Author: admin

Colorblind but not Colorless

Written by admin on July 3, 2008. Posted in Dream of Destiny. 2 Comments on Colorblind but not Colorless

I asked Phil Allen, who is on staff with the High School Ministry here at Shepherd, to write a Spoken Word to recite at the NACC. As I mentioned before, I am at the NACC this week speaking on Dream of Destiny, a ministry dedicated to raising up under-represented minorities in leadership positions in our churches, schools, and organizations. Phil did an amazing job, and I wanted to share his Spoken Word with all of you. It is truly powerful.

(Imagine A Church) Colorblind But Not Colorless

The church has been hiding behind
Stained-glass ministries for too long
And stained-glasses dictate the color of the light
That shines through and we live behind the tinted windows
Of our comfort zone
Imagine a church that looks like God
Colorblind but not colorless
And the rest of the world can actually see
Themselves in it
‘Cause they begin to see the faith as real and not counterfeit
Imagine my transparency impacting another life
‘Cause they relate to the complexion of my heart
Not my shade of black or white
Because pain can minister to pain
Hurt can relate to hurt and love
Doesn’t distinguish the hue of a man
‘Cause pure love itself is only hu-man
Jesus taught that one
Imagine a culture of discipleship
Extending a hand to mentor the man next to you and vice versa
Imagine all of America answering this altar call
‘Cause the church overcame its spiritual inertia
Imagine if I would nurture
the same world that Jesus died to save
According to grace
The umbrella that protects with no partiality to race
Imagine if I presented the world a church
That any and every non-believer would embrace
‘Cause they all would see a face…that looks like them
“It might not work!”
Well Christ didn’t make excuses so don’t hand me that
A church without diversity is a church that’s handicapped
If we truly want change
We have to be change and not react to the change
That’s already in action
But the church is afraid of the change it’s supposed to make happen
And the world is a greater attraction
‘Cause it’s making change along color lines
Just without the moral attachment
Even though the deadline has passed
It’s not too late for Dr. King’s prophetic dream to come to pass
In the pews and the pulpit
Satan has made diversity look like the culprit
For too long
Imagine a church that’s colorblind but not colorless
‘Cause where we worship has come down
To who looks like us
So Sunday morning has become a family reunion
Well whether we like it or not
God says “Guess who’s comin’ to dinner!”
My Dream of Destiny will be a reality
Because my church will be colorblind but not colorless

If you want to hear another Spoken Word by Phil, you can watch When I Became a Man here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=QRISRapn4zI

Living Dangerously

Written by admin on June 30, 2008. Posted in Blog. 3 Comments on Living Dangerously

I want to thank everyone for the positive comments about the sermon last weekend! I know that the Call On Jesus website was down at the time, but it is up and running again…if you missed the sermon or if you’d like to watch or listen again or get the CD or DVD: www.CallOnJesus.com.

This week, I’ll be in Cincinnati attending the North American Christian Convention (NACC), which is a yearly gathering of Christians all over the world. There are booths, workshops, praise music, and awesome main sessions every night that are like going to church for a week straight! Bill Hybels—author, speaker, and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago—will be one of this year’s speakers.

“Living Dangerously” is the 2008 theme. It connotes the charge to each of us as believers to live a life less ordinary and to step out of our comfort zones for Jesus.

I am involved in leading several workshops and sharing with others about Dream of Destiny, the ministry I founded last year to promote greater, racial diversity in the leadership within our Christian churches, schools, and organizations. (You can check out www.dreamofdestiny.org for more information.) I have been asked to serve as the president of the NACC in the summer of 2011, which is a great honor and a joy! I would love to see as many of you as possible attend that year. Please visit www.nacctheconnectingplace.com for more information about the NACC.

U.S. Open or a Divine Appointment

Written by admin on June 16, 2008. Posted in divine appointments, evangelism, salvation, witnessing. 5 Comments on U.S. Open or a Divine Appointment

Over a year ago, I was scheduled to be in San Diego during the weekend of June 14 & 15. I was able to secure some tickets to the U.S. Open that was held at the beautiful Torrey Pines Golf Course. It was a tad exciting to walk the course and to see the best golfers in the world. The only problems were that the tickets cost $100 each, parking was a hassle, there was A LOT of walking involved, and it was hot… but the most difficult thing was the fact that you had to dodge the other 42,000+ people who were all there for the same experience.

Now, you need to know that I enjoy the game of golf. For the most part, it is one of life’s simple pleasures that allows me to get a little exercise in, and, of course, I love to compete. So when you wrap all of this information together, then you might realize to what degree I was hyped up about attending the 2008 U.S. Open (which, by the way, Tiger Woods won).

Little did I know that the reason for my trip was that the Lord had SEVERAL divine appointments for me. See, I had all these great plans, but the Lord had other plans. Can all God’s people say????? Amen!!!

The first divine appointment came at dinner one night. There were three of us having dinner at a Mexican restaurant, and in the middle of the dinner, a waitress walks up to our table out of the blue and asks us if we believed in the Bible. That’s the equivalent of God lobbing a softball in my direction saying, “Dudley, see if you can hit this out of the ballpark.” “Of course!!!” we said, and we proceeded to discover that our waitress had been eavesdropping and had heard us talking about the Bible. She just wanted to learn more. She was from Mazatlan, where she explained that $4.00 was a day’s wage in her hometown, so she is waitressing here in the United States to earn money to send back home to her family. She did NOT have a nice Bible, so this week I know the Lord would have me send her a Bible for her continued growth and interest in the Lord.

Secondly, we had to shuttle (catch a ride) to Torrey Pines because of the crowded parking situation and the woman who drove us began to ask some questions about our church. I’m not sure she heard anything I said, but I know that the Lord used me to plant some seeds into her heart. I was able to tell the person who drove us to the golf course that God revealed Himself to us through His son, Jesus, and that’s why we study the Gospels to learn more about Jesus.

Finally, once inside the ropes of the tournament, I was one of 42,000 people spread out over a rather large golf course, and had only been inside the gates a few minutes when I heard my name called out. It was a lady who attends the Westside campus (mywestsidechurch.com). She, too, was attending the U.S. Open with a friend of hers. We talked for a few minutes, she introduced me to her friend, and–praise the Lord–I was able to walk a hole or two with her friend just to meet him and plant a few seeds within his heart as well.

While I was leaving, it dawned on me that I thought I was there for my own enjoyment, but the Lord had me there for these three divine appointments. For me, it was a vivid reminder of Luke 19:1-1o, where Jesus, in the midst of a vast crowd, looks up and sees Zacchaeus, the Tax Collector, and right there on the spot, the Lord has an encounter with a man who desperately needed salvation.

So remember, whenever you have a plan, the Lord might have another plan. Remember that wherever you go, the Lord might be sending you there for a divine appointment. Remember that even in a crowd, God may have a divine appointment for you, and that appointment will be a MILLION times more significant that seeing someone hit a little ball into a little cup.