All posts tagged: backyardmissions

Lesson learned from trimming vines

June 21, 2022 Merlin Gonzales blog, KIOM, Latest News

No, this is not about how to trim vines growing on your brick wall.

First of all, it’s a lot of work to have vines growing on your walls. However, it is pretty. My wife always tells me that we have the most gorgeous house in our little community. So, I have a mantra that I recite when trimming the vines… “I love my wife, I love my wife, I love my wife…” This is about life’s application based on simple practical reflection. During Spring, our Boston Ivy grows like the vine at Jack and the Beanstalk. Throughout the years, I have had to trim it at least 4 times! Yesterday, I decided to trim it for the 2nd time this year. I was very meticulous. Then, after I finished the entire trimming, I noticed a small vine that I missed!!

You can be so particular in details and miss the big picture. This is similar in life, we can be so into the nitty-gritty, and in the end, our wasted exhausting emotion was not necessary.

Let’s not go too extreme on this notion. Details are very important in life.

My message is Balance. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. It’s ok to be imperfectly perfect. There’s always room for improvement, learning, and acknowledging our humanity. It is more exciting to know that there are always new things to learn as we go through life being imperfect than assuming we have arrived at perfection.

You are Not the center of it all…

March 27, 2022 Merlin Gonzales blog, Message

I received a call in September 2021.

It was a surprise call. ” Would you like to go to Israel…, all expenses paid?“, a friend of mine asked. I thought he was kidding! No one would offer someone an all-expenses paid 10-day trip to Israel, especially, I haven’t heard from him for a while.

It was for real!

After exchanging phone calls with my friend, I knew it was for real. However, I tried not to be too excited because it was too good to be true. In spite of my feelings, I went ahead and prepared everything for the trip in December – my passport, my credentials and everything. However, just 2 weeks before we were to depart, the COVID restriction did not allow us to leave.

This is not going to happen

“I was right“, I said to myself affirming that this trip was not going to happen. I was bummed out nonetheless. Then right after Christmas, my wife and I contracted Covid. Then in late January, my hope was renewed when I received an email from the sponsoring ministry – @IsraelCollective that we are going to Israel on Feb. 7th!

My hopes suddenly raised up to higher expectations!

On Feb. 7th, 2022, I found myself in an airplane en route to New York on to Israel.

At Mt. Of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan Riven and Bethsaida.

Days later, I was taking pictures of the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, Jerusalem, the Temple walls, Bethlehem, etc.

Perhaps I will share with you more of the details of my trip but this blog is not about my trip…

… it is about what God is doing in our lives.

It was not solely about the journey

I believe in popular saying to enjoy the journey. However, after my wonderful journey to the Holy Land, I found out it was not so much about the trip…

… it was about God’s message to me. It was not about the location but about the condition of my heart… about my personal relationship with Jesus. Although I can say that I walked where Jesus walked and proved to myself that there is a Dead Sea and the Mt. of Olives, what hit me the most was “the Jesus in flesh” – the people who chose to be in a land where most people thought it was a peaceful place, a holy place in the earth.

On contrary

Most of us thought Israel is a peaceful place to live. It is not! While I was there, Syrians launched missile to Israel but they intercepted it. We visited the borders of Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip… I can tell you from what I gathered, Israel is in turmoil more than the US. As Steve Khoury, a second generation Pastor of the largest Arab Evangelical church in east Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, wrote in his book, “It the Backyard of Jesus” Close encounters with death haunt me everyday, keeping me in touch with the reality that without Christ my battle is already lost.

However, I felt safe walking alone at night in the small and dark streets of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv than the streets of Indianapolis, the surrounding countries are at war against them. Somehow, the rich history of Israel, mainly the Jews in the Old Testament, the birth of Jesus and the expansion of Christianity, the Muslim conquest of the Levant that led to the submission of Jerusalem in 637-638 AD, the series of religious wars or the Crusade that started in 1099 AD and countless religious, political and cultural interactions, the inhabitants learned to live in diversity.

Our lives

There are random things that happen to our lives and we try our best to fit them in our small boxes. Sometimes we make our judgment based on our limited perception and experience. We live a world where ourselves come first before others. However, the Scripture says we should honor others – It is better to give than to receive, to be first, you have to be the last, treat others as you would want to be treated…

God is the center of the universe, not us.

So in this short message, I hope that you saw what God is doing in our midst. He is omnipresent and knows what we are going through in our lives. You and I are not the center of the universe… it is God!

An unusual day

November 15, 2021 Merlin Gonzales Backyard Missions, blog, FHL Food Pantry

I still remember when the government first announced the severity of the spread of the pandemic.

A historical event

March 13, 2020, was the date that many of us will remember. It was the day when President Trump declared a nationwide emergency due to COVID-19. As I was trying to keep up with the news on Thursday, March 19th, I watched a TV broadcast about a priest who was doing a drive-by confession.

“He might do it”

The next day March 20, 2020, I stopped by my church to visit my wife; she works there. The streets were clear of traffic for a Friday morning. In the church building, there were only a few people around. “The pandemic is real”, I told myself as I was phasing back and forth on a church hallway. As my pastor was passing by, I told him how innovative was the priest who came up with a drive-by confession. He smiled as he said (because he said I might do it) that a vacant Starbucks building at an intersection close to the church could a great drive-thru prayer. However, even before he finished his sentence, I thought came to mind that it would be a great drive-thru food pantry.

A burning building

The thought of a drive-thru food pantry stayed with me for the next 2 hours until I decided to drive by the building to check it out. I have been to that same building several times when it was open. It had been vacated and empty for about 2 years. I remembered when they closed it, the leader of the missional food pantry at my church came to me and asked for my advice if he should ask the manager to donate the coffee tables and chairs. He found out that they were giving it away since they want to have new coffee shop furniture at their new location – no more than 100 feet away from that building! But that day was different. I had a feeling of certainty. I parked my car in front of the building.

It seemed to me that the building was burning… in my heart.

I saw a sign in the front of the building that it was for lease and the number to call. Without any hesitancy, I called the number. A leasing agent answered me. I told him that I would like to turn the building into a drive-thru food pantry since many people have been laid off and it would be a strategic location since it is one of the busiest intersections in that part of town.

He said that he will speak with the Starbucks contact and will get back to me. I thought he was just trying to get me off the phone. I said to myself, “That was the end of my vision”, and I did not expect any callback.

The bush was not burning!

By around 4 pm, my phone rang! The leasing agent said he has someone in line to speak with me. I had mixed emotions at that point… “Was my idea a flop or is it from God?” As I was being introduced to an executive from Starbucks in Seattle, Washington, my head was computing data at the speed of light!

After a brief introduction of all the parties involved, I share my vision with the Starbucks executive, “We are not asking for money”, I said. I shared my vision that it would be a great community service if his company would allow us to use the vacant building as a drive-thru food pantry. “It would be a great help to the residents of the community where they’re doing business”, I added.

To my surprise, the executive said that he will speak with their legal department for consideration.

Doing good is part of the pact

August 20, 2016 Merlin Gonzales a Study on God's Dominion, blog, KIOM

Many times Jesus led His disciples in doing good.

Action speaks louder than voice

Acts 10:38, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”

Our model

The early disciples knew that Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him. He was a promoter of outreaches. He did not stay in synagogue or places of worship but he went around to show everyone God’s love in every realm of their lives – spiritual, physical, financial, emotional, etc.

Jesus set an example for His disciples to follow – love others both in word and in action. He would normally go ahead of the disciples to show them how to help others, how to pray and how to be supernaturally natural – the basics of expanding the Kingdom.

Jesus did not stay behind a desk or in the temple and just gave instructions to His disciples to do the job. He did not just organize things, wrote the vision and the plan, nor just did the research and came up with a timeline for his disciples to implement while He evaluate their progress. Instead, Jesus presented the Gospel in its fullness.

His generation

In order to get the message into the minds of people, Jesus told the story of a man who was going on a road less travelled from Jerusalem to Jericho – because it is a dangerous place where robbers and thugs hang out. He concluded that this man was attacked by robbers, took everything he had including his clothes and left him half dead. Then, a priest happen to pass by the same road, saw the man but passed by on the other side. Later, a Levite passed by and did the same thing. Soon, a Samaritan passed by and helped the man immediately and made sure the man was taken care of afterwards. (Luke 10:25-37)

Our generation

Consequently, it’s not hard to locate places like that road from Jerusalem to Jericho in our cities. Last year, the former Indianapolis Mayor identified 6 most dangerous Indy-area neighborhoods. Recently, IMPD created an equation called Social Disorder Index to identify which areas have the most crime and which crimes are occurring in those areas. Similarly, the priests (preachers) and the Levites (those who assist the religious people) of our time would normally drive by these neighborhoods on a regular basis. But how many times have we seen clergies giving a cup of cold water to one of these little ones (Matthew 10:42) or praying for healing at street corners?

My experience working with leaders and pastors, reveal that the majority are very active in delivering persuasive speeches to influence the thought and conduct of an audience. They use many venues such as places of worship or different forms of media and the Internet. They come up with different trainings, conferences, religious jargons and fancy phrases. They are so compelling and yet, we can hardly see most of them in the hood. They are very good in casting visions and in creating plans for others to do. Although it is partially true, our generation has accepted the norm that leaders should lead, assess the situations and train others who in turn would implement his or her plan. The leaders were supposed to rally the people and get them excited but many of them stay behind a desk or a podium. They were to train and to equip their people but your can hardly see them model what they teach out in the mission field.

His ministry

Based on the examples of Jesus and on the action of the early disciples, the Gospel spread quickly, people received healing (both physically and spiritually) and the disciples were trained more effectively. By being hands-on and by putting what they learned in action immediately, the disciples were able to come up with what the society needs and better solutions to cope with the rapid growth of the movement.

Normally, while Jesus was busy doing good, the Pharisees and Sadducees were busy criticizing Him. One occasion Jesus told them “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3) Stop criticizing and analyzing; just to do it. Jesus may say, “You will learn more as you do the ministry and revelation will come as you experience My teachings.”

“But I have sermons to prepare, I have budget to balance and I have training materials I have to finish”, some leaders may say. But Jesus is saying to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)

Jesus did the unusual not because He wants to be different but because He was influencing the people to accept the dimension of the Kingdom – in words and in action. His prayer was “Thy Kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – doing and being. Doing is part of the pact!

Our “personal” ministry

It behooves me to encourage you to experience the blessings in serving in the field. This not to say that you are not but to continue to lift you up as you do ministry. Not only you would experience the favor that God has given you but also to witness the manifestation of your prayers. As you see miracles happen before your eyes, you would have more testimonial of the presence of the living God inside of you (not to dazzle people with you experience, but to exhort them in their faith). It would help you to evaluate your spiritual walk as you engage in “ministry” and help validate your personal ministry. You will see the true picture of your calling and you will be amazed how God collaborates with you as you do the stuff.

God bless you,

Merlin

It’s really working!

March 18, 2016 Merlin Gonzales blog, KIOM

Getting Involved

When I experienced the blessing in serving, I can’t stop getting involved!

I volunteered at my church. I volunteered at a hospital, I volunteered at an orphanage. I volunteered at nursing homes. I volunteered in prisons. I went outside the US to do short-term mission trips! I cleaned toilets, picked up trash, served in soup kitchens, washed feet of homeless, and shoveled snow for an elderly who was stuck in her house. I did street evangelism, I preached at elderly homes, I organized Easter egg hunt, Christmas gifts deliveries, Christian concerts at a Coliseum, closed the main streets in downtown Indy for prayer rally, mobilized thousands of volunteers and spoke at different churches.

As I look back, I have learned in the streets, in classrooms, in board rooms, in seminars and in conferences. I lost money from scams, gave resources to con artists and helped many people in need.

Teaching Others

Throughout the years, I learned and I applied what I learned. I started teaching others what I learned as well. I spoke at any place where people let me and I give my testimonial whenever I can. I teach, consult and coach pastors, community leaders and employees. I speak and preach in front of congregation, government officials, school systems and the general public.

I started companies, organizations and publications! I created manuals, procedures and teaching materials. I migrated from Asia to North America. I lived in Indiana, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi and back to Indianapolis. I visited several countries in Europe, Central and South America.

Preaching

Teaching

Serving

Through my exploration, I learned early in my career that experience is a great teacher. Conceptualizing a notion is good but you do not know for sure if it would work until you try it! You have to prove it by actually experiencing it. I have experienced a lot of ups and downs, successes and failures.

My journey to learn and to teach others started in early 2000’s. My ignorance and my enthusiasm got me quickly to places where many experienced people were not able to. I didn’t know any better so I was not afraid to try something new! Some worked, some not, but in the process I was accelerating my learning curve.

Now, I am passionate to reach out to others who are willing to invest their time, talent and treasure to make a difference and to leave a legacy for future generations. I love seeing people progressed because they start to believe in themselves. I like encouraging others because I normally see their potential even though they doubt themselves.

Your Challenge

I like to challenge my clients to reach out to others because in the process of helping others, they actually help themselves. They experience the teachings of the Bible that it is better to give than to receive. They come to see that in the process of healing is serving, that simple things can make a big impact in others. These things really work!

To benefit from my years of educations and experience, please contact me at [email protected] and receive a complimentary assessment. Or sign up for KIOM class registration here. Begins April 28!