Subway Tales

I'm in Toronto for a few days and decided to take the subway downtown.  I find myself becoming a bit germophobic lately so a subway ride stretches my limits.  I just can't help thinking about the nasty germs on pretty much everything....   but I digress....

On my way back after a pretty amazing day, I noticed a Muslim woman panhandling at the bottom of the escalator.  I had nothing to give with me and so I took a spot in the waiting area.  A few minutes later, I heard a loud commotion and glanced over to see two men arguing in front of her.  One was trying to 'save her soul' and the other was trying to stop him from harassing the woman.  I immediately began to pray that the train would come quickly, but alas... the prompting to respond kept increasing in volume. 

You must understand that Toronto is filled with 'interesting people' for whom a confrontation in a public place is a normal part of their day.  Oh... and 78 people have been shot and killed here this year, so engaging with people who are a bit agitated isn't always a smart move.  But the nudge to respond got louder in volume.

As I arrived the man was pointing his finger to heaven declaring that the poor lady had no hope of heaven without Jesus.  I ignored him and asked the woman if I could stand beside her.  She responded that she didn't speak English.  I smiled and stepped between her and the man.

The conversation went like this:

He: 'Who are you?' 
Me: 'You're not helping...'
He:  'Are you a Christian?  
Me:  Yes I am.
He:  You believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal Saviour?'  
Me:  I do... I know you THINK you're helping, but you're not helping.
He:  I'm trying to save her soul!  
Me:  It's not working...  She doesn't speak English. 

Long pause

He: Oh....   

Me:  Jesus wouldn't do it like this.

He:  Yes He would!  He did it this way with the Samaritan woman.

Me:  I think he did it more kindly, gently, more quietly and with a heart full of love.

He: I was doing that...

Me:  Mmmm.... maybe not as well as you think you were...

The subway arrived and we got on together.  He wants to keep talking... loudly.  I want to be on another train...

We chatted back and forth and ever so slowly I could see the dots beginning to connect.  In the end, he agreed to read the 'red parts' of the gospel to get a fresh glimpse of 'the Jesus way' and we parted with a smile.

I've been thinking about this ever since it happened.  For more times than I care to admit I've been guilty of trying to figuratively 'save someone's soul' when I wasn't speaking their language.  

The language of our world has changed both literally and figuratively.  From the very little I remember about elementary school French class the first step to learning a new language is to listen carefully and listen often so that you can repeat what you are hearing so that you are understood.

Learning the language of our culture and context is hard work.  It takes a determination to find a new/better way, but when we do, the opportunities to love, bring hope and life to people looking for a better way are everywhere!

Buckle Up!

 I was sitting in a meeting in Toronto last fall when someone wondered if there was a plan to mobilize the church to pray during the upcoming Ontario provincial election.  I was equal parts excited and terrified because I knew what could happen if we were able to do it and I knew the scope of the task if we took it on.  Within a few days, I'd been invited to give leadership to what at this point is the largest ministry project I've ever led.

Ontario and the GTA, in particular, is unlike anywhere else in Canada.  1/4 of the entire population of our nation lives within 160km of downtown Toronto.  More people live within an hour of my suite in Toronto than live in BC and Alberta combined.  The opportunity to impact a nation while we impact a province is greater there than anywhere else in the country. With that in mind, we began to develop a strategy that took advantage of what we had learned in other provinces and added some pieces to increase the impact.  Here's what we've built:

A 40 Day prayer campaign starting April 29 through to June 8 with daily video prayers, prayed by people who represent a cross-section of Ontario's demographics.  Some are recognizable. Some you've never heard of.  They all matter!  Each day a proud Ontarian who loves Jesus will pray a prayer that will provide our theme/focus for the day.

Our partnership with Transformation Canada has provided us with access to the Adopt Your City prayer walking app.  Part of our strategy includes encouraging participants to prayer walk their streets praying the daily prayer theme.  The app has a GPS component to it that allows us to see what streets are being prayed for and gives us the ability to encourage others to walk streets that are yet to be walked!  We want to cover as much of Ontario as possible with little red lines showing that someone has prayer walked there.

Finally, we are recruiting Hub Churches across Ontario to help communicate the PrayOn vision.  These churches will also act as venues for a local/regional prayer gathering on Sunday night, June 3.  We envision at least 124 gatherings (one in each Electoral District) coming together on that night to pray with one heart, mind and purpose that God would give us leaders for Ontario through whom He can work to accomplish His plans and purposes.

This will be epic!  Not because it's our idea but because of what can happen when THE CHURCH comes together with unity, focus and purpose.  GOD CAN'T RESIST UNITY AMONG HIS PEOPLE!  He get's SO EXCITED that He does amazing and remarkable things!

This campaign isn't about electing Christians.  This campaign is about asking God to give us HIS CHOICE of leaders for Ontario.  Multiple good things happen that position a province to prosper, to care for its weakest and most vulnerable, to practice good financial stewardship, and create an environment that is conducive to growth, safety and security for everyone when God's choices are elected to office. 

Our experience tells us that in addition to those things happening, we also see an increase in the number of men and women who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ elected to office. Our observation is that these people aren't likely to be 'issue candidates' as much as they are proven servant leaders with a heart to do what is best to benefit an entire province rather than simply satisfying a particular interest group. These are the kind of people that make the organizations, cities, provinces and nations they serve better because of their ethos and their desire to serve.  Ontario and Canada both need an influx of this kind of leader.

Regardless of where you live in this great nation, let me encourage you to pray with us for Ontario in the PrayON campaign.  

Buckle up!  This is going to be quite a ride!