One of the opportunities Park Slope PCA provided was to spend the night CAMBA men’s homeless shelter. This program provides a place for men to stay while they recover from personal trials and work to get back on their feet. It was located at Old First Reformed Church in Park Slope. I was privileged to spend one night there. Spending time with them and .hearing their stories was powerful for me. They have been humbled and transformed, some of them evidently through the gospel. I found myself wishing that there was more time to get to know them . Being able to listen to them and pray for these humble men was a great blessing for me.
I was also impressed by interacting with and observing Matt Brown and the ministers of Park Slope. More than anything, having a leadership development plan like they do was very interesting as some very solid younger pastors (some former classmates of mine) are being trained to plant churches in Brooklyn. I t seemed that Matt was very committed to developing and training younger church-planters and pastors.
I also had a frustrating experience which taught me that sometimes I try do too much at once. Here's the story. One night, I had my many Trader Joe’s shopping bags break on the sidewalk while walking home. This led to a sweaty evening as I hauled them home in plastic bags, having to abandon the paper sacks. A helpful guy who stopped to help me in an accent said, “It seems you were a bit over ambitious!” I was embarrassed, perhaps because I felt that he got a real glimpse into my soul. It was a good lesson for me. I was reminded that I can be too ambitious. I try to do too much. I can overestimate my own abilities. I think God wants to teach me to slow down and be more careful about what I do. I think He wants me to not push myself so hard. I think that many days put so much pressure on myself to accomplish a lot of things and thus feel good about myself. I can overlook important details in my zeal. He wants me to slow down and be more careful. This doesn’t come naturally for me, so I am relying on the Holy Spirit (even in this moment) to change me!
Reflections on mission to Japan's next generation
