Some more thoughts on the Mission

"And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd....(Mark 6:34)."


One thing that has impressed me about London is the shear numbers of people that are here from all over the world. During my time here, I've met people from six of the seven continents---South America, North America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe---all within this tiny city of just a one mile radius. And who knows there's probably someone here from Antarctica, the seventh continent, that I have yet to meet. It really is a small world when you stop and think about it. And when you travel to other cities, towns, countries, continents you understand what I mean.

It's amazing how your perspective of people changes when you get outside of the US. Only then are you really able to see humankind in all its fullness, the way God created us...a rainbow of different colors...each one of us created in His own image. It's a beautiful thing to see. I'm reminded of the lyrics to the children's song, "Jesus loves all the [people] of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they're all precious in His sight." I remember when my father went to Israel some years ago. He told me that he saw a man over there that looked just like him. I was too young to understand what he meant back then but it doesn't surprise me that God would use the same mold more than once.

The Olympics is a special time when the world puts aside its differences and comes together as a family of nations. That spirit of unity and brotherhood has been evident here, even among the spectators here to watch the games. In England, the people have a slogan, "Long live the Queen." I say, "Long live the spirit of the Olympics" even long after the games are over.

This final week is an opportunity for me  to spend some time getting to know the people I met through the various churches we've visited. This morning I will accompany some of the team to the ministry, "Cast Your Burden Upon Jesus," for their twice weekly prayer meeting. Pastor Bola has asked me to give a talk on evangelism, which I believe he plans to air on the SKY network. I thank God for the open door.  We have one more evangelism event on Friday, which will feature Carl Lewis, the Olympian of the Century, and a special surprise guest.

Later in the week, I will spend some time with my friend, Geri, who I met in Bermuda about five years ago. She now lives in the UK with relatives. Sadly, during our reunion last week, Geri confided to me that she has been diagnosed with cancer. The news was hard for me to hear but we know that God is sovereign and He has a purpose for everything. Naturally, we prayed together and I anointed her with oil. I ask your prayers for God's will concerning her situation. And to those persons in other countries  who follow this blog, I ask for your prayers for Geri as well.  We know that prayer can change things!  Be encouraged. God bless you all. I'll see you back in the States soon.

Power lunch

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses..."Acts 1:7-9

A man I met on a London street invited me to lunch the other day. But before I go into detail about that let me tell you how the day started.

After breakfast, the Lay Witness teams were transported by van to Kingsway International Christian Center, a local church where the night's big event, "An Evening with the Stars," was taking place. It would be a televised event featuring past Olympic athletes giving their testimonies, worship and singing followed by an evangelistic message. Except for being televised, this has been the format each night at various churches here in the UK since I've been here. A word of thanks to our host churches. The church members and volunteers at the various churches have been so gracious to us in treating us like we are celebrities. Talk about "having church," nobody can beat our African and Caribbean brothers and sisters at joyful, spirit-filled worship. I have been so taken with them, I have invited them all to the US to show us how it's done.

My assignment this day was to distribute leaflets on the street about this event and invite people to come. This time I was without a partner. I feel pretty good about London right now so I'm not afraid to venture out trusting God to take care of me. So here I am out on the street handing out leaflets when I see an older lady walking in my direction with a worried look on her face. I looked at her thinking: "Should I approach her or not? She probably wouldn't be interested." Finally, I decided to push past those assumptions and give it a try.

I'll fast forward a bit here. The woman's name is Gloria. Gloria was on her way to see about her granddaughter, Janet, who is currently in hospital on life support due to a serious medical condition. Instinctively, I asked Gloria if I could pray with her for her granddaughter and she agreed.  In GO!Team fashion, right on the busy London street, I lifted up a prayer to almighty God for Janet's life. When I finished, Gloria thanked me. As we continued talking, the conversation got around to her own relationship with the Lord. She gave me the usual "I believe in God" responses. I don't know if what happened with the old man the previous day had anything to do with it but I was determined not to let this one get away.

Gloria gave all the usual and customary excuses for not wanting to accept the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ that day. And I exposed them one by one for what they were...excuses. Finally, I said to her: "We just prayed to God to save your granddaughter's life today. Why not trust Him to do the same for you today?" Finally, Gloria had no more excuses left. She recited the sinner's prayer asking Jesus into her heart and life. Hallelujah. God sent me 3,548 miles from Pennsylvania to London for this divine appointment with Gloria just because He loves her that much! 

Now about my lunch companion. Further up the road, I decided to cross the roadway to the other side. My intention was to work the other side of the street, then head back to the church. When I got to the other side, I saw a man watching me hand out the leaflets. He came up to me and asked what I was doing. I told him I was inviting people in the community to come to an evangelistic event at the church just down the block. Well, this opened up a plethora of questions from him about religion, Jesus, God, Christianity...you name it. I was being challenged by this handsome, intellectual, 60 year old Barbadian gentleman. He had as many questions as opinions on the subject of religion, many of which I could not respond to. However, we were respectful of each other's point of view much like Jesus was with the woman at the well in John 4 of the Bible.

Finally, I said, "Look you obviously know a lot more about systems of religion than I do. I can only tell you from personal experience what I believe and why. I shared my testimony with him about how I had achieved a measure of success early in my life only to have it all come crashing down around me. I felt an emptiness inside like something had died in me. Nothing I tried would get rid of it. One day, as I thought about ending my life, the Lord spoke to me audibly and spared my life to the saving of my soul. Then I told him about another time when a man tried to abduct me at gunpoint and how the Lord protected me when the gun jammed causing the man to run away, which saved my life. He was clearly intrigued by what I had shared. That's when he asked me to lunch.

We walked just down the street to a small cafe where we talked some more over a meal of jerk chicken, peas and rice and ginger beer. At some point, Grantley asked me if I thought there was something after this life. And I told him that according to my belief as a Christian, we believe there is eternal life through Jesus Christ. That's why we have hope. To which he responded that he tries to be a good person, hoping this will count for something in the end.

Grantley, if you're reading this, I may not have been able to persuade you to become a follower of Jesus Christ today; but keep seeking after God who says to everyone: "When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." (Jeremiah 29:13, MSG). "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13)."
Blessings and peace, my brother.