MEANT TO LIVE CHAPTER 1 The Church Alive “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” John 10:10, Te Message How Much Longer? ow much longer? I wondered, as we made the lengthy drive from the frenzied, East Asian city to a rural church. I was feeling car- sick. Te combination of the summer heat, no air-conditioning, Hand sitting in the back seat—never good for me on long rides—set me up. Tere’d been no time for lunch, either. “We’ve got to get to the church.” Tis Sunday marked the end of my two-week journey in this nation that was alive with the Good News of Jesus Christ. My host, an energetic pastor, undauntedly forged ahead as he had for years. I was certainly not going to complain. By God’s grace, I’d keep up. Finally the car stopped. “Here we are,” he announced. I stood, staring out at acres of wide-open, dusty land. “Where’s the church?” “Tere.” He pointed way, way out. 7 8 | MEANT TO LIVE I was grateful I didn’t turn an ankle as we traipsed over unruly terrain for several minutes. “Oh, and by the way, there are no toilets, so . .” So, hold it or squat in the feld, I fgured. Got it. Ten there it was: a cinder block structure the size of most American elementary school gymnasiums. It had a corrugated green tin roof. Loud, indigenous, life-infused music fowed from within. I was led to the doorway, and stepped inside. My eyes welled up with tears. Over two hundred dark-skinned, bright-eyed, new followers of Jesus stood on the dusty ground. I was struck by the colors of their clothing: red, yellow, regal purples and brilliant blues. Truly striking. Women and children were on one side of the room, men on the other. We worshiped loudly. Te adoration in their heart language was full of life, full of glory. Tere were no barriers. Instead, guttural voices, lively eyes, clapping hands, and happy hearts. Tey came to celebrate that the Word of Life had come to their land. It was exhilarating to see the church so alive! In Te Village Earlier that morning, we’d worshiped with another church in a village. One teenage girl prayed aloud for several minutes, just yearning, pleading, crying out to God to move and pour out His Spirit. “More, God. More!” She’d cried out in her own language, leading her brothers and sisters in Christ. Tey audibly joined her cry for more. During tithes and oferings, I’d watched as a woman brought bags of grain to lay on the table. After worship, we all sat on the ground eating lunch together. I wondered if the woman’s grain had been used to feed us that day. I was given a sneak peek at the men cooking, sitting on the foor in a small passageway just inside the church building. Look how they work together, I thought. It was so communal. A verse came to mind, “. they ate together with glad and sincere hearts praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:46, 47). Te Church Alive | 9 Tis pastor-friend who travelled with me had faced death in bringing the Gospel to that village. His great big, toothy grin never dimmed as he recounted the story of a gunman who threatened him when he wouldn’t stop preaching this message of Life. With the gun held to his head, he’d bravely told the angry man, “You do what your god tells you to do, and I’ll do what my God tells me to do.” Just how many stories had he gathered over the years? He actively joined God in His call to all people to come alive. He planted churches all across his nation—north, south, east, and west—with no plans of slowing down, despite the government’s harshness toward Christianity. “God is just too amazing. Te Good News of Jesus Christ is spreading like wildfre here. God is calling my people and there’s much work to be done!” I saw that frst hand. Back At Home After two weeks in that Asian country, I felt an increased desire for the life of the church in North America. I felt a bit like my pastor-friend who’d said, God’s just too amazing. Tey’re gloriously alive there. I just won’t believe He’s no longer calling people here at home. But I thought about our comfort and entitlement. I weekly read articles of the church’s decline, and ways to solve our un-churched and de-churched problems. I’ve experienced the general apathy. On the one hand, we’re bored with too much time on our hands, lacking vision and purpose. On the other hand, we’re busier than ever. Spinning. Separated. Cynical. My mind wanders back to that one Asian country. I think about Pris- cilla, this lovely teenage girl. Alert, awake, and ready for action. She wanted God. She wanted to know everything she could about how God desires to make great use of her one life to live. I wanted to scoop her up and bring her home with me. Home to the church in America. Pricilla didn’t need lessons on loving God. She gets that! I thought perhaps the best use of my missions dollars would be to fy her to 10 | MEANT TO LIVE my church in suburban Philadelphia. What could it look like to put her up in front of our busy, distracted teens and have her explain how Jesus Christ changed everything for her and her family? What could it look like for Pris- cilla to passionately express how she’s no longer without dignity or purpose? How everything she is and wants to be is for God and His phenomenal glory? She knows God has called her. She’s wide awake. CHAPTER 23 A Glory Story “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ ...” —Ephesians 2:4 hen our younger son, Aaron, turned sixteen, to celebrate we Wtook him with a few friends to see his all-time favorite band. All Tings Switchfoot Aaron loved Switchfoot and all things Switchfoot. All through his pre- teen and teen years, Aaron breathed the fabulous music of this band that had mentored him. Drum sets, keyboards, microphones, recording equipment, and guitar-lined walls made up our basement. And much of what Switchfoot wrote, Aaron learned, memorized, and performed. On concert night, as we piled into the van to head into Philadelphia, one of Aaron’s friends delayed in the driveway, on his knees and hunched over poster board. “Rob, what’re you doing?” we yelled. “Get in the van!” Jumping in, he showed us the big, bold message written in chubby markers: IT’S MY BIRTHDAY. CAN I PLAY “STARS” WITH YOU? 177 178 | MEANT TO LIVE I remember thinking, Who asks to perform with the band? Tat’s pretty bold. It’d be nice, but what’re the chances? We arrived at the Electric Factory in downtown Philly. As much as I’d have loved standing on the main foor with the kids for about four hours, Cam and I sat up in the balcony. Perfect view and comfortable seats. After two warm-up bands, the lights went out, and the crowd roared when Switch- foot fnally took the stage. But before we go any further, this needs one more piece of background. Release Him, God From the time Aaron was little, he struggled with sharing what was going on inside him. If he was hurt, afraid, angry, whatever, the tears would fow, but he could not seem to form words to share what was going on. One year, I sat with him daily after school for extended periods of time. “If you want to talk, Aaron, I’m right here,” I’d say. “I’m listening, honey. I really care about what’s going on in you. I’m so sorry you’re hurting.” When he was in elementary school, Aaron would sometimes walk like a little toy soldier, knees barely bending, arms stif as though marching. He wasn’t always this uptight, and it was something Cam and I prayed about quite a bit. “Release him, God. Set Aaron free to be the kid, the young man you’ve called him to be.” But when Aaron was alone or playing his music, he relaxed. He cut loose and we got to see who he really was. He was inspiring. So, somewhere deep inside we held out hope that the band would see the sign and invite him up. A Diferent Song Te second song Switchfoot played that night was “Stars.” Well, that’s that, I thought. Poor Aaron, but it’s still an amazing night. From where we were perched in the balcony, we could see our group of guys mixed in with the rest of the fanatics on the foor. A Glory Story | 179 Ten it happened. Several songs in, inching toward the end of the con- cert, Jon Foreman stopped playing and hauled out of the crowd and up, onto the stage a wavy-haired kid. Troughout the concert Aaron had continued to periodically hold up his sign: IT’S MY BIRTHDAY. CAN I PLAY ‘STARS’ WITH YOU? He’d fnally caught Jon Foreman’s eye. Jon lifted his own guitar strap from around his neck and placed the guitar in Aaron’s hands.