Prayer for people in tragedy

This Sunday was a strange mixture of melancholy and relief, and appropriately so. We were all unsettled by the tragic events that took place Friday in Connecticut. And while we daily rejoice in our salvation, to have tried and created a spirit of celebration in our worship would've certainly been forced. The highlight of our Sunday morning was most definitely hearing the testimonies of those who journeyed to New York to serve with the Hurricane Sandy Relief efforts. It fit, hearing how we made such a positive impact in the aftermath of one disaster immediately on the heels of another. So a conversation about tragedy was appropriate. I have to admit, Sunday's message about God in Tragedy may very well have been the most difficult message I've ever had to deliver. I'd much rather preach a sermon about joy than suffering, abundant life than despair. But the suffering and despair that has shocked our culture demanded otherwise. So, we love our friends, family, and children a little more authentically this week. We pray for those affected. As in genuinely beg and plead with God for His mercy and compassion for them, and His protection for us. Sin is overtaking our world. But not forever. The violence of God's love will win. So we pray for Him to make Himself known. And we grieve. Grieving is a natural and appropriate response to the hurting that is felt.

Next Sunday, however, is going to be our Christmas celebration. It will be a unique Sunday, and I genuinely look forward to it. It all begins with a free Breakfast Buffet at PeeWee's starting at 9:30!!! This buffet is going to be the FULL spread!!!

Pray for Torch, pray for me.
BJ Sanders

I know I always close with this passage, which has become sort of a theme for this blog. But I hope that in light of today's post, you really read and understand it. How fitting it is.

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.

Why I can't wait to work with Samaritan's Purse again

The week of December 2nd-December 8th, I had the distinct honor to lead 7 members of Torch Community Church in a week long mission experience working with Samaritans Purse in Island Park, NY in Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. I had worked with Samaritans Purse in the past as a day worker and had seen from surface level the greatest relief and recovery organization on the planet in action. But spending the entire week opened my eyes to just how powerful of a force Samaritans Purse really is in both relief efforts as well as spiritual impact.

Quickly on the relief effort side of things, Samaritans Purse is incredibly organized and well structured. With workers coming and going on a daily basis, Ed, our volunteer coordinator handled the crowd, created teams, and managed the people resources available with the greatest of efficiency. Todd Taylor, the project coordinator, handled the overwhelming task of delegating work orders with an incredible expediency. More than a few times while working, we would hear homeowners, neighbors, or people in the community talking about other recovery organizations who would leave a home in worse shape than Sandy, but not Samaritan's Purse. Those orange shirts became in the community a symbol of hope and excellence.

But far more than merely helping people recover from the physical damage of the storm, SP is healing victims spiritually. The BGEA Chaplains were working alongside the SP workers, talking with the homeowners helping them to sift through the devastation of Sandy on their lives rather than merely their house. The volunteers are encouraged to engage in conversations with the homeowners to let them tell their story. For it may be just one more time of sharing their story that they can begin healing emotionally and spiritually. Baseboards and drywall can be replaced, but no insurance can cover the emotional and spiritual damage these homeowners are experiencing. These conversations were my second favorite part of the week. We were blessed to witness 2 separate homeowners give their lives to Jesus. And at another, a large manly older gentleman, hardened by decades of life, was brought to tears as we prayed with him. Disasters have a way of opening people up to being loved. Getting forced out of the comfortable dependencies of life that we so easily take for granted causes a certain hunger for greater things. These homeowners were ready for healing that has been needed in their lives long before Sandy blew into NY. This was so much more gratifying than snapping up flooring with a prybar, enjoyable as that actually was.

But the most rewarding aspect of working with Samaritan's Purse this week, the reason I will be coming back many times and I would encourage anyone reading this to work an extended period in one location, was relationships developed with the most amazing Christian men and women that I have ever been around.

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

I have never been so encouraged and motivated to wake up at 5:30 in the morning after only getting 6 hours of sleep for 7 straight days than I was this week. This for one primary reason, the great cloud of witnesses surrounding me. Other groups who flew in from all over the country like California, South Carolina, and even as far as Maui. The young man who came with his girlfriend to work for a weekend. But told her to go home without him, that his work here wasn't finished. He was still there after we left, still unsure how he would even get back home to Columbus, OH. The young man who traveled on a MegaBus alone all the way from Kansas City to NYC. The young woman who came by herself from right here in Cincinnati. The young woman from CA who flew to NY by herself to work because, as she said, "The world is full of talkers. I don't want to be a talker anymore." And the many repeat workers, retired men and women who struggle to come alongside Samaritan's Purse like an addiction. These are without a doubt, the greatest Christians in their churches and communities, who have formed the great fraternity of workers. Those who like all the rest of us, have plenty of reasons and excuses not to go, but will not allow any barrier to prohibit God's call on their life to love others. Love. Their great motivation. The intensity of their love for God has become a well of living water overflowing within them, and as God pours out His love in them, it compels them to go. To find others who are empty. And to pour love into them. To do...something. The amount of work may be overwhelming. But anything is better than nothing. And so they go.

If I were to somehow be able to create a church full of SP workers, we'd be the greatest church in America. But I am glad to know that I am a part of that family, the universal church...even if I'm the "special" brother who lives in the amazing shadow of my great family.

First 3 days of Mission Project - Hurricane Sandy Relief

I have the distinct honor this week to work alongside 6 other amazing individuals from Torch Community Church whom I get to call friends as we minister to those in New York who were affected by the Hurricane Sandy disaster. We are serving with the well-oiled and Gospel focused disaster relief organization ran by Franklin Graham called Samaritan’s Purse. My goal upon arriving was to update everyone as to our adventure every night, but I didn’t realize how busy and exhausted we would be! But what an adventure is has been, and we are only half way through.

While I have a passion for missions and reaching out to people who are genuinely in need, a large part of my hope for this trip was to begin building into the DNA and identity of Torch Community Church the same vision and passion for missions. I knew the best way for this to happen was for the 7 of us from Torch to witness not merely the physical recovery we are participating in, but rather to witness the spiritual recovery. So my prayer in the weeks leading up to this was for us to discover the joy of being a part of the process of someone’s salvation by one of the homeowners in whose house we were working to accept Jesus as their Savior.

Well, that was my hope. But my plan was for us to be here early Sunday night, get a good night sleep, and be ready to work Monday morning. That was, until the left rear tire on our Suburban decided to explode just outside Columbus, OH. And when it did, it severed the coolant hose that ran adjacent to it. We can replace the tire with a spare, but we could not drive 600 more miles without coolant. We took about 45 minutes to change the tire (long story), and then drove the SUV to a T/A Truckstop off the next exit and pleaded with them to help us out as they typically only service semi-trucks. After explaining the purpose of our travels, they obliged, and within another hour, we were back on the road all fixed up!

After only getting about 4 hours of sleep, we got up Monday, and spent the day working for a lady who is a retired NYC police officer. We spent the day completely gutting her basement. Her house was around 7ft under water, and currently unlivable. She was very nice and even purchased real NY Style pizza for everyone’s lunch! We took out drywall, insulation, toilets, and a whole bunch of screws, getting her basement down to the framing to begin dying out. Sand from the ocean water sat a few inches deep INSIDE her walls! As we worked, the BGEA chaplains talked/prayed with her. And that’s when it happened. On our first day, my prayer was answered and our first homeowner gave her heart and life to Jesus!!!!! It gives me chills to think about.

But wait, it gets better! Tuesday, we go to a younger man’s house who is a volunteer fireman. We do generally the same thing, except it’s actually the first level of his house that was underwater rather than a basement. He kitchen floor was still saturated with water as we removed the linoleum flooring, a month after the hurricane. Let’s just say I’ll be OK if I never remove another nail or staple out of a sub-floor. At the end of the job, I was privileged to be the one to present the SP Bible to him, a gift they extend to every disaster victim they serve. And we left as the BGEA chaplains stayed behind and talk/prayed with him. Yep, you may already know where this is going. We discover back at camp that when my Father wants to bless, He does so abundantly, and my prayer was yet again answered in the first two homes we work at. I can assure you, this isn’t normal or nearly that common! There’s been dozens of homes work on these 2 days, 4 salvations, and we were blessed to be a part of 2 of those. God is abundantly good. 

Let’s just agree that I look forward to tomorrow’s experience.

BJ Sanders

Walk on Water for Cyber Monday

Happy Cyber Monday. I hope that you find all kinds of great deals online today. But as we talked about yesterday, nothing that you can purchase online or in a store can ever satisfy you. Only Jesus, His Holy presence can bring you joy, peace, and satisfaction. But that is the danger in the faith. We often times confuse our satisfaction IN Christ with satisfaction from Christ. The crowds of people clamored around Him when He filled their hunger with bread. But He wants to be more than a Genie-in-a-bottle Jesus. He wants to be our bread. And He shows this to His disciples by sending them out on the boat in the middle of the night in the middle of a storm. And all the sudden, there were in a position where all the materialistic possessions on the planet wouldn't help them. Only one thing could save them and that was Jesus, but He was back on shore! Or so they thought.

And as He strutted across the water, their fear turned to joy as they took him into the boat. And they learned the all important lesson that we all too often forget in the faith. Jesus' goal isn't to provide us with "stuff," Jesus' goal is to provide us with Himself. It's His presence, not His possessions, that satisfy. The disciples learned that. And I hope we remember it as well in the middle of life's storms when it appears as though all hope is lost. For it may be only moments away from Jesus walking across the water to reach us.

This truth and promise encourages us to live both generously and courageously. We can be generous with what God has entrusted to us knowing that he will always leave for us a basket of bread with our name on it that in and of itself will be more than we could eat. And we can live a life taking risks for Him knowing that no matter how dangerous or unpredictable tomorrow may be, He holds tomorrow. And He is willing to walk across the water to comfort and care for us in that storm when it's in obedience to Him. So be generous with your time, resources, and joy. And take risks in the faith. The disciples would've never witnessed the miracle of Jesus walking on the water if they all would've stayed on the shore. If you want Jesus to get in the boat with you, then you'll have to first get in the boat yourself!

Pray for me, pray for Torch,
BJ Sanders 

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.

A Spirit of Thanksgiving

You know, you never can anticipate what to expect when you show up at PeeWee's Place to join Torch Community Church for service on a Sunday morning. And this past Sunday morning certainly provided the evidence of that. We were throwing surprises at you from every angle. The entire worship experience seemed very backwards from a typical Sunday. Which in many ways provides for us a metaphor of the reversal that we need to have in turning our attitude of ingratitude into a spirit of thanksgiving.

We are truly a blessed people. And the extent in which we fail to realize that or even take advantage of it will in many ways determine the extent of God's continued blessings. For the Sunday before Thanksgiving, as well as communion Sunday, we examined another feast of sorts, the feeding of the 5,000. And in our study we understand that there are countless ways in which God is at work using our inadequate abilities and resources to work miracles in our church and lives. It then becomes in many ways our responsibility to develop and intentionality to recognizing and praising Him for his many blessings. 

But don't enter into this exercise lightly. For to recognize a reason to be thankful often comes purposed with a challenge for us in our daily living. I thank God that He's a big God, but this demands that I trust Him to provide in everything. I thank God that He has a plan, but this demands that I live without buffers, totally dependent on Him. I thank God that He doesn't need but wants to use me, however, this demands that I give everything I am to Him, that I give Him my all. These are just some examples from the story of the feeding of the 5000 in John 6! So be careful becoming a grateful Christian, because it in many ways challenges you to become a great Christian. Indeed, a grateful Christian is a great Christian.

So I challenge you to start keeping a list of praises. Starting today, write one thing every day for which you are thankful. Develop a system. Use a calendar. Work through the alphabet. Think of things that make you happy. But just do something to keep you thinking about thanking.

Pray for me, pray for Torch,
BJ Sanders 

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.

Mission Minded People

The main thrust of Sunday's sermon was that Jesus is the Living Water in whom we can have our souls refreshed. That it is in Him alone that we find satisfaction and fulfillment for our deepest longings. And that He will provide for us a cool deep drink of the blessing of His Holy Spirit whenever we come seeking Him. And sometimes, when we are too weary to go looking, we find Him there, sitting beside the cracked empty well of our life, waiting to restore us, refresh us, and lead us in finding rest for our souls.

But I'd like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the amazing people at Torch Community Church for the effort they put into filling other people's cups as the Living Water overflows out of their lives.

Yesterday, in a church of around 50 people, we collected 13 Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes for the Samaritan's Purse ministry. That's incredible. Many churches of 150 won't collect that many. And we're just getting started.

Also, December 2nd-8th, we are planning a trip to assist in the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in the name of Christ. We already have 4 people committed to going, and about a half-dozen more still working to figure out the logistics with work schedules and family responsibilities in order to be able to go. Most church of 500 people will do nothing more than take a collection.

I'm so proud of the great Christians we have as a part of Torch Community Church. We are doing much more than most churches twice our size in the area of missions. Jesus could have taken up a collection in Jerusalem, and sent it to Samaria to support the Woman at the Well. But that's too impersonal, too easy. We have a personal God. He steps into the very thick of our lives. And He meets us at our well. I'm excited to say that I'm a part of a church that looks a lot more like Jesus than any other church I've ever served.

Thank you Torch,
BJ Sanders

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.

Come Together

In the classic rock anthem from the 60's "Come Together," the Beatles speak unprecedented Christian truth when they encourage us to "Come together, right now, Over me." Sunday, we had our first Torch fellowship, and it was a blessing. Now I use the term "fellowship" loosely. True Christian fellowship entails God's people coming together right now over Jesus. Sunday, following a worship service where the presence of God was present and the music was powerful and Spirit-filled, we then all headed back to my house to come together right now over Jesus, but also the Bengals. It goes without saying that Jesus is far more satisfying than our Bengals as they lost yet again. But I must admit, it was the most enjoyable loss I believe I have ever watched. Because the Christian conversation and just being together with God's people, my church family, overshadowed the football game. It was indeed felt like a family reunion. 

Our topic from Sunday sermon was that of humility. Remember your challenge this week.

If humility is indeed found in serenity, then beginning this week, start the journey of discovering contentment in every area of your life. Read a book. Share the Gospel. Be more concerned about honoring God in obedience than you are about impressing others with your image.

If humility is indeed subtle, then this week, bless someone else without them knowing it was you. Serve God silently.

If humility is indeed submission, then wherever in your life you've been holding back from God, let it go this week. And fully allow yourself to fall into step with His plan for your life.

I look forward to seeing you at Torch next Sunday morning.

Pray for me, pray for Torch,
BJ Sanders 

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines over you.
For look, darkness covers the earth,
and total darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will shine over you,
and His glory will appear over you.