Heart

The heartbeat of City Uprising is to "propel the local church and prosper the city." It is an "intensive worship and service experience" put on by sendnyc and the hosted by different groups like the Gallery Church. Both of which I am heavily involved with. Therefore, I recently had the privilege of being a part of City Uprising New York City 2010.

For a little over three days college students, young adults, and college leaders served NYC along with Gallery Church. I had the opportunity to lead a team of students who went to Madison Square Park, the closet park to the building in which our church meets. These students were truly amazing as they used their guitars, drums, and voices to entertain people who were relaxing in the park! This gave us a tremendous and special opportunity to hand out cards with invitations to an Easter gathering at Gallery Church. To my surprise we were well received and were hardly ever turned down as we handed out these invitations to Gallery Church. I am convinced God was with us the whole time we were in the park. The total number of invitations handed out by both teams exceeded 4,000! That is not to mention all the Bibles that we placed in hungry people's hands as well.

One gentlemen we encountered had rededicated his life to Christ that morning before his day had even started. He told God, "If you want me to truly follow after you, you are going to have to show up." God did show up, in the form of one of our team members who handed him an invitation to Easter at the Gallery Church! He told us that is exactly what he was looking for and subsequently came back to our church that afternoon just to make sure he knew where it was. The following day he was at the church again with his family wanting to attend worship at City Uprising!

Over the next few days the attendees of City Uprising cleaned up local community centers, helped serve at other local area churches, made numerous key connections, and even served in the HIV community by providing hundreds of free HIV tests. City Uprising New York City will take place again from June 27th - June 30th. Make sure you and some of your friends register and come help us "propel the local church and
prosper the city." Make sure to bring your heart as well!

Community of the Inconvenienced

Take the average stadium and fill it to capacity with people. There are people in every seat, people on the playing field, and even people in the in the aisles. Then give an apple, or any object for that matter, to an individual and ask them to deliver it to the person sitting in "Seat 45 Row 3 Section F". They would have a difficult time moving through the sea of people to accomplish their task. This is very
similar to the way it is in New York City.

You have 8-10 million people living within a few miles of one another. To be specific Manhattan itself is only 22.7 miles from end to end and is home to a whopping 8 million people! Sure we have subways, buses and even taxis but with the such a large population in a tiny area it can take you up to an hour or more to travel on the the island for shopping, to get a haircut, or even to go to work. Obviously, there are millions of other people who also have to go shopping, get a haircut, or go to work. In other words, you're not the only one who has to carry the proverbial apple to some person in some random section of the stadium. Interestingly enough, everyone else in the stadium seems to have a similar objective.

Lately I've been pondering this drastically different way of life I have become a part of. In a lot of ways it is truly inconvenient to do life in the city. The average New Yorker has to plan out their day significantly more than a person living anywhere else in the world. There is no quick run down to the Wal-Mart or neighborhood Target. However, if you do make a Target run you have to keep in mind how you will be getting everything you purchased back home without paying for an expensive taxi ride. On a side note, I have quickly learned that New Yorkers are really not rude. Just don't get in their way or slow them down. The sidewalks in New York City are like highways to everyone else because most of us in the city don't have cars. Our legs are our wheels. Cut someone off and you might get honked at, or in NYC - chewed out.

We have tried to counter-act this inconvenience with convenient services like grocery delivered to your door, laundromats that wash and fold your clothes for you, and "Chase Banks" on every corner. These are all services that I have taken advantage of, but they still do not eliminate all of the New York City inconvenience out of everyday life.

I paint this picture for you so that you might better understand some of the difficulties we as believers face in "church-planting" in this unique stadium called New York City. Unlike other parts of the country, church attendance is just not easy. It can be quite an inconvenient activity. For most, it takes at least an hour to get to church for a two hour worship service mixed with some "fellowship," another hour commute to get lunch with friends from church afterwards, and then an hour commute back home. The typical Sunday morning for most Americans has taken over 5 hours in New York time and that's just if you only go to the morning service!

So I ask for your prayers. Bottom line, God truly needs to burden the heart of the people of New York City so that they would be willing and wanting to get past any inconvenience they may experience when going to His church. New Yorkers really need for God to show them clearly that church should be an integral part of their life, that their life can only be what it was designed to be by making a commitment to a local church. I'm sure you can relate to the inconvenience that going to church can sometimes play in your own personal life. But understand it's even more significant and magnified for the general New Yorker.

We as New Yorkers will often go out of our way for something that we perceive to be important to us. So pray that God, Christ, and the things of Christ would become an important necessity for the people of this great city. After all, we as New Yorkers can always seem to find a way to get up on a Sunday morning, dress in our favorite outfits, commute and show up early and then stay late to spend time with friends as we fill up the stadium for a New York Jets game - many times even to capacity.

Religion is Power

The poster read, "Religion is Power." I stood there beside this poster waiting for my train and before I had time to even think about what it was actually saying a young man about my age passed by me and said to his friend, "Look at that propaganda." He was noticeably a bit unsteady on his feet from more than likely a night of drinking and thought the poster was put up by an evangelical Christian group looking to make make their best shot at what we refer to as "witnessing." However, this was not the type of propaganda he actually thought it was. It was an advertisement for a movie that is hitting theaters today, "The Book of Eli." A movie that deals with the devastation of the world and a hope for mankind during a post-apocalyptic world in year 2043. Whether he meant to or not, this random passer-by I do believe represented a mind-set of those that are put-off by the idea of organized-religion, Christianity, and certainly the church. As for me, I can understand where many of those feelings come from.

First, let me say that I am and will always be an advocate for Christ and His church. Secondly, I love people and would not want to do anything intentionally that would seem in any way to be unloving. However, I feel that some have misunderstood what the local church, or organized religion is all about. Hopefully to that end I will endeavor to address some important questions or at the least get some positive discussion started through this post. Obviously through the course of this post whenever I reference "religion" I am referring to the "Christian church." I certainly realize there are many other religions out there, but it wold take much too much time for me to cover all of them in my discussion. So this blog will be limited to Christianity and the Christian church. Please understand that in many ways I am still on a learning journey with regards to many of the aspects of my Christian walk. Also, I will be the first to admit that in some cases I may need some adjustment to my thinking and reasoning, and I will humbly say that I believe I am moldable.

Many in our culture feel that the church is out-dated. Moreover, some feel that it is or can be a very cold, harsh, judgmental, and controlling institution. Unfortunately, I would have to say I understand why they might feel that way. The church can be that way, especially when it is not acting as a church should act. What you see then is a church serving itself and doing whatever it can to make itself look good. I'm not going to go into specific examples here, but each of you can probably think of your own personal example. It's this type of attitude within the church that causes people to walk past a movie billboard such as this and say the things this inebriated young man would say.

Fortunately, the church, Christianity, and the Christian religion can be very powerful and relevant in a great and marvelous way! The way that Christ intended it to be and died for it to be. Think of the power the church could have in impacting lives for good when and if it sees its role as a servant to people in such a way that it simply glorifies Christ. Think of the healing that can take place when believers come together and strategize about how to effectively reach out to those who are in need. For example, I would hope that organized religion would find it extremely hard to be hateful or indifferent when it comes to the current disaster that has befelled Haiti. 55,000 people have died and thousands more are without food and shelter. This it a time when the power of the Christian church (organized-religion) serving others is more than welcomed, it is needed. So we need to make sure that we do not miss this opportunity!

Lastly, it is through the Christian church, the bride of Christ, the local gathering of believers that the powerful gospel message is preserved, nurtured and best understood. As the church embraces the power it has to help others it should also do so with the understanding of the ultimate power it has to deliver a message that sets people free from sin and its enslaving power.

It is my hope that I, and others that are a part of the church that Christ died for, do not misuse its power, but instead recognize the impact we could have in the lives of others. If we were to embrace this power correctly maybe the next guy that walks past a movie poster would smile instead of scoff when he reads that "Religion is Power." For when it comes to the religion of Christ and his church there is power. Wonder-working power!

Tuning into Haiti

As the world continues to tune in and listen to the myriad of news reports about the devastation caused in Haiti by the worse earthquake suffered in 250 years, many in Flatbush, Brooklyn have already spent untold hours frantically dialing all the phone numbers they know to check on family and loved ones back home.

I cannot begin to imagine what my Brooklyn neighbors from just down the street are going through during this time. I believe I know what pain, loss, and uncertainty feels like, but this event has been catastrophic and the people of Brooklyn's "Little Haiti" can do little now but wait. Waiting to hear if their loved ones are safe and doing okay.

I have not been able to be around the internet that much, as I have just recently moved to my new apartment in Brooklyn. Even so I have already found myself surrounded by such great need that I had to find a way to write. I'm asking each of you to pray for and to consider giving to the relief work in Haiti.

FIrst, you can visit the website for Gallery Church and under online giving set up an account and give money to the Haiti relief work. You can do so by indicating Haiti in the memo and 100% goes straight to the relief work there. Secondly, you can make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross by texting the word "HAITI" to 90999. I will also be venturing into Brooklyn's "Little Haiti" tomorrow and seeing what needs they have there. This area has the largest population of Haitian descent outside of Port-au-Prince. While there I may be made aware of more ways for you to be able help, so I will keep you posted.

Please take some time out of your day and think about what these people must be going through. Then ask yourself what you can do to help as you tune in.

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 !