Craig Finnestad: August 2015

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Friday, August 21, 2015

Ty and Terri's Journey of Faith, Hope, and Love

About seven or eight years ago this woman from a local non-profit called me and wanted to meet. I had heard of The Hope Center for Kids before. I told her I would check my schedule and get back to her. I didn’t. My avoidance wasn’t going to work for her. She called again. I agreed to meet with her and her husband at the Scooter’s at 180th and Q Streets.

Me and Ty at the 2014 Omaha Midnight Run

I was a few minutes late. Ty and Terri Schenzel were waiting for me. They thought it was weird I don’t drink coffee. I thought the meeting was about them raising money and support for their ministry. I was wrong. They asked about me, the church, my dreams. They genuinely cared about me. They prayed for me and with me. We entered the coffee shop as strangers and left as friends.

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. -1 Corinthians 13:12-13

A few weeks later, Ty gave me a tour of the Hope Center. Wow! What amazed me was the way Ty related to the kids. I studied love for three years at one of the world’s great seminaries. But love was right here in front of me being lived out as well as I’ve ever seen it being lived out.

Starting the Hope Center for Kids wasn’t easy for them. It took faith and lots of it. It would have been much easier for them to stay in the local church. They were good enough they could have gone pretty much anywhere. But God had different plans. From the ground up they built God’s dream one tear, one broken heart, one donor, one sleepless night, one glimmer of hope at a time. It wasn’t easy. But nothing rewarding in life is ever easy. Between their faith in God’s love for them, their love for each other, and the their love for people—failure didn’t have a chance.

Ty was a regular speaker at The Water’s Edge. He is the best preacher I have ever heard on a regular basis. He was always insightful and funny. But the thing that made him different was the way he connected to people. It goes back to that love thing.

Terri was as good behind the scenes as Ty was up front. They were partners in ministry and in marriage. She spoke to our women. Her talks were filled with hope and were a rare blend of truth and grace. Whenever I asked her how things were going, she talked about her kids and grandkids. In life’s most blessed role, she was a champion. It goes back to that love thing again.

Ty and I weren't best friends. But we were friends. And he treated me that way he treated everyone: with love. I went through a really tough time a few years ago. He was on vacation in California. He called and for 45 minutes didn’t take a vacation from loving. His words of hope and his willingness to listen was what I needed when I needed it. I had the flu really bad last February on a Saturday night. One call and five minutes later I had an incredible guest preacher and a woman who was praying for me. This is the kind of people they were: filled with faith, hope, and love.

The tragedy in life isn't when somebody dies too young. The tragedy is when somebody of any age dies who has never lived. Ty and Terri lived an amazing life as a couple, as parents, as grandparents, as pastors, as spiritual entrepreneurs, as travelers, and as children of God--brother and sister to Jesus Christ.

The end isn’t death. The end is life. Jesus told us so. We celebrate two amazing lives and we celebrate God’s amazing promises. Simultaneously, we say goodbye. That isn’t easy. Laugher and tears. Questions and memories. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror.

Terri and Ty now see everything with perfect clarity. Death isn’t the end. The end is life. Terri and Ty—You strengthened my faith, increased my hope, and showed me God’s love. For that I’m grateful. Countless others are too.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Labels and Understanding

Thoughts from an orthodontist office:

I've observed an inordinate amount of division in culture and churches lately. People generously grant labels to others who don't think, speak, and act like them. Søren Kierkegaard wrote: "Once you label me you negate me." He was correct. Words like progressive and evangelical; boomer and millennial; liberal and conservative; black and white; socialist and capitalist--they negate and all fall short of describing a person who is way too complex to be defined by only a few words. The labels promote division and not unity or solidarity. The labels usually have more to do with the one giving the label than the one receiving the label. Communication seems to be more about defining who is correct and who is wrong--which, in the grand scheme of things, are just two more unhelpful labels. So I'm guessing things would be a lot different in our culture and in our churches if we stopped labeling others and started listening for the purpose of understanding and not responding. A world with fewer labels and more understanding would be pretty cool.