Compassion Connect
Is it possible to be consumed without knowing it or acknowledging it?….I think YES. God has proven to be a God who upholds promises even when I was unaware that I was part of the promise. The promise was that I would sacrifice my deep selfish desires of BEing somebody in order to SERVE somebody else, and in so doing be a part of sharing God’s love with people face to face in many different ways. I’m not someone who is specially called in a way that others are not…I’m just listening and seeing what God is doing.
God has taken a hold of me as opposed to me taking ahold of God. In 2005 I moved to Portland and I’ve seen some amazing times of service in the name of Christ, which has brought some horrible times of pride, selfishness, etc. Nevertheless, I press onward in the knowledge that I’m serving God and working through the ugliness. I’m a pastor for Clear Creek Community Church. This small church has made an incredible advancement in God’s kingdom because it understand the principles of selflessness and serving Christ/Community. In 2006 a couple of us got together because we had a vision….What would happen if churches united to provide free health care to our neighbors who can’t afford it? Compassion Rockwood, a free medical/dental/vision etc event, was born and has since grown to include dozens of churches and serve hundreds of people. One doctor was so moved by what he saw he quit his practice and started a full time “patch adams” clinic in Rockwood. This event has served nearly 1,000 people and has now spread all over the city of Portland. More importantly it has revealed the Kingdom of God to civic leaders and social service leaders.
It is because of this revelation that Clear Creek Community Church has been contacted by many different leaders from city, school, newspaper when help is needed. One significant call came from the assistant DA who asked if the church could do anything about the worst corner in the city of Portland, in regard to crime rate. It also happens that God placed my wife and I in an apartment on that exact corner 1 year prior. We decided we would go out on the corner every friday night to LISTEN. We put up signs: “free hot chocolate”, “free chili”, “Tell us Your Story” We have been there friday nights since Oct. 07.
On that corner I understand the principles of being consumed by the love of Jesus…I have to drop my ego, I have to reach out to the broken hearted, and I have to go beyond the “comfort zone.” The people know we are there and they can rely on us to listen to them all the while “speaking” the love of Jesus into their hearts.
This is a small speck of what God is doing in the lives of those who give of themselves as a lifestyle….and I know if you are reading this you are probably in the same boat. This means our responsibility is to call others out of the wilderness and into the promised land…some may call it the “trenches” others may call it “home” either way Jesus invites us there. If you are interested in uniting churches to serve their community please join me on my journey.
www.compassionconnect.com www.clearcreekpdx.com
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