Chrysalis Corner    

 April 2008

             Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.   John 14:27 (NIV)

            My heart has been troubled lately....  

            The past few months have been full of the normal stress and strains that can so often take the smile from our face and generally leave us weary.  Thankfully, our wonderful and loving Father surrounds us with reminders of just how much He loves us.  Whether it's a beautiful clear morning, a smile, or the sight of 1,200 middle schoolers coming through the doors at 7:45am (OK, that one doesn't ALWAYS work for me...), God always goes all out to prove He loves us.  For the most part, I'm quickly healed and appropriately humbled.  

            Over the past month or so, however, I have been truly heartbroken over the actions taken by The Upper Room ® through its attorneys.  Our NCA Emmaus and Chrysalis communities are facing possible legal action for alleged copyright/trademark infringement.  Both Boards of Directors have worked very hard to eliminate any possible source of concern on our websites and in our materials.  Our attorney has responded on our behalf, yet my heart is still troubled.

            Our history of working toward compromise with The Upper Room ® in the past has not met with a great deal of success.  Their hard line approach resulted in our vote to end our affiliation with them - something any of our members are still trying to heal from.  I'm not convinced that our letter that was so wonderfully centered on continuing the work of Christ in our communities will touch the hearts it needs to, but my prayer is that it will.

            I'm heartbroken that The Upper Room ®, an arm of the United Methodist Church, is sending in its legal soldiers before attempting to find a way in which we can all continue to serve Christ as we are led.  As a member of the United Methodist Church, I find it incredible that "my" church would endorse these actions - I'm just not seeing Christ in all of this.  I am eternally grateful for those around me who have continued to love and remind me that the real answer will come through prayer.

            It's my prayer that the legal matters will be quickly settled in a way in which we can all be true servants to Christ, using our own wonderfully unique talents to make someone's relationship with Him just a bit more personal.  I pray that as we work toward a resolution that I may be someone my Father would be proud of.

            Thank you for your love and your prayers - you have no idea what a blessing you have been!        

Fly With Christ!

Jon Perkins

NCA Chrysalis Lay Director