i woke up this morning
i realized that God was calling me
He was calling me to be…well, me.
God doesn’t want me to be like everyone else, He wants my best
He wants my true heart because anything else would be wrong.
we have been given many examples of how others are experiencing Unleash but we must be careful not to confuse these examples with an instruction manual.
God doesn’t want carbon copies, he wants our uniqueness.
He deserves our best. He is only asking that we take our unique talents and put them to use in our community for His kingdom.
He is asking us to unleash our talents and abilities in all of our uniqueness for him. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you?

My first official experience with “Unleash” turned out to be quite unexpected.  The Calvary Church staff signed up to serve the Saturday noon meal with Loaves & Fishes at the Muscatine Center for Social Action.    We cooked, served the meal, washed dishes, and most importantly – we interacted with the people in need as they waited for a hot meal on a cold Saturday afternoon.

As I finished washing the last of the dirty dishes, an elderly lady came up to me and asked if we were from a church.  I said we were from Calvary Church.  She immediately reached in her pocket and pulled out $3.  She gave it to me and asked if I would give this to the church.  I assured her that was not necessary, but she insisted and commented, “God and I know what we are doing.”  I graciously thanked her and put her $3 in my pocket.

I closely guarded her $3 for the remainder of the day until I could put it in the offering plate during the Saturday evening service.

My experience that day turned out to be a blessing to me.  I saw this little lady give out of her poverty because she was grateful for the meal.  It was a blessing that I did not expect to receive.

So…give “Unleash” a try.  You never know how the blessings will be poured out.

Gale Schmidt
Calvary Church Staff

In my (many) years of working with students, there have been many changes. The glitz and glam of high octane, laser light show, loud ministry has been transformed into a much more contemplative and unplugged approach to touching the heart and soul of a person. Through this and countless other changes, I have watched one constant remain: programs only attract people. Relationships, however, are what bring people back.

Now as we embark on unleash, I know we are not promoting this as a program. Yet there will be some aspects that appear to be “program-like.” The beauty of these “program-like” initiatives is that they simply attract, but they are not a substitute for what unleash is truly about…Unleash is about relationships.

This isn’t a one-time experience that will add another notch on our Bible, this is a lifetime commitment, regardless of where we live or where we choose to attend church. Programs are easy, just do them and go home. Relationships take work; a lifetime of work. Sometimes inconvenient, sometimes messy, sometimes burdensome, sometimes financially draining, and on and on…Do you know why relationships cost? Because they are worth it.

As I look at it, I believe the greatest struggle we will have is not treating Unleash as another program. Programs come and go, but relationships last. We need to invest into relationships with relentless love, not because of anything we get out of it, but simply because loving people is what Jesus wants us to do.

This weekend I plan to elaborate on a section of the Sermon on the Mount—actually the abridged version found in Luke 6.  Verses 27-38 drive home a point I had never seen quite so clearly before.  I was listening to the thoughts of another pastor and was deeply convicted about what I am trying to accomplish in my Unleash activities.  It hit me hard and it might do the same for you.

We all know that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus raises the bar for Christians.  (Being a frustrated high-jumper in high school track, I look at the raising of the bar as simply meaning it goes up until you crash!)  In this teaching He describes a quality of our giving that is truly unique to His followers.  But is it true of me?  It is at the very root of altruism (look that one up!), and is when we most look like Jesus!  Check it out.

For me, Unleash is an intense word.  It’s a good transitive verb; it invokes certain pictures in my minds-eye.  The way I understand it, unleash is not just about ‘freeing’ something; it’s about freeing something forcefully…with intent and power.   I see a cop freeing an angry dog to chase after a criminal, or Gandalf turning his power on some evil force (okay, I’m a bit dramatic)  – stuff like that.

So – I’m thinking about forcefully and intentionally releasing the love of God into our community and ultimately our world.  (Which seems like it should be easy – a real “no-brainer.”)  My first reaction is to run through my weekly schedule and check-off all the unleashing I’m already doing.  And then I get nervous and wonder:  “What counts?  I know my neighbors – I actually talk with them regularly.   Does that count?  I’m directing a play right now.  Does that count?”  And now I’m not so sure anymore what is real ‘unleashing’ and what isn’t.  And then I’m thinking, “This isn’t a check-off list, it’s a lifestyle.  This isn’t just about what I do, it’s about who I am while I do these things.”  And now I’m really worried.

So that is where I’m at.  What do I need to do to unleash God’s love?  How do I see these things I’m involved in differently with ‘unleash’ in mind?  And because of that, what needs to change?

(I’m afraid it’s going to be inconvenient.  I’m afraid it’s going to reveal my selfishness and stubborn areas.  I’m sure it’s going to remind me that I’m not always as decent as I’ve let myself believe I am.  I’m also sure it’s going to be worth it.)

Sometimes an opportunity to help someone just falls into your lap. Our Thursday morning Mom’s Bible Study had only been meeting for two weeks when a call came in to church requesting help. A young, expectant mom was due in two weeks, and did not have the resources or family support she needed to provide for her baby. She needed stuff. And she needed our prayers.

A week later, we arrived at Bible Study carrying these:

Doing an informal and quick survey with other moms, I found out that most women have 2 to 3 showers when they are expecting, and we wanted to give something similar to this mom. We wanted it to have a real shower feel, so we brought everything wrapped. We also gathered up a car seat, a bassinet and a bouncy seat. We prayed over all of the gifts, and then sent them off.

We may never meet this mom, and we don’t even know her name. But I hope she feels our prayers, and God’s presence with her, as she becomes a new mom, and brings this little miracle into the world.

-anonymous

we cannot get where we need to be
by riding on the coat tails
of those who are blazing the trail.
we must take the steps ourselves,
leaving our own footprints.

it is only in doing so
that our hearts will be truly changed.

it is our only in our own soiled feet
that we can experience
the joy in the pain.

if we want to be willing to unleash love
the relentless kind,
we have to be willing
to embrace the pain.

because the reality of it is,
that pain
is a whole lot closer to the heart of God
than we want to believe.

it’s not going to be easy.
God never promised that.
He did say however,
that we don’t travel these roads alone.

did you catch that?
WE have to travel them.
no more coat tails.
time to step out on the road.

I know I shouldn’t be amazed but since I’m only human, I am. God uses so many different ways to let us know that he is with us and that he has a plan for our lives. This weekend has been no exception for me.
Even given my two month “hiatus” from normal life, I didn’t have much time to read. Since I have been home, time seems like all I have. This finally gave m the time I needed to read some of the books waiting for me. One of those books happened to be “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young. I was really having a hard time getting into it and seriously considering stopping when God put a statement in front of me that I couldn’t ignore. It said, “He was sick of God and God’s religion, sick of all the little religious social clubs that didn’t seem to make any real difference or affect any real changes.” Bingo! For me, this put Unleash right into perspective. This is exactly how the broken world with it’s broken people view us as the body of Christ. To them we are just a bunch of do-gooder Bible thumpers trying to make ourselves look good. Reading that statement made me see that if we are to really unleash relentless love on this community we have to stop judging people because they are different from us and start loving them for exactly the same reason! But how and what does he expect me to do in my current state? Again, He gave me the answers only this time it was through the message Pastor Scott gave about David and Goliath.

After listening to this story that I have known for years, I realized what he was trying to tell me. I might be broken, but I was being called to face my giant, the effects of the stroke, to step up and unleash my relentless love on this world. How? I don’t know, but I am sure God will show me the way. As soon as He does, I plan to move my broken body into my community to unleash my relentless love! Thanks God for showing me the answers in obvious places!

I don’t have a lot to add to Parts 1 and 2, other than to say that if we actually do what Jesus has asked of us as we become His followers, the rest of the vision (thriving community and unleashing relentless love to our broken world) will come naturally.

I also wanted to follow up the video in Part 2 with a link to Village2Village’s page that has good news on the health of little Sam & Esther.  Sometimes, we don’t get to see the positive outcome of our efforts…and maybe that will be the case most of the time, I don’t know.  But this story has a bit of a happy ending, if not really a new beginning.

Lord, do not let me be a resounding gong,
a clanging cymbal
to my world,
to my children.

may i approach everyone
with the grace
that i myself do not deserve.

Lord, allow me to glimpse
the people around me today
with the eyes You long for me to have.

give me love.
and only love.
so that i might love
those i deem unlovable,
even if “those”
includes me