Jeff Adams

My life has been a whirl since Wednesday. You may remember me writing about my friend and mentor, Roscoe Brewer. Roscoe spoke in our services the last Sunday of June. He is founder of Epic International, dedicated to reaching a handful of strategic, unreached people groups. He has asked us to consider leading a coalition of churches from both the United States and Latin America to reach a significant and very needy group of people who have no homeland and live in a number of different countries. I am not at liberty to give many more details at this time, but I will say that this is something that is laying heavy on my heart. Pastors Tim and Jay met with us and we are all convinced this this is a “God thing.”

Today, Cheryl and I drove to Olathe Bible Church where Roscoe is in a meeting of another coalition of churches that are dedicated to reaching a different group of people. Olathe Bible has led this effort for several years and it was good to hear some great testimonies of what God is doing among this particular group of people. It was also sobering to hear of the very serious persecution that is taking place in an area where many of these particular people live. Many believers there have been beaten, raped and killed. Others have lost everything. We were all reminded that martyrdom is still a very present reality today, just as it was in the early centuries of the church.

Though I can’t provide you with many details in a digital, cyber format for security reasons, please pray with me that God would give us wisdom about this very important project that would come to pass in the first quarter of next year. Pray that God would put together just the right mix of churches to make this possible.

I’ve been in constant meetings today since very early this morning and my brain is fried. It’s been a very good day, but exhausting. When I catch my breath, I’ll try to fill you in on a very exciting missionary opportunity that God is offering to our church, and today was dedicated to getting together with some of the key players.

What made the day even more special was the chance to catch up with some friends we haven’t seen for years, a pastor and his wife from Miami. When our kids were little they knew them as Uncle Russ and Aunt Bev, and we were “relatives” to their kids as well. When you live as a missionary in another country far removed from your birth family, your kids often pick up all sorts of “aunts, “uncles” and “grandparents.” Years ago I used to fly through Miami with great regularity coming and going out of Latin America. I would always work to make time to get with Russ and Bev. Over time, my flight pattern became tightly focused through Houston, a much more direct line of flight as the Houston airport grew in prominence. As a result, Cheryl and I have not seen Russell and Bev for years and have missed them greatly.

Taking advantage of them being in Kansas City for a combination of meetings, Cheryl and I enjoyed dinner with them this evening before I had to teach the Spanish Bible study at church. Our kids are now grown and married with kids of their own. What a blessing to be with this great couple once again! The only problem is that the time was not nearly long enough.

What is a true friend? Yesterday I was writing about what to do when you have been betrayed by a friend. So tonight I am thinking about those friends who are always friends. Our dinner tonight helped me to formulate a bit further my personal definition of true friendship. See if you agree – a friend is someone that you may not see for years, but when you do you pick up right where you left off as though you saw them just yesterday. Do you know what I mean?

I have a number of friends that are like family, yet circumstances don’t allow us to see each other with the frequency I’d like. In fact, many years can pass before being able to connect. Yet when that connection occurs, it’s as though time stood still – except for an ocassional grey hair or two.

We all know what it is to have friends turn on us. That’s a painful part of life revealing that some of those we have counted as friends really were not. As hurtful as these times are, there is a hurt far deeper when someone we have taken into our hearts as a confidant, counselor or intimate friend does something to violate our trust and confidence.

You may have many friends and acquaintances, but few of us have more than a handful of friends who could be called intimate, friendships that often span a lifetime. When theses types of friends turn on us the consequences can be catastrophic. People this close to us can also be a spouse, parent or sibling. Abuse (physical, verbal or emotional) or violation of trust is devastating. Some people never recover.

I have had this happen to me, and you may have, too. The psalmist David also experienced this excruciating anguish and talks about it.

For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. Psalm 55:12-14

One of the features of David’s personality that endears him to so many of us is his amazing ability and willingness to strip his soul naked and allow us to see clearly all the raw emotions of his core. This is why we think that if anyone can understand what we are going through it is David. This is why so many people treasure the Psalms in difficult times.

So, what do you do? Many become bitter, quit, withdraw, sit around and wallow in their misery or some other unacceptable response. David’s response is illuminating. He turned matters over to God. He knew that God’s judgment would eventually catch up with those who dare attempt such diabolical treachery. He also understood he simply could not bear such a burden alone without crumbling under the weight. Instead, he cast his burden on God. Here’s how he expressed it toward the end of the psalm.

Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

Peter undoubtedly has this verse in mind as he pens the words of 1Peter 5:7. We should have it in mind also when we face burdens too big for us. Let me see if I can sum up some lessons from this passage about dealing wtih betrayal. Maybe you can add some more insight.

• When you have been betrayed, don’t allow yourself to go into denail or just clam up. Acknowledge the reality of what has happened. We live in a twisted world. Sin happens! It’s OK to scream a bit, blow up, or just to sit down and cry. Just be quick to get it over and get up and going again.
• Think back over what just happened. Is there possibly anything you did to bring this on? If so, deal with that in a biblical way. If you need to make some things right, do it. Don’t wait until the other person or persons accepts his or her responsibilities. Take care of your part and get over it.
• Don’t try to get even and don’t try to just “suck it up” and hold it in. These things hurt too much and the weight is too heavy. Do as the psalmist did and turn it over to God. How do you do it? You make a conscious decision to not take this offense personally because you have given it to God.
• At the same time make another conscious decision to forgive those who have done this to you. Jesus did this, of course, when he said from the cross “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Yes, but that was Jesus, you might say. Mere mortals have the same capacity to make this choice. Joseph make the same conscious decision to forgive his brothers who have jealously sold him into slavery saying that they meant it for evil, but God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20).

Today was the day we moved to new Sunday morning times and a new format for our second service. This is one of the few changes we have made for which I received no negative feedback. That things seemed too good to be true had me a bit apprehensive. As hard as we planned and tried to think through every scenario, we were all certain that we would discover some things that would surprise us.

The big morning came and went and I am very thankful and satisfied. There are certainly a few tweaks that we can make for a smoother flow, but overall I think this was a good morning. At 8:30am I walked around the building peeking in on the various classes, many of them new. The attendance was good and people seemed excited. At 9:45 we kicked off the first service. Wow! The place was packed out, the praise team kicked it up a notch and we launched into the new series on Building World Changers.

At 11:15 the second service began. This was the one we had never done before. About 5 minutes before we were to start the college band hit a few chords to tune, and the crowd of students that had gathered down front went crazy. They were excited. I was excited. It was great! We started for real and did they ever rock! Nothing thrills me more than to be in a room filled with students who love God. Not everyone in the room was a student, of course, but those who were infused all of us with a spirit of praise and worship.

Yep, it was a very good day.

I am thinking about the place of faith in the workplace. YOUR workplace, and mine. What does that look like?

Yesterday served up a double punch, adding to some deep concern about how to live out our faith in real time in the real world. This is something I have hit on several times in my preaching the past couple of years.  Yesterday morning I participated with a small group organizing an event for senior pastors and their wives. A generous donation from a local trust makes this event possible. In a special dinner for senior pastors next month, two outstanding speakers are going to explore this very theme of God at work.

One of the speakers will be David Miller who wrote God at Work: The History and Promise of the God at Work Movement. The other speaker is Katherine Leary, Director of the Center for Faith and Work at the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. Discussing this theme a bit with other pastors was very stimulating. One of them is currently leading his church in a series on this theme, and it sounds fascinating.

I only had to wait until noon that same day to see a living example of what it means to recognize God at work. My lunch appointment yesterday was a fascinating opportunity to hear the heartbeat of two men who are prominent in the music world and are also followers of Jesus Christ. The Conductor of the Honduran Philharmonic Orchestra was in our city to investigate buying instruments for his orchestra from KC Strings. Our own Arturo la Cruz was asked by KC Strings to help facilitate this relationship by assisting with translation. Not long ago I wrote about my “small world” connection with Honduran Maestro Jorge Mejia.

The Executive Director of our Kansas City Symphony, Frank Byrne, was gracious enough to set aside time from his busy schedule to meet with us and Maestro Mejia. It was fun to listen to these two men “talk shop.” Both are men of faith and yet very circumspect about not overstepping boundaries in their high profile positions. Both men have deep convictions about God’s use of music and the arts in order to communicate his truth, glory and majesty. As Frank put it to me as we walked back to the car, they are “going about the Lord’s business” as they exercise their respective responsibilities. Both influence others with their faith in ways that most people could never experience. I came away thanking God for putting men like this in such public and influential positions.

Unfortunately, some believers manage to offend others more than being a positive influence for God at work and in the world at large. I have heard many horror stories and you probably have as well. It seems that some measure success in the workplace by the number of people they invite to church, the number of people converted at work, the number of religious pamphlets they pass out or the number of “praise the Lord” type phrases they can use in a day – even when such activities may be specifically prohibited in the workplace, let alone inappropriate.

Do not misunderstand what I say. We are to allow God to lead us. He brings people across our paths to whom we are to minister. There are times and circumstances where it is not only appropriate but essential for us to offer an invitation to church or to verbally and clearly share our faith. I just believe that some people force the issue in the flesh instead of being sensitive to God’s leadership. They have a short-sighted view of scoring conversions and filling pews, instead of seeing how God can empower them to embody his truth in the excellence they bring to their work and ultimately bring transformation to bear upon our entire community.

When Christ is radiating forth from our very being, God’s beauty reaches out to those in need and affords many opportunities to do the Lord’s work in thousands of creative ways. No matter what work you do, you are God’s representative. Being God’s ambassador begins with what you are, your person, your character. From there, you represent him through the excellence of your work. It is upon this foundation that we trust God to build words and deeds that point others to him. How big is your view of God at work?