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My Feelings about Northeast Church and America
Posted by Ronnie Worsham
I felt so proud yesterday speaking to the tsunami village people and representing Northeast Church and America. Looking out into the faces of people who most likely will never see America and who can't read and thus will likely never know much, if anything, about America, I was deeply moved. God truly has blessed our church and God has truly blessed America.
The over-arching reason I am so proud of Northeast Church is because God has led a whole body of people together who just want to serve him and him only. No brand names. No sectarian, divisive doctrines. But, not watered down liberal lukewarmness either. Just, Jesus is Lord! We all know and confess freely that only God is good. No pretensions of self-righteousness, but rather seeking only to glory in his goodness and grace. Openness about our inadequacies and sin and rejoicing that we are saved by his grace and not by our works and performances. Although we come from quite varied backgrounds socially, economically, geographically, and religiously, the one Spirit has touched us by his goodness and grace. Our unity truly is of the Spirit.
I glory in you, Northeast Church, because you love God. And, you love others. And, especially, because you have hearts for those Jesus had hearts for—children, the poor and disadvantaged, and the oppressed. You really care. And, Casey and I get to be the faces of such hearts. From nearly 24 hours away, a group of disciples that meet in Garland, Texas (Here, it sounds like they're saying “God-land” when they try to pronounce it.) are willing to open their hearts to people most will never see unless it's in eternity. Our offerings for the poor truly go to the poor here. I've not always been so proud of all the churches I represented. Surely, in all of them there were people I was proud of. But, I couldn't always be proud of the whole church.
At Northeast, I'm proud of the whole church—every single one of you. I'm proud of our collective spirit. From our elders who trust God and empower us all so that we can confidently serve God without fear of “making a mistake,” to the families and JaM workers who inspire our youngest to be kind and generous to the weak; from the NEXT workers who give so selflessly to the teens that are constantly inspired by the work of their parents, their peers, and their youth leaders to the FOCUS students who constantly serve the weak, the needy and the poor through service and contributions; and from the Spanish ministry that serves as the face of the Northeast Church to the Spanish community to those who have served tirelessly in our food pantry and clothes closet over the years; from those quiet, humble individuals who give and serve so diligently in secret to those bold servants who challenge and lead us in our mission; I am proud of everyone of you. There's too much to even mention.
I know I'm not alone in saying that I am constantly and sincerely loved daily by so many of you. I am constantly encouraged and prayed for by you. I am believed in by you. I am inspired by you. I am challenged by your surrendered, sweet hearts. I am led by you to be better. I am taught by you more about our Lord and how to serve him. I am protected by you from the fiery darts of Satan. I touched by you so that my heart doesn't get so hard. And, I am forgiven by you. You take my confessions and you bear my burdens and you prop me up in my service. And, I watch you do it for each other and so many others. I am so proud of you all at Northeast Church.
And, I am proud of America. I try to make sure that we, as a church, never become disciples who are more American than we are kingdom disciples. I try to make sure that we don't profess our national pride in any way that would divide us against Christians from other nations. I try to make sure we don't let our politics disunite us and allow us to lapse into gossip and backbiting and divisiveness. But, in all that I also try to remind that America is truly a great country. We have to be careful as we travel elsewhere because it is so easy to constantly be thinking and even saying how much better it is in America. But he reality is that so many things are better in America.
I proud because America does get involved. That's why we are here today in India. I felt so powerless yesterday as we sped past a gang who were likely beating an individual and I could not intervene and was powerless to do so. That happens daily on a world level. But, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, we cared enough to get involved. Americans supported protecting Kuwait, and at great expense. I'm proud because when the tsunami hit the coast of Asia, America got involved sending tons of food and clothes and money. I'm proud because we are sometimes even hated because we do get involved, especially by those that seek to oppress and bring harm to others. We cared when Hitler was annihilating thousands of Jews on foreign soil, and in our defense of the Jews and the other nations, America suffered great losses. I'm proud because all over the world, including here in India, you see American Christian ministries all over, both big and small, trying to help the poor and preach the gospel in a country of pagan Hindus where we are not generally wanted and are not appreciated. But, we keep on still. I'm proud of our Constitution that refutes the kind of caste-ism and prejudice that we see here, and that there is recourse when we fall short of our values. I'm proud that a Martin Luther King can lead us out of segregation and racism and then become a national hero even to white America; that his “I Have a Dream” sermon is inspirational to us all. And, I'm proud of our Christian heritage. We fall short of it, we all know, and we even admit that, but we do strive for it. And, we sincerely care.
I'm proud because our streets are clean and we take pride in our yards and neighborhoods. I'm proud because our air is clean (Yeah, I know, but you ought to see what it's like elsewhere!). I'm proud because there is order in our world. I'm proud because we have street signs, even out in the country. I'm proud because we have labor laws and we won't put up with much mistreatment of workers. I'm proud because all over our towns there are churches and organizations who are committed to helping children, battered women, the disabled and handicapped, and the hungry, not just at home but all over the world. I'm proud because we work hard and we try to make our lives better. I'm proud because we have eradicated so many diseases that have wrought horrible pain and suffering on the world. And, I'm proud because daily we gladly pour our time and resources and walk in fund raisers, etc. to help in finding cures for things like breast cancer and AIDS. I'm proud because we don't openly put up with bribery and extortion. I'm proud because we expose illegal and unethical behavior. I'm proud we protect the rights to religious freedom. I'm proud because we welcome the politically oppressed, as well as others, to our country; that we have a “Statue of Liberty.” I'm proud because we protect the rights of our dissenters and even our enemies to express their views. Remember, God has blessed America. And, God has blessed the Northeast Church. Both are “God-deals!”
Yes, I'm proud to be a member and representative of the Northeast Church. And, I'm proud to be an American.
Posted August 09, 2008
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Reader's Comments
Thank you Ronnie for reminding me how good we do have it in America and that we should be proud of it in the retrospect of the country helping others and the freedom of religion. I do sometimes forget that even though i now have 2 brothers fighting for our country. I am always in prayer for you and Casey. I love you both and thank you for being who you are.
Posted by Jason Osaer on August 13 2008, 09:50 AM
Do my ears deceive me? Those have to be the most nationalistic/patriotic expressions I've heard out of you over all these years. I like to tease you about that in particular because we share much the same philosophy. Truely, there is much to constructively criticize with our arrogance, greed, excess, and the like...but I also agree that our collective spirit is good and noble, and I am proud of that too.
I am proud for you to represent us here and abroad in India. Hang in there buddy.
Posted by Josh Wallace on August 09 2008, 03:44 PM
Thanks, Ronnie and Casey, for your inspiring words and your journey to such a far away place . Yes, I believe God is leading you and us to live outside ourselves and give our all for Him to be revealed to those seeking to know the One True God. Bless you and He has already blessed all of us, atleast me, that Sugumar came and we can go, send, and be part of a mission for those there in India.
Posted by Kathy Schubert on August 09 2008, 09:13 AM
I'm proud that you are there doing God's work! I love you both and am praying for you!
Posted by Tammy Barber on August 09 2008, 08:43 AM
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