Christmas in New York

There is nothing like a "Tender Tennessee Christmas." However, this year the Mills family learned that "New York is a Christmas Kind of Town!" On Christmas Eve my parents and my sister, Kim, flew into New York
City and then arrived at our Manhattan apartment right before lunch. The next several days of their stay was assuredly fast-paced, extremely eye-opening, thoroughly exciting, and yet refreshing all at the same time.

After their arrival I allowed them to unpack and get adjusted to where everything was in the apartment. Mom and dad stayed in the master bedroom as they are obviously the "masters" of our family. My sister slept in the children's room, since I was already occupying the guest bedroom for that past two months since my arrival in New York City. After unpacking and doing a little grocery shopping at the neighborhood grocery store we set off for the subway station just down down the street and we 'trained it' downtown to Manhattan Times Square. As they came out of the tunnel their eyes grew as big as the surrounding Times Square neon-lights that greeted them. After walking around taking in the sites for awhile we decided to eat dinner in Times Square. The dessert was a trip to the top of the Empire State Building for a spectacular night time view of the city for over 20 miles in every direction! Mom couldn't get over the fact there were lights as far as you could see, and you could see forever.

The next day we opened Christmas presents, ate dad's "famous french toast," and then headed into the city for a special Chris Mills guided tour of many of the hot spots in the city. We saw Central Park, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trump Towers, 5th Ave., Chinatown, Little Italy, the World Trade Center site, and Greenwich Village. We made sure to work in a very special stop at The Gallery Church. That evening we stopped at the local "Titans Fan Club" bar to watch the Titans game with other Titans fans. I just wish the game would have went as well as the day's tour did.

The next few days were a mix of shopping, me having to fit in a couple of shifts at Choice, a short but interesting tour of Brooklyn, the Broadway play "In The Heights," and a "quick" visit to Jersey to spend some family time with some of my dad's side of the family. The play we saw, "In the Heights", was tremendous! We all had a special attachment to it because it was set close to the area of town in which we were sleeping each night. The trip to New Jersey was a chance to meet some of dad's family that I have never met and an opportunity to see an uncle that I had not seen since I was a kid.

This was truly a very special Christmas for the Mills family. Somehow we were able to pack quite a lot into five days in the city. Both, my parents and my sister, left thinking that they would really need another vacation to rest after spending their Christmas vacation in the "City That Never Sleeps". I was not as tired as they were but I am looking forward to possibly traveling south for the holidays next year. "New York is a Christmas Kind of Town" but I might be ready for a "Tender Tennessee Christmas" next year.

Millions of People

Eight (8) million people live in NYC! That fact significantly contributes to it being unquestionly diverse, undeniably interesting, and forever entertaining. However, at the same time it can be so fast-paced and competitive it can become a lonely place for some as they try to find "their place" within it. The common thread for survival appears to be to find an area of the city in which you seem to gravitate towards and then make that your NYC. In other words make NYC appear smaller so it fits into your life.

Now that I have been here for several weeks let me tell you a little bit about "my NYC." I have not yet gravitated towards a specific area of the city but I have been able to connect with some really cool people in the meantime. These people have each played an intricate and important role in helping me to transition to the city and to feel very comfortable here. I thank God for each of them.

For those of you who may not know I currently live with they Wyatt's. They are a great family and have gone out of their way to support me by offering me a bedroom within their New York City apartment until I can get my feet under me. In doing so I have been able to reconnect with Freddy who was one of my closest friends from seminary, Susan his wonderful wife, and Jack (soon-to-be 3), Elliot (1), and Lilly (1) who are a crazy threesome of kiddos that I have become something of an uncle too. I love this family and even if I wasn't living with them I would certainly find time in my schedule to spend some time with them.

Mickey Micklos is a great guy that I met while attending Gallery Church. I actually met him at dinner on my first night in the city and shared a cab ride with him and Freddy later that evening. Mickey is a film student graduate and is in the city to pursue his dreams and passions of becoming a film maker. He is gifted beyond his years and is still finding his way much like me. He has a few weeks of a head start on me in NYC and has proven to be a great guy to experience the city with. A great new friend!

I also am getting to know Katie Gray Landham and her sister Emily. We actually grew up together in my hometown of Hendersonville back in Tennessee but unfortunately we did not know each other very well, if at all. We of course knew similar people and this "hometown" connection is what led to our re-connection here. Katie Gray makes me laugh and it has been fun to talk about Christ with her, play rummy with her and Emily, and to watch their dog Pip. He is a new puppy for the Landham sisters and it has become a great side job for me to be a puppy-walker. I'm pretty dang good at it too!

So that is some of "my NYC" experience as of the moment. I hope in the near future I will be figuring out which area of the city I would "like to gravitate too." However, it has been these people and several others that have made it an easy move to such a fast-paced, competitive, diverse, interesting and entertaining city. And even though I have around 7,999,900 more people to meet in the future, the ones I have mentioned are certainly some of the best!

Christ and the Church

I can't seem to wrap my arms around what it takes to have a quality prayer time. I even struggle sometimes to be consistent with what we as Christians refer to as a “quiet time.” In all honesty I even feel a little awkward at times when I try to communicate that God has “spoken to me” as some believers are able to do, as if He is someone they go on walks with, play golf with, or just call on the telephone. With that said, the most meaningful part of my Christian life is the intimate relationship that I have with God through the life and movement of a consistent commitment to the church.

I firmly believe that when we, as believers, are found to be sold-out to the church we become closer to reflecting the heartbeat of what is the “love of Christ.” This truth has certainly hit home with me recently as I have entered into a season of my life where upon moving to New York I am getting to know a new body of believers and establishing for me a new church home. I am working to show grace and give priority in my life to people that I am still getting to know. To me it is certainly not just another gathering of people in a room. It is the church – A body of believers gathered together to be the church.

As we, the Gallery Church, learned during our recent sermon series, “The Bride of Christ,” Christ and the church are so vitaly interwoven with each other. So much so, that when you closely look at the Bible and see Christ, you cannot do so without recognizing His love and sacrificial commitment to the life of the church. We looked at the powerful words contained in Ephesians 5 and saw Christ and the church sitting there right in the middle of verses often used for marriage and relationships. We see that Christ “loved the church and gave himself up for her, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (25-27). Did you catch that? He’s not just talking about doing some nice things for the church, or even trying His best to make the church look beautiful. Paul is actually saying that Christ is giving up his LIFE for the church! The question then becomes, “If I’m to be like Christ, in what significant ways do I really need to sacrifice for the sake of the church?”

I’ll admit it is tough to commit to the church in our culture where so many people are “finding God” or “spirituality” without ever finding the church. People are assuming the church is just another man-made institution that should be put securely back on the shelves with other relics. However, we as Christians need to follow Christ's example and give to the church as if we were giving our lives. And who knows, if we do this consistently we may then be able to one day speak about God speaking to us in a way as if we just got done playing golf with him. And maybe our “quiet times” will become more consistent and our prayer life would improve. Whatever our indivual situation may be, we as believers need to be found as ones that have committed to wrapping our arms around what Christ died for – the church.

Pray that God would strengthen your and my commitment to the local church today !

Thanksgiving

10 Things I Am Thankful For From NYC: (in no particular order)

1. The baffling grace and mercy of Christ that leads me into a life that makes sense.

2. The job that I have at Choice Kitchen and Cocktails. Even though it is not many shifts at the moment, I know over time I will get more.

3. New friends in NYC. Church really is a good idea. More than that, this is what Christ gave his life for!

4. I got to attend two great parades! The New York Yankees Championship Parade and the Macy's Day Parade.

5. I ate 2/3 of a napkin on accident and didn't get sick (ok this merely made it on the list b/c we have a pic of it).

6. Family who loves me and I them, and friends that keep in touch (even when I'm bad at it).

7. I am thankful that I feel safe enough to fall asleep at times on the subway trains (I'm thankful for this even without the pic... the train rocks me like a baby).

8. Financial and prayer support.

9. The Wyatt family for letting me live with them in NYC while I get my feet on the ground (I am listening to my two 1 year old roommates cry it up right now).

10. The number 10.

19

"19". That’s how many days it took for me to finally find a job. I'll have to say it was an experience. I do want to say a special thanks to all those who have been praying for me in my transition and recent job search. I know that my joining the ranks of the employed is directly because of your faithfulness to prayer and God’s faithfulness to each of us.

Speaking of God’s faithfulness, without question He completely prepared the way before me prior to my coming to New York – to include the job I have now. A few months ago while I was still in Nashville I was working at Rippy’s when a couple came in for lunch. Casually I asked them where they were from and they told me New York. I immeadiately began to tell them about my impending move to New York in a few weeks to do ministry work. He was genuinely excited and began sharing with me all about New York City. At the end of the meal he gave me his card and said, “My son owns three restaurants in New York, so when you get to there and need a job, give me or him a call.” Amazing!

I got in to town and gave his son a call. However, at the beginning it was virtually impossible to get anything worked out as we played phone tag for forever it seemed. In the meantime I put together my resume and applied at over thirty other restaurants in New York. Yes I did say the word resume. I found out that you absolutely need one of those things in New York to apply for a servers gig. That exercise resulted in me hearing the answer “no” in a multitude of different ways. The most common being, “Sorry, you don’t have any New York experience.”

However, God came through again and I finally connected with the man’s son. He set me up an interview with a manager and I went into the process with a resume and a big smile. Turned out the manager didn’t need my resume, he hired me on the spot! Maybe, it was the big smile?

Since then I have worked three shifts and I recognize it can easily be a great place for me to meet people, connect, and network. On top of that I get to make some money there too! So after nineteen days I served my first table at Choice Kitchen and Cocktails. It was a party for a baby shower in our private area. How many people were in this party? Silly question,19 of course!

Go Green! (an apology)

This is a formal apology to all my environmental followers. It has unfortunately recently come to my attention that I have been involved in certain situations where I have supported and may even contributed to activities that might be considered offensive to you. Please know that I am truly regretful and remorseful for any pain that I may have caused my "green" friends, especially those that have such a passionate heart for the many trees of the world.

Yes it is true! I was at the Yankee ticker tape parade this past week. Regretfully I did cheer for the MLB World Champs as tons upon tons of paper were being tossed out of windows and rooftops of many downtown office buildings. While I didn't personally participate in the actual misuse of these resources that nature has so graciously bestowed on us, I did however stand idly by and do nothing to prevent it from happening or even clean it up afterwards.

It is also true that I have been recently applying for several, no many, jobs. In doing so I have dropped off quite a few resumes in the hands of many, many potential employers. Sadly, I have not even checked to see if I was using recycled paper or not. This fact in hindsight was not my best decision. However, I do feel as though it is vitally important that I do continue to hand out my resumes.

With that being said I hope that you will still keep up with me and follow my blog. The Internet is a quite environmentally sound option for communicating. Hopefully the bottom line is that I have obviously admitted to my mistakes and will more carefully consider my options in the future. Unfortunately I cannot promise I won't be at the next ticker tape parade for the World Champion Yankees when they win the 2010 World Series, but I might lend a hand and actually pick up some of the ticker tape confetti and then place it in a recycling bin. And who knows... after I have actually found a job I might just go out and plant a tree. Okay lets be honest, that probably won't happen. Go green!

The World Series

Johnny Damon hit a two-out single off Brad Lidge in the ninth, swiped two bases on one play and scored the go-ahead run on A-Rod's double for a 7-4 N.Y. win and a 3-1 Series lead Sunday night. What the Yankees have been able to do over the last three games has been more than just a simple turn around. After the first game was won by the Phillies in N.Y. sports heads began saying that the Yankees were close to done and certainly a step behind the Phillies. Now, as the whole world watches, this series has obviously taken a dramatic turn.

I was able to watch the ninth inning of the Yankees game from the comfort of Freddy T. and Susan Wyatt's apartment. Shortly before that I was watching the beginning of the game at a Wildwood, a local BBQ joint in downtown Manhattan, with several of my new friends from the Gallery Church. Most of you know by now that yesterday I relocated from Nashville to New York to start a new series in life. For me, my world has quickly and drastically changed.

At a young age I knew that God was calling me to full-time ministry. My idea of this meant that I would be doing youth ministry somewhere at a church in the south. So I went to seminary and studied what it took to be a youth pastor and my first job after graduating was just that. Three years later God has obviously redirected my plans! Never in my life would I have thought that I would be in NYC by the time I was 30 doing ministry as a church-planter. To this point I still don't even know what it takes to do church planting or if I have the skill set for such a challenge. But I'm willing to give it a shot as surely God has led me here. If there is one thing I am comfortable about at this moment is that I am surrounded by some great people here as I worship at The Gallery Church. I look forward to being intimately involved in the life of the church and soaking up whatever God desires for me to learn.

Thank you to all the people that are praying for me and also those who have committed to giving to me financially. Without you I could not be embarking on this new series in my life. Please stay tuned to my blog as I truly want you and anyone else in my world to know what God is doing and what I am up to. Look forward to sharing more with you very soon. Go Yanks! For the record I have been a Yankees fan since I was a kid. Some things never change.

New York City and The Gallery Church

The Mission
During the July 4th weekend I had the opportunity to go to NYC. While there, I was able to reconnect with a dear friend, Freddy T. Wyatt, who is the Teaching Pastor at the Gallery Church of Manhattan. As I began spending time with Freddy just catching up, it became obvious God was up to something else quite unexpected as we chatted. Freddy began to tell me about the ministry he was involved with and the church's strategic plan to reach people for Christ. As he talked, and just by being there in the city, I began to realize how much of an impact NYC has on the world and it is in a strategic position for God’s global purposes. As Freddy began to share his heart and his burden for NYC, and more importantly the people that live within it, I began to notice that my heart was becoming overwhelmingly burdened as well. Since then Freddy and the Gallery Church have shared with me the following sobering statistics:

• 20+ million people that live in the NY Metro Area,
• 8.5 million people that live in NYC,
• 66,000 people that live on every square mile in Manhattan,
• 170+ languages are spoken in NYC,
• 40% of Brooklyn is foreign born.

Once the weekend was over I traveled back to Philadelphia where I was working as a summer camp staffer. I had told Freddy that I felt burdened for the people of NYC and passionate about the ministry that Gallery Church was undertaking. I told him that I was considering the possibility of coming back to NYC as a missionary and helping with the church's mission, but that I just needed some time to think it over and ask God if this was His will or mine. After another trip back to NYC and the Gallery Church, and getting to participate in their worship service, I now find myself with a definite answer from God.

The leadership at The Gallery Church has now invited me to move to NYC for a season of assessment and training for urban church planting. The Gallery Church is a Southern Baptist Church that was launched in late 2006 as part of the North American Mission Board's initiative "New Hope New York" They have a vision to see a church planting movement in New York as well as other strategic world cities. My assessment and training time will likely run anywhere from 6 months to a year, beginning this November. During this time, I will be working a secular job while serving in The Gallery Church in any way that I can, from leading worship to cleaning toilets. It is critical that I learn the rhythm and culture of NYC while being assessed for readiness and trained for future urban church planting myself. A website that you can now visit with lots of information about strategic nature of NYC and the vision for church planting movement can be found at www.sendnyc.com.

The Critical Part You Can Play
Please prayerfully consider supporting me through your encouragement, prayers and where possible, your financial gifts. As I am working as a missionary to this church with a long-term goal of hopefully coming on board as a church-planting minister, so it will be crucial for me to have a team that will be supporting me in this start up phase and possibly even further. In this request for support I hope to meet two equally important goals.

The first goal is to have an army of encouragement/prayer warriors that will commit to praying for me during the next six months starting in November. I am asking God for an army of at least fifty prayer warriors who would see this type of support as something they would be willing to do on a weekly and possibly even daily basis. There is no doubt that this type of ministry in this particular place requires the prayers of many fellow believers.

Secondly, I am asking God to raise up at least 15 people that would be willing to partner with me by giving $100 a month over the next six months starting in November. This level of commitment would significantly help me in meeting my housing need, as everybody knows it is quite expensive to live in NYC. Unless God chooses to open up other options, monthly rent for a one bedroom studio can run anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000. This would free me up to both serve at the church part time and work part-time and/or full-time at a secular job to pay for my other bills and cost of living. Do know that if you are unable to make such a commitment I would be eternally grateful to receive any type of financial support that you are able to give. To be sure, several small donations or commitments do add up! As we all know the smallest of gifts is many times the most sacrificial. If you are able to help by providing a monthly donation or a one-time donation, understand that after my assessment and training is complete I will also be looking for future ongoing help as I would then be coming on board with the Gallery Church as a church-planting minister. However, your donation(s) now are crucial in helping me get started in this journey.

If you are able to support me in this mission through encouragement, prayer or financial gifts I would ask that you let me know that by sending me an email at nycmills@gmail.com. As part of the email please let me know how and to what degree you will be able to partner with me in this mission. I will be prompt in returning this email and telling you of next steps that you would need to take. Please take the time to pray over this request and then respond as God leads. It would greatly assist me in making my final arrangements if you could let me know of your support by October 15th.

Dreams, Planes, and A Calling

Dreams are wonderful. For some reason I have discovered that I am the type of guy that can remember my dreams pretty well after I wake up. I think this is because I am naturally someone who thinks more creatively than they do logically. Whatever the case may be, I love to dream.

I was recently laying awake late at night in my bed - not being able to fall completely asleep. I kept waking up from unconsciousness after only being asleep a few minutes here and there. As I lay restlessly I heard a sound that reminded me of a dream that God has recently been placing on my heart. It was the sound of an airplane passing overhead. It was quiet and subtle but it spoke loudly to me. I listened, and in doing so I found my eyes were getting heavier and my spirit was growing less restless and before long I was finally in deep sleep. Dreaming. Dreaming of the next time I will be boarding a plane.

For those of you who don't know I will be moving to NYC in November. I am getting on a plane and flying to the Big Apple to pursue a dream; moreover, a calling. It has been quite a while since I have pursued a calling that has led me into full-time ministry. But after some healing from some circumstances and wrong decisions on my part I am more than ready for where God is taking me.

I depend on Christ in a way that I never did before. I have learned that I can't even really make it through my day the way that I should without connecting with Him. I have also learned to love people and care for them and their hurts at a deeper level. These are things that I have learned over the past few years that I have spent healing. This has positioned me well for NYC and the calling He has given me.

So what will I be doing? Where will I be living? Yes there is a plan. No I'm not just randomly going on a hope and whim. But in a lot of ways I am just "going." I know that God has called. I know that I am to GO. I will tell you more details about this move over the next few days. But for now, know that I have heard God's call so I am boarding a plane real soon in order to GO and live out a dream.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

Dew Drop Inn

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. Deuteronomy 32:2.

Let me begin by saying I have the best family. As I am preparing for the next step in my life they have graciously allowed and welcomed me to stay back home for a few months. We joke that it is a revolving door around the Mills house as they have had many family and friends stay as guests over the years. My parents are the type of people who will give sacrificially without little to nothing required in return. Me, my sister, my uncle and others have been blessed to be in a place that warmly shows the love of Christ. Beyond just providing a place to stay they have provided much more that I could ever begin to write.

My dad has become my best friend as we spend many afternoons together watching football, playing golf, or sharing a religious discussion. My mom is the one person in my life that completely understands me and at times knows me better than I even know myself. My sister is a true example of what it means to be a Godly woman who loves people and loves the Lord. I am blessed.

If you ever have the opportunity to be around these great people your life will be better for it. If you are a person that needs to feel the love of Christ I know that my family is one of the most caring families that you will ever meet. If you ever need someone to tell you harsh truth in love they are always willing to go the extra mile.

Who I am is greatly shaped by these people. I will forever be indebted to them as they have shown me what it means to be a man that chases after the things of God. So I extend this invitation. If you haven't already met the better part of who the Mills family is... do so. You will enjoy the experience. Who knows you might even have the chance to come over and see my mom greet you with her kind words, "Dew Drop Inn."

Ribs, Barbecue, Friends, and Family

As I cheerfully bring another full rack of smoked ribs and barbecue to another table of starving country music fans I can't help but notice how everyone is enjoying each others presence. Even with "Merle Haggard" music playing in the background they seem to be focused in on each others conversation as if it has been forever since they have seen each other. I simply smile, place down their order in front of them, and ask if everything is ok. But I know even before I ask that everything is just as it should be.

Friends are great. More than that it is necessary for health to have people around you that deeply care for you. I have been fortunate enough to have many friends like this in my life. I count them as a blessing and am thankful for them and my family.

During the past weeks I have had the opportunity to reconnect with some dear friends that I have not seen it what seems like forever. I can only say that the previous distance between them has been my fault. When there is distance there is several things that are lost that only comes through the sweet connection of presence in someones life.

I am glad that I got to spend some time with these people as we have been able to discuss what God has been doing in our lives. For me, God has been working greatly over the past few years and I have been healed from some situations and wrong decisions that I had made in the past. Decisions that I was even warned about making by these dear friends to which I did nothing but ignore.

I have been able to spend some time with great people like Freddy T. Wyatt, John Mark Hutcheson, Kyle Barrett, and Dr. Cook. There are still a few more that I will be re-connecting with in the days to come. I dearly love all these people and will continue to be grateful for their presence in my life.

I have many more things that I will be sharing with all of you through this blog in the days, weeks, and months to come. I will look forward to letting all of you know about the things God has done in my life and even new places that He is leading me to. And if you are asking if everything is ok, I hope you know that everything is just as it should be. Until then know that I will be thinking of you, and praying and thanking God for you even during times where I bring smoked ribs and barbecue to a great group of starving country music fans.