The Beauty of Rules

"Oh, how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day...How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:97, 103

I know I said in my last post that I would love to expand on a lesson or two I have gleaned from my time at Wellspring.  Well, one thing I learned on Tuesday is that I am "too white."  One of the new girls that I have met with about 3 times used that phrase to describe me to my supervisor.  Things are already looking up though because yesterday we bonded over a love for Nelly's new song, Just a Dream.  Little victories!  Thank you, Nelly.  On a slightly different note, I have come to a new appreciation for God's laws.  That may sound odd, but of all the things I have learned thus far, it is a deeper, more sincere love for the commands that God has given us through His Word and lived out in Jesus.  I've actually had lots of thoughts on the law lately, so bear with me as I share...

I believe that the law was given because of sin and to make sin abound, thus revealing the wickedness of man.  It was not given so that we could save ourselves, although that is typically how we treat it.  How often we try to live nice, moral lives in hopes that we can justify everything that isn't right.  Since we misuse the law, we have to constantly preach against the law in this context.  And as a result, I think we get a bad taste in our mouths about the law all together.  But in its proper context, the law is lovely.  Spurgeon says, 'Those who know the power of the gospel perceive an infinite loveliness in the law as they see it fulfilled and embodied in Christ Jesus."

Over the last 5 months I have been intensely reminded of the beauty of adhering to God's commands.  We think they squelch our fun, but instead they guard us from destruction.  What a gracious gift it is that our God knows what is good for us and clearly provides us with directions that lead to that goodness.  The other day I listened to one of my girls express such frustration over a specific set of poor decisions she had made, now that the effects of her actions have proven so painful.  She wants to run from this behavior in the future, not because she is legalistic, but simply because she desires life and not destruction.  Now she's not exactly running from this behavior for the Gospel's sake, we still have a ways to go in that area, but this taught me a great lesson on the goodness of God's rules.   In conclusion, I urge myself and others to not shy away from promoting and following rules.  May we preach boldly the parameters that God has set for us, because they lead to a good life, and that in turn makes God look really good.    

"If the Lawgiver were foolish his law would be the same, and obedience to such a law would involve us in a thousand mistakes; but as the reverse is the case, we may count ourselves happy to have such a wise, prudent, and beneficial law to be the rule of our lives.  We are wise if we obey, and we grow wise by obeying."  Charles Spurgeon

Wellspring Video

The Other Part of My Life

On the church front, we are talking through launch Sunday which is coming up September 12th! The fog machines and strobe lights are in route via UPS, and Teasley may liftoff itself with all the helium we're bringing in. Only teasing. I may up the number of visitor cards and nametags I set out, but other than that, things will look pretty similar to how they are now-simple. The service project I wrote about in my previous post was actually post-poned to the following Saturday due to predicted rainy weather that never showed up. I hear it was a productive and fun day. I didn't actually attend myself because my mom and sister already had a trip planned to the big city that weekend to see Jack Johnson in concert. So my Saturday may have involved Lenox and JCT rather than English Avenue, but the fact that I'm confessing should count for something. It was great to have part of the family up, and fun to have them join me at The Village Church on Sunday.

The other half of my life which is spent in the world of counseling is quite interesting. Since most of the dollars of support I have received have gone to filling up my gas guzzler of a vehicle to drive to Wellspring in Peachtree City, I thought it would be appropriate to fill you in on that half.

I currently have five girls I see between the ages of 14 and 16. All of these girls have been sexually exploited in some way, most commonly through forced prostitution. We have licensed counselors on staff that do trauma counseling with the girls, while interns (like myself) focus more on establishing goals for their future, as well as lots of empathetic listening. I meet with each of them once a week for an hour. Also, once a week I lead an Art Therapy group which has proven to be challenging yet insightful. Obviously, I am very limited in what I can share concerning the girls, but I would love to share a few things I have learned in the process on a later date. In the meantime, I added a promotional video for Wellspring that you can checkout to learn more.

We have all kinds of needs at Wellspring, so if you have any interest in serving in this area, please let me know!

What Drives Us to Serve?

“Once a man has experienced the mercy of God in his life he will henceforth aspire only to serve. The proud throne of the judge no longer lures him; he wants to be down below with the lowly and the needy, because that is where God found him.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together

Bonhoeffer's Life Together is definitely in my top 5 favorites. I wish I were half as smart as him. I love the above quote and find it appropriate for what we have been discussing in church lately. Throughout the summer, Jonathan and Curt have been teaching through our three core values at The Village Church...gospel, community, and mission. We parked on missions most recently and Jonathan spoke specifically about our church's call to mercy ministry or social justice or whatever people are calling it these days (I'm sticking with social justice). I feel that often we become too focused on the external process of social justice and do not as readily address the internal motivations that drive our actions. I love that I am a part of a church that continually articulates both. Jonathan and Curt have driven home the idea that we want to be a church that serves the marginalized and oppressed for the Gospel's sake, NOT merely to feel good about ourselves or check off our service-project-for-the-year box. It's a lifestyle of seeking to relieve others in their distress, because that is what God has done and continues to do for us. To live differently is to paint a false picture of the Gospel, but to live in accordance is to illustrate to others the beautiful picture of Jesus saving us from our mess.

This Saturday we have our first service project for The Village Church and so far about 45 of us are heading to the English Avenue area in west Atlanta to restore a widow's home and play with the kids in the neighborhood. I am excited that this is not a one time deal, but the start of a new relationship with this particular neighborhood in Atlanta. We are going to continue to serve the area and partner with the local church in their neighborhood. (I will post pictures after the weekend.) I hope and pray that we will be a people that are "lured" to the lowly and needy not because it is the trendy thing to do these days, but because that is where God found us.

Hello!

I realize this is somewhat of a transition from church pictures...but...I really like this dog and find her blog-worthy. It is actually somewhat related because as soon as we are a self-sustaining church and I receive a pay check again, I plan for her to be mine :) See, all kinds of good reasons for you to give! She is at the Atlanta Lab Rescue Shelter. I just wish she was a boy so I could name her Amos. I'm having trouble coming up with a comparable girl name.

New Home for Now

So a couple of weeks ago we moved into our new location, Teasley Elementary School, in Smyrna/Vinings area. This will be a temporary home for us, but for now it's a great fit. When I first heard the possibility of going to a school cafeteria, I immediately envisioned institutionalized lighting, a big, open, non-cozy space, and lingering smells of sour rags and salisbury steak. Sorry to be debbie downer on school cafeterias, but who doesn't equate them with those things? Anywho, I was completely wrong and the Teasley cafeteria has proved to be a lovely home. Not to mention, the staff at Teasley have been so welcoming and helpful. I think it's going to be a great opportunity for our church to serve the community and form new relationships in the Vinings area. I included a few pictures of our last couple of Sundays in our new location!

The Beginning...

In May, The Village Church began meeting on Sunday mornings for a worship gathering. We hopped around to a few locations/houses, and eventually settled into Judd and Valerie Harper's home in Vinings until mid July. They provided the perfect space and were so gracious to open their home to our crowd each week! Below are some pictures of one of our gatherings in their home.

Preachin the Word.

Jonathan with his two children during worship.

Crowd in the kitchen.

Curt leading us in prayer.

What Is She Talking About?

In case you have no idea of what my whole blog thing is even about, and since I have apparently succumb to the narcissism of blogging...let me catch you up on what is going on with my life. The last four years I have had the privilege of working in the student ministry at The Church of the Apostles in Atlanta, GA, while pursuing a Masters in counseling at Richmont Graduate University. I am forever grateful for such an incredible four-year journey. During my time at The Church of the Apostles, I worked alongside an extraordinary staff of people, including two gentlemen, Jonathan Adams and Curt Benham. After many years in student ministry, both of them resigned in January to pursue the challenging call of church planting. And so began the birthing stage of a new church located in northwest Atlanta, The Village Church at Vinings. In May, I joined Curt and Jonathan in their mission to establish The Village Church as the administrative assistant.

I'm not gonna lie...I was pretty nervous about becoming the administrative assistant for legitimate reasons. For starters, I am not your typical type-A, excel-loving employee. My only jobs had consisted of hanging out with students and playing at camp. Secondly, you have to have people that actually give to your church before you can pay your employees, and we didn't even have a church yet. So raising support in place of a salary is what I have been doing since May. That subject alone will get the respect it's due, and have a post all to itself.

Three months in, I can say that this has turned out to be the perfect job for me (Curt and Jonathan may beg to differ...but I doubt it). This past June I began my last year of graduate school which entails a year long internship. Twice a week I travel to Peachtree City to my internship site, Wellspring for Girls, a residential treatment program for adolescent girls coming out of the sex trafficking industry. Also, one night a week I see clients at Richmont's counseling center along with a few classes each semester. So all of that to say...I needed a 3-day a week, somewhat "lighter" job, which is exactly what my administrative role has been thus far. It is quite the experience and privilege to be a part of this whole church planting thing.