Time to get moving… grab a black shirt off the hanger in the closet… gets hot in the summer time —- but it reminds us. It’s the color of sin. The red stitching, the color of Christ’s redeeming blood. The white reminds us how clean we are when we’re washed in the blood of the lamb.
Load the trailer, hay/alfalfa/shavings. Shut the doors and hit the road. Family crams in and the AC blows cold.
We pray as we drive out… and fire up some Lecrae “crossover-from death to life / what’s the hold up? Accept the Christ” … we sing along, we laugh, we kid with each other, we fellowship.
As we pull up and circle the block looking for a place to park the trailer close to the church, my pulse races. The Lord always quickens me when we do a ministry event. All these people… can we introduce someone to the forgiveness of a loving God tonight? As we unload and tack up, we find our contact at the church, when do we perform? Is there a sound system? Will we get to talk to the folks about the team? “God’s purpose meeting our passion”
We huddle the team together, share the plan for the agenda and then we go boldly before the throne of grace in prayer, asking the Lord to help us represent Him well tonight. We go thru the plan for giving kids rides… remember, we are here to show God’s love and connect with these kids. Look for the stragglers…on the outskirts of the crowd looking in. Connect, invite them in, show them respect, concern. Be sincere. Demonstrate the grace we live under! Following Christ… being His disciple, doesn’t mean we’re boring old bookworms. We rep Christ!!! In the beginning was the Word and the Word was made flesh…. The Word. The lamb who was slain for me… for you… yes for you too. He loves us sooo much.
Sweat… Blisters… Sweat… Connections made… smiles on young faces… fears overcome (there’s always at least one!)… we parallel the gospel as we lead the kids “Our relationship with the horse is like God’s relationship with His followers… God leads us/loves us… do you know Him?”… more sweat… cold water and leftover hot dogs. A royal feast!
As the crowd thins, we huddle and go before God again… thanking Him for using fallen sinners like us to do his work. The neighborhood kids who come over when all the “church people” are gone. Late night conversations… REAL TALK. You can’t fake it, the stakes are too high.
Alone. Just Team…. No, not team… family. Somewhere in the planning and practicing and teaching and doing we erase the lines a team would have. Proud parents watching our children GIVE their time, SHARE their horses (their partners) with sticky hands and kids who may not treat them nice. They respond with LOVE, they REP CHRIST.
What more can you ask?
Oh yeah… when can we do it again?
This year, 2011….. whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father! (col 3:17)
Remember (2 Cor 5:20) :
So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
