Redeemer East Side Update

The theologian Lesslie Newibigin argued that the church has an important contribution to make to the renewal of secular societies. He says that “The chief contribution of the Church to the renewing of social order is to be itself a new social order.” What he is getting at is that the most compelling way that a church can serve its neighbors is for itself to be a joyfully and unapologetically different sort of human community. That is, to display in the quality of its community life that there is an entirely different way of being human together.

One of these chief differences is the church as a community of mercy and compassion for the least, the last, the lowest and the lost. Because the church has its origin in the undeserved mercy of God in Jesus Christ, one of its distinguishing marks must be the depths of the mercy it shows to others.

The month of October is a time when members of Redeemer East Side can recommend fellow members to lead and serve the church as elder, deacon or deaconess, all to help us grow as a community of uncommon mercy. (By the way, if you aren’t yet a member, what are you waiting for? Join us now!) Is there someone who has listened to you with compassion in a time of trouble? Is there someone in your Community Group that has demonstrated great humility and empathy for others? Has a volunteer in the Children’s Ministry shown you or your kids a special love and concern? If so, consider taking a moment now to recommend them. And don’t be surprised if you’re recommended by a friend. Sometimes we are the last to see the gifts that God has given to us.

Rev. Abraham Cho
East Side Senior Pastor

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In 2014 after much consideration and some hesitation, I accepted a recommendation to serve as a deaconess. Things were going well for me at the time and I thought I had a sense of inner peace. I was performing well at a good job, feeling more rooted in New York City and at home in my church. There had been many ups and downs in the years leading to this point but it felt like I reached another peak and I was savoring the moment. Romans 5:4 says “but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Theoretically this all sounded very good, but I had made an idol out of comfort, and I sought to preserve and protect it. We often use the phrase “stepping outside of a comfort zone” and for me the zone was a walled fortress. I was afraid of what was on the other side of the wall.

Thankfully, God is infinitely wise and loving. Shortly after completing the training, I learned that my dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer. I work at a cancer hospital and thought I knew what to expect but that offered no immunity to the uncertainties of a life-threatening illness. It was an unexpected personal experience to see the suffering on the other side of this disease, and I found myself leaning into my training as a deaconess to minister to my family. Through this, God reordered the idols of my heart, as he continued to tear down the walls of my comfort zone.

I found myself relying on God through the after-service prayer ministry. As a new deaconess, I was a bit terrified to be up front awaiting a potentially uncomfortable prayer request. What if I said the wrong thing or didn’t know what to say? Through these encounters God reassured me that his Holy Spirit is here with us. I was amazed by people’s vulnerability to share a personal prayer request and to come forward with faith and hope in God’s goodness and sovereignty. I was equally amazed by the number of times that the prayer request was for a friend or family member battling cancer. It was as if I had been standing up front with a tag that said “I've been there too.” Often I would leave the sanctuary with a heavy heart but at the same time encouraged because I now had a deeper understanding of this type of suffering. For me, prayer was not just an utterance of words; it was hope in God’s faithfulness. The Holy Spirit was at work providing a new kind of comfort for me. A kind that has no walls or boundaries and works to quiet fears. Initially I viewed prayer up front after service as a way to minister to others, but in reality I was being ministered to and restored.

By the grace of God my dad was able to have definitive surgery to remove the cancer from his body, and he has remained cancer free for five years. It hasn’t been easy for me to always surrender all the details to the Lord. In these five years there have been seasons of light and darkness but the one constant present throughout has been hope. We read in Romans 5:5 “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” What a beautiful and undeserved gift, given to us through the suffering of our savior Jesus, that we can be comforted by God’s love and have hope.

Kristin's testimony was originally shared at a worship service in October 2019.

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