Good morning Father, Son and Spirit! I begin today with a heart of thanksgiving for all that you have in store for me today.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)
Last night I was at a dinner at 5 Guys with a group and my daughter Milan was sitting next to me. My daughter and I were in a side discussion together arguing a point when the person across the table commented at us, “You two look just alike.”
I thought of who is Milan? She has a passion for life and people that is contagious. She questions and examines the reason why and purpose for everything and loves discussing and arguing points. Milan pushes back at the “status quo,” and establishment with a rebel heart that doesn’t like conformity or doing things “just because..” She stands her ground when she knows she is right despite the consequences. Yep, she is just like me. So parenting her for me at times has been challenging when our “likenesses” collide. Parenting her has also been amazing.
Back to the dinner table we were atin 5 Guys. My wife, Milan, and I were at the table, with other 17-19 year old teenage girls. Milan and I are serving on a Chrysalis flight for three days over Labor Day Weekend. It is a girls flight, where teenage girls are invited to come and spend a weekend on a spiritual retreat to deeper discover their identity in Christ, their purpose, gifts and their calling. All the girls around the table Milan had missional reached out to and invited to attend the Chrysalis weekend and I had invited the girls to come have dinner with us to discuss, explain, answer questions, and pray over the weekend.
I looked at these girls Milan had reached out to: One is a teen mom who the father of the baby left her to raise it alone. One girl, her father left her and her mom when she was a child. Her mom got into a relationship with a man who did not want her around, so her mom chose him over her daughter and literally kicked her out. She lived in her car for over a year, got into drugs, is clean now however is pregnant. One girl’s father has little to do with her and she spends time living either with her mom who is a recovering meth addict or her grandparents. Another girl who’s family does not have a vehicle questions if there is a God and struggles with her identity.
I began the meal with a prayer then started explaining the weekend to the girls. However, after a minute Milan jumped in and took over most of the conversation with these young ladies. With love for them she told them about the weekend and Jesus and the blessing they will receive by letting go and opening their hearts to Christ. She told them how excited and proud she was they were going, that she is here for them, and wants to start a group meeting weekly with them for accountability and support after the weekend. After the discussion Milan had all of us hold hands in a circle and prayed over these young ladies.
During the meal as I looked around at these young ladies Milan had sought out who are marginalized by society and I listened to my daughter share the Gospel with them out of love for them, my heart praised God! Yep, she was just like me.
I am the Lead Follower at One Direction Community. I launched One Direction Community (ODC) to be just that, a community of house churches that meets in homes, restaurants, laundromats, flea markets, apartments and other locations in the Madison-Huntsville, Al area. I believe we can more effectively reach our city through a network of reproducing churches. My home is the central gathering place of ODC where trainings take place, food for feeding the community is cooked, accountability groups meet, counseling and prayer takes place, and a house church meets every Wednesday night. Our home always has people coming and going, spending the night, and hanging out. Sometimes the lack of privacy and dynamics of this can be a challenge for my daughters and they at times have brought this up to me. I at times questioned how it was effecting them and their faith. Last night, as I sat their and watched and listened to the Holy Spirit just work through my daughter and reveal her missional heart and love for people and her love for Jesus, it answered my question about what I have been exposing her to. She gets it. She led church last night. She is just like me. I am full of praise!!!
My ODC family, I pray today you will seek and allow the Holy Spirit to work through you and create and reveal a missional heart and love for people and love for Jesus. I pray you will invite to coffee, lunch, or dinner today someone who needs you to speak the Gospel of grace and love into their lives. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!!
Gary Liederbach-Lead Follower
One Direction Community
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