Issue link: http://denverseminary.uberflip.com/i/215736
Moving Into the Neighborhood BRADLEY J. WIDSTROM, EDD ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF YOUTH AND FAMILY MINISTRIES is teacher at a One day, while grading a tea she Lindseyputa adown heryounguniversity intoAsia. curiosity and compelledpapers atdidlocalknowshop, this noticed group of boys. Driven by by something deep inside her, Lindsey work and went meet them and hear their story. Little she that would launch a missional journey of love and compassion that would entail leaving her comfortable world behind and entering one completely foreign and deeply in need of redemptive touch. The boys, Lindsey discovered, worked at a neighboring hair salon. Since they were unskilled, undereducated, and from poor families, jobs such as this—washing and cutting hair—were all that was available. Lindsey continued in her teaching role, but this chance encounter opened the door to what became her true calling. Invited by the boys to their salon, it soon became her home away from home: a place to grade papers, create lesson plans, and hang out with her new friends. They shared meals, laughter, and even tears—quickly learning how to communicate across the language barrier. Lindsey even traveled with some of them to their country village over a school break, staying in a simple home with a dirt floor, no heat, and no running water. "THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND BLOOD, AND MOVED INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD. WE SAW THE GLORY WITH OUR OWN EYES, THE ONE-OF-A-KIND GLORY..." (JOHN 1:14, THE MESSAGE) One day, Lindsey was challenged by someone in the local community. The complaint: As a "highly educated American," she shouldn't be hanging around and befriending those boys. Either real or perceived, there was a caste system that placed them beneath her. Lindsey's calling, though, was too strong. She continued deepening her friendship with the salon boys. She served them and sacrificially provided for their needs. She modeled for them the life of one who was redeemed, changed, and called to a life of love, compassion, justice, and service. When asked, she told them of the God who was the reason and power for her changed life. She lived among them as a flesh-and-blood representative of the God who not only loved her but loved them as well. Lindsey's story should sound familiar. Her model is Jesus Christ, the transcendent Son of God, who left the comfort and glory of Heaven, set aside His deity, took on flesh, and lived among us, His creation. The transcendent God became immanent, hanging around with and befriending us. Let us join together during this season to celebrate His missional journey of love and compassion. DENVER SEMINARY CHRISTMAS 2013 20 DECEMBER 25