Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Genesis 12:1-4a
It was the summer of 2000 when I arrived in Long Beach, CA, to work at a Laotian church on the west side of the city. I had spent the past spring and a week before I came to the congregation raising money, studying, and preparing for my summer-long stay. I didn’t know what to expect, but one thing was definite —– when I stepped out of the van and onto Anaheim Avenue, I knew I was no longer in Nashville.
Everywhere I looked, I saw people who looked different than me, spoke different languages, lived in smaller houses, wore different clothes and ate different foods. In sum, Long Beach was not the same as the Music City, but I quickly learned that God would use this place to alter my life forever.
Over the course of the summer, as I spent numerous hours with Laotian families and youth from the church giving Bible studies, taking kids to the beach, building skateboard ramps, holding talent shows for the community, leading worship services, hanging out with teens into the wee hours of the night, playing basketball, going on camping trips, and even participating in a mission trip, I was profoundly changed. During these activities, the youth and families of New Life Church of the Nazarene blessed me and taught me the beauty of Christian community. Not only that, but they also revealed to me the virtues of patience, love, acceptance and humility in ways I had never seen before.
So, when my time with New Life concluded, I realized my life had been altered forever. I realized I would never look at the church the same way again because I felt that God was calling Christians to overcome racial strife, ethnic particularities, historical oppression and petty differences in an effort to point to God’s love, justice and peace.
I still carry those lessons with me today and I know that if I hadn’t “set out” from my own “Haran” my life may not have been changed to believe in such things. And, who knows, maybe God has called you to leave your own “Haran” and just maybe, if you dare to hear that call, you will be changed as well!
Grace and peace,
Dr. Brandon Winstead, Director of High School Ministries
