right here, right now

“We keep our missions overseas

But for the hurting in our cities

Would we even cross the street…

It’s got to start right here

It’s got to start right now

Lord, I’m starting right here

Lord, I’m starting right now…

What if the church on Sunday

Was still the church on Monday too?

What if we came down from our towers

And walked a mile in someone’s shoes?”

These are a few of the lyrics to one of my new favorite songs, “Start Right Here” by Casting Crowns. It basically roasts the modern American church and I kinda love it. Being in South Africa has given me such a renewed perspective on God’s intention for church and disciples here on earth. When I hear the word church now I don’t automatically picture the building I go to every Sunday and Wednesday back home. I don’t think about my Sunday best, a timed and scripted service, and lunch at our favorite restaurant afterwards. Church has become my squad. It has become meeting with believers in these communities and having conversations about Jesus and sharing testimonies in their hut. 

Acts 2:42-47 talks about how believers would fellowship and intercede on behalf of the broken and hurting and sold all that they had to give to those who did not have. Now we put a $20 in the tray on Sunday and feel good that we “did our part” and think thats enough giving for the week. WAKE UP! “For even the son of man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.” Even the son of man. It says they praised God and day by day citizens of heaven were being multiplied. THIS IS THE CHURCH. Later in Acts it talks about how the believers were being persecuted and judged but never ceased to tell stories of the miracles they had seen and testimonies of God’s goodness. They prayed for boldness and continued going house to house and person to person witnessing to them about the amazing works and wonders of Jesus. The did not care if they looked weird or sounded annoying and crazy, they knew the truth and wanted everyone to have the chance to know it too.  “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you and surely I will be with you always until the very end of the age.” It’s called the great commission not the great suggestion, come on people. 

Back home in America we have all the freedom in the world to talk about our faith without consequences or fear of being thrown in jail or even killed. Despite this freedom, more times than not we keep our beliefs to ourselves and salvation for those who stumble upon it themselves. Yes, we have church services and pastors to make altar calls but ultimately WE are the church. WE are the disciples he has hand picked to bring his message and love to the lost. WE are the body with God as the head and when he tells us what to do and gives us impulses that we choose to ignore, God gets a bad rep and is perceived as absent due to our lack of saying yes. He most definitely CAN do it on his own and a lot of times he does, but he also chose us and commands us to go out and be his hands and feet. Being on the race and, more specifically, here in Africa, I have really come to grasp the power of my relationship with God and the fact that my gifts from the Holy Spirit are only mine so that I can give them away and edify others. I am understanding what it looks like to freely give because I have freely received. Believers here are so bold and courageous in their faith because there are sooo many other religions and spirits here that you have to be sure of what you believe and cling so tightly to that truth. I have yet to meet a true Christian here that does not absolutely HATE everything that God hates. They love truth and hate the lies, as it should be. There is very little partiality or lukewarmness here. In the states it is much more common to meet a “Christian” that loves the world and everything in it but claims Jesus as the king of their heart than to meet a true grounded, unshakable, mighty warrior for the kingdom who believes, loves, and lives by the Word of God. Sad. 

In this song, Casting Crowns sings about the hypocrisy and entitlement of the average American church and their failure to live out what they are taught and claim to believe. This was me for such a long time. I claimed Jesus and waived my Bible in people’s faces but gossiped behind their back and tore them down. I went to church and Bible study and then lied to my parents about where I was going afterwards because I knew it wasn’t where I should be.  I mentored and preached to young girls about their beauty and worth but cried when I looked in the mirror because I hated what I saw and dismissed the truth that God made me in HIS image. I could write a whole other blog on my mistakes and hypocrisy and how God has transformed my heart but the point of it here is to say I am going to start RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW being the daughter and warrior God has made me to be. I am excited beyond explanation to get back to the states (my next mission field) in a little over three months and bring all of this passion and desire for boldness among believers there. I want to see radical change and determination to make God’s name manifested and lifted high. In a country with so many freedoms and opportunities, it makes me sad how little we do with them.

This blog was not to bring shame or condemnation but much needed conviction and a boost of truth for the church back home. I believe so much in my family and community back home and see all the possibilities and potential for some of the most mighty warriors His kingdom has ever known. I am so pumped to fight side by side in a few months but until then, I am starting right here and right now. No more putting it off or waiting for someone else to do it… God has called me by name to be a part of his work here on earth and I am taking full advantage of it! THANK YOU JESUS FOR CHOOSING ME! 

Here is a link to the song Start Right Here, please give it a listen!