A couple of weeks ago one of our partners in ministry, Cross-Cultural Ministries sent a note in their donor summary. It said:
“What would happen if you weren’t here?” he asked me. What a question! I’ve pondered that question and shudder to think of what would happen to him and others if Christ Jesus had not led and kept us here.
“He came to Pearl Lane in the 5th grade, mother separating from his stepfather, yanked away from friends & school that he liked, and moved into sharing an apartment. Angry, isolated, loud, and intelligent he became the class clown and terror in the school. But he came to our center.
“He found acceptance and demonstration of love. He was given a trombone by a Christian who heard that request. He now is receiving trombone lessons from a college music professor! He comes to be part of whatever is going on at the center rather than join a gang.
“Thank you so much for your support so that we can be here for this 7th grader and others.”
It’s an encouraging story. When I read it I thought back to that first trombone almost one year ago from today (you can read the story of “Trombones for Jesus” on the Nov. 30, 2007 post) What was so great about reading this is that it again reinforced the importance of the larger Church, the people of God, not merely a single congregation. It’s easy to lose sight of this in the hectic, focus and isolation of church life. But here is a ministry that is teaching us about some aspects of community development, where we met the boy in the story and were blessed to respond. Yet, it took other folks from other churches to fill in the blanks we didn’t possess. All of this serves to let this young man know that there is truly a Savior that all his smaller clusters of followers serve. It is beautiful.
The task of loving, caring, demonstrating, and transforming is so huge, especially in places like Pearl Lane that have so many challenges (and strengths, truth be told). It really is something that requires all people following the Lord. It is a kind of cooperation and team work that a proprietary attitude will prevent.
It’s a great lesson about how to love better.
