Today, I had the great honor and privilege to meet Mr. Tom Truszinski, Center Director of the Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge. (if you don't know the mission and ministry of Mn Adult and Teen Challenge - please check out their website - www.mntc.org - this center has been in operation in Rochester for just over a year and is doing amazing things to change lives!)
I met with Tom for two reasons. First, my dear friend Kel Mulholland (who past away a couple of months ago after a lengthy battle with lukemia) was on the staff for awhile. Kel was a man of deep faith and many talents; Kel admitted to me that although he had several jobs and careers throughout his life, he described his work with the residents of Teen Challenge as "finally finding his sweet spot." I was visiting the center because I wanted to learn more about the work that Kel did that he found so rewarding.
Second, my church - Community Presbyterian Church (www.cpcplainview.com) is hosting Minnesota Teen and Adult Challenge in worship on Sunday, May 3rd. They will be leading us in worship through their choir and their testimonies. I'm am so excited to not only hear these stories but for my congregation to hear these stories. There is power in hearing the story of how - through Jesus Christ - the lost have become found.
One of my favorite things to discover is one's passion. I don't know if you know what I mean - but I love it when I can find something that the person I am talking with is passionate about. It's a special thing to experience - because they get so animated and excited. And I think it is an indication that they are doing God's work and the Holy Spirit is working through them.
Tom Truszinski is such an individual. When he was giving me a tour of the facility and introducing me to the staff and the residents of the program, I could feel his passion. He knows that he is doing good work, holy work, faithful work - hard work to be sure - but blessed work. Tom's passion was contagious. A couple of times he got teary-eyed telling me the stories about how he came to be the director and about how he has seen lives changed through the power of the God we know and worship in Jesus Christ. It was a powerful experience for me.
Last Sunday in my sermon, I said that God is not finished yet. And I believe that with my whole heart. Even though death has been defeated in the power of the cross - God is not finished yet. This is true in my own life. When I am completely honest with myself, I know that I fall well short of the glory God intends for me...and yet God does not leave me there - but continues to guide me and shape me into the person, the pastor, the disciple, the John Curtiss, that I am intended to be.
God is not finished yet. But God is doing amazing things. Come to worship this week and hear some of those stories.
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