some more doing in nyc

I'm sitting here in the NY public library trying desperately to escape from the heat.  It's about 90 outside and it's absolutely miserable!  The 4th floor of the library is probably not much less than that... some of these old buildings don't have air conditioning.  And it's so humid!  I hope the Lord is considering my calling based on how well I can handle heat.  Maybe He'll call me to Norway or somewhere where 75 is a hot day!  

I've been having fun navigating all around the city these last few days.  we went to Hairspray on Broadway, which was really fun.  

Billy and I were in charge of getting the tickets for the whole group, a total of 17 people that night!  And you HAVE to pay in cash for the tickets, so we ended up taking over $1500 to Times Square to purchase the tickets.  Here is a picture of him holding a fan of $100 bills!  I don't think I've ever been in possession of that much cash!!  It was kind of exciting and nerve wracking at the same time.  The play was great, but I think getting the tickets was the most fun part for me.  

Yesterday I went to a place called The Strand bookstore.  They have new and used books. . . 18 miles worth of VERY full bookshelves!  It was great.  I spent several hours there perusing such sections as women's literature, art and photography, and philosophy.  I caved and bought a few fun books at discounted price.  One on the philosophy of friendship, which should be interesting.  

After going to the bookstore, I decided to read in Union Square for a while before meeting the group for dinner.  I overheard the conversation of the people sitting next to me in the park and it was very interested, so I pretended to read and listened to their conversation.  The woman was from Toronto, apparently a very successful designer.  She talked about having a job at Kate Spade as a designer.  Apparently, the guy who she was talking with was both the owner of a firm that was interested in hiring her and a friend of hers.  They were talking about the value of doing what you love and not 'selling out' to do something that makes money.  It was just fun to hear about the lives of the yuppies here in the city.  Another job she was going for was at Coca-Cola!  No small stuff.  I hope she makes the right decision and gets to do what she wants to do.  I think eve's dropping is my new favorite pass-time.  

After dinner at an Afghani restaurant, Dmac, Billy, Phil and I went to see Indiana Jones in Times Square.  It was fun.  I'm not a huge fan of the movie but it was fun to hang out with they guys.  It was 1:30am when we got out of the movie and still blazing hot outside!  I'm excited to be back in Cali/Seattle where it gets cool at night.  

I'm feeling so comfortable here, though (besides the weather).  It is so fun to think of all the places I've been while here.  A few nights ago some girls and I went to a few fun record shops in Greenwich Village.  That's a place where there are A LOT of interesting people!  It's like the San Francisco of NY.  There is complete freedom to be however you want to be. . . the perfect place for a record shop.  And I'm not talking about CD's, I mean records.  I thought of Dad when I flipped through the section of Tito Puente records and of Gram in the Bob Marley section.  I almost bought one to play at WG & GF's but decided against it.  It would be a really fun place to get record covers to frame for decorating.  They were pretty cheap!  

One thing I have been struggling with the last few days is the question of how to communicate the gospel with all of these people.  Actually, sharing the gospel is the easy part, but how do we get them from being baby Christians to being the mature Christians the author of Hebrews talks about?  

"Concerning [Melchizedek] we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.  For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.  For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.  But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil."  

Which description exemplifies the Christian church today?  The dull of hearing or the discerning?  O, how my heart longs for us to be accustomed to the word of righteousness.  How does discipleship happen in these churches I'm attending here in NY?  People are experts at getting thousands to attend on Sunday morning, but who is teaching the word of righteousness?  I was reminded of something Francis Chan said at Torrey Memorial Bible Conference this last year.  He was speaking of the truth from the word that needs to be spoken among believers today and how it is sometimes heavy and is always demanding of our total allegiance.  He said, "I bet if Jesus had a church in the Bay area, my church would be bigger."  This just struck me as being an interesting comment and telling of the amount of the word of righteousness that is preached in our churches today.  Can we move people to that place when there are thousands of individuals meeting together once a week?  Can people be discipled and live lives of fullness in the contexts that are available?  I'm not meaning to judge or speak negative words about churches I have attended today, but I just want to question the ultimate goal and ask what their fruit in producing is?  Words of encouragement should always be present and cultural contextualization is critical, but if we are continuing on in our infant state when we should be teachers, we may need to reexamine our strategies.