September Notes

This past August long time staff member Tony Jackson concluded his service with MCD. Over the course of nearly four years Tony directed (often single-handedly) Life Transitions, the LOB Concert Series, and, of course, Life on the Brick. It goes without saying that Tony has been an MCD staple and life without his role on our staff team will take some time to get used to.

In addition to his committed work ethic, visionary foresight, and pioneering capabilities, one of the standout qualities that has made Tony great at MCD was/is his identification and solidarity with those MCD serves in community. In a society where elevation of oneself above others (especially the poor) is the norm, Tony has been/is a living demonstration of what it means to “in humility, count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

The MCD community will greatly miss Tony Jackson and will forever will be beneficiaries of his example, contribution, and love.

God of the Broken

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. (Psalm 51:17

This past year the MCD staff community has had a fair share of pain and sorrow common with serving and including within community many individuals who are in a state of severe brokenness. From substance abuse, to oppressive delusions, to barring and banding from programs, to severed relationships, to verbal and physical assault, to imprisonment, to even some passing on from this life, the weight of the pain of those we care for seems forever heavy on our shoulders and hearts.

However, even through this daily reality, God relentlessly reminds us of His indescribable goodness; although it was under this weight that we entered into our annual staff retreat, He was gracious to yet again be our healer. Through our sharing with one another about our own places of brokenness, He began to restore each of us through the reminder of something often forgotten: He is the God of the broken.

“Blessed are you who are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20) reveals a great mystery: the reality and experience of God’s reign is given to those helpless enough to posture themselves to receive it! Through one another’s experiences we were reminded of the presence of this mystery in our everyday lives: the brokenness of our friends can give way to our own brokenness, which in turn can give way to God.

One minister to the poor reminds us “that Jesus came to bring the good news to the poor, not to those who serve the poor!” (Vanier, FBC) This is also reminiscent of Jesus’ statement, “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Luke 5:31) The healthy, independent, and whole don’t “need” Jesus. Please pray that we might be a community that recognizes its own brokenness deep enough to plead daily for His healing hand and offer ourselves a pleasing sacrifice toward His glory.

Kingdom Come,

Christian Gray ,MCD Emissary