Godâs Word on their hearts would lead them to his promise. If we love God with all that we are, if we call Christ Lord, if we believe the Word is true, what good reasons are there for not planting our lives among the lost and the poor? In this message on Deuteronomy 6, Pastor Ben DeLoach calls the church to love God and love people around them.
- Godâs Word on their hearts would lead them to his promise.
- Godâs Word on our hearts has led us to his plan.
Last week was the first time that we, together as a faith family, heard greater detail about how we as a faith family are going to go into the East Lake and Gate City areas of Birmingham as part of The Radical Experiment. Pastor David challenged you, he challenged me, he challenged all of us as he was teaching out of Numbers 13 and 14, as he was asking us to pray this week about what God is saying, and if He is leading us…leading you and I as individuals, leading parts of us as a faith family to go into the East Lake area…to move, to relocate ourselves there. So, I have hoped that you have been praying that way this week.
As a result of this challenge we had last week, this week I think that itâs of great value to us, weâre going to hear from Ben DeLoach. Ben DeLoach is going to come out. Heâs going to share a lot of his story. A lot of what God has been doing in him, and heâs going to be able to tell us more about what this picture looks like for him and his family. Then, after Ben shares, briefly weâre going to have a time with a panel of people up here, and youâre going to get to hear from them, and this group is going to share what it means to dive deeper into relationships, dive deeper into serving in the East Lake and Gate City communities of Birmingham. So, Benâs going to come out and share.
Let me introduce you to Ben DeLoach. Heâs our Associate Minister for Local Disciple-Making at The Church at Brook Hills. Benâs going to share; Iâm looking forward to hearing from him. Then, we will have this panel of folks to share to dive deeper about how we give the gospel away in the midst of urgent spiritual and physical need right here in front of us in Birmingham, Alabama. So, Ben, looking forward to hearing from you this morning.
Ben DeLoach: Thanks, brother. As Chris said, David gave a challenge last week, and it was quite a challenge for us to consider as a faith family…what it looks like to invest our lives in an area of our town, of our city, where there is a great poverty and a great lostness. So, I hope that youâve had a chance to pray through that. This is something that my wife and I have been praying through for about six months now. About four months ago, we made the decision to move into East Lake and Gate City. I realize that there are members of our faith family already living in areas of Birmingham like Bessemer and Ensley and Fairfield and some others where they are surrounded by people in their community who are impoverished and lost. This is, in some ways, new to our faith family and in some ways not.
I want to reiterate something that David said last week that, if you are already serving in an area in this community, whether itâs ministering to the homeless out in Lynn Park and downtown, or if you are serving the Hispanic community out in Leeds. I know several small groups are doing that out on Lorna Road. There are groups serving in a variety of contexts around this city. I want you to continue to do that, and I want you to pray and be led by Godâs Spirit to be where God wants you to be. However, as the local Radical Experiment, as The Church at Brook Hills, and as a faith family, weâre going to be investing significant resources into the East Lake and Gate City communities. So, pray through that and see if God will have you to be there to disciple men and women and children and also about moving to the area.
We realize that we will always somewhat be outsiders as we go to these areas that are very different than ours, and so moving into the communities, that we can make sure that the gospel is being proclaimed and that the needs of the poor are being met and this is our conviction.Â
Deuteronomy 6 is the Final Sermon of Moses
I want us to look at Deuteronomy 6. This is kind of the centerpiece of the Jewish law and is a very important text for us. Weâre familiar with this text because Jesus Himself quotes it several times in His ministry. Specifically, this text is in response to the question, âWhat is the greatest command?â Jesus responds here with verse 5 of Deuteronomy 6. Weâre going to read just the first few verses of Deuteronomy 6. I want to show you some connections here. In Deuteronomy 6:4, he says, âHear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.â
Deuteronomy is the final sermon of Moses, the final instructions given to the people before they go into the Promised Land under Joshuaâs leadership. So, this is very important. This chapter, specifically, is important because this is where Moses really begins to dive into how important it is for the people to love God and to obey Him and to fear Him as they move into this land.
I want us to look at verse 12 as well and verse 6 and show you a connection between verses 5 and 6 and verse 12. Moses, basically, said, âAfter you go into the Promised Land, you begin to receive these blessings.â Verse 12, âThen take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.â âTake care you lest you forget.â Now, the connection here is if they are loving God with all their heart, with everything that they are, they will not forget Him. So, when Moses says, âTake care, or guard against this,â this is what will guard them from forgetting God is loving God.
Look down at verse 18, and we see something else. He says, âYou shall do what is right and good on the sight of the Lord that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers.â Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses is making this connection. âIf you do what is right and good on the sight of the Lord, then it will go well with you, and then you will take possession of Godâs promise.â The fullness of Godâs promise is going to be fulfilled as theyâre obedient. Donât miss this connection that Godâs people will be obedient when they love Him. When their hearts are completely focused on Him, they will love Him with all their heart, all their soul, and all their might, then they will be obedient, and then they will receive His promise.
In Deuteronomy 6, Moses Pleads With Us to Know God
Godâs Word on their hearts would lead them to His promise. This is something that Moses desperately wanted the people to see. He wanted them to know God, so that they could love God. At the beginning of the Shema, verses 4 and 5, Moses makes this clear, concise, simple statement of who God is, and he says with such urgency, âHear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.â This simple statement. âThe Lord our God, the Lord is one.â It has been debated throughout the centuries what this phrase actually means. It could, potentially, mean a lot of different things, but two things I want us to look at when we know God, what this means.
When God is known by His people, they will experience life in the land that God has promised. They will experience life to the fullest. Moses makes it very simple for them. What it means to know God is that Godâs people should know Him as their God. Then, Godâs people should know Him as the only God.
You see, God had chosen these people to be His special possession among the earth. There was a sense of ownership of these people, and all they really needed to do to enjoy Godâs blessing was to recognize that they were Godâs people, and He was their God. However, also not that He was just theirs, but He was the only God. Moses knew that they had forgotten God in the past, and so he knew that they were going to be going into the land flowing with milk and honey, yes, but also full of pagan idolatry and false worship. So, Moses is very careful here to point out that God is your only God. He is exclusive; He is unique. As he describes this awesome God in verse 4, the God of Israel, he, then, tells them how to respond in verse 5. âYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might.â Just as God is unique and awesome, your love for Him should be unique and total. You shouldnât love anything like you love Him. Moses makes it simply very clear, because he knew that when God is known by His people, that He will be loved and obeyed by His people. When God is known by His people, He will be loved and obeyed by His people.
As good as this sounds, this is where we are reminded, as we read through Deuteronomy and then into Joshua and then into Judges, by the time we get to Judges 2, Godâs people, the new generation of Israelites, has already forgotten Him. Not the people who are going into the Promised Land, but their children. By Judges 2, it doesnât say, âThey quit loving God; they quit obeying God.â It says, âThey forgot God,â completely forgot Him. Moses was afraid this would happen, and he speaks very harshly here with such urgency, âHear, O Israel…â and weâre reminded that, if we donât love God, if we donât seek God with all that we are, we might forget Him, and they did forget Him.
We see the gospel so clearly in this picture because we realize that we cannot know God, and we cannot obey Him, and we cannot love Him apart from God coming to us and changing our hearts. This is the language that Deuteronomy 30 speaks of when Moses talks of this very issue. He uses this kind of uncomfortable language of circumcision, and he talks about how God will circumcise their hearts and open their hearts that they may be able to love and obey God. This is where we see the gospel very clearly. Itâs the same for us. The Word of God on our hearts, Christ in our hearts, gives us the ability to know God and gives us the ability to love and obey Him.
This Verse Reminds Us that God’s Word is in Our Hearts
Itâs at this point that I want to talk about our story, because it is Godâs Word in our hearts, it is Christ in our hearts, that has led us to see Godâs plan for our lives. Godâs Word on our hearts has led us to His plan. I donât want people to think that this decision to move into East Lake is based on popularity or based on what David said so or anything like that. This is because Christ has worked on our hearts over the last year, specifically, over the last four months and has shown us some truths from the Word, and these truths have brought great conviction. Weâve seen our sin in some areas, and weâve repented of that sin. So, thatâs what I want to walk you through over the next few minutes are three truths that Godâs Word has shown us and has revealed sin in our lives. I want to share the sin with you as well.
So, the first truth: Godâs blessings are for His purpose in our world. Godâs blessings are for His purpose in our world. This is from Psalm 67:1-2, and when David first came to Brook Hills, he preached a sermon titled, âThe Ultimate Disconnect.â That title describes our sin. We had disconnected the truth of Psalm 67:1 from the truth of Psalm 67:2. Psalm 67:1 says, very clearly, âMay God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us…â The psalmist is just praying this prayer, âGod be gracious; bless us.â This is exactly the prayer that I prayed my entire life. âGod bless me; give me these things that I want, that I desire.â Same thing that the psalmist has prayed, âGod be gracious to me and bless me and make your face shine upon me.â However, we canât disconnect to the reason why as found in verse 2, â…that your name may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations.â See the disconnect? When we asked God for blessings, itâs not for our purposes; itâs for His purposes.
So often…and Iâm sure many of you can relate…Iâve asked God for things, and when He gives them to me, then great. I praise God. Then, when I donât get them, then I wonder, âWhatâs going on; this isnât fair.â However, then again, thatâs because Iâm seeking to use Godâs blessing for my purpose and not for His. Weâve been convicted by this, and we realize that weâve received Godâs blessing with arrogance. Weâve received Godâs blessing with great arrogance. We would never say that. We would never say that weâre living our lives as though we deserve to be blessed by God, but often we live that way.
Secondly, Kylee and I have neglected the giving of blessing to others. Weâve hoarded our blessing in many ways, and we passed out blessing to others when it was convenient. This includes physical poverty, but also, the greatest blessing weâve received which is our salvation…the knowledge of the gospel, and that God has regenerated our hearts and has given us forgiveness from sin…we have not shared that blessing like we should either. Weâve hoarded that and kept it to ourselves. Itâs not what we were created for, and God created us for more than that, and in Isaiah 49:6, we see this same truth from Psalm 67:1-2. However, in Isaiah, heâs talking about the servant…Godâs servant…which is a picture of Christ in the Old Testament. He says, âIâm not sending you just to raise up the tribes of Jacob in the house of Israel, but Iâm making you a light to the nationsâ and this is speaking, specifically, of Christ. However, remember Christ has given us that same responsibility. He has passed that on to us, and we are in Christ, and so we are intended to be lights to the nations, the church, Godâs people, Christâs people, and weâve neglected that.
So, our response to this revelation of Godâs Word in our lives is that, with our blessings from God, we will share the Word. With our blessings from God, we will share the Word. This is our desire for East Lake: to share our blessings, physical and spiritual, with those in poverty to meet their needs as neighbors; to walk with them and encourage them and make sure they hear the greatest news in the world.
Godâs Commands Often Conflict With Our Comforts
Truth number two: Godâs commands often conflict with our comforts. Godâs commands often conflict with our comforts. This was actually a truth that hit me between the eyes as I reread the book of Jonah. The story of Jonah is probably the most popular Bible story around. If you remember, Jonah is told by God to go to Nineveh, and he doesnât do it. As a child, I always thought he was scared of the big Ninevites, the Assyrians, this great empire, this powerful nation. However, in Jonah 4, we find out that Jonah wasnât scared. He knew that God would forgive the people, and he did not want them to be forgiven. He knew that if he preached this message and the people repented that God would forgive them, but he didnât like those people, and he didnât want them to be forgiven, so he ran.
Now, you wonder, âWhy would Jonah, prophet of God, act this way?â If you look back at the history a little bit and back in 2 Kings, it talks about how Jonah was the prophet under Jeroboam II. Jeroboam II was an evil king. He led Israel into idolatry and continued in their idolatry, but yet, in Jeroboam IIâs reign, during his reign, Israel expanded its borders and became a prosperous nation. Youâd never guess who prophesied that would happen: Jonah. He prophesied that Jeroboamâs reign, in spite of Israelâs sin and wickedness, that they would be prosperous. So, it would seem that bad news for the Ninevites would be good news for Israel. That if God said, âTake this message of judgment to them and, if theyâre destroyed, that will be good for Israel, then you could expand more; you wouldnât have as much competition.â However, Jonah knew because he saw God forgive Israel and God bless Israel in spite of their sin; he knew that if he took this judgment…this message of judgment to Syria, that they might in fact repent, and God would, in fact, forgive them.
So, you see Jonah saying he gets angry enough to die because of this issue, and we realize that Jonah desired gain from God more than the glory of God. I saw myself in that. I saw that I…Kylee and I…have desired gain from God more than the glory of God. When the gain is high, it is easy to obey, but when it costs us something, thatâs when we really begin to see, âAre we really concerned about Godâs glory or are we concerned about our gain?â Kylee and I had to come to a form of repentance in this because God has commanded us to love others. Love God; love people. Itâs pretty simple what we are to do as followers of Christ. However, to love people, it costs something always, and more times than not, we were not willing to give up our comforts. You canât love without sacrifice, so instead, we embraced our comforts at the expense of our compassion. We embraced comforts at the expense of compassion.
This is something else that we see in Jonah. After the people repent, itâs kind of funny; itâs a funny scene. Jonah runs outside the city, goes east of the city and looks back at the city almost in anticipation. âMaybe theyâll fall back into sin really quick, and God will destroy them anyway.â It almost seems like Jonahâs thinking. He goes just to wait and see what will happen. While heâs there, heâs pretty uncomfortable. So, God sends this plant…causes this plant to grow up and cover Jonah, and it comforts him, and Jonah loves that plant. Says he is âexceedingly glad,â thatâs what the text says. So, God then sends a worm, which is also kind of funny, to eat the plant and it dies. So, it comes up in a day and dies in a day, and then Jonah, again, is angry enough to die. God goes to him and says, âJonah, why are you so angry? You didnât do anything. You were uncomfortable in the desert. I caused this plant to grow up. You were comfortable, and I took it away. Why are you so angry? You didnât do anything for this plant.â It becomes obvious that Jonah becomes angry, not because his plant had died, but because his comfort was removed. God goes to Jonah and says…and this is what the whole book of Jonah is about…He says, âThis city, Nineveh, 120,000 people there. Iâve had a lot to do with this city. These are people created in my image. These are people created to glorify me. Shouldnât I have compassion on them?â
It was at this point, again, that I saw myself in Jonah; that I had embraced my comfort at the expense of compassion for people…men and women made in Godâs image. We were in Disney World over Christmas. A member of our faith family…a family in this church blessed us with that opportunity, and it was…if you know anything about Disney around Christmas, it is the most crowded that it will be. So, the first day that we were there at the park, they actually closed the park at about 10:00 PM. Tons of people and, literally, people from every tribe and tongue were there. It was incredible to see. At night during Christmas time, they do the big lighting…the Christmas tree lighting, and they light Cinderellaâs castle with all these Christmas lights, and itâs really pretty. So, we gathered there…all these people. I donât know how many people it was…10,000, 15,000 people gathered there in this court, this square in the center of Disney World, and the Fairy Godmother comes out on the balcony, and they do this big show, and she does her âbippity-boppity-booâ thing, and all the lights come up on the castle, and itâs beautiful. I mean, it is absolutely beautiful.
Deuteronomy 6 Reminds Us that God Sees the Beauty in His People
Kylee and I…we couldnât get down to the courtyard, so we were up on a ridge, and we were able to see the castle, but we were also able to see all these people. As I was standing there holding my kids and with my wife looking at one of the most beautiful things that man can create, I saw the contrast between the creation of man and the creation of God. I looked out at this sea of people, literally, every tribe, tongue…it was incredible to see the diversity of the people there…and realized that when God looks at this same scene, He doesnât think that castle is beautiful. His creation, the crown of his creation is beautiful, and I realized, in that moment, that I donât see people that way. I had not seen people that way. I had served in the inner-city quite a bit with Empower Ministries and with Brother Bryan and just getting to know people in the community and served at Lovelady some, and I realized I did not see these individuals the same as God saw them.
There are 229,000 people who live in the city of Birmingham; 51,000 of them live in poverty, and just like God talked about the city of Nineveh and said, âThey donât know their right hand from their left…â Iâve met men and women that seem like they donât know their right hand from their left, and yet, weâve been entrusted with the answer. Weâve been entrusted with the gospel, and weâre concerned about our comfort? We were created for more than that. Weâve been blessed with the Word of God, with the understanding of salvation and with the resources to impact 51,000 men and women in poverty, and weâre concerned about our comfort. So, God has put compassion in our hearts, and with our compassion for people, we will show and teach the Word. With our compassion for people, we will show and teach the Word.
Godâs Word Should be Multiplied Through Every Part of Our Lives
Truth number three: Godâs Word should be multiplied through every part of our lives. Godâs Word should be multiplied through every part of our lives. This is back to Deuteronomy 6 again. This is the truth we see there and in the Great Commission in Matthew 28. We already saw how Moses described how important it was to love God with all their heart but look down in verse 7. He says, âYou shall teach them diligently to your children…â âTeach these commands diligently to your children.â Then, look at the language here. This is not compartmentalizing language. This is not segmented out. This is all-inclusive language. You shall âtalk of them when you sit in your house…â that is His commands â…when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates.â Every part of your life should be filled with passing on Godâs Word to your children and to others. This talks about being written on the door posts, like Jim mentioned, and on your gates. Thatâs in the public square; thatâs not in the home. Everywhere. Constantly keep Godâs Word as the focus, because it is Godâs Word that will lead us to understand who God is.
We also see the same thing in Matthew 28, and this is a passage…The Great Commission…that weâre very familiar with at Brook Hills. He says, âGo into all the world and make disciples.â David has taught us over and over again that that phrase âgo and make disciplesâ is not just, âWeâll schedule it in and go do it,â but all-inclusive. All the time. As you go, as you go about your life, make disciples. The same type of all-inclusive language Moses uses here, Jesus uses in the New Testament, but then He tells us how to do it, âbaptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit…â and what? â…teaching them all that I have commanded you.â The same exact thing that Moses said. Teach these things diligently to your children. Jesus says, âTeach them all that I have commanded you,â because it is in Godâs Word that we begin to know God.
When I saw this truth, that disciple-making cannot be compartmentalized, I realized that Kylee and I…that we have built a kingdom of isolation. We have built a kingdom of isolation. We were so intent, so hung up on buying a house and looking for safety and schools and people like us and close to the entertainment. Once we got that house, we filled it up with stuff we liked, and we wanted, and we really never had to leave. We could stay in that four-walled, three-bedroom, two-bath castle all the time and go out for a little random task here and there and serve people when we could and be living in our little kingdom. We isolated ourselves to the point where we really, after four years, havenât gotten to know our neighbors that well. As a result, we have separated our lives from service. Weâve separated our lives from service.
Deuteronomy 6 Calls Us to Incorporate the Love of God Into Our Lives
As weâve seen, the law of God and the love of God should be integrated into every aspect of our lives; that includes where we live. When we love God with all that we are, every decision that we make will be dictated by His will, by His command. Serving Christ, loving the church, loving the poor, seeking the lost, it canât be something that we schedule into our kingdoms. Itâs got to be all-inclusive. Scripture doesnât give us any other option. So, in response to these two sins in our life with our surrender to Christ, we will serve the world. With our surrender to Christ, we will serve the world.
Thereâs a lot more to share, and thereâs a lot more truths that I could share with you, and stories that I could tell about what God has done over the last six months, but thereâs one final thing that I want to share with you, and this was a question that was posed to me by a missionary. This was a missionary to the hardest to-reach area in the world…the most unreached area in the world. This is where this missionary and his team live and where they work, and he stood before Kylee and I…we had had dinner with him, and he said, âAnswer this question for me: what are some good reasons why you are not with me? What are some good reasons why youâre not living with me?â He meant living in that context. We gave him some reasons that we thought were pretty good. He said, âSure, those are some good reasons for now, but what could not be overcome? Which one of those reasons that you just gave us could not be overcome if you really tried?â He was exactly right. So, we began wrestling really with this question, âWhy do we live where we live? What is our reasoning for that?â We moved to this house in Chelsea. We didnât think about how our living there would impact the community. We really didnât. We were building our kingdom.
So, I want to ask this same question to you as a faith family, as my faith family, and here it is…and Iâve worded it a little different. âIf we love God with all that we are…â which is what the Word tells us to do, âand if we call Christ Lord…if we believe the Word is true then what good reasons are there for not planting our lives among the lost and the poor?â What good reasons are there for not planting our lives among the lost and the poor? Iâm not just referring to the lost and the poor in Birmingham, but all around the world, anywhere, like this missionary asked. What are good reasons…biblical, Christ honoring reasons for not planting our lives among the lost and the poor? While you prayerfully considering this question, Iâm going to invite the members of the panel to come out, and weâre going to dialogue about some of the things that are going on in East Lake and Gate City.
Chris Nichols: I did want us as a faith family to hear from some people that are armâs deep already, so to speak, in serving and sharing the gospel in this area. So, weâve got a group gathered this morning who Iâm really excited to talk to you in front of. So, weâre going to start down here on my far left with Keith Stanley. Keith is our team leader for our local disciple-making at The Church at Brook Hills. So, Keith, weâll just begin with you, and I was wondering if you would share maybe two or three reasons…thereâs a lot of places in Birmingham that we could pour resources, and thereâs a lot of places that we could mobilize small groups so why East Lake? Why Gate City?
Keith Stanley: Thatâs a great question. There are a lot of places where our small groups are invested in themselves and making a difference around the city, but East Lake and Gate City is one of those areas where very few churches are investing at this point. We know there are real issues of poverty there. A third of the people are living under $20,000 a year; 40 percent unemployment rate; thereâs huge issues for orphans and widows in the area. 62 percent of the kids in the area are being raised by a grandparent. Half the seniors in the area are disabled. Thereâs huge needs for people to come along and minister to those seniors and support those children…tutoring, mentoring, pouring our lives into them.
This Verse is an Opportunity to Partner With Local Churches
Itâs also a place where our people have already been called. Over 100 people have been investing their lives already in the East Lake area at the Lovelady Center and in partnerships with local churches there. Itâs an area of great opportunity. As weâve traveled around East Lake/Gate City, interviewed local pastors, community organizations, school officials, others who are in position of leadership, we found a great openness for our people to come along aside the residents and minister in the name of Christ there. Itâs just an open door we feel like.
Chris Nichols: So, what are possible opportunities…and I know nothing is set in concrete and thatâs why weâre part of this panel this morning…but what are some opportunities for small groups to mobilize in that area?
Keith Stanley: Well, weâre working on a lot of different opportunities. Obviously, the main thing we want to do is create relational disciple-making relationships. We want to build friendships with the people in those communities, and weâre going to be mobilizing small groups to help do that through a number of ways. Weâll be working with partners like the Lovelady Center and schools and senior adult centers and local churches. Weâll also be having some special outreach initiatives. Things like backyard Bible clubs, home Bible studies, health clinics, just a number of ways to help build relationships, sports leagues, and even some workshops that weâll sponsor for people in the community.
Ultimately, we hope to be able to mobilize small groups as well to address some of the education, economic, and development needs of the community at large.
Chris Nichols: You mentioned that one person you spoke to mentioned that you were only the second church, I believe, to even be interested in possibly talking with this area, in his particular area. Is that right?
Keith Stanley: Yes. One of the organizations weâve met with in Gate City, which has had a long history of crime in that area, was surprised that we wanted to come help, and said we were only the second church in five years willing to come down and help. Thatâs exciting to see the responsiveness of the people on the ground looking for help.
Chris Nichols: Tell us really briefly about the orientations coming up at the end of this month. Whatâs the purpose of those?
Keith Stanley: Sure, two weeks from tonight, weâll have our first orientation for anyone interested in wanting to serve in the Gate City/East Lake area. Thereâll be a following one on Wednesday night, March 31. The purpose of that is two-fold: we want you to know about the opportunities more specifically…how your group can get involved, but we also want you to understand a little more about cross-cultural ministry and being culturally sensitive as we go into different areas of the city, particularly, urban areas. Sammy Campbell will be doing some training with all of our people going into the area, so that we do that with love and compassion and dignity as we move into inner-city areas.
Chris Nichols: Keith had mentioned that Brook Hills is already armâs deep in a lot of different ways in this area and one of those areas is the Lovelady Center, and Vernetta Young is with us this morning. Vernetta is on staff there at the Lovelady Center, and we joked about how long her title should be if we captured everything that she did. Vernetta, you are serving in a great capacity there. Your journey began before then, and you were actually served by and ministered to by the Lovelady Center. So, can you just give a brief picture of how you came to be?
Vernetta Young: Yes, just a long…maybe someone would say a productive life which I thought was productive. Married and children, and then some kind of way after divorce and domestic violence, moved to the Mobile area. There I had a tragic passing of a child, and it was just very tragic, and then became addicted to prescription medication, and from that addiction to prescription medication just took it to the next level: illegal drugs. Heroin, crack cocaine and the addiction just took everything away from me…the other two children, house, home, and everything. Found myself just on the streets just doing whatever you can to get that next high, bouts with the law and everything.
We are Reminded that Angels do Exist and are Looking Out for Us
From there, an angel came into my life and referred me to the Lovelady Center, and after I got there, I was still in a mode of depression, suicidal attempts. Then, from there went to the drug rehab program there.
After the drug rehab program, graduated and then moved into the transitional housing part of the program. There I was introduced to Jesus and accepted Him into my life. A Father I had never had, never had a relationship with, and then I realized that He was a friend as well. He could be your best friend. From there, my life started. Restoration with children; they came, and everyone was baptized there and just my life took off in a whole other direction. Became employed outside the Lovelady Center, still living there and going through the program, and God just started opening doors for me. Itâs just overwhelming in the possibilities and all that I learned and this new lifestyle that was introduced to me at the life center.
Chris Nichols: Now, youâre story is not really that uncommon for ladies that are there. If you could give the folks that are listening this morning…explain a little bit about what are the top few reasons that people end up in the Lovelady Center?
Vernetta Young: The Lovelady Center was originally opened up for women coming out of incarceration when they didnât want to go back to that same old lifestyle. It was an alternative for them to come back and get a new lifestyle, renew your mind and just do a whole other way, so they wouldnât get caught up in Alabamaâs recidivism rate. However, now we open our doors to those women. We are an alternative for prison, so some women there, instead of going to prison, they do their time at the Lovelady Center. We have a domestic violence program. We have a drug treatment program, and now, in these economic times, weâre seeing that women are just coming there because them and their children are homeless. So, we open the doors to them as well.
Chris Nichols: Praise God for what He has done in Vernetta Youngâs life. I appreciate you being willing to share that this morning. Next, on my left, Iâve got Beverly Fleming, and Beverly is part of the Brook Hillâs faith family. Sheâs a small group leader, and Beverly…actually, you were leading small group women on Wednesday morning here on this campus, right? Now, tell me, if you would, or tell the folks in this room: how did you lead people from investing right here…or how did you go from investing here to investing in East Lake?
Beverly Fleming: I had been teaching a number of years on Wednesday morning, and I guess itâs a little over a year ago, God had said, âYou need to go to the next level.â I wasnât sure what that was, so I kept praying about it and praying about it, and then, when one day, lo and behold, this young lady comes to our Sunday school class, and sheâs talking about Lovelady. It really got our attention. She invited our class to go to a tour of the facility, and we did, and I sat in on some classes, and then I was hooked.
Chris Nichols: Now, Vernetta earlier…the first time we gathered this morning…mentioned about mentoring…mentioned about disciple-making, because I think, if Iâm correct, there was a lady from the suburbs…maybe Mt. Laurel area…that had poured into your life encouragement and those kind of things…prayer-partnering. Beverly, youâve been involved in that as well. Tell us a little bit about that and how other women are going along with you in that picture.
Beverly Fleming: Well, I have mentored one lady who has graduated the program, and I am currently mentoring another lady. Iâm constantly recruiting for Lovelady, so I might get you in the hall sometime, and weâll chat about it. However, I am constantly recruiting for people to be mentors. These women at Lovelady need mentors. They need to know the love of Christ up close and personal. Sometimes they come from families that are certainly dysfunctional, that donât have any love in them, and these women are so starved for love. One woman just came up to me one time, and said, âI just need a hug.â Thatâs pretty convicting.
Chris Nichols: I appreciate you sharing this morning. Thank you for doing this. On my right, I have Sammy Campbell, and Sammy is working alongside us. Sammy grew up in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, and he has, literally, done urban ministry in a variety of places around the United States. So, we are privileged for having Sammy to help us. When we go into this area as The Church of Brookhills and people of God, it is more. We are Christians, we are people of God, and we go into this area, we want to not inhibit the spread of the gospel, but we want to facilitate the spread of the gospel. So, Sammy is helping us. Heâs going to be part of this training thatâs coming up in how to understand what weâre doing. Sammy, weâre going in there sort of as outsiders. So, if you could give some general advice, an overview a little bit about what we need to remember about doing ministry in East Lake/Gate City.
Sammy Campbell: I previously was a missionary to Washington DC, and I recall the time when I first went to Washington DC. The area for which I served was the murder capital of the US. It was Ward 9 in Washington DC. There was a lot of trepidation I went with, knowing I was going to be working in the murder capital of the US. Ward 9 was the primary area. So, as I embarked upon asking these churches who I was working with to come join me, everybody was excited to learn that I was there to help them do this work and so forth. However, as I engaged them to come join me and volunteer their time, the best response that I could get from them was, âWe will pray for you, brother.â
Deuteronomy 6 Reminds Us that God is Present in Every Part of Our Lives
We think that God can be everywhere in our lives but not in the hard areas. As we recall distinctly in Matthew 28, Great Commission, He said, âAnd lo I will be with you till the ends of the earth.â We need to know that these areas that weâre going into, these problems that weâre dealing with in urban areas is spiritual based. There is no other group thatâs equipped to deal with spiritual issues than the church. The government canât do it, even faith-based organizations canât do it alone, the church must be involved in that. We can summon a power that none other can. So, I would say the greatest need that we need to be aware of is that weâre not going into these communities alone. It is our responsibility as Christians to be in there, and God is with us.
Chris Nichols: If you would, tell us a couple of coaching points as we begin to embark on this and there are going to be people across this family that are going into this area. Just a couple of quick coaching points to remember that we can think about.
Sammy Campbell: Relationships are key. The Civil Rights Movement caused us to start these trends of people moving in and out of the community, and the city dwellers are less trusting of the church because of that. So, we must be involved to create opportunities for us to reestablish these relationships.
One thing that I would like to bring to your attention is, first of all, that you canât go into those communities with your preconceived ideas and thoughts about their plights. Youâve got to be on the firm foundation of trying to learn what they know. In fact, I say you must be the listener. The other things are two questions: one, you must answer this question that is, âWhy are you here?â Talking about working in the community, and âHow long will you stay?â Itâs going to be significantly important that you have those answered because, invariably, theyâre going to be asked in some form or fashion. A lot of times they will not be asked just verbally. In body language and in attitude, youâll find out they really donât think youâre investing in their lives.
Chris Nichols: Thank you Sammy. Weâre looking forward to working along side him. Sammy brings a great wealth of understanding those communities. So, weâre thankful that he is going to help us in this way.
God Speaks to Us on an Individual Level
Next, I want to do something a little different. Weâve heard from Ben. Ben youâve had your chance, but I want to hear from Kylee because Kylee is a vital part of this mission to involve their lives in the East Lake/Gate City community. Kylee, if you would…youâre not simply just following along behind Ben, but God is speaking to you on an individual level about this, and I wanted you to share more about that if you would.
Kylee Deloach: Sure. I am following Ben, but he has been the spiritual leader in our house. He is definitely the one who came up to me and said, âLetâs consider East Lake.â It was not something I was all âgung hoâ about at first. It was in the first conversation that we really had about it…it was me giving him opposition and giving all the excuses and all the reasons. It was, âWe have kids, and we have this great life, and we have this great school system,â and it became all of our comforts. In that moment, it was when I was convicted of my pride and was just really humbled by what…the sin that was in my life or in our lives. So, thatâs kind of been the path leading up to this is just humility and realizing that, if we really love God, then weâre going to go love the people too.
Chris Nichols: I appreciate you being transparent in that, Kylee. Now, you do have children, and you are going from a setting where the schools are really good, and itâs probably very familiar, and youâre going into a setting where the schools may not be so good. So, talk to us about where God is leading you educationally? That picture.
Kylee Deloach: Well we will be home schooling. For me to say that is actually a lot bigger than, âWeâre moving to East Lake.â That was not something that I ever wanted to do or ever thought we would be doing, but as God has changed our hearts in moving to a place that is not as comfortable, he has also changed our hearts as far as what we will do for schooling. So, home schooling is the route we are going to go in, and Iâm actually excited to say that Iâm actually looking forward to it.
Chris Nichols: Thatâs great. So, this is the time when…Kylee gets to go first by the way…where you can share how can we as a faith family pray for you guys? What are the things that you would ask for the most? Kylee if you would lead, and then Ben go ahead after that.
Kylee Deloach: Well, I would say wisdom would be my top prayer request right now. Thereâs going to be a lot of change…a lot of things that are different. How do we work home schooling; how do we work ministry; how do we work being a family just in this different setting and not as comfortable. We donât want it to be us doing this; we want it to be something God is doing through us. So, just some wisdom in that as far as we go, not to be our ways, but to be Godâs ways.
Chris Nichols: All right, Ben.
Ben Deloach: I totally agree with Kylee on that, but I guess the temptation in moving to any area, I guess, would be to identify people just like us. I really…I donât want to go that route again unless thatâs where God has us, but that God would begin to convict men and women in the community, raise men and women up in the community that we could invest in, and that God would entrust to us to invest in. For us to be sensitive to that and have our eyes open for those individuals regardless if theyâre like us or not.
Remember that Balance is Important Too
The second thing…and this goes back to leading our family is that I donât…trying to minster to all these needs of people in poverty to ever come between us and hurt our family at all. So, we want to be able to balance that where we are serving people in poverty, but we are not overwhelming one another or our family. Thatâs something that weâll have to guard against, and something Iâve had to guard against at Brook Hills as well as a full-time minister. Iâve been good at that at some times and not so good at others. So for this…for our family to be lived out in front of people in the community, for people to see that we are focused on Christ and focused on the gospel. Itâs going to be very important for us to guard our family as we serve people in the community. So, those two things.
Chris Nichols: I am thankful for Ben and Kylee and the way that they have been transparent with us, and what I want us to do now is weâre going to pray for them in just a moment but Dr. Platt had challenged us last week to pray about whether God would place us in East Lake, and Ben and Kylee have been experiencing a leading by God to place their lives in that context. I want us to pray for them. You guys as a faith family, if God is speaking to you at all in this direction, then weâre going to have a chance, as Keith mentioned, at the end of this month to be part of some orientation that will help us better understand ministry in that community, and certainly, I would encourage you as He is leading you in any way in this process, that you need to make yourself apart of one of those orientation times coming at the end of this month.Â
How can we apply this passage to our lives?
Question 1
What is the purpose of Godâs blessings in the lives of His followers?
Question 2
How are His blessings connected with personal responsibility?
Question 3
Read Jonah 3:10-4:3. Why was Jonah uncomfortable with Godâs command? How does his discomfort reflect sin in his life?
Question 4
What was God more concerned with than Jonahâs comfort? Why?
Question 5
What did Jonahâs lack of compassion for the people of Nineveh indicate about the way he viewed his role in Godâs mission?
Godâs Word on their hearts would lead them to His promise.
- When God is known by His people…
- Godâs people should know Him as their God.
- Godâs people should know Him as the only God.
- He will be loved and obeyed by His people.
Godâs Word on our hearts has led us to His plan.
- Godâs blessings are for His purpose in our world. (Psalm 67:1â2; Isaiah 49:6)
- We have received Godâs blessing with arrogance.
- We have neglected the giving of blessing to others.
With our blessings from God we will share the Word.
- Godâs commands often conflict with our comforts. (Jonah 4)
- We have desired gain from God more than the glory of God.
- We have embraced comforts at the expense of compassion.
With our compassion for people we will show and teach the Word.
- Godâs Word should be multiplied through every part of our lives. (Deut 6:7â8; Matt 28:20)
- We have built a kingdom of isolation.
- We have separated our lives from service.
With our surrender to Christ we will serve the world.
- If we love God with all that we are…If we call Christ Lord…If we believe the Word is true… What good reasons are there for not planting our lives among the lost and the poor?