UNDEFEATED.

That word strikes me. It is used to describe a group or person who has never lost. It is not a word that I often ascribe to myself. I have lost in my life. I have started things and failed to complete them. I have been defeated. These defeats have helped me to learn perseverance and what it means to live with failures as a part of your history. American’s love winners; we love to have a connection to the winning group. We want to feel success through their victories. We invest heavily in sports teams who are winners. Sports teams invest in players who have a proven record of wins, or the potential to build a winning record with them. We want to win.

Recently I have been coaching soccer for the U8 league that is here in Medford. Our guys range in age from 6-8, they are wild, they are wacky, and they are worth every minute spent with them. Their youthful exuberance at playing the game gives me joy. What makes me even happier as a first year coach is that they are winning. I am not sure we are supposed to keep track of that. I can tell you that the guys certainly do. They know what winning feels like. They are undefeated. This is certainly not due to any coaching acumen that I have. This is my first time coaching and because of the group of guys that I have been given we are winning. They want to win, they strive to do well, and they want to be on the field giving their all. They also have to sit, they have to learn to wait and to play in positions they don’t feel are as valuable. They have to work outside their strengths to make the whole team better. They have to learn how to lose. Not just how to lose, but how to lose well. They can define themselves as winners right now but when the first loss comes they may define themselves as losers. How they view who they are is important; this is most likely why in youth sports leagues nowadays we have trophies for all participants. What they base their view of their self on is often tied to their actions, the results they get.

As Christians we have the chance to help people redefine who they are, not based on their actions or the results they get. We have a message that ties who they are to something they have no control over, that is unchanging, that is forever going to be positive, and that can reshape not just their perception of their life but the way they live. We have the chance to help people recognize that they were created to be in relationship with God, that He loves them, and that He has made a way for them to be with Him. We have the chance to offer them a perception of their self that is based on what God see’s when He looks at them and not what they typically measure their life with. God has created each person to be with Him. He wants us all to be His children, alive in His kingdom, living for His purpose. To live in this truth requires surrender to His will and ways. Surrender feels like defeat. And everyone wants to win. How do we convince people that the only way to truly live an undefeated life is to surrender to the ultimate victor? We live in the victory that Christ has provided for us and let other people see what this surrender has done for us. This month, I am asking that we live as an undefeated people because of the things that God has done on our behalf and that we invite people to join us as we learn what it means to be part of Christ’s victorious team.

From the Desk of Jesse Davis:    

Time seems to be speeding up on me. Maybe that is because I keep finding new ways to fill what empty space I have in my schedule. This month has been fun for me but it just seems like it shouldn’t be the end of it already!  I started acting as an assistant coach for a youth soccer club in the area and our first games are coming up in April. This has been a fun time to get out and spend some time with young kids and their families. I have really enjoyed it so far and am looking forward to the next couple months of participating in this fine activity that we know as Soccer.

I have also been blessed by many service opportunities and conversations throughout the month. Let me share the most recent one with you. We got a call from a man named Jason who was in dire need of some company and assistance. He had been going up to Washington to stay with his father for a while and on the trip to Medford his bags were stolen. In one of the bags was his medication to help regulate his blood sugar which he needs due to diabetes. With no money and no place to go here he ended up sleeping outside for a night and finally found his way to a hospital to get assistance when his blood sugar dropped so much that he couldn’t see. He was there for 8 days. He called us to see if we could help him out. He needed clothing and some company for a little while before he was scheduled to head to the bus station and continue his trek north. God let us be a part of his reunion with his dad through providing some clothing and support in payer and fellowship!

In the coming month I am going to be praying for more experiences like the ones I have had with Jason. I am going to see if I can make myself more available for the Kingdom of God in Medford. Will you participate with me in this kind of prayer? Will you ask God to give you chances to help people reconnect and reconcile with their Holy Father? Will you be available for God’s Kingdom purposes in your daily life?

Can it really be the end of February already? This month has flown by for me. I am feeling a bit more settled in and am getting the hang of my schedule a little more every week. I have been spending a lot of time at home. This is nice for the most part but it tends to leave me feeling isolated and alone. That is not good. Feeling alone and isolated can drive us to seek connections that are unhealthy and often dangerous to our relationship with God. Knowing this is true I have been trying to find places with people to connect with.

I was blessed with some wonderful and fun human interaction this past week. On Friday I got to go bowling with some awesome people from our church! I don’t go bowling often so I didn’t have high expectations of a great score (which was fair, I don’t think I broke 100) and just went hoping for a fun time. It was great! I met the couples and a few of their kids and we bowled like no one was watching (hopefully no one was, cause man do I stink!). One of the greatest blessings was getting to know these people better and interact with their kids.

The other blessing I received was on Sunday. Drew Krupp (one of our amazing youth leaders) and I have been meaning to go play some disc golf and finally took the chance to go up to Grants Pass and play at a beautiful course there.  Our first round after not playing together was more about breaking the rust off, and boy was I rusty! While we were playing we met a guy who was playing by himself and asked if he could join us. We said yes and went on to play a couple holes with Shane before his friend Bill came and joined us too. What started as a simple game to get our throws back for Drew and I turned into an afternoon of walking with these two strangers for a little while and chatting back and forth about life and the best disc to throw for a particular shot. It was one of the best days I have had since moving to Oregon!

These two stories remind me of how important it is to be out and engaged with people where they are at. Finding safe spaces to interact with others can be a challenge nowadays. One way we can do this is join people where they are at and walk with them for a bit. Get to know them, have a relationship with them, and open the door for deeper interaction by letting them know they are safe with us.

As we go into March be thinking about what you like to do. Consider places or spaces where people are doing that thing and see if you can join them.  Recognize that your hobbies and activities are important to God’s kingdom. He created you with those gifts and abilities to further His plan of redemption wherever you are.

FROM THE DESK OF JESSE DAVIS  January. It is a month of new beginnings. We make resolutions to start the New Year right. We decide that we are going to live differently this year! As a church we have made that decision to live differently. We have a new pastor and are going to be doing things a little differently in the coming years. Who we are does not change, we are still going to be the Body of Christ. What we do does not change, we are still going to love people and honor God in all we do. How we do things is going to change, a little bit to start with and maybe more than we are all comfortable with in the end.

We do not have to be afraid of the coming year. God is at work today and we are going to be a part of that work. He wants us to take part in the redemption of this city. How can we say no to that? The opportunity that God is giving us in the coming year is to seek out new ways of connecting with people and building relationships which will impact lives for the Kingdom. As we build on the foundation that we have here we have a major advantage. We know this city. We know its people and its culture. We can use what we know to further the Gospel in this place if only we will offer our days to Jesus.

Over the coming months we are going to be looking at the Gospel of Matthew and who Jesus is. We are going to study this because there is no better way to see how a group of people can impact their surroundings by learning from Jesus than reading about the disciples and their Teacher. Please continue to be involved with this process of learning and growing with us here on Sunday’s and throughout the week so that we can impact this community for Christ.