Experiencing Unity in Orlando

It is always fun to get together with other leadership and see what God is doing around the country and world. But this time here has been even a bit more exceptional.

Let me give a little background. Crusade has been known to partner with outside ministries on a national level. However, at the local ministry level we have not only ignored each other we have often competed against each other. The last 4 years I have seen God do amazing things to begin to change this stain with in our ministry's culture.

Here, I have been even more amazed. These meetings are the first time we have facilitated a time where all the ministries (now over 70 of them) get together to focus on working together and even supporting one another in the area of fund development. Praise God!

We have learned through our experience in urban ministry that this not only mandated but also critical for our effectiveness. When you’re talking about life issues such as teenage pregnancy, cycles of poverty, generational addictions, gangs, etc., you can't waste much time on protecting your ministries boundaries. That is simply not often a luxury (although I'm amazed how much I try to do this).

Now Crusade is focused much more in working together and building into each other. A national director of one of our primary ministries just stood up and said to the effect pf, "if we all would raise up one gift for another ministry each year, the resulting unity would be so powerful we wouldn't know what to do". That's God!

As Steve Douglass, our President said today, God is mobilizing His Body for an unprecedented time of harvest. If I wasn't a part of what God is doing in the inner city, I sure would be looking for ways to get involved!

Off to Florida

I go to Florida tomorrow for a Crusade development conference... fun. No really, this time it is fun because Tonya is going with me!

My Mom flew in yesterday and we got to spend Mother's Day together with her (for the first time in a while!) and she will watch Syd and Zach while we're gone!

Tonya will hang out, read, do whatever she wants! Now that's a Mother's Day present!

Crazy May

Usually May has been a time to slow down a bit, winding down in preparation for summer. This May is not slowing down at all! This has been one of our busiest times of the year!

TechExchange (website in progress) our refurbishing center project has been slow to get off the ground due to the Architects concern of using the roof (inside our warehouse) to store computer donations. So hopefully the build out will begin in the next week of so.

We have been brainstorming with several other interested ministries in coming up with some type of leadership development alliance focused on assessing and developing church planters and indigenous leadership. This is an amazing concept that can literally change the face of urban ministry in LA!

We have been talking to the LA County Sheriffs Department about sort of cooperative with S.A.Y. Yes! Youth Development Centers.

Habitat for Humanity in LA has asked us to help identify four families for their new Compton development project.

We are working with TechMission to facilitate the AC4 West Coast Regional Conference Saturday, June 5, 2004.

And I'm trying to focus on raising our personal support up to where it needs to be. The past two years I have been working very hard on our team's overall budget and have neglected our own support. For that reason and some other factors (increase of health care costs, some supporters unable to continue their support, etc.) our need is now significant.

All of this is on top of the normal busyness!

Family Update
Sydney turned 5 yesterday! At the age of three she decided that when she turned five, she wanted to go to Disneyland! So, last Monday we did. It was only 102 degrees, which greatly reduced the waiting lines!

Syd was so thrilled to meet Cinderella! She kept talking about how nice her voice was! Zach was also excited because he got to meet Buzz Lightyear!

It was hot but we had a great family day!

Where does all the time go?

Do you ever get to the end of your day and think, "Did I accomplish anything?"

If you're like an average American, in your lifetime you will …

eat out 14,411 times (including 1,811 trips to McDonald's!)
spend 13 years and 4 months watching TV
spend 5 years waiting in lines
spend 1 year looking for misplaced items
attend 35 weddings
drive 413,226 miles
… and a whole lot more!

Time and balance are a constant struggke in urban ministry. Rick Warren has a good little article on it here.