Village of Hope

Posted on 09/30/2008 by Benjamin Zimmerman Posted in Other | 3 Comments

Sometimes in life all we can offer someone is hope.

People need hope in so many different ways: a hug, a meal, a friend, a conversation, a way to freedom, a way to peace, a laugh, a smile . . .

Tonight I am humbled as I type because I am challenged by how simple my problems really are. I am reminded how blessed my life is. I was blogging about my new found hope that life was going to be okay and I received this email . . .

“Well I am back in the US!!! Thank you all for your prayers while I was in Gulu! . . . I had an amazing time. Here are a few highlights from the trip . . . We have 13 orphans living at the Safe House now. It was incredible being with them each evening, eating dinner with them, playing with them, listening to them laugh and just watching them be happy “normal” kids. The truth of the matter is hard to imagine. 11 out of the 13 had their parents killed by the LRA , 3 of the children were abducted by the LRA and 2 of them were forced to kill their own parents. You would NEVER believe it from just being with them, they are such loving, happy children. I asked them to draw some pictures and each one drew pictures of huts being burned down, people being killed. So you know even though they are enjoying life now, their past still haunts them . . .”

How small are my problems now?

Very. Very small.

My friend Cindy is running an amazing ministry in Uganda that is working with children who are refugees from the Civil War in the Gulu District. Her heart is huge and her mission is bigger than she is, but God is at the center of what she is doing and amazing things are happening. Cindy needs all the prayers and help she can get. To learn more about what God is doing in Uganda check out the website or buy some handmade jewelry to help support the cause in Northern Uganda.

“Never deprive someone of hope – it may be all they have.” – anonymous

Cindy and the children at the Village of Hope Safe House

“HEY BOSS WE ARE ON FIRE!”

Posted on 09/27/2008 by Benjamin Zimmerman Posted in Personal | 1 Comment

It was the middle of the winter of 2005. We, Josh McDowell and the crew, were traveling from Fargo North Dakota to Rapid City South Dakota. We were to make the short 575 mile trip overnight in our Prevost tour bus. We had been on tour for nearly two weeks and Rapid City was the last stop before we all flew home for a much needed break.

At the time I was managing the ragtag crew of Dads, interns and Campus Crusade Staffers. In previous few days we had lost our main generator to the bus for one reason or another, so we were already limping along on a back-up generator.

After leaving Fargo we were on the road about 15 minutes when all the sudden the power went off in the bus. We lost the back-up generator. We had few options at this point. So in a last ditch effort we stopped at an Arby’s to try and brainstorm what we could do next. (Because we all know how well we think after eating 5 beef n’ cheddar’s for $5).

Our conclusion, buy a propane powered gas heater from a local sporting goods store and run it inside the bus, dress warm and push to Rapid City and have the bus worked on there.

It was an interesting ride for the next hour, the bus was quiet. The guys were trying to read by flashlight, stay warm buy hovering close to the front heaters coming off the engine and Josh was in the back of the bus with his space heater trying not to suffocate from the fumes.

As we drove the temperature outside dipped below -20. It truly was the dead of winter. All of sudden as I was dozing off in my bunk, I heard our bus driver yell “Hey Boss! We are on fire!” I jumped to my feet threw on my sandals (at this point the space heater had done such a great job of warming the bus that we were all in t-shirts and shorts and completely comfortable).

I ran to the front of the bus. Dave Albertson, our bus driver at the time explained to me that the rear axle on the driver side was shooting flames out the side of the bus, very near to the gas tank. I grabbed a fire extinguisher and told Dave to stop the bus.

In -20 degrees wearing only shorts, t-shirt and sandals I ran outside the bus on the side of Interstate 29 and put out the fire on the wheel well of the bus. It was later determined that the axle grease had become overheated and caused the axle to catch fire, costing almost 20 grand to replace!

Putting out that fire wasn’t the most heroic thing I have done, but it was one of the craziest things that I had seen on the road. I will never forget standing there with the fire extinguisher barely able to breathe because my lungs felt like they were going to collapse from the cold winds of the passing cars.

The worst part of the whole ordeal is that I next had to hitch hike to the airport (nearly midnight & -25 outside at this point), rent a car, drive back to pick the guys up and drive all night to Rapid City to make our event on time. Once the event was over I had to drive our guys to the airport and then drive back to Sioux Falls to deal with our busted bus. I had left our intern and driver behind and they slowly limped the bus to a hotel and waited for me to get back.

It was a crazy 18 hours, but it was one of the most unforgettable days of my life.

Dave Albertson and the old Prevost tour bus

What’s My Possible?

Posted on 09/16/2008 by Benjamin Zimmerman Posted in Personal | Leave a comment

Here is a video that was used during a weekend service at Central Christian Church a few weeks ago.

I think you might notice a familiar face. . .

What are your Secrets?

Posted on 07/17/2008 by Benji Zimmerman Posted in Honesty | Leave a comment

I am currently reading Gordon MacDonald’s book, Rebuilding Your Broken World. I have to be honest, it is a humbling book to read. The basic premise of the book so far is that all of us go through broken world experiences and have things that happen to us or because of us that cause our worlds to crumble (or are near someone else when their world crumbles).

I am reading this book for my own benefit, for my own broken world experiences. One of the issues that MacDonald addresses in the book is secrets; those untouchable, unmentionable, skeletons-in-our-closets that we rarely talk about.

Secrets. We all have them. What are yours? Just kidding. I would never go as far as to challenge you to post them on here, but I would like to pass on something that MacDonald has challenged me with:

“. . . I thought of what might be called the underside of the church: those numberless people who walk into sanctuaries all over the world carrying their secrets behind bright clothing and forced smiles. They sing the songs, pray the prayers, listen to the sermons. And all the while the secrets fester within the private world causing either a constantly broken heart or a hardened heart. They come in fear of their secrets being exposed and they quite likely go in fear that they will have to live this way for the rest of their lives. Believe me, the underside of the church is there, listening and watching to find out whether there is anyone with home their secret might be safe if revealed.” (pp. 54-55)

This passage hits home, and hits home hard. I think there are two major implications that this paragraph could have on the reality of Christianity and the state of the church.

First, if there are that many people walking into the church around the world with secrets or broken world experiences why isn’t the church doing anything about it? Why are there not more people standing beside those who experience these moments? If there are so many people living with secrets, why don’t we see more people helping those work through their broken world experiences?

Secondly, this makes me think about the countless number of people who have nothing to do with the church that see the people who attend as “hypocrites” and “fakes;” wanting nothing to do with the church. Could this be why? Does the world with its watchful eye know something we don’t? Do they recognize that we all have secrets and know that these smiling church-goers are not really being real? Does this lack of transparency great a mistrust that leads to the labels the church is given?

MacDonald’s book really has me challenged to look deeper into the ways that we can help people, become more transparent and find safe environments to share our secrets.

One thing that I have learned so far from MacDonald is how valuable relationships are. I admit I have been abusing relationships or running from them my whole life. We all desire to be in a relationship with a person who knows us so well that they can see through the secrets. Sometimes it hurts that they knows us so well, but there is an undefinable value in having someone in your life who knows you so well that they can love you to your core.

Maybe you have some secrets you need to get out, maybe you don’t, one place I would encourage you to check out for a more creative outlet is the Post Secret Community . The idea started out by Frank Warren as a way to anonymously send in a postcard with a secret on it. The postcards were then used creatively in artwork on display in galleries. Since then, numerous books have been published with these funny, insightful and sometimes heartbreaking postcards. But the website and books are worth checking out.

Uncensored Grace

Posted on 07/12/2008 by Benji Zimmerman Posted in Personal | Leave a comment

When I was growing up I spent a lot of time in a small Reformed Christian Church in Grand Haven Michigan. It was an old church but it was filled with a lots of good memories. However, there were many things that were never mentioned when I was growing up, grace was one of them.

Flash forward to the summer of 2007. I started working at Central Christian Church and was wrapped into a world of love and grace I had never experienced before. I have been all over the world doing missions, working for non-profits and working for worthy causes, but never before have I seen this level of grace and compassion towards the broken and brokenhearted.

I find it interesting that the word Grace is used ( in the NIV) . . .
11 times in the Old Testament
116 times in the New Testament
but only 2 times in the Gospels: Luke 2:40 and the first chapter of John.

Luke 2:40 says “And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.” This verse is about Jesus. The grace of God was upon him. Over and over in the book of Acts the same phrase is used, the grace of God.

My parents did a tremendous job of raising me, but one thing my church failed to teach me was grace. I am so grateful to have a place like Central so I can learn more about what it really means to show the grace of God.

Why is this so important?

Author Gordon MacDonald hits the nail on the head in his book, Rebuilding Your Broken World, “Broken-world experiences happen to almost all of us. . . Ultimately, rebuilding broken worlds can never happen alone. It is a team effort, and it has to be accomplished in concert with those who can give grace and affirm progress.”

Amen.

For more information on radical grace check out this site