praying with my team

BY JUSTIN HAMPTON

One of the many things that goes unappreciated by me, and I assume many of my co-workers, is the fact that we can openly and unashamedly share our faith whenever we want. Not only can we share our faith, but we also can exercise the disciplines and outward expressions of that faith. We get to stop and pray on the clock and it's not only tolerated, but encouraged.

I can’t say that I've worked anywhere else where that has been the case. Here (no matter what our personal denominational beliefs, our race, gender, or political backgrounds) we all believe that Jesus hears us when we call out to Him. We are united on the "common ground" of the resurrection of our savior and the fact that He has empowered us to accomplish His will on earth.

In this line of work there are so many discouraging things that take place on a daily basis. Personal family issues, unruly behavior of the kids, financial concerns, and the like, can all place an unwarranted feeling of anxiety on us if we forget what has already been appropriated for us through Jesus and the work of Holy Spirit in our lives. He is with us! He is for us! And, He brought us here!

At no time is that more apparent than when we as a staff pray together and for one another. In prayer it becomes obvious within moments that God is at work not only in our individual lives, but in the lives of the people around us. It gives solidarity to our efforts, and a new perspective. Prayer lifts your head out of the trenches of battle and allows for you to rise into a birds-eye view of your circumstances. God allows you to ascend and see the bigger picture so that when you descend, your heart is aligned with what He has shown you. It's cool to do that alone, but its power is magnified when done with others.

What a privilege to be able to pray with my team. It's one of the many things I overlook and disregard, not understanding the gift that it really is. 

finding community in snowstorms

But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. (Psalm 5:11 ESV)

The recent snow and ice experience we had in Alabama sent many looking for refuge, including me. I got stuck in Birmingham in the middle of the snow and ice. I watched as car tires spun helplessly on ice, as cars slid into one another, and as I-65 and Old Montgomery Highway became massive parking lots while people abandoned their cars for warm shelter.

I stood in the line at a hotel with almost a hundred others who had not planned to do so just a couple hours earlier. As the day and night went on more and more people walked off the interstate and to the hotel where no rooms were available.

Restaurants were closed, beds were not available, and more and more people kept walking in off the interstate. There was probably a hundred people trying to sleep in the lobby, several people were in the conference room, there were even some people trying to sleep in the hotel gym. I noticed the look in many faces: desperation, fear, disorientation, confusion. Some people could not get to their kids who were stuck at schools. The hotel phones were not working in the rooms and many people had no cell phone chargers, so fear of lack communication also began to escalate.

I walked into to one restaurant that was open and watched as fear and self protection took over. A couple of folks threatened the waitresses (who had been working 17 straight hours!) because they said they needed to stop taking orders and close (food was running out and they were exhausted). We were able to diffuse the situation, but I saw what we all have witnessed in adversity; both beauty and ugliness come out.

Over two days I also watched as people sacrificed for one another, as some began to look out for others' interests above their own. Hotel employees and Waffle House waitresses were treated as people who were also in the struggle and as fellow sufferers.

I watched when personalities and shared laughter came out as humanity was shared together. More and more throughout the nights I began to see and participate in glimpses of the grace, mercy, and kindness of the Kingdom of God. I can't help but tear up when the Kingdom Of God shows up in the loving words and actions of others.

It's the kind if thing that stops you in your tracks. This world is an awful and harsh place. It is not fair. Injustice, pain, and mistreatment are normal. So, when people stop competing and connect with one another in their weaknesses and suffering, amazing glimpses of God's heart, mercy, and provision appear.

I have been watching this happen in my neighborhood and in Montgomery for almost eight years now. When "us and them" shifts to just "us", it is powerful. It certainly isn't widespread. Self protection and a million divides are strongly entrenched.

But a long time ago Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed... It starts as the smallest, and grows larger than all the other garden plants and the birds of the air come and nest in its shade." The heart of God, demonstrated through the life changing power of the gospel, growing, relentlessly, even as it does unnoticed by the self protecting. He, through it, brings true shelter.

It is here, and it is growing. We have the honor of watching many people come together around some tough circumstances in our community. Sometimes, the feeling is the same as it was when watching so many walk off the interstate in the snow storm: despair at the violence, poverty, hopelessness, and fear. But we are looking at generations of suffering and not just two days.

And, in the middle of it, God is present. His gospel is spreading, and His people are embodying His heart and love. He is truly becoming a refuge for many of us together.... Refuge from hopelessness, from poverty, from racism, from pride, from "us and them," from selfishness, from being disconnected from Him and each other on every level. He is a refuge; He is the only refuge.

it's just the weather...

BY JUSTIN HAMPTON

I’m not gonna complain, it's just weather.

These past few months of weather have been crazy, at least here in Montgomery. One day it's a nice 65 degree-day with the sun shining and the birds chirping, and the next it's blisteringly cold outside. It's like the earth is going through puberty or something.

Well, I feel like I have something in common with the weather, and no I’m not going through puberty, I don’t think.

Lately things with the Middle school program have been increasingly difficult because the kids I’m dealing with are going through things that most other children their age are dealing with. New feelings toward the opposite sex, coming into their own as maturing people, and even their own bodies are not the same today as they were yesterday. Their very person is changing like the weather. This is without regard to the myriad of issues these kids deal with that most other children their age do not deal with.

In addition to the whirlwind of bodily changes, the hormonal imbalances, the pimple breakouts, and the ever changing social structure in their schools; they have a whirlwind “without” in addition to the whirlwind “within.”

They are dealing with fatherless homes, poverty, lack of vision, possible abuse, systemic incarceration with the people in their community, violent neighborhoods, and the like; it's a problem not uncommon in any other ‘"hood" in the U.S., but it’s THEIR problem nonetheless.

Interestingly enough, they don’t see it as a problem. Not because they are unintelligent, or destined to live a substandard existence, but rather because what the outside world views as problematic, they view as normal life. “Normal” is relative.

So when I sat and pondered about what to write this blog about, I decided to write about this crazy weather. The shifting, unpredictable combo of hot and cold spells - this polar vortex - that has swept through our region of the country leaving us reaching for the A/C one day and melting the ice off the windshield the next. In this type of uncertainty you really don’t know what to do. You look crazy, not because you are, but because the circumstances are so volatile that there is no room for consistent behavior. Suitable behavior for today wouldn’t fit the circumstances only moments later. What is appropriate must be learned through consistency, but if inconsistency is the norm, then inconsistent behavior becomes what is appropriate.

Man, I’d love for my kids to just act right, but sadly for them, acting “right” (even-keeled,  balanced, stable, behaved) all the time may not fit tomorrow's circumstances. Many times I’ve walked outside with clothing that was suitable yesterday only to discover that I needed a jacket, or an umbrella, but what if I don’t have one? What if my emotional circumstances and family situation was as ever changing as the weather but no one ever equipped me with the right gear to combat the elements?

Hot, cold... Cold, hot... And on and on... It's a bad weather day now, 27 degrees outside, snowing in some places around here, and no lie, by Saturday it'll be sunny and around 65 degrees again. For most of my kids it's a microcosm of everyday life, or lack thereof. But, for you and me - it's just the weather.

claiming freedom one step at a time

BY CHAQUANA TOWNSEND

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1

As I write this blog, I am writing as a woman who is slowly allowing God to break the chains I have allowed to entangle me for years. I am writing as a woman who is constantly recognizing her overwhelming need to be renewed, cleansed, and transformed through the power of the Gospel. I am writing as a bound woman desperately fighting for her freedom. My sin and the lies of the enemy keep my heart beat down, but when I run to the throne of grace and allow my Savior to fill me with his presence and change me through his living and active word, I am changed, wrecked, and overflowing with joy! I have made a commitment to fight for freedom and walk in it. Here is a small piece of my story:

I come from a very dysfunctional background. For as long as I could remember, I have always longed to be loved and accepted by anyone who took the time to show me the attention my heart desperately craved. My father and mother scarred me very deeply and taught me this agonizing lie that I have believed for years: “You are worthless, so find your acceptance and approval somewhere because you need some worth.” I completely forgive my parents for the physical and emotional abuse I endured as a young girl; however, I fight that lie every single day.

Working in the trenches of urban ministry and having close relationships with different people, I have learned a hard truth about myself: I idolize the acceptance and approval of others. I have given mere humans beings (the children, parents, and staff at Common Ground Montgomery, along with others) the power to squash me if I don’t feel accepted by them. The Lord showed me the depth of my idolatry in the fall of 2013. When I faced this reality and cried out to God every single day for his divine intervention, I have literally seen changes in the way I interact and love on the children, parents, and staff at CGM. I can honestly and confidently say: I don’t need their acceptance and approval because I know that God accepts and approves me because of Jesus! What a freeing and amazing truth! Does it hurt when people reject me or don’t accept me? Absolutely, but my worth and value is not contingent on being accepted by them. My worth and my value is found in Christ alone. He loves me and is crazy about me! He showers his grace and love on me every single day, and I am so grateful. He has broken the chains that I have allowed to entangle me for so many years. So when my flesh is tempted to revert back to slavery, I simply fix my eyes on Jesus. 

the holiday season

by ava conley

I would have to say that the Christmas season is by far my favorite time of year! There is just something about seeing the city lights going up and hearing the first Christmas songs of the year on the radio that bring back so many magical memories of love and laughter with those I love. But sometimes in the aftermath of all the gifts, lights, and carols, when they've all passed, I can easily forget the true reason that this is so special, not just at Christmas time, but throughout the year.

As I was reading my bible the other day, I was reminded of why I get the warm fuzzy feelings that I do during the holiday season.

Genesis 3:1-15 (NIV)

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
  and you will strike his heel.”

Usually when I read the story of the fall, I don’t recognize the story of Christ. Through Adam and Eve’s sin I am reminded of my own sin and shame, but through this text we hear the hint of the first promise! 

See if you can hear it: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you shall strike his heel.”

God did not leave us here! He gave us grace and drew us back to Him! But how?

God would become God With Us.

He sent His son to bear our sin and shame on the cross. He would suffer. The evil one would strike at His heel, causing real blood, real sweat, and real tears. But the Promised One would have the last word. He would cry out “It is finished!”- crushing the serpent’s head in a final blow. He would become God With Us, and when His work was done, we would never be separated from Him again!

When God could have left us for dead, he came to us! He did not leave us, but instead he came to us and drew us out by his grace. He is God With Us --- Emmanuel!

“O come, O come, Emmanuel,” thank you for not leaving us or forsaking us, but loving us enough to be with us! I am thankful that we do not have to run and hide, but that you love us!

I hope that as you have enjoyed this passing holiday season with the ones you love, that you have and will continue to experience God with you. I hope that in your ‘hiding place’ you see that God is near and he has not forsaken you. You are deeply and truly loved by the creator or the universe, not just at Christmas, but throughout the entire year!