones when it is his time. I hope and pray that I can resist the need to compete. I hope I can simply be here to love him. I hope that when he turns thirty, he’ll look at his sixty year old father and say, “I’m glad you’re my dad.”

I think that’s the best to hope for.

Question: What does it mean to be “Familia”?

Written blog by Matthew Hensley, Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Mission at Huguenot Road Baptist Church.

As the parents of three children, age seven and younger, my wife and I think a lot about how we will effectively pass on our Christian faith.  Research reveals that as parent’s faith goes, so does their children’s.  In other words, family matters in matters of faith.

I am who I am today thanks to my family of origin.  I didn’t raise myself on my own.  Much of the way I view myself and the world around me is due to growing up in my particular family.  Some of my silly habits, the funny way I pronounce certain words, and the amusing expressions I use all can be traced back to my parents, grandparents, sisters and cousins.

Perhaps my birth order, how many siblings I have, and my home environment can help explain this but in the end, for good or bad, my particular family has made me the person I am today.  Had my parents just told me “this is what you will value and this is how you will pronounce certain words,” it would not have worked.  But they didn’t have to.  It was ingrained in me through the sharing of our lives together.

Our Latino friends have much to teach us “westerners” about sharing our lives with others.  Instead of simply a nuclear family, the Latino familia includes all the people that come into contact with their particular family.  Neighbors, teachers, coaches, trusted civic leaders, and particularly church members are a part of one’s familia because each of these can have an impact in the identity and care of each individual.

To many this will sound naive.  In placing such trust in others, we become vulnerable and open to potential hurt.  Certainly we have to be careful.  But when we commit to this kind of larger Christian family, the opportunity for each person to see a tangible and robust faith in action is multiplied a hundred fold.  In such a community, each person’s Christian identity has a diversity and depth to it due to the many who take responsibility for their physical and spiritual care.  It is exactly this kind of familia we Baptists have in mind when we participate in baby dedication.

Kenda Creasy Dean, professor of youth, church, and culture at Princeton Theological Seminary spends a lot of time discussing the formative power of community in her recent book Almost Christian.  In it she refers to sociologists who consider a young person’s sense of belonging in a religious community a more accurate predictor of his or her adult religious involvement than regular church attendance.  She goes on to say that,

“Caring congregations help teenagers develop what social scientist call ‘connectedness’ a developmental asset accrued from participating in the relational matrix of authoritative communities – communities that provide young people with available adults, mutual regard, boundaries, and shared long term objectives.[1]  ”

Sounds like family to me!

Question: What does it mean to be “Familia”?

Written by Dorothy Cluff, retired Nurse Practitioner and member at Orange Baptist Church.

What Family Means to me!

Family means connections, fellowship, love, friendship and on and on.  My biological  family, which consists of three sons, three daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren, mean that and so much more.  They bring joy, meaning and purpose to my life.  They are a great blessing.  But family does not stop there.

In recent years I have had the privilege of participating in several short-term medical mission trips.  Working with a diversity of people in different countries has revealed to me that there are loving, caring people around the world.  Out of these experiences have evolved a kindred spirit for people of different ethnicities and a deep sense of the meaning of family.  We truly are ALL children in the family of God.  What a blessing!

Question: What does it mean to be “Familia”?

Written Blog by Artemia Tamayo, Mission on the Move Staff & Church Administrator at Memorial Baptist Church.

When I think of familia, the best image that comes to mind is the wedding scene from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. So many people gathered together that had been part of the past and present life of the bride, Toula Portokalos; people that had seen her at her worst and at her very best.

That scene embodies the feeling of home to me; that is familia.  My immediate family is comprised of only six people: three sisters, my parents and myself.  Yet, there is always room at the table for an unexpected guest.  Growing up, my mother prepared dinner for what seemed to be at least 15 people; it’s almost as if they were expected guests; they would just drop in a little before dinner time.  But everyone was welcome at our table.

A few years ago, God granted us the opportunity to buy a house, one of the required items on my mother’s list was a large kitchen and a large dining room.  To her, it was important to put to practice a home dedicated to the service of God.  Thankfully, God provided the large kitchen and dining room along with all the other items my mother had on her list of “must haves”.

Yet… something was not right. Now with a large dining room the table that seated eight or ten seemed out of proportion for the allotted space.  Also, the table would not accommodate everyone during larger celebrations such as birthday parties or Christmas.  Unhappy with this situation, my mother went on a scavenger hunt to fix this problem before our Christmas Eve dinner, one of our larger family celebrations.

By fall she’d found a conference table that had been thrown out, the only problem was that the table was strictly the table top, no legs and it weighted a ton!!   The project was assigned to my father: to build legs onto the table and have it ready by Christmas Eve.  During Thanksgiving, the table top stood against the wall and was announced to all our guests, family members and church members that by Christmas there was to be a new table in place of the old one.  The pressure was on!

The following two months, my father began to engineer legs for this gargantuan table. Finally, Christmas Eve arrived and with luck the table legs had been built, but the tabletop was yet to be attached.  That morning, six of us gathered around the table top to lift it and place it on its new firm foundation.  The legs were quickly screwed into the top… all 20 screws. At last, a table that sat at most 16 people comfortably with additional chairs that could be pulled up.

It’s hard to imagine not planning Christmas or Thanksgiving, those family holidays, for 16 or 25 people; because then the whole family is not there.  My family is not only six people; it’s made up of those who I’ve built life with throughout the whole year.  In our home, family is whomever we share the table with because you’re welcome to it.

Video Blog by Nathan White, Web Administrator for CBFVA & Director of Communications & Marketing at Eagle Eyrie Conference Center.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j720WhxMoEI

Question: What does it mean to be “Familia”?

Written Blog by Jake Maxwell, Young Adult Minister at Bon Air Baptist.

In July 2011 I wrote the following poem entitled “family”:

speeds accelerate.

chaos swirls all around

me.

yet i am guilty,

for i am at

peace.

i think.

Through my parent’s divorce in 1999, our family experienced a great deal of chaos and crisis.  My world, as I knew it, was shattered when my parents split and moved thousands of miles away from each other.  When my older brother left home for college, it was not possible for him to be near both parents- both families, at the same time.  When I left home, the same was true.  And when youngest brother left, he too was faced with the difficult, regional decision.  We now all live in different states: Virginia, California and Texas.

Now, my brothers and I are all married and beginning our own, new families.  This past summer we had the opportunity to all be together.  It was the first time that all three of us brothers, our wives, and the newest edition, my nephew, could be together.  We decided that this great occasion called for a great celebration, so we went to see the Texas Rangers play baseball on a hot Friday night in Texas.

I cannot recall the score or the opponent that evening.  But this picture reminds me that we had blast being together.  With this photo, I am reminded that even though the brokenness of our family continues, God is still faithful to heal.

Ephesians 4:20 tells of the immeasurable ability of God to do more than we can imagine.  The hurt I still feel over the death of my family is heavy and unfortunate.  But the joy of a baseball game sings for a healing that only Christ can bring.  To me, family has meant chaos.  But with the crack of a bat, the smile of my nephew and the high-five of a brother, I say “play ball.”

Question: What does it mean to be “Familia”?

Video Blog by Rob Fox, Field Coordinator at CBF Virginia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgLK1DCFQsg

Written Blog by Dr. Daniel Carro, Professor of Divinity at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies
(English & Spanish translation)

Friendship, Friendship, and Friendship: Being Family is Being Friends

“Location, location, location” is what realtors tell prospective buyers that determine the price of properties.  In the gospel, “location” is called “friendship.”  There is no greater value in the gospel of Jesus Christ than friendship.

“I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father” said Jesus (Jn 15:15).  One of the first verses I had to memorize as a child was: “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Prov 17:17).  I believe there is no human being of good will who has not been educated in the infinite human value of friendship.  In Sunday School they used to teach us the story of David and Jonathan’s friendship, how Jonathan would risk himself for his friend as his father, the king Saul, looked after David in order to kill him.  Also the story of David’s friends (2 Sam 23:12-18), on how they risked their lives for a bucket of water, and how David later did not want to drink it.  They are stories of good, stories of friendship, stories of human love which transcends the human to come to touch the heart of God.

Why would friends love?  What is that, that makes us be friends of others?  The old Latin saying goes: “Idem velle et idem nolle, vera amicitias est” (“True friendship is loving the same things and hating the same things”).  But there is something more, something very intimate and human in friendship, in the love that each of us feel for the others, and the care that we provide to each other.

The most intimate and precious friendship was demonstrated by Jesus Christ, who “laid down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13).  What deep mystery, what greater love, the one of Jesus Christ who was willing to lay his life for us, to make us his friends!  What an honor, what dignity, what place so important!  To be friends with Jesus.  Perhaps the most important thing anybody can aspire is to be called, as Abraham, “the friend of God” (Jam 2:23).

In the gospel, friendship is what determines the quality of the work we can do for God.  Evangelism without friendship is proselytism.  Missions without friendship are imperialism.  Social services without friendship is “clienteleism.”  Christian and theological education without friendship is indoctrination.  Worship without friendship is narcissism.  Without friendship, Christianity loses its value.  Without friendship, the relationship with God gets dimmed, darken, and becomes cold legalism.

In Jesus Christ, however, we are made friends of God.  How not to be thankful to the Lord for his friendship, and how not to affirm ourselves always in him, and come nearer to him in our daily lives!

There is something we all Christians need to learn, and if we already know it, we need to remember: the infinite value of our friendship with God, which dynamizes our friendship with others.  The task and hope of the gospel is summarized in having always in us there three invaluable things: Friendship, friendship, and friendship.

Amistad, Amistad, y Amistad: Familia es Amistad

“Ubicación, ubicación, ubicación” es lo que los vendedores de propiedades dicen que determinan los precios de las casas.  En el evangelio, la “ubicación” se equipara a la amistad.  No hay valor más grande en el evangelio de Jesucristo que la amistad.

“Ya no os llamaré siervos, porque el siervo no sabe lo que hace su señor; pero os he llamado amigos, porque todas las cosas que oí de mi Padre, os las he dado a conocer”, dijo el Señor (Jn 15:15).  Uno de los primeros versículos bíblicos que me tocó aprender de memoria cuando niño fue: “En todo tiempo ama el amigo, y es como un hermano en tiempo de angustia” (Prov 17:17).   Creo que no hay ser humano bien nacido que no haya sido educado en el infinito valor humano de la amistad.  En la Escuela Dominical nos enseñaban la historia de la amistad entre David y Jonatán, y de cómo éste último se arriesgaba por su amigo cuando su padre, el temible rey Saúl, lo buscaba para matarlo.  También la historia de los amigos de David (2 Sam 23:12-18), de cómo arriesgaron su vida por un balde de agua, y cómo David luego no quiso beberla.  Son historias de bien, historias de amistad, historia de amor humano que trasciende lo humano para llegar a tocar el corazón de Dios.

¿Por qué aman los amigos? ¿Qué hay que nos hace ser amigos de los demás?  El viejo proverbio latino dice: “Idem velle et idem nolle, vera amicitias est” (“La verdadera amistad es amar lo mismo y rechazar lo mismo”).  Pero hay algo más, hay algo muy íntimo y muy humano en la amistad, en el amor que nos sentimos unos por otros y que nos demostramos unos a otros.

La amistad más íntima y preciosa fue demostrada por Jesucristo, quien “puso su vida por sus amigos” (Jn 15:13).  ¡Qué profundo misterio, qué amor más grande, que Cristo Jesús haya estado dispuesto a morir por nosotros, para hacernos sus amigos!  ¡Qué honor, qué dignidad, qué lugar tan importante!  Ser amigo de Cristo Jesús.   Quizá la cosa más importante para cualquier persona es poder llegar a ser llamado, como Abraham, “amigo de Dios” (Sgo 2:23).

En el evangelio, la amistad es la que determina la calidad de la obra que podemos hacer por Dios.  El evangelismo sin amistad es proselitismo.  Las misiones sin amistad son imperialismo.  El servicio social sin amistad es clientelismo.  La educación cristiana sin amistad es adoctrinamiento.  La adoración sin amistad es narcisismo.  Sin amistad, el cristianismo carece de valor.  Sin amistad, la relación con Dios se opaca, se desluce, se convierte en legalismo frío.

Pero en Jesucristo, somos hechos amigos de Dios.  ¡Cómo no estar muy agradecido al Señor por su amistad, y cómo no afirmarnos siempre en él y acercarnos a él en nuestra vida!

Hay algo que todos los cristianos debemos aprender, y si ya lo sabemos, debemos recordar: el infinito valor de la amistad con Dios, que dinamiza nuestra amistad con los demás.  La tarea y la esperanza evangélica se resume en tener siempre a mano estas tres cosas valiosas: Amistad, amistad y amistad.

We will highlight several blogs per week. This week, watch the video blog presented by Mary Beth Foust, BTSR Student & CBFVA Student.GO Intern & read the written blog by Joshua Hearne, missionary to downtown Danville through Grace and Main.

Question: What is Familia?

Video Blog by Mary Beth Foust: Student at BTSR & CBFVA Student.GO Intern

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSlcHpi32ms

Written blog by Joshua Hearne: From Grace & Main Fellowship in Danville, VA

                   “You need to eat two more bites of meat, and three more bites of broccoli before you can have some pie,”     Brandon said from his seat at the end of the main table, “and if you don’t get to have pie, Eric, then I don’t get          to  have pie.”    Eric had veered away from mom with his plate half-full of food as they walked to the other end of the table at Grace  and Main’s Thursday night meal and discussion. Eric wanted to sit next to Brandon, who’d been coming to dinner   for about a month and liked to make silly faces at the children over the meal. Brandon was a recently homeless  man who was struggling with alcoholism and was thrilled that a little boy could see through what everybody else  got caught up with to see the loving, kind, and peaceful man that was there all along. Brandon called us the next  day to say he was ready to get clean and he’s been clean since and is now a leader and missionary with Grace and  Main.

“I can be radical, too” Katie said to one of Grace and Main’s downtown leaders. You can trust her when she says that, too. Katie loves her little dog and coming to dinner, discussion, and worship at Grace and Main, and recently said to everybody on Thursday night: “I don’t know what I’d do if we ever stopped doing this.” Katie isn’t content to sit back and watch injustice happen downtown. So, this gentle and sensitive woman has started standing up to drug dealers and criminals. She knows that Grace and Main is behind her completely when she shows no fear where so many of us would wilt in consideration of the danger. We’re there with her as often as we can, but even when we’re not she rests in the knowledge that she is our and we are hers. She keeps telling others that they do so much for her, even as we all marvel at her courage and watch the Kingdom of God take root in her life and wherever she puts her feet.

Brian has an M.Div. from a great school and swore he’d never come back to Danville once he could get away—then he fell in with Grace and Main. So, Brian has turned down jobs and stopped applying to congregations outside of the Danville area because he feels called to be a part of our little community. Each week, he’s downtown building relationships, providing food, listening to problems, and working at the local homeless shelter. He does all of this for no pay and no benefits and works side jobs to make it happen. Brian has fallen in love with the city that he wanted nothing more than to get away from because he found the Kingdom somewhere downtown.

These three are my brothers and sister. These three are only three members of a growing family that’s changing my life and all of downtown Danville.

By Robbie Spiers, Kilmarnock Baptist Church

We decided to take our youth group to Mission Madness this year, and boy I am glad we did. We are a small church in the rural county of Lancaster in the eastern Northern Neck (Kilmarnock Baptist Church). We have a growing, thriving congregation where the Lord is definitely working, and we just started a youth group, which is steadily growing. We have an all-volunteer youth leadership team that is being blessed every day.

I’ve been involved with some type of missions my entire life, but this was a new thing for our kids. They didn’t know what to expect, and quite frankly many didn’t go because they didn’t know what they were going too. We took 4 of our regular Sunday School attendees whom I teach. These four kids are growing in their walk with God, and were open to a “Christian” experience.

Getting over the fact that we were the smallest group there, and probably came the farthest was a bit overwhelming for the kids at first, but they had each other, and met other youth who were a part of their mission team on Saturday. Despite the hesitations, they were READY to charade ‘lipstick’ on the stage at the first night’s worship, and what a great job they did.

I want to congratulate the CBFVA staff and crew for a “flawless” weekend. All the planning, logistical considerations, and leadership were very evident. It was stated that they had been planning for 11 months. Let me say, it really showed. The check-in process was easy, the worships were well thought out, meaningful, and full of energy, and the mission opportunity was a life changing experience for both my kids and me.

Here are some personal reflections from the three worship services. I found the music to be very well done: the band played tastefully and quite skillfully. I have made notes and am going to get many of the songs we sang for our praise band at KBC whom I lead. Being a High School Band Director, I was very “in tune” with the music, and found it to be well done. The pastor/speaker was wonderful. She clearly put a lot of thought and planning into her messages. She had a natural ability to relate with the kids, and had a God given bubbly personality that made being around her a joy. The creativity she used to make worship not only enjoyable but more meaningful was fantastic.

Concerning the Mission opportunity, I can say first hand that I was blessed. We attended the Chancellor’s Village Senior Community, and met many wonderful residents. We worked with the residents in planting an herb garden that they would take back to their room. This opened up the opportunity for dialogue. It was a joy to see the beauty in two ladies that I had the pleasure to just sit down and talk with. One was mentioned in worship, Mrs. Mildred Powell, a 95-year-old gem of a woman. She spent almost an hour just sitting and chatting with me. She spoke of her love for God, and of being a Christian her entire life, working in many churches with WMU and other programs. She is currently a member of Fredericksburg Baptist Church, which was the home base for our Mission Madness. She spoke of the many inventions she has seen in her lifetime, as well as her family of 13 kids, of which only 3 are left. She shared her love of poetry and even went back to her room to retrieve 3 or 4 poems to share with us. She was a delight to sit and talk with, and I hope I was able to share the same beauty with her that she shared with me.

Our second stop on the Mission Saturday was at the Rappahannock River clean up with the “Friends of the Rappahannock”. We spent several hours beautifying the banks and paths along the river, but the one thing I will remember the most is my visit with a man fishing with his son. He seemed very eager to talk with me, and I actually couldn’t get away from him to go with my group down the path. I was happy to stand there and show the love of God by listening and talking with him about life.

He told me of his life there in Fredericksburg, and how he wanted to do more with his son. He spoke of his appreciation to me for the work that was being done, and how much he admired the unselfish dedication that the kids and adults were showing. I felt that he FINALLY had someone who would just stand and listen, and it seemed as though he didn’t want to let me go. I never got his name, but will remember him in my prayers and I’m hoping our example, our prayers, and my willingness to show him “Beauty” will change his life forever.

I saw the beautiful people around me that day. It wasn’t the work that mattered the most to me but the relationships that were created by showing God’s love. I looked at them differently than I normally would. You see, we were challenged to see Beauty in all faces that we came in contact with. We were also challenged to be beautiful people, as we meet and work with others. I indeed remember these beautiful people that I was able to show God’s Beautiful love to.

Coming home, my 14-year-old son told me, “I loved the mission part the best. It was fun to go out and help people. “ I think he is a changed young man as well, and I can’t wait to get back next year to Mission Madness, and in the meantime, do our own Mission Madness here in Lancaster County. Thanks CBFVA for a job well done, and Thank You to our God who made every detail possible in this anointed weekend.