A Reason to be Thankful

Two weeks ago my parents flew out to Kansas City to spend some time with us for Thanksgiving. Now, I know we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK, but it is always good to have some more family around for the holidays. I have to confess that I haven't done my research on the story of Thanksgiving but I can always benefit from taking a moment to pause from my busy schedule and count the reasons to be thankful.

After spending the past two weeks with my parents, I am reminded of the many reasons I am thankful for them. I am thankful for how they always come and bless us with some needed money. I am thankful for home cooked food that reminds me of home and my parents' Jamaican roots. I am thankful for how my parents support our vision to plant a church in the inner city here in Kansas City. But, I would have to say that the real reason I am thankful for my parents is because they both love Jesus, his people, and his mission.

As I sit here and write this I can't help but wonder where I would have ended up if it wasn't for my parents' commitment to Christ.
What if they would have given up on the church?
What if they would have stopped praying for me during my teenage years?
I can't say for sure, but I am confident that based on the environment that I was surrounded by as a teenager, it was my parents faith and prayers that helped me find my way back to God.

I spend a lot of my time with young men who have in the past, or are currently making bad choices. As I look into their eyes and talk about their choices and situations, in a weird way, I see myself. In most of these cases these young men didn't have both parents at home let alone both parents that Love Jesus.

Mum and Dad, thank you.

 

Thankful for New Opportunities (Update from Stephanie)

God continues to surprise me with opportunities He presents and work He lets me be a part of.  A little over a year ago when I began working for City Union Mission I was sure that was a door He opened for me.  Over the last year while working there I have had the opportunity to meet some amazing people, have been  challenged and stretched to work on areas in my own life and have learned more about homelessness and resources in Kansas City.  

Now I feel I am in another place of opportunity and am just as sure that God is opening this door as well.  About a month ago, the leaders at Restore approached me and asked if I would be interested in a position working with them in their student ministry. They have had an opening for a Student Community Director and have been praying about who the person would be to fill that position.  They also were thinking about what they could do to help develop me during the time Darryl is working with them doing his residency over the next 2 years and this seemed to be a possible solution.  In this position I will be working with the leaders who lead the students.  I will learn how to recruit, develop and coach people in leadership and work on growing in leadership myself.  I will have an amazing woman who will coach me and help develop me during this time as well.

I was very excited about this opportunity for many reasons:

1.  I love students and have always desired to have a job working with young people.  

2.  This position seemed to very specifically focus on areas in my life that I know I still need to grow in.  After Darryl and I attended the church planter’s assessment in February, they gave us each individual development plans for the next 2 years. Most of the things that were suggested for me are areas that I can work on in this position. 

3.  It scares me and excites me at the same time.  I was so excited but also scared as I know it will challenge me and take me out of my comfort zone.

 4.  I think it will help to prepare me for our church plant and is best for our long term goals.  While serving in this position I will also get to learn more about church planting and grow and develop in areas which I believe will prepare me for the church we plant in the future.

So, of course I said yes and accepted the position!  However, it was a sad transition saying goodbye at the mission.  I am continuing to work there one day a week until my replacement starts.  I am thankful for my time there, for those I met, and for all I learned.

I began last week with Restore and I love it.  There are so many amazing leaders serving the students and I have enjoyed meeting many of them already. I am looking forward to learning with them and working with them to help students find their way back to God and to mobilize Christ followers to the mission of Jesus.

I am thankful for the ways God continues to bring opportunities and people into our life.  It continues to be an exciting journey that we are on!  We are thankful for your prayers and support as you partner with us on this journey. To learn more about what we are doing, email: darrylanswer@msn.com

Three Magic Words

This week I had a meeting with my mentor, friend, and the lead pastor of Restore Community Church, Troy McMahon  to discuss my residency. Now, I love sitting down with more experienced leaders because I know this will make me a better leader,but there are those occasional meetings when I am shown that some of my choices are motivated by fear and pride. The truth is, sometimes I think I am being independent when I make choices with my life, but the reality is I have a hard time saying the three magic words. I NEED HELP. The scariest part for me in this realization is that I didn't know it was fear and pride that stopped me from asking my friends for help. I just thought to myself  "I need to figure this situation out on my own". But I never stopped to ask myself why? Why do I need to figure this out on my own when I am surrounded by such a great team of people? Is it because I am independent, or is it because I am afraid that people with think less of me? I think it may be the latter on this occasion. 

I can't help but think about the story Jesus told of the servants who were given talents according to their ability. One was given five talents, and returned five more to his master. The second was given two talents, and returned two more. Both were blessed to hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant!" The third and final servant was given only one talent, but because he was afraid of his master he decided to hide the one talent resulting in a harsh rebuke. I wonder what would have happened if that third servant would have humbled himself and asked the other two servants for help? 

This week has been a eye opener for me as I continue these early stages of leadership and am given the responsibility to manage a few "talents" at Restore. I will work to be faithful with a few, so one day I can manage much for the glory of God. I just have to remember to ask for help, especially when I am surrounded by a great team of people that I trust. 

Don't you wish there was a Restart button?

Its been 10 years since I became a follower of Jesus. I remember standing with some friends at the end of a CIY (Christ in Youth) Conference in Idaho with a heart filled with gratitude. I told God that he could use my life in whatever way he wanted. "I am yours...use me." was my prayer that night. A friend of mine gave me a book that same week, and in that book he wrote some words that have helped me on this journey of discipleship. He wrote "Darryl, Jesus loves you and his grace gives us the freedom to come back to him when we mess up. Never forget that you can always press the restart button". Since then my friend has passed away, but those words have been a constant comfort to me. Knowing that the grace and love of God allows me to start over gives me hope because I don't have to stay where I am.

I have to be honest, this week has not been my best. You can ask Stephanie, this week I have allowed my schedule to get the better of me resulting in me being super tired and short with the people that are closest to me. Can you relate? But the good news for us is that we can always "press the restart button". We have a Father that will forgive all of our mistakes when we come to him. Not only does God forgive, but when we come to him he never leaves us. There is hope because we all have the freedom to come back to God and "press the restart button".

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord" Acts 3:19

Broken relationships and the choices we make.

We have all experienced in one way or another the issues that come along with broken relationships. What I mean by broken relationships are those connections that we have with people that are fragmented as a result of selfishness, jealousy, anger, etc. If we are honest with ourselves, all of our relationships experience some form of dysfunction as a result of our own brokenness.

 

This week I was invited to discuss this topic with a group of boys in a mentoring program at Oak Park High School. I brought my friends Lucas and Michael along with me to lead the workshop. Lucas and I work together at Restore. Michael grew up in the inner city, and has recently become a follower of Jesus. We had a great discussion talking about the ingredients of healthy relationships and then about the ingredients that make up our broken relationships. We also talked about how our relationships influence the choices we make.

 

We answered these three questions:

• How does my relationship with my parents influence the choices I make?
• How does my relationship with my girlfriend influence the choices I make?
• How does my relationship with my friends influence the choices I make?

We concluded our time with a challenge for us all to take home. We all agreed not to use our broken relationships as an excuse for making poor choices. One of the guys shared that as a result of bad relationships modeled in his family he will not continue the cycle of brokenness but will intentionally reach out to others who may need a friend.

We had a great time with the group and were invited to lead another workshop next month. We are excited to see where this will lead us as we bring the Good News to our schools.