Tuesday, March 30, 2010

So it's been awhile...

Welcome to Atlanta where the playas play and we...oh wait, I'm in Chicago. Well, fair enough. Just thought I'd let the world know what's up in this part of God's creation. Also, I've pretty much forgotten about blogging. School does that. Not that I want to be some dude who does nothing but blog his life away. But, thoughts here and there are not bad at all from anyone. Sweet, here we go...This week, I've talked to plenty of people about Christ, going to places like Univ. of Illinois-Chicago and various restaurants around the city. Also, I've visited 2 church plants...Immanuel Baptist just outside the aforementioned campus, and Armitage-Garfield...a plant of Armitage Baptist in Chicago, a great multi-ethnic church in the area. Talking to the different cultures in this area has been awesome. One thing briefly that I took away from talking to a new friend in the Armitage area...I figured I'd share it for all to read. Keep in mind this post will not be long, because I don't intend to bore you for one, and I don't have all that much to type either. A

Anyway, a guy at this church (a young man grown up on the streets of Chicago, in and out of gangs, but now following Christ as best he knows how) told me, "It's time we stop doing what we wanna do, and start doing what we don't wanna do." What a great statement. We often want to live a comfortable cushy life, up in our cushy suburban homes or the estates out in the country. News flash: people who need help and ultimately need Christ do not come to us. We must go to them. This is why I love places like sports bars and downtown parks and such (coffee houses, etc.). There is so much community in these places. Most of these places have people come in who want to take a load off of their lives. At worst, they may be reading in Starbucks. I'm pretty sure we can still say hello to these people as well. All this to say, I encourage everyone, including myself, to seek out places of community and fellowship. Surely, this will make relationships form (over time) and possible opportunities to talk about life and godliness. What a great goal!

Love God. Love people.
...joshreid