hugo’s, les miserables · “gut-level”, christ-like hospitality. whether hugo had hebrews...
TRANSCRIPT
One of the more profound scenes in
literature and drama comes from Victor
Hugo’s, Les Miserables. The convict Jean
Valjean is taken in by the Bishop, who
gives him a full meal and a warm bed.
Jean Valjean seizes the opportunity to steal
valuables from the Bishop in order to have
means to live. As Valjean is caught by the
authorities and brought back to the Bishop
for the stollen items to be identified and
Valjean convicted, the whole trajectory of
Valjean’s life is turned upside down as the
Bishop declares that what he had taken
were gifts and adds even the candlesticks
to Valjean’s collection.
So much can be drawn out of that power-
ful scene, but at the very least Victor Hugo,
paints a picture of the power of authentic
“gut-level”, Christ-like hospitality. Whether
Hugo had Hebrews 13:1, “do not forget to
show hospitality to strangers”, in mind
as he crafted that scene we can’t know,
but one thing is for sure, hospitality was
understood as a central practice of the
early Church. But like in all generations,
it is easy to forget and to neglect. Thus the
call “not to forget (or neglect) to show
hospitality”. Illustrations like the one in Les
Miserables are extreme but do guide us in
our understanding of what hospitably
looks like. Hospitality in the Greek means
literally, to “love the stranger”. There is
hardly a more powerful tool to put the
essence of the gospel on display than to
give wholeheartedly of ourselves to those
whom we don’t know (the stranger), all
the while knowing that there are no
strangers to God. Christ has welcomed us
and given himself for us in order to make a
way for us to live in
the very presence of
God with joy and not
in fear. With that as
a foundation of our
lives, a natural outflow of Christ’s
hospitality to us is that our lives would
also demonstrate that same characteris-
tic. Welcoming the stranger as Christ has
welcomed us.
What does this look like? There must
be 1000 different expressions of Chris-
tian hospitality. Hugo’s example is a
profound one, but certainly not the only
one. I wish I had numerous examples of
how this has been exemplified in my life,
but the truth is even as I write this, I find
hospitality lacking significantly. Thus the
necessity of this article. As a Pastor at
Brookdale Church, one of the first
questions I think of is “How am I (are
we) doing at welcoming people into the
life of Brookdale Church?” On a Sunday
morning who am I talking with, who am
I drinking coffee with? Am I aware of
those who are new or people that I do
not know? Sunday morning is an excel-
lent place to start. This week you will
be tempted to talk to the exact same
people you talk to every week. Raise
your eyes from the conversation you
are in and look for others, who you
might not know and seek to step into
their world. This will not happen by
accident —- so — Do not forget to
show hospitality!
"My husband left after he found out I was
pregnant with our 4th child"…"My husband died
of an infection and I have lost three children"…
"My husband died 4 years ago…we have been
informed that we must move from this property
in 10 days and we have no place to go." Those
were some of the overwhelming stories from our
home visits in Guatemala. These were by far the
most impactful part of the trip for me.
I really had no idea what I was getting myself
into. I have had the privilege of being on many
mission trips. Most of the trips that I have been
on have been on the other side of world jumping
12 time zones. They have also mostly been trips
where we have taught English. I did not know
what to expect heading down to Guatemala.
To sum up the trip, we built four
homes, distributed wheelchairs
to many who desperately
needed them and visited many
needy families. We landed in
Guatemala city on Saturday and
then got checked into our hotel. That afternoon,
we rested and watched the NFL playoffs:) The
next day we drove with our ministry partners from
Bethel Ministries 5-6 hrs into the mountains. In
Guatemala city the elevation is 5,000 feet and we
remained at 5,000 feet all week. Though it really
felt like we had "gone up into the mountains." I am
not sure that we experienced a straight portion of
roadway for the entire trip. We passed through a
region that was hot and dry and then arrived in the
Coban region which was cool and wet. We had
lows in the 50s and highs in the 70s each day with
some rain. That may sound warm here in St. Joe
but I was mostly cold having not brought proper
clothing.
The first day we did wheelchair distribution. Which
I thought would be people lining up and us giving
them wheelchairs. I was wrong. There is much
more to it. People have applied for wheelchairs and
they have been revamped and sent to them. Our
job was to further customize these chairs to be a
perfect fit. We would make sure each chair fit the
person as perfectly as we could. This often involved
cutting, drilling new slot holes and whatever else
was needed. Once we got their chair squared away
they met with a couple of local pastors who shared
the gospel with them.
That afternoon, we built our first house. These
houses took about four hours to build. The
concrete work had already been done so we were
just constructing the house. These houses were
simple metal structures yet provided a completely
new and healthier way of life for these families
complete with a rocket mass stove that vented
outside the house. The stove alone will prevent
many premature deaths for these people. We built
3 more houses on Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday. While the houses were being built, a few
of us would go on home visits.
Brookdale News is a
monthly publication of
Brookdale Church
203 South 31st Street
St. Joseph, MO 64501
Phone: 816-279-0983
Fax: 816-279-7684
Website:
www.brookdalechurch.com
Editor: Terri Lansbury
E-mail:
What is happening in Children’s Ministry Sunday School? The students are learning the
truths of the Bible. PreK-5 grade are using the Truth78 curriculum. The vision of Truth78 is
that the next generations know, honor, and treasure God, setting their hope in Christ
alone, so that they will live as faithful disciples for the glory of God. Here is a little bit of
info on what each class is learning.
He Has Spoken By His Son - is our PreK-K curriculum that explores God's greatness by noting key themes
found chronologically throughout the New Testament.
The ABCs of God - This study on the greatness and worth of God uses the alphabet as a framework for
learning the attributes of God and other terms that describe His character is for our students in grades 1-2.
My Purpose Will Stand - This student on the Providence of God is for our 3-5 grade curriculum. Students will
learn that God is the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, continually at work in His world.
In the home visits, we would visit families that had
been identified by local social workers. We would
sit down and hear their story (all in Español). A few
of us could understand a little and some would
translate for the rest of us. We would then give
them a 50lb bag of food (protein rice, milk powder,
etc) with a bible. We would then pray for them.
This was the most impactful part of the trip for me.
These families lived in hopeless situations and yet
they seemed to be filled with hope. More than
once they said that they had prayed and our visit
was evidence of God hearing their prayers. God had
met their needs for the next few weeks or so. I am
often trying to live 20-30 years in the future figuring
out how I will get bread in my retirement. Yet these
people were trusting God here and now. This really
struck me and has caused me to reevaluate some
of my perspectives on walking with God.
On Friday, we drove back to Guatemala City and
convinced Saul to take us to the Bethel Ministry HQ
and wheelchair shop. This was a highlight because
we were able to see all the work that had gone into
making our trip very smooth. I never knew so much
work would go into renovating and preparing the
wheelchairs for service. They also fabricate all of
the building materials at this same location.
We finished up the trip spending a day at Hope for
Tomorrow. Our primary purpose was to move dirt
and that is what we did…bucket by bucket. In the
afternoon, we went to the park with the kids and
purchased them ice cream.
I love engaging other cultures. It helps me to have
a proper perspective on God's world. Many times
you travel to a place like Guatemala and think
"Wow, we really have it so good back in the
states!" But do we? Our convenience and comfort
often prevent us from seeing the world (even our
own culture) through God's eyes. We become
distracted by the gifts and forget the giver. If you
get a chance to go on a mission trip to another
culture I encourage you to do so. Louie Giglion
once told a group of us that we needed to leave
the country at least once a year to maintain a
proper perspective.
I am thankful for this opportunity. Our team was
great. We laughed a lot and had a lot of fun serv-
ing together. It was a privilege to serve together
and to be the hands and feet of Jesus to his world.
In November 2009, we approached Pastor
Paul with the crazy idea to start a Zumba
ministry at Brookdale. We went to a Zumba
training in Iowa the day after Thanksgiving,
learned 15 dance routines during the month of
December, and held our first Brookdale Club
Zumba class on January 1, 2010. We had no
idea that we were just at the beginning of
what now has become a 10-year journey!!!
We have been blessed with over 3,000 men
and women of different ages, races, sizes,
fitness levels, and beliefs coming through our
doors and having a ball with us. Not going to
lie, we offer a quality fitness class where
people actually get amazing results. Students
report losing up to 100 pounds, feeling better,
and having more energy. But helping the
community to take care of their bodies is just
one of our missions.
The beauty of this ministry is the way that
the joy of exercise and dance brings all these
different people together into a church
building where we pray before every class.
We toss some Christian music into our mix
and Brookdale Club Zumba’s theme verse is
Romans 1:16 –
“I am not
ashamed of
the gospel
because it is
the power of
God for salva-
tion of every-
one who
believes.”
The verse is referenced on our hoodies, tank
tops, and t-shirts and we have had the oppor-
tunity to talk about the verse and how it
represents how we at Brookdale Club Zumba
want to be bold about the gospel in our lives.
What an amazing opportunity to build
meaningful friendships with believers and
non-believers. Our prayer before class usually
includes the request to help us be better
versions of ourselves when we leave the
building so that we can better serve Him.
Thirty-four percent of all money taken in for
the class goes directly back to Brookdale to
help with the upkeep of the SMC sound
system and with other needs of the church.
Outside of the hour-long workout class, we
have been able to develop and grow so many
of these friendships through lunch and dinner
dates, texts and phone calls, and other
Zumba events. Our favorite time to bond
with our class is when we do Zumba at the
Mustangs games. Our class dares to dance
together in front of thousands of people,
then sit together at the game. This offers
such a great opportunity to really get to
know the members of our class. We do it
every summer and it’s so much fun!
Zumba has offered many opportunities to
get out into the community. BCZ has
participated in the following local events:
Guinness Book of World Record largest
Zumba classes at MWSU, Pound Plunge,
Griffon Edge for incoming freshman at
MWSU, Zumba class at Trails West, Discover
Downtown Saint Joe events, Griffons basket-
ball game performance, Mustangs baseball
game performances, Zumba at the Civic
Arena, Blacklight classes, Zumba at the Color
Vibe 5K in Saint Joseph, Glow Zumba at Phil
Welch Stadium, Cosmic Zumba at the REC
center, fundraisers for various charity groups.
We are extremely grateful for the use of
the Student Ministry Center. Because of
Brookdale’s support, we have been able to
share the love of God through fitness and
friendship. The only thing we are missing is
more of YOU all in our classes! We invite you
to be part of our Zumba ministry to help share
the love of Christ. We know you will love this
fitness family!
1 - Ella Bryant
5 - Diana Haynes, Brenda Hewins, Don Weston
6 - Lisa Wyckoff
8 - Lydia Parmer
10 - Nichole Kammerer
11 - Bobby Larimore
14 - Sue Bolander
15 - Adam Dean, Gary Jahne, Janna Trulsson
17 - Tori Hudgens
18 - T.J. Larson, Collin Lemon
19 - Janey Holloway
20 - Janeen Burnham
22 - Earl Hadle, Debby Hanlan, Samuel Parmer,
Kaitlyn Swank
24 - Marta Green
25 - Will Austin, Ann Swank
26 - Kathy King
28 - Ed Brown, Aspen Parmer, Laura Weckerlin
29 - Sandy Zweerink
March
1 - Deb Birr
3 - Mike O-Donnell
5 - Amanda Comeau, Teresa Fetter
Dear Brookdale,
Thank you to everyone for supporting us as we foster children. We are very blessed. God is good.
—Valon and Evangeline Thompson
MIKE AND GAIL GOOLSBY have a long relationship with Brook-
dale Church. In addition to being active members, Mike served
on staff here for a while, and Gail started her counseling/life
coaching program here. Both were passionate about spreading
the gospel, and when they felt called to go to one of the hardest
places to serve, they went. Mike and Gail remained under our
care and support throughout their time in Afghanistan and when
they returned to their home in St. Joseph. Eventually, Mike was
called to seek ordination in the EPC, and then to serve on staff
at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wichita, where they
continue to live and work for God’s kingdom.
Mike will preach at both services on February 9th, and between
services they will be in Fellowship Hall, where Gail will talk about
their years in Afghanistan and the book she has written about
the experience.
If you have a copy of the book (“Unveiled Truth”), bring it with
you so Gail can sign it! (She will also have some copies available
that day).
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This time of year the weather can play havoc on schedules
but we have managed to get some time with both the
Middle school and High School groups to kick off the new semester.. We are looking forward to
getting back into a routine and to see where God is taking us. We will have a couple of retreats and
events coming up so stay tune!