Thursday, June 02, 2011

May Their Kind Increase

Then he said to his disciples, "The harves is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:37-38

The strength of PCC lies not in our pastors but in our people. Ordinary people who have made themselves available to God for Him to do extraordinary things through them for His glory and the advancement of His Kingdom.

Last night I attended a dinner with church leaders from the Peninsula and San Francisco area. I was chatting with a woman whom I had never met and when she discovered I was affiliated with Peninsula Covenant, she lit up and said, "I know PCC and have such a great respect for that church!"

My mind raced for a split second, guessing how she could have heard of us and wondering what part of our ministry could be responsible for her respect for PCC.

She met my inquisitive stare and broke the silence between us with two names. Do you know Leo and Ruby Jacques?

I smiled and asked how their lives intersected. Beth Ann went on to tell me that for years now, God has broken her heart for the plight of the thousands of women and children in the Bay Area (one count has it at 27,000) who are victims of human trafficking. Beth Ann heads up a foundation and has leveraged her relationships and resources to do something about this injustice and recently hosted one of the largest trafficking forums in the US right here in the Bay Area. Her intention was to bring this disgusting injustice to light for church leaders and other influencers.

That is where Leo and Ruby come in. Guess who represented PCC and through whose broken hearts and available spirits God is using, allowing PCC to have "skin in the game" to stand against this injustice?

Leo and Ruby head up the PCC Freedom Ministry, a team that models the diversity (ethnic, gender, age and socio-economic) we value at PCC. Our Freedom Ministry champions this trafficking injustice and speaks up for people who have no voice in our church, much less in our culture. Through their efforts, PCC is investing in a safe house right here in the Bay Area. Because of their voices, PCC as a church has "broken the chains" for more than 50 slaves worldwide, giving them a new legal start in life. Through their efforts, God is catalyzing resources in our body to shine light into a dark, disgusting cavern. Ordinary people, available for God to use them in extra-ordinary ways.

I liken Leo and Ruby to pit bulls. They may be small and quiet in stature (I marvel at their humility) but they are enabling PCC to take a big bite out of injustice and refuse to let go. Their tenacity is both Jesus-like and Holy Spirit-empowered. May their kind increase!

This weekend we continue in our Reboot series looking at Rethinking Eternity. Specifically we will encounter the doctrine of Hell and how it informs us as followers of Jesus. I promise a thought-provoking, disturbing, worshipful experience!

I love being your pastor!