"you of little faith, why are you so afraid?"

BY SUMMER WILLIAMS

"You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. (Matthew 8:26)

If anything sums up my December every single year, it has to be this verse. For the past three years that I have been at CGM - working as a fundraiser - I sweat the entire last month from the 1st to the 31st, all day, every day. This month is one of the most important determinants of how our fundraising year will end. It undoubtedly affects how 2016 will look – how many children we will be able to serve, the number of teachers we can hire, the types of programs we will be able to offer.  

There is a lot weighing on what comes in during December, not only for the month, but the year in its entirety. It is stressful to say the least. 

This is when I begin to doubt and worry. In the midst of all this, I pray and petition on behalf of the children, families and co-workers that I love. “Dear Lord, please see my heart and my efforts and use this year and the coming year to work in the neighborhood. Please see fit to bless us with the proper finances to enter 2016 so that we may love others well for yet another year.”   I plead, wrestle, and bargain. “If you just get us through this year, I promise I will work harder in 2016 and give you all I have.”

I prayed for a very specific amount during the month of December. It was a lofty goal and one that has never been raised in the final 31 days of prior years. But I was hopeful in November. The last week of December rolled around and I watched the deposits daily, checked online donations and went in to the office to review what had come in. And we were nowhere even close to the goal I had originally established. This when I felt like I was watching the giant storm on the horizon, knowing that it would pummel my boat all while Jesus sleeps. Everything would be flipped upside down. 

Thankfully I have a calm and understanding boss that is always there to listen to my concerns. I would talk to Bryan and throughout all of this he remained extremely positive and affirmed my fundraising efforts of the past 12 months. I, however, was still anxious and not looking forward to reporting our final numbers.

And then the winds calmed.

And the Lord showed me that the fear was in vain. He showed me that my faith was little. He showed me that He was in control. He is for Common Ground Montgomery and the Washington Park neighborhood and wants to see disciples made, trauma healed, people loved well, and families restored. 

I boast on His behalf, and His behalf alone, when I say that we met our December goal. I sit here today humbled by God’s provision and your generosity. Like the disciples, I find myself asking over and over again what sort of man is this? The kind of man that handles all of the storms of life and tells them to be calm. The sort of man that is constantly reminding us of His love for us. 

So these are not simply donations that I am entering into the database but gifts that are helping to grow the kingdom, investments in to people's lives. These donations are constant reminders of his provision and your submission to his calling.  Thank you to each and every one of you that listened to His voice prompting you to donate. It is because of you that the kingdom grows daily. 

if we just believe

BY CHAQUANA TOWNSEND

While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live. And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well. And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. (Matthew 9:18-25)

As I read this passage of scripture two things are strikingly evident and refreshing in my mind: God can do the impossible if only we believe. The woman and man in this passage had two things in common: trust and belief in the only true God that can do what man says is impossible! They knew Jesus could heal the sick and raise the dead because he had done it many times before! Healing of any kind wasn't too hard for God since they deeply believed and trusted in his mighty power!

Their faith blew me away because more times than I can count, I doubt the power of Jesus to save and open blinded eyes. I pray for something and then doubt that God will come through. My faith has been so weak in the past, and I want to see more of his power at work in my life, and in the lives of others. I want to witness miracles, and tell others about the God who performed those miracles. As I read the Gospels, one thing sticks out: God does indeed answer prayer when we have the faith to believe. He does hear our cries, our petitions, or requests, and he has not forgotten us. Does God answer every request we have? No, absolutely not! However, there are prayers that God will answer because of our faith in Him.

I am trusting God to raise up many of the children we work with to be warriors for Jesus. I am trusting God to break generational patterns and curses in their lives and many others. I am trusting God to use our parents and children in such a way that people bow down and worship the one true King! He is already doing some of the very things I am asking Him to do, and I will keep trusting Him until he says otherwise. I pray that God will continue to increase the faith of his children.

Nothing, absolutely nothing is too hard for our God! Will you believe with me?

we're back!

BY KEVIN KING

In the Old Testament every seventh year a sabbatical was an extended season of rest to allow the land to regain its potency and allow the soil to restore its nutrients and minerals. This time is crucial today for sustaining the life of those in ministry. A Sabbatical was much needed for my family and we truly believe that the nutrients of our souls have been replenished, restored, and we have a renewed hunger for life and for ministry. Jeremiah 31:25 says “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” Praise God! We are glad to be back!

‘The hood don’t waste no time’

March 3rd was our return date. Transitioning back into our home in Washington Park immediately welcomed us to a reminder that we were home and why we love our street. We miss waking up to the sounds of loud neighbors, loud music, and loud early morning garbage truck runs.

Immediately our home was a revolving door. People old and young came by to visit and welcome us back into the community. A parent who lost her son and whose phone calls I had been avoiding before sabbatical (due to me being emotionally drained) called for help and I was able to visit, respond to needs, and pray for her in her home. Young ladies with make up and wardrobe needs in preparation for a various dances and proms immediately solicited Nicole’s help because she’s the bomb when it comes to stuff like that. Other women reached out to Nicole for help in studying the word and getting to know Jesus better. Another neighbor randomly hit me up in the middle of the street to pray for him on the spot at least 3 times this month. Another friend and neighbor who is addicted to drugs continues to tell me how much he loves me and how much prayer and help he needs. The neighbor who has promised to come to church for 2 years has now come twice in the last 3 weeks. All this and more while transitioning back into my day job with Common Ground Montgomery!

Now at this point I know you feel just a bit overwhelmed as you read this. The things I've mentioned here are basically the norm. We've missed every minute of being here, but issues like these are inevitable. It may not seem like it, but there were even more issues that came up that we couldn't respond to, because we can’t live in a way that allows the circumstances of others to all of a sudden become our emergency every time. God is in control when or if we can’t be there to make everything better. We are not in control. God is always in the midst redeeming and intervening in the lives of people. Sometimes all we can do is pray even if we ourselves aren't in a position to respond.

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. 

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.