Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Category: Faith and Service
Take a long look at this cross. It's probably unlike any other you've seen. The metal is not just woven wire; it's barbed wire.
Here’s why: Yes, it commemorates Jesus’s crown of thorns. But it also commemorates where so many makers of these crosses formerly lived—incarcerated behind barbed wire. And it celebrates their redemption by that cross.
In March 2019, the Messiah College men’s club soccer team flew to Phoenix for a sports ministry trip. Beyond the soccer matches, the coach and 18 players served the community in food banks and through soccer clinics and, perhaps most powerfully, by visiting a Christian-based drug and alcohol rehab ranch called Teen Challenge.
The team had prepared for that part of the visit by reading the missionary classic, "The Cross and the Switchblade," which is the stunning story of the supernatural launch of Teen Challenge. In reality, though, that didn’t come close to preparing them for what they experienced on March 18.
As it turned out, the team had gotten itself into a transformational day that they may remember for the rest of their lives. Zigarelli continued, “Most of these guys—many from gangs and prisons—are now sold-out, born-again believers, in part due to the efforts of this holistic ministry. As Jesus said, those who are forgiven much love much, and never was that more evident to us than in the raw but real faith of these guys at the newly-named Adult and Teen Challenge."
The groups played soccer and then ate lunch at the ministry ranch. At that meal, two Messiah students, Benny Cole '21 and Nathan Ncube '22, humbly but boldly shared brief testimonies of what God has been doing in their lives.
Later, around lunch tables and over games of pool and cornhole, the Messiah team heard countless personal stories of tragedy and triumph.
The team met Carlos, formerly a leader in a Mexican drug cartel, but now an aspiring pastor and missionary who wants to return to his roots to evangelize his family. He knows it will probably cost him his life, but he’s all-in.
They also met Colby, a guy whose soccer injuries left him with an addiction to pain meds and then to harder stuff and then with a restraining order, keeping him from his girlfriend and daughter. Months later, Colby passed them in the aisle of a store. His ex said to their daughter, “and that’s your daddy.” With the order prohibiting him from speaking to them, Colby could only watch as his daughter’s expression went from excited to straight-faced to downcast as daddy did not say a word when they passed. He quickly left, breaking down in tears in his car and committing that day to finally getting clean.
Some on the team met Philip, too, a 50-something guy who spends his days making wooden crosses for the ministry to sell to donors. As he quietly talked about his work, he offered a tour of his workshop, which turned out to be a small, sawdusty garage with a whiff of wire. With the kind of pride that comes from having meaningful work, Philip described his assembly process, giving the team a finished product for no charge. When they asked him to sign his work, he beamed but deferred. “Man, I’m just a carpenter,” he said. But one look at this cross and it was clear that he’s an artist. After a second prompting, Philip did autograph it and posed for a picture. It’s a beautiful piece of work, representing a beautiful ministry.
As the team later reflected on the day’s events, most striking to them was the God’s boundless grace and redemptive power. “What the Holy Spirit is doing in these men, despite their past,” said Coach Zigarelli, “was an unforgettable reminder to us of what it looks like when God forgives our sin, despite our past.”
Indeed, it looks a little like barbed wire on a cross.