Oil For a Change Recap Video

Oil For a Change

If you live in Jackson and know single moms in the area or you are a single mom yourself, this might make your day . . .

Imagine a line of cars outside of a local Auto Care business full of single moms and their kids waiting to get their oil changed, fluids checked, some hot dogs and drinks, and a car wash--ALL FOR FREE. This weekend!

Oil For a Change is a cooperative effort between Westwinds and Choice
Auto Sales and Service of Jackson. This year, on May 21st and September 10th, Oil For a Change will give away free food, car washes, and oil changes to over 300 single moms (165 each date).

Last summer, Ben Redmond and I did a message series entitled “Jesus Jackson” where we discussed how Jesus would respond to issues specific to Jackson and the people who live here—unemployment, underemployment, Jackson’s view of itself, opportunities to heal the community, the young and old, transplants and native Jacksonians, our work ethic, hope for the city, etc. We asked, “What would Jesus care about in Jackson? What would compel him? What would make him sad? What would he celebrate?”

I spoke one particular Sunday and mentioned a list of dreams I had for the city while encouraging others to dream in the same way letting people know “You can’t separate who you are from where you live,” and “God wants to use what you do and who you are to impact this place in a way that only you can.”

After hearing the list of dreams and being encouraged to imagine ways individuals could help Jackson, Carmela Lazarus, a local business owner and Allegiance Health employee, approached me with an idea. She heard me mention in a long list of dreams an idea to change the oil in the cars of single mothers as a display of hope and healing for our town.

Carmela (whose name has an accent on the first syllable) said, “My husband Chuck and I own a business where we service cars. I think we could actually do something like this.”

And so, the idea for Oil for a Change was born.

You can listen to one of the interviews we did on local radio station 89.3 The Message below.

Oil For a Change 89.3 Interview

On Christmas Eve, Westwinds Church traditionally gives an offering to something in the community that offers hope. We told the story of our dream for Oil For a Change and on December 24, 2010, Westwinds raised enough money to change the oil in the cars of over 300 single mothers.

Tickets for oil changes are available in advance at Westwinds, Choice Auto Sales and Service, or the day of the event at Choice Auto Sales and Service. While we don’t want to turn anyone away, supplies are limited to 165 each weekend. Your best bet is to get advance tickets or show up early.

National Day of Prayer--Prayer for Jackson

David and I were asked to pray for the city and county of Jackson today in Bucky Harris Park, downtown Jackson. I don't usually write my prayers out but I did for this. You can read David's prayer here. Below is my prayer:

Lord, this is not an incantation. No magic words. We hold no sway over you. We do not control you. We do not somehow release your hidden power.

YOU are our God. We are your children. This is our plea.

Mark us as a people that stand for, not against. Make our rally cries and our shouts be "Jesus." We don’t want to be known as haters and demonstrators. We want to be known by our love for You and one another.

Remind us that no city has ever changed from the outside in. Laws, standards, the right to pray, the claim of a Godly heritage, or association with a person or organization has NEVER made someone righteous. YOU change hearts.

Change our city’s view of herself. We want to hold our head high with “Your kingdom come” as the goal. Your kingdom come, not someday in the future, not as a rescue, not as an escape from something, but right here and now—changing the landscape.

Strip us of a spirit of entitlement—every one of us. Make us givers.

Help our city regain her title as an epicenter for the arts and industry. When we see the photos in businesses around Jackson of how it used to be, remind us of what it can be again.

Squash the stories of how we had a choice to host a college or a prison and chose the prison. That story is tired and damaging. And help us love those prisoners and their families—they aren’t a stain on Jackson. You’ve entrusted us with them.

We’ve seen the maps with famous movie stars and football coaches who came from Jackson. We pray those maps would include average people with extraordinary dreams who changed this place in Your name.

Remind us not to play the comparison game with surrounding cities and help us learn from one another. We don’t want a little brother or sister complex.

When we hold up our right hand resembling our state and point to that spot on our hand to show where we live, we want to do it with pride.

Our prayer is that our kids wouldn’t grow up and say, “I can’t wait to leave this town.” But, rather, "I can’t wait to invest here."

That Jackson would not be our Nineveh—no half-hearted prayers, no hatred, just complete obedience.

No longer do we want to hear “last one out of Jackson turn out the lights.” Make us an idea machine, a beacon of hope, a change agent, a city on a hill. Please.

Help make our parks and public areas safe and inviting.

We pray for jobs to become available. Instill in all of us a work ethic—working for You. Working for the kingdom.

Give us dreams and ideas dangerous to the kingdom of hell

We pray we won’t be sponges that take from the city but streams of water providing life and vitality.

We don’t want to just exist here. We want to live.

We pray we would not waste resources but protect, conserve, be good stewards, take care, and build up our city.

We ask for businesses to flourish and to be marked by generosity.

No barriers between races.

No delineation between neighborhoods

Make us proactive in issues of poverty, health, economy, and environment.

We pray for our youth center being built in this town. We pray we can create a place to invest in our kids. They are not our future. They are our here and now. We need them. Help us love them.

We pray our media outlets would be flooded with stories of redemption in Jackson.

Psalm 127:1 “Guard the city”

Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.

We don’t want to be laborers that labor in vain. We don’t want to pretend to guard without You.

Proverbs 11:9-11 “Bless the city”

⁹ With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors,
but through knowledge the righteous escape.

¹⁰ When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

¹¹ Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed.

¹² Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,
but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.

Make us a people who bless.

In the name of our Savior. Your Son. Jesus Christ. Amen.

They Aren't JUST Quirks #2

This is the second post in the series I promised on plumblines—“They Aren’t JUST Quirks.” I highly suggest you read the first post first. In short, plumblines are those things a leader believes about ministry that shape the way he or she leads. A leader doesn’t need to explain them or justify them all the time. Larry Osborne says, “Plumb lines don’t represent the only way to do ministry. They represent your way of doing ministry. So don’t worry if they seem somewhat narrow or controversial or even if they thin the herd…”

Let’s take a look at another Westwinds plumbline.

I’m proud of Westwinds as an Idea Machine. I often feel like I work in a lab where ideas are tried on for size. We are a giant petri dish where ideas flourish.

But often, people will come up to us and suggest an idea. That WE should do. Not them, but us. A great idea for a fundraiser. A ministry. An event. A satellite. An initiative. A company. You name it.

Some of them are quite passionate about their idea and quite passionate about me or someone else making it happen. They are often surprised by my response. Sometimes, they are not too happy with my answers and my lack of willingness to take the reins.

Now, we believe strongly in funding dreams, giving direction, supporting, teaching, etc. But there is a difference between someone telling a leader what he or she should do and asking a leader to coach and support them as they work to shadow God, build the church, and heal the world. At Westwinds, we also believe strongly the church leadership does not exist to see other people’s dreams to fruition.

We have a deep seated belief about owning dreams that is expressed in this plumbline:

Plumbline #1 "What you do flows from who you are."


So we tell our staff, “for any idea/project/dream the leader (the person with the dream or idea) has to supply a truthful vision of the future. The leader has to go deep inside themselves and figure out what they want and why and how in order for it to work.

This is why we sometimes get impatient when other people (lay or staff or elder) come to us with good ideas that they don't want to lead themselves. If any idea is truly worth following through, it must come from somewhere. It must come from within the leader - the person who is willing to sacrifice to see the idea birthed into reality.”

In short . . . “No leader? No ministry” has been echoed many times. That may seem cold to some. After all, when someone comes to us with an idea to hand off to us they usually have in their mind it is the greatest idea in the world, Jesus will be lifted up, the city or world will change, and/or it is the answer to all our financial problems. This all may be true. And if it is, they should lead it. Because no one knows the idea like they do and no one will care for the idea like the one who imagined it.

But then someone will say, “but doesn’t our church always look for good ideas?” The answer is yes. But we still believe the energy to see things to fruition come from within. This is why we all need to stay sharp. I have always been fond of Howard Hendricks’ belief that all his students needed to drink “from a running stream rather than a stagnant pool.” Life long learning, listening, reading, networking, stretching . . . all vital to church leadership.

If someone has an idea at Westwinds, we require they write out their proposal and meet with a ministry leader to give them the steps they need to be successful with everything from promotion to funding to recruiting volunteers to branding and everything in-between. This process is not a hoop, it’s a jumpstart. Sometimes, this process is a moment of truth and the person realizes there is no possible way they can work this dream. Other times, it’s the impetus for self-actualization they need to start on a successful path.

Leaders also need to constantly be reinforcing the Westwinds' people our value that everyone needs perMission to follow the dreams inside of them for God. It is this permission that moves us forward, though we recognize that permission still needs coaching and accountability.