We figured whoever God sent us, that was who he wanted us to work with. Three weeks into Westbridge, I told Mark, "We need a lead guitarist. Think you can give up playing rhythm and learn lead?"
"I'll give it a try," said Mark, who loves his guitars. Within months of starting lessons, Mark was a staple every Saturday night. Kids ran to him to sit on his lap and the friendless found their best friend in my guitar-playing brother.
When the high school drama teacher showed up and announced she was in, we figured God wanted drama. When musicians showed up, we increased our band's size. As tech people showed up, our tech got increased and upgraded. God's hand was quite evident.
Attendance was almost 200 and everyone was discovering and using their spiritual gifts when we got the horrible news that Mark had leukemia. It didn't just hit Mark; it hit all of us.
Mark is the kindest, most unassuming guy there is. He loves people, he adores children, and they love him.
We buckled under the diagnosis.
Within days Mark started treatment. The doctors said he would get very sick. That turned out to be a gross understatement. Mark looked on the verge of death. I took my turn waiting on Mark through the night. When he woke up shivering, he would ask about Westbridge and have me describe the service in detail to him. I would describe it as if it was the greatest event that had ever taken place and that he was responsible for getting it going.
Our tech guys were hard at work devising a way to bring Westbridge to Mark in the hospital. A video camera was purchased and wireless capabilities expanded. Our tech guys were relentless to get this to Mark. Oh, lest I forget, Westbridge runs totally on a volunteer staff, with an operating budget of $85,000 a year.
By the second Saturday our tech guys pulled it off. A laptop was taken to the hospital and placed in front of Mark. At 7 p.m. the service was video broadcast to him live over our website. It was glitchy, but it worked.
Source: Drew Clinebell, leadershipJournal.net
Comments |  RSS |
|
