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LR Church Shares Meal with the World

The following is an excerpt from an article written by Evin Demeril and published by the Arkansas Democrat- Gazette on Friday, November 28.  It highlights our fourth annual University District Thanksgiving Festival; we believe was our most successful to date!

900 feast, commune during internatinal gathering on Thanksgiving Day!          

People from around the world gathered together in central Arkansas on Thursday to share Thanksgiving meals, commune and entertain. 

In the parking lot in front of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, a group of Ugandan children swayed, stomped and clapped while singing in Congolese. The 22 children, ages 7 to 12, belong to the African Children’s Choir, a 25-year-old organization. The British Columbiabased choir is on a tour primarily of the Southern United States, said team chaperone Angela Lounbury. After the children performed, they sat to eat their first American Thanksgiving meal, said Sarah Lidstone, another chaperone. 

Members of the nondenominational Mosaic Church hail from more than 30 nations. The southwest Little Rock church has hosted a Thanksgiving meal the past four years, said Mark DeYmaz, its founding pastor. 

This Thanksgiving was its first to feature Ugandan performers, he said. About 900 people attended the event. 

Within the church, salsa music, racks of donated clothes, two lines of volunteers serving peas, corn, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, green beans, stuffing and turkey and tables of dessert filled the converted warehouse space. “This is fabulous,” exclaimed one wide-eyed woman as she approached the cherry pie. 

Outside, DeYmaz said church members wanted to provide a communal, festive and welcoming experience. “We tried to take away the feeling of ‘I’m poor and I have nowhere else to go,’” he said. 

Ken Garrison, 57, of Colorado Springs, decided to volunteer at the church after hearing about the event on the radio. Garrison, a real estate appraiser, explained that he had temporarily left his family in Colorado to come to Little Rock nearly two months ago for work. “I couldn’t go home, so I thought I’d just come out here and help the best I can. ... I just didn’t want to sit in the apartment by myself all day,” said Garrison, who had been pouring soft drinks. “I have a master’s degree and I’m pouring drinks! But that’s fine,” he said, chuckling. 

A Relational Bill of Rights

 On Sunday, November 23, I spoke on loving our parents as part of Mosaic's current series entitled, Love is a Verb. After discussing the fifth commandment, as well as that which otherwise assumes a healthy relationship with parents, I addressed the question, "What about honoring parents in situations where they have not acted honorably?"  In other words, when parents are not in the Lord, of the Lord or about the Lord; in situations of abuse, neglect, or abandonment, etc., what should be our response?

Given the fact that well over half of our congregation (as indicated by a show of hands) were raised in and (therefore) are still dealing with issues of hurt, anger, rejection, grief and pain concerning their parents, the message was both deep and healing for many.  And those of you struggling with doing the right thing in child/parent relationships that were or remain less than ideal may want to listen to the message now available on our website.

Following the second service, then, one woman approached me to suggest that I upload the following instruction for those needing navigational insights, such that would help them deal to rightly deal with otherwise dysfunctional parental relationships in this holiday season.  "So," she said, "how about publishing a 'Relational Bill of Rights' for others like me who are struggling with doing the right thing?"

  

So in response, here are insights flowing from the message Sunday that I believe are in keeping with what is and is not the heart of God on the matter. At that time, I listed seven specific statements; but here I've listed ten, breaking out some of my subpoints from Sunday as separate statements all their own.  And please note that the list assumes that a) one's parent(s) is acting less than honorably in relating to their adult child(ren), i.e., selfishy, outside the will and word of God, etc.; and that b) the adult child is attempting to walk with God, i.e., to love and forgive others, etc., even a parent(s) who has deeply hurt or otherwise let them down.  

A Relational Bill of Rights

  1.  You are not bound to honor parents (i.e., to show them great respect, glory in, etc.) who have not acted honorably.  In other words, it is my belief that the fifth commandment assumes parents are acting honorably by selflessly loving, caring, instructing and releasing their children to adulthood in the fear and admonition of the Lord (see Proverbs 3:1-2; 4:10-12 for some perspective).  Indeed in discussing authentic love, Paul states that love does not rejoice in unrighteousness; and sometimes, love even withdraws or confronts!  So we must not be confused on the point.  We are without question bound to love our parents by forgiving them, setting boundaries, accentuating what is positive about them to our own children, and/or writing a tribute, etc.; but we are not bound to honor those who are not otherwise honorable in respect to their treatment of us, our spouses, children, etc.

  2.  You are not bound to respond to guilt, manipulation or shame-based pressure exerted by parents otherwise seeking to control you or your actions;

  3.  You are not bound to go to places where they tread upon you, ill-treat you or otherwise crush your spirit;

  4.  You are not bound to respond to statements such as, "If you don't do ..., I will cut you out of my will, I will kill myself, our relationship will be over, etc."  You must avoid codependency, i.e., a situation in which one person (either you or your parent) needs the other to make life worth living.  In other words, you must not allow a parent to position you as their rescuer/savior. 

  5.  You are not bound to see or be near a parent(s) at the risk of your spouse, your marriage or your children. Rather, you are bound to keep them safe, especially in situations where a parent sees them as a threat to their own relational security.  

  6.  You are not bound to keep secrets from your spouse as otherwise prompted by a parent.  In addition, you must protect yourself and your children from a parent or grandparent who would favor one child over another, and/or use gifts and rewards to manipulate them in any other way.

  7.  You are not bound to live with or near them if God has led you otherwise.

  8.  You are not bound to guilt, i.e., you are not at fault for who they are or have become.

  9.  You are not bound or otherwise responsible for their salvation.

10.  You are not bound to compromise your faith somehow in order to maintain the relationship. 

So with a wish for blessed holiday interaction with your parents, I welcome your comments.

Webinar Resources Now Available Online

The following online resources are now available via Leadership Network for those interested in learning more about the mandate, commitments, practcies and challenges of doing multi-ethnic church ministry in America today.

1.  One-hour webinar featuring Mark DeYmaz on the Biblical mandate and core commitments of a multi-ethnic local church (Summer 2008).

2.  One-hour webinar featuring Mark DeYmaz addressing some 25 questions submitted by webinar participants (Fall 2008).

3.  Bonus list of 10 FAQs from Mark DeYmaz

 4.  For additional reources and connection to the Multi-ethnic Church Movement, visit Mosaix Global Network.

Tips for Building Healthy Multi-ethnic Churches

Join me for a free online webinar hosted by my good friends at Leadership Network on Thursday, November 13, from 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm CST. At that time, I will be responding to questions live as well as others posed to me in a similar forum we conducted this past summer. Due to the overwhelming response to the first webinar, this second session has now been scheduled. I hope you'll tune in and/or spread the word to those you know who might be interested.

The Future Is Now!

As this year's historic race for the presidency and, more specifically, last night's election results now overwhelmingly confirm, demographic shifts throughout the United States have brought change to America. With this in mind, local church pastors, ministry leaders and Christ-centered educators everywhere can no longer afford not to consider the implications for their own personal ministries and/or the people they seek to influence in the future. Indeed, the very gospel is at stake! But more about that in a moment.

For now, though, and no matter what one thinks of his positions, proposed policy agenda or to what political party one's allegiance lies, etc., Senator and President-elect Barack Obama is to be sincerely congratulated!

His otherwise remarkable personal achievement, however, is one rightly shared by an entire people group, namely African Americans. Indeed, every citizen of this great land should recognize and celebrate together with them the coming to fruition of centuries-old faith, of countless seeds of courage (sown often in the face of fear or death), and of infinite personal, unseen sacrifices that have led inevitably (as it always does, in His time) to reward and the blessings of such divinely inspired perseverance, redemption.

Of course, as a people group, African Americans have historically found their strength in the Judeo-Christian faith, the God of the Bible and most specifically, the Lord Jesus Christ. And on this day, as both a United States citizen and fellow follower of Christ together with so many of my African American brothers and sisters, I rejoice in the spiritual metaphor(s) so apparent in Obama's election last night! And I celebrate with them, in no uncertain terms, the election of an African American to the highest office in the land. Such an appointment will no doubt inspire a renewed faith in the hope and promise of America among other minority groups, as well, and I pray in time, all Americans regardless of race or class distinctions.

Now, back to the future.

Failure on the part of Christian leaders to recognize the changing demographic landscape or to adapt - both personally and corporately - in accordance with Scripture will soon render their work or, worse yet, their message irrelevant. For as I have previously written, there are already signs that increasing numbers of people are no longer finding credible the message that God loves all people as preached from segregated pulpits and pews. Indeed, those without Christ are no longer responding simply to the words of our lips; rather, they will respond only to the love of God they see in us; love that is daily displayed in a genuine, personal love for all people in His name. And this is best manifest in and through the establishment of healthy multi-ethnic local churches whereby believers of diverse ethnic and economic background can build cross-cultural relationships, pursue cross-cultural competency, promote a spirit of inclusion and mobilize for impact as one people group - Christians - united in Him!

Indeed, from this moment on, the coming integration of the local church should be evident to everyone of us. And if you need further help or interaction toward this end, I urge you to get involved with others of like-mind by joining the Mosaix Global Network, an organization dedicated to inspiring unity and diversity in the local church for the sake of the gospel in this century.

So ... what are you waiting for? The future is now!