Return to VAC!

I had the opportunity to give a sermon this past weekend at Vietnamese Alliance Church in Dorchester. I hadn't really had a chance to be back to teach ever since I helped to bring Kyle, their English pastoral minister, on board. I remember nights of praying and hours of working, wondering if God would ever send the right person our way. The hardest part of being on the search committee was knowing that our time was limited. As almost a year passed and May came around, our core team was growing, but Duy-- one of the main planters of the English Service-- was leaving. That left me as the only other "older" Christian guy on the team and I knew I would be leaving in July. We spent a lot of time praying, meeting candidates, being disappointed, and then finally having our prayers answered. There were moments when we were afraid it wouldn't happen because of logistics; but in the end, God showed us that it was, indeed, his plan for Kyle to lead the congregation through the second chapter of E.S.

In any case, it was amazing being back. Kyle had asked for me to preach on the importance of serving in the Body of Christ. I took John 13 for my text-- "Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet." A couple of points from that sermon: Serving as a "footwasher" is one way we proclaim the gospel because footwashing was a micro-illustration of Jesus' redeeming work (glory-->humilty--> serving--> redemption--> glory); lack of serving often indicates a lack of understanding the magnitude of Christ's servanthood for us; to serve others in the spirit of Christ, we must first allow ourselves to be served by Jesus' washing of our feet and other embarassing parts.

What struck me, as I looked out on the congregation that I used to help lead and teach, was how many more people were there. It used to be that we were a congregation of about 18 people, most of whom served in some way, and most of whom were teens or college aged kids. Their numbers on that Sunday were 40 people, including adults and youth-- and that wasn't including many people who were on vacation! Praise God! I could see how God was drawing newcomers from churched and unchurched backgrounds. I even met a guy who was not a Christian previously, but was convicted of his need to go to church through VAC's website! It's exciting to see a church grow-- and I know those who are in it would not necessarily say they are doing great, but from a distance, I see changes and evidence of the Holy Spirit working.

Perhaps the most fun part of going back was getting to play drums with the worship team that I helped to develop over the course of 2 years. This time though, it was one of the youth that was leading and I was just following along. Things weren't perfect, but it closely resembled how I had hoped the worship team would look after I left.

A year later, and I still miss being there week to week.