CWOC the Blog

For the past couple of months I’ve had the privilege of worshiping with the Hispanic ministry, Victory Pointe, meeting here at CWOC. Led by Pastor Manuel Flores, they meet Fridays and Sunday nights at 7 PM. I’ve gotten to know the pastor and praise team pretty well and have been asked to play drums with them. So far I’ve only played a couple of times, but it has been a fun, humbling couple of times.

I never really realized just how different the Hispanic culture was musically. The rhythm is so much different, but in a good way. Arturo, the worship leader, has been gracious in working with me and at least one song during the service will be a Spanish version of an American song and I can relax a little bit, but the rest of them I am learning. But, I’ll have to admit, I’m getting better.

The atmosphere is what I’ve come to enjoy. Their laid back, I’m-just-happy-to-be-here, attitude is refreshing, and I look forward to spending time with them and learning from them. The only draw back so far is the language barrier. I am not by any stretch of the imagination, fluent in Spanish. Heck, I can barely speak English good. But, I am learning the language as I go and am getting considerably better at understanding it. When it comes to playing in a group, body language goes along way, and is the same in any language. I am slowly being able to understand more and more Spanish and can start to follow the vocal directions better.

I think there is a drummer who is Hispanic that they are getting ready to give the reigns to, and that is awesome. I’ve heard him play and he is good. If and when that happens, they’ve asked me to play guitar. Honestly, I can’t wait. Playing the guitar with these guys would be exciting and humbling as well. I just want to help any way I can.

As for listening to the sermons, I’m getting better. I can pick out enough words that I understand the gist of the message. I have to listen very carefully for the Bible verses because he says them so fast, I can’t follow. I have to write them down and look them up as I can. But, I do have a translator on my Blackberry. So, if I hear a word or phrase that I don’t know the meaning of, I can enter it –assuming I spell it right— and figure out what it means. I get looks sometimes from people because I’m sure they think I’m texting during the sermon, but that’s life I guess.

God has blessed me with an incredible opportunity to get to know a group of people that many here in Columbia, can’t. I don’t take that opportunity lightly and treasure the time I have with a wonderful group of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Pray for Victory Point (Punta Victoria), that the people in the community will embrace them, that CWOC will continue to be a strong resource for them, and that God will use them to minister to a huge, vastly unreached, people group here in the Midlands of South Carolina.

royb

In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul encourages his fellows believers to stay the course, and lets them know that things are hard and will continue to be so, for those who follow Christ. In the last couple verses of Chapter 4, he lets them know that he is going to deal with the arrogance that is rising up in the church. He ends the chapter by asking them, “What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?” Paul then goes on in Chapter 5, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you…”

Now, put yourself in the place of the men reading the letter. They know what is going on. They knew immorality and  arrogance was going on in that congregation. So, when Paul asks whether they’d like to be approached with a whip or a gentle, loving spirit, which do you think they preferred?

When I was in Jericho a couple of years ago –which for those of you who don’t know, Jericho is Palestinian territory, not Israeli—I met a lady who had a ministry to the Palestinian people. During our conversation, she told me some stories of ministries trying to reach out to the Muslims and how successful or unsuccessful they had been. The lady I met with has a ministry that feeds the people; she meets them where they are. She said, “Roy, ‘shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit’.”

That was the first time I had really put any thought into “how” I should respond to people who didn’t believe the way I do, especially those who have opposed Christianity for any length of time. I saw someone, in this lady in Jericho, who was living out Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” I began to understand that we are to love people first, and out of that love, we will be in a position to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to them.

If you look back through the Bible, God always had compassion on people, even when –or especially when— we didn’t deserve it. For example:

1. Noah: When God sent the flood to destroy the world, He did so out of pain, and only because He had to. “The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” (Genesis 6:6)
2. Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed: Read this story in Genesis and you’ll find nothing but a loving God who showed mercy time and time again to an entire city that didn’t deserve it. Abraham actually negotiated with God to save the city if 10 people could be found that were righteous. And in the end, only three made it out alive.
3. Moses: Just the fact that God gave the whiny, I’d-rather-be-a-slave-again, Israelites a chance to enter the promise land is compassion enough.
4. Jonah: He was upset because God didn’t destroy Nineveh. In fact, the reason he fled to Tarshish to begin with was because he knew God would have mercy on them. “That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” (Jonah 4:1b)
5. Jesus: One phrase should sum up His compassion, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

Is it any wonder that those who are compassionate towards others, are the ones who have the most influence in people’s lives. When was the last time you responded kindly to someone yelling at you and telling you that what you were doing was wrong and ignorant? Then why do we, at least some of us, think that sharing our faith with others is any different?

It is out of love that we have the ability to share our faith with others. When Hindus or Muslims or Atheists or Mormons or (fill in the blank) see the love of Christ in us, we will be in a position to share our faith with them. But that opportunity comes out of a relationship we build. We must first love people because they are people, and for no other reason. False sincerity or compassion is easy to spot. If we aren’t genuinely interested in others, it will be obvious.

We must make sure that we talk with people, whether or not they are Christian, in love and with a gentle spirit.

royb

I just wanted to let everyone know what our small group is up to. We just started a new series on what makes Christianity Unique, compared to the other religions of the world. Do you have any friends, family members or co-workers that belong to a different religion or faith? Or how about someone in your life who doesn’t believe that God exists at all?…