"Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord."
~Sir Francis Drake
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Hi, I'm Kim. Thanks for coming on over. Let me introduce myself...
I am a daughter.
I am a sister.
I am a friend.
I am His Beloved.
I love to create.
Stagnation drives me crazy.
I want what is true.
I'm a Tetris champion, and I hereby challenge anyone to beat my current record.
"My job is the relentless pursuit of who God created me to be..." (Rob Bell said it first)
...because "the more like Kim I am, the more like Christ I am." (Andrew Shearman said it first)
The question "Why?" is always on my mind.
I have been bought with a high price, and I'm learning to remember every day that my life is not my own.
And I believe very strongly that sometimes God has to take us out, in order to bring us in.
I'm an Alumni of The World Race, which was an 11 month pilgrimage begun in January of 2008 that introduced me to the Kingdom of God in ways I didn't even know existed. It was kind of my season of initiation... a rite of passage in a sense. During that year, the themes of love, grace, hope, freedom, what it means to live and serve the Kingdom, and intimacy with God were woven into every relationship and every country. I am so thankful for that time, for God's scandalous grace that became tangible to me, His relentless love for His people and the privilege it was to serve, and the endless opportunities to change and become.
I returned to the USA in November 2008 and moved to Michigan in January 2009 to work on staff with The World Race / Adventures in Missions, an organization that shares the belief that our generation is actually going to change the world. I work with a team of servant leaders who are committed to mobilizing people of all ages to serve the world in whatever capacity God calls.
We believe that God has called us to not just pray for His will, but to BE His will to the world.
We believe that the deaf will hear. The blind will see. The mute will speak. The sick will be healed. The dead will rise.
Because Jesus said they would.
And because the Holy Spirit is still saying that they will.
And because God is the same God today as He was yesterday, as He was 2000 years ago, as He will be tomorrow.
But without love, we are nothing.
Without being in His presence, none of it matters.
Love really is the highest and best, and the most supernatural of all things is still grace.
There is so much more than what we've accepted as highest and best. Lots of it is controversial. Most of it will make us squirm.
If this were about following rules, what it prescribed for us to do and not do, it'd be easy. And so very boring.
If this were about following the law (which, by the way, only brings death),
we'd only ever grow out of adolescent spiritual maturity.
But it's not about the law, its so much deeper. So much more dynamic. I'd go so far as to say dangerous.
As CS Lewis says, "He's not a tame Lion... but He is Good."
And those who are taking the Kingdom, are taking it by force. We're not going to wait around for it to fall in our laps.
People are being trafficked.
People are dying of starvation.
People are enslaved by lies and comfort.
This second.
And yes, it is our problem.
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Some thoughts on the subject...
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My background:
I was born in Orange County, California, raised in a loving (yet tame) church, and grew up in a Christian school where, thankfully, a foundation of the knowledge of God was laid in my life. After high school, I chose a Baptist university in Texas to study music. I traveled with a performing group for 2 years, singing and sharing with churches and schools, and was exposed to the many different denominations across the Body of Christ. While finishing my studies at another university in California, I worked as the Worship/Creative Arts Assistant with a local church, before sensing that God was ushering me into something new, and completely un-tame... something that rocked my theological boundaries, even some of my moral standards, and the intimate relationship between tradition and religion that had been slowly numbing my spirit and soul for years.
Why missions...?
Because Jesus said to GO, and make disciples (not converts) of all nations. Of every tribe. Of every tongue. I believe that it is
imperative for people of all generations to experience with all of their senses the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs all around the world. We've got to begin to see orphans who are starving in Africa as more than a statistic, more than a heart-wrenching Compassion commercial. We've got to begin seeing more than their physical hunger, but also their souls and spirits. The women who work as prostitutes are not prostitutes. They are God's Beloved who are hopeless and in need of grace; they are not too far gone. Beyond the lines of culture differences, everyone needs to hear how He loves them... for how can they choose if they do not know? The mission field is an opportunity for anyone who has anything to give, to give it away. And we who have Christ, have everything to give them. Some really have never heard... So why missions? Because without every part of the Body of Christ mobile and moving, we are immobile and less effective.
Through missions, I want to see my generation moving and awake, utilizing every good and perfect gift we have been given from God. I want to see us aware of how He is manifesting Himself all around the world, embracing the global church, the persecuted church, the underground church... AND the mega church. For we truly ARE one church-- one in the Spirit. I want my generation to begin to act out of a place of deep love, gratitude, and selflessness; to act and not only talk and dream. To see my generation begin to realize their God-given authority means that we will speak to the dead things of the earth and breathe life back into them. We will DO the greater things Jesus said we would do, and those things will flow out of WHO WE ARE. And once we've tasted and seen that this world is not our home, we will live our lives to build one Kingdom, not the Kingdom of Asia, of America, of Europe, or of Africa. By being missionally minded, we will build and deepen the Kingdom of God.
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Do you have questions about The World Race??
What is it?
Why do we do it?
How is it possible?
Where do we go?
How can you get involved, even if you can't GO?
Please feel free to get in touch! Just click on... "contact me"
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