Friends,
Will we ever forget the brawl that broke out in the final minute of play between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons back in November 2004? Former Pacer Ron Artest leaped into the stands and became embroiled in a fight between players and fans. Artest was suspended for the remainder of the season, losing nearly $5 million in salary. Well, the former Pacer and "former" Ron Artest has been suspended again. Playing for the LA Lakers, he elbowed James Harden of the Oklahoma City Thunder, sending him to the floor. Check out this video on YouTube. It speaks volumes.
Not only is Ron Artest a former Pacer, he's also formerly known as Ron Artest because he legally changed his name last fall to Metta World Peace. Artest said, "Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world." His publicist said that World Peace chose Metta as his first name because "it is a traditional Buddhist word that means loving kindness and friendliness towards all." Regretfully, Metta did not live up to his name in last month's game against the Thunder.
All of us who have become followers of Jesus have had a name change; not legally speaking, but spiritually speaking. We now wear the name 'Christian', and we must strive to live up to that name. As we grow in Christ, we take on His likeness-deliberately becoming more like Jesus with every passing day that we live. This should be the literal transformation of our lives as we attempt to live up to our new name.
Think of it this way. A few weeks ago, Leah and I had the distinct privilege of meeting Antone Davis and his wife, Carrie. Davis is also from the field of professional sports. He played for a number of years in the NFL as a lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons. You may recognize him from having been on season 12 of The Biggest Loser, where he finished as the runner-up after losing 40% of his body weight!
After retiring from the NFL, Davis opened a restaurant that quickly went out of business; and being a "stress-eater," Davis quickly ballooned to 476 pounds! With exceptional discipline, Davis lost 200 pounds and maintains a 275 pound build by eating only 2,000 calories a day and exercising aggressively. Talk about a transformation! Yet, it gets better. I heard Davis mention God a few times in his conversation, so I just asked him if he was a Christian-and he said yes. He went on to say that he was led to the Lord by the late Reggie White. White, whose nickname was the "Minister of Defense," was an ordained pastor as well as a defensive end in the NFL. So, there came a time that Antone Davis had a name change to that of "Christian," and he strives to live up to that name-being transformed into the likeness of Jesus.
We can-and must-do the same. How is our transformation coming along? Are we morphing into different people, living up to the name of Christ? One of the specific ways that help catapult spiritual growth in our lives is by serving on a short-term mission trip. Research proves that by serving in another culture, we jump start the next season of spiritual growth in our lives.
Our Engage plan has three targets, one of which is to GO! During these three years, we are praying for 1,500 people to become actively involved either locally or globally in cross-cultural service. We have a number of trips scheduled for 2012-many of which have already happened and many more yet to take place. To date, nearly 150 people have signed up to GO and serve Christ in another culture. Would you want to be numbered among them?
Take a moment to go to our website and read about some trip opportunities that may be of interest to you. You can get more information by writing to the trip leader directly from the website by clicking on the individual's name or by e-mailing Sally Feuerbach, who coordinates the trips.
Think and pray about GOING in the name of Jesus to serve others in another culture. It may be just the thing that the Lord uses to jump-start the next season of spiritual growth in your life. After all, The Creek is a place where Jesus is...
Transforming lives...one at a time.