During the 90's Steve and I worshiped at the Mesquite Church of Christ for about eight years. During that time we came to love the Ross family, who were the senior minister and family. At the same time we also came to know the Hutson family who were in youth ministry. Rick Ross and Cecil Hutson were married to sisters, Beverly and Barbie. At the time, I was involved in the Children's Ministry in a volunteer position but I didn't know the Ross children well, because they were in the youth group at that time. But what I did know about them was that they were spiritually mature beyond their years. It was obvious that Rick and Beverly didn't just talk the talk, but planted God's Word deep into the hearts of their children. Beverly taught several women's classes and always challenged us to go deeper in our love for the Lord. She had the type of positive personality that you wanted to just ask her "do you ever have a down day?". She was always so full of joy for the Lord.
Steve and I left Mesquite in 1998 for me to take a full time Children's Ministry position at a church in Richardson. We occasionally ran into the Ross' and Hutsons' at different events over the years and would catch up. Then in 2010 I had just starting using Facebook when I got the news that the Ross' daughter Jenny was in the hospital and in serious condition and thousands of people started praying. We were all heart broken when God didn't answer our prayers for Jenny's physical healing and we got the word that she went home to be with the Lord she loved. We were blessed to attend the celebration of her life where the family showed us strength in the midst of pain, but more than that they showed us the hope we all have in the resurrection. We were reminded that the tomb is empty and because of that we could rejoice. The most powerful moment for me was when Josh asks us all to kneel in prayer and he asks God to allow Satan to look into the room full of believers on their knees in prayer and then Satan will know that he loses and Jesus wins. He then says to Satan "you can take our bodies, but you can not take our spirits and you cannot take our souls". I left that service knowing that Josh was anointed in an amazing way and would do great things for the Father in His kingdom. And since that time I have followed him and listened to podcasts and watched videos and he is a might spokesman for the Lord.
It was then no surprise when I heard he was writing a book about the journey he and his family have taken through the valley of the shadow of death, that I would want to read that book. It arrived at my house Tuesday morning and by Tuesday afternoon I had read every word. Scarred Faith took me through the Jenny journey once again. Again I was faced with the questions I had then "if thousands of prayers going up to God can't change His mind, what can?" "What do you do with a God who is all powerful, and you believe there is nothing he cannot do but He just chooses not to do it?" Josh answers these questions in a powerful and authentic way. We are left to lament and it is perfectly okay to ask god those hard questions. Because the bottom line is Jesus overcame death and His victory gives all of us victory in Him and in the end that really is all that matters.
So while part of the book is Josh being authentic about his own faith struggle, the rest of the book of about what we as Christians are being called to do to bring parts of heaven down to earth. Josh challenges us to come out of the brick and mortar that we call "church" and actually be the Church to a world that needs to know that there is hope and redemption available through a God that loves and adores them. My heart was touched to hear about the different people that Josh has encountered and whose lives have been changed by him introducing him to our Lord, Jesus Christ. I also was convicted by Josh and his family moving into inter city Memphis so that they could be active in the redemption of a community. It made me want to move to Memphis and be part of the Sycamore View church of Christ.
The last book that changed my heart the way this book did was "Same Kind Of Different As Me". Let me give you just a few quotes that captured my heart. But you need to buy your own copy of Scarred Faith and be transformed.
- We grieve hard because we love hard.
- It becomes dangerous when friends of grievers feel like the need to do theology instead of just trying to be theology....offer a ministry of presence:'I am here to be with you, because I want you to know I care.'
- You will definitely want to read his honest letter to God on pages 53-56
- There are days that I don't need a God who will deliver me from the pit, just a God who will get down into the pit with me.
- Maybe the reason that faith is called faith is because seeing doesn't lead to belief but belief transforms the way we see.
- What if Christians made the simple commitment to be good neighbors?
- On numerous occasions, God reminded us that he has already taken up residence in the communities many have deemed lost or 'not okay to drive through'. We just want to join him there.
- Jesus lived in a way that quickly garnered him the reputation as a friend of sinners. How can followers of Jesus gain this reputation today? How can churches become 'friends of sinners' and not just exclusive social clubs with flashy slogans or billboard ads.
- The church is at its best when it teaches people to engage the world in a way that says 'We don't care what form of suffering invaded your life. We are here to walk with you, because that is what Jesus would do'.
- Stepping into brokenness...it's a guaranteed place to find God on the move, and it is where we catch glimpses of God's creative and redemptive work.
- May God forgive us for taking better care of our buildings than we do our neighbors. May God have mercy on us when our capital campaigns are not asking how our facilities can become hubs for our neighborhoods.
- Only when we acknowledge the wounds in our hearts will wounds begin to be redeemed.
There is so much more, but I will stop. My prayer for myself is that this not just be another book read, but that I will let the Holy Spirit continue to speak until my heart is changed. I give him thanks that in his plan he knew the blessing the Ross family would be to me and he allowed us to get to know one another and share life and now he continues to use us all in his kingdom work.
If you are interested in watching Jenny's homecoming celebration and hear the powerful words that God spoke through the family on that day you can view it here
http://vimeo.com/32590132
