Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Chapter 1: Why Is That Old Man Crying?

I N JUNE 2005 I scheduled a visit to Wichita with my long-time friend Brian, an associate pastor from the Midwest. What started off as a pleasant weekend turned into an historic event in my life. Since 1991, when I was called to missionary service with World Impact, I have lived in two worlds. For years, my wife Cathy and I had been volunteers with World Impact when suddenly, with only a few days’ notice, I was asked to become their Vice President of Administration. With our first child (Ryan) on the way, we were in no position to abruptly move into the inner-city community where the other World Impact-Los Angeles missionaries lived. So we began our work in the city while living 12 miles away as members of an evangelical church in Burbank. Over the years, the differences between my two worlds grew. Sub- consciously, I sensed the gap widening. My local church experience was becoming more shallow, more thin, less stimulating, while my life in the inner city was challenging, exciting, and invigorating (sometimes more challenging than I wanted). Some would say it was a difference between missionaries (who are serious and called) versus a local church (comprised of a mixture of both committed and passive believers). But I knew it was more than that. I knew too many faithful believers at my local church to draw such a conclusion. They loved Christ, had a high view of his Word,

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