Repurpose And ‘Transform’ [v284]

OCTOBER 2022

The Detroit-based nonprofit, Life Remodeled, ‘repurposed’ the former Durfee Elementary-Middle school into a new “Community Innovation Center.” Now, they want the OPPORTUNITY to do the same ‘REPURPOSING’ and ‘TRANSFORMATION’ of the former Cooley High School—and the surrounding area—just as they did in the Central High School neighborhood.

INTRODUCTION
Every year since 2014, Life Remodeled selected a different Detroit neighborhood to assist them in remodeling a high school, repairing owner-occupied homes, boarding up dangerous vacant houses, and mobilizing volunteers to remove blight from 300-400 surrounding city blocks. In 2017, they selected the Central High School area.

However, this project was a bit different from the ones they had done in the previous three years, since they planned to ‘REPURPOSE’ the Durfee Elementary-Middle public school into a “Community Innovation Center.”

[ VIDEO: “Imagine” (Life Remodeled) ]

When Life Remodeled first began developing the formerly vacant Durfee Middle-Elementary school building into the DIS, many people said that this project “would tank.” Many more said that the DIS would never achieve even 50% occupancy. They said that Life Remodeled would not be able to find enough organizations to move into the DIS because:

– “You’re located in the middle of a neighborhood experiencing significant poverty, and there are no businesses around here!”
– “You have a great vision for organizations to collaborate, but you’ll never get enough traction to make it happen.”
– “This has been tried before, and it didn’t work.”
– “The building is antiquated and inefficient, and you won’t achieve enough revenue to keep it up.”
– “It’s all about location, location, location, and this just isn’t it.”

HOWEVER, just four years later—in June 2021—after A LOT of effort from volunteers and donors, they achieved a MAJOR ‘MILESTONE’: They officially obtained 100% OCCUPANCY in the Durfee Innovation Society (DIS).

It was, in part, due to the fact that Life Remodeled’s ‘KEYS’ to ensuring long-term community transformation in the of areas education, jobs, and human services were:

– Making sure we always have the right tenants providing the right programming
– Keeping them happy
– Helping them become better as a collective whole

At 100% occupancy—with thriving organizations that can prove significant outputs and outcomes—Life Remodeled demonstrated that their model was appealing to many organizations.

So, in order to keep them happy, Life Remodeled created a staff culture and environment that met and exceeded their expectations, charging them a lease rate that was under market value.

As it related to collaboration, they curated monthly tenant socials and quarterly tenant talks, matching up organizations with one another on specific projects, provide opportunities for pro bono engagement with organizations, worked together to distribute resources to the community, and developed a “global marketing strategy” that created more awareness and growth opportunities related to the tenants’ programming.

SO, even though ‘external’ things have changed, the “DIS” continues to exist to create substantial and impactful opportunities for Detroit children and families, while advancing collaboration among eight major sectors in both the city and its surrounding suburbs: Arts; Business; Education; Faith-based; Government; Human services; Media, and Philanthropy.

The vision for the Center is STILL to be a “one-stop-shop” for recreation, job creation, education opportunities, and community building. So, instead of creating new programs themselves, they created a dynamic ‘space’ for the best and brightest to share resources, and achieve greater collective impact. In partnership with students and community leaders, their new tenants “move the needle” on educational outcomes and community revitalization. The organizations provide innovative approaches to education, employment, support for entrepreneurs, and various social services.

Outside entrepreneurs come in to give guest lectures, and students will have the opportunity to learn subjects, like math and finance, with real-world examples from case studies of business ventures taking place within the Center. Community members of all ages will have access to resources and space in order to learn about entrepreneurship and how to start or grow their own businesses. The Center also serves as a valuable community and recreational space for families and their children.

Life Remodeled operates the DIS by leasing over 100,000 square feet to tenants who want a central location, interaction with other cutting-edge businesses, and are passionate about building community inside and outside the building.

These organizations saw the opportunity to team up with like-minded organizations to better serve and strengthen the community, and are already finding out that they are better together just by association and creating a beneficial ‘ecosystem’ inside the building. Life Remodeled staff also fosters communication and interaction among the DIS tenants to identify ways to share resources, referrals, and how they can collaborate in other ways.

Services at the center now include job mentoring, training and/or placement in areas like computer coding, marketing, retail, construction, the electrician field, basic social services, behavioral health, business support, literacy programs, foster care, and adoption services, senior services, and violence prevention programs. Collectively, in general, DIS tenants focus on doing the following:

Education
DIS tenants provide educational assistance to more than 5,000 Detroit youth and children annually. Being located next to Durfee Elementary-Middle School and Central High School, our goal is to help both become the most improved DPSCD schools by 2025.
Jobs
As a result of high-quality workforce development programming at the DIS, each year more than 5,000 Detroiters will gain opportunities to acquire sustainable living wages through new employment.
Human Services
Annually, more than 4,000 children, youth, and adults will receive human services, including diapers and baby formula for families in need, health, and wellness services, and programs for senior citizens.

Life Remodeled is confident that the DIS will generate measurable outcomes through the achievements of its tenants, and the success of their tenants will be directly influenced by the participation of students and neighborhood leadership in collaboration with the “Eight Sectors” (Arts; Business; Education; Faith-based; Government; Human services; Media, and Philanthropy). The determination of what additional outcomes to measure and what results to expect will be fully reliant on the breadth, quality, and capacity of their tenants, and the partnerships Life Remodeled is able to solidify within the DIS and the surrounding community.

Ballmer Group Executive Director Kylee Mitchell Wells said it well: “The Durfee Innovation Society is an example of public, private and philanthropic partners working together to fill a gap in the community by offering a variety of resources that have a dynamic approach for helping kids and their families increase their chances of economic mobility.”

Life Remodeled CEO Chris Lambert said that “It’s the Center’s tenants that will drive impact in the neighborhood, and Life Remodeled’s role is to help them be better together.”

To ‘IMPRESS’ you even more about this organization, previous to this current project in the Central neighborhood, Life Remodeled completed three other one-year projects: Denby High School neighborhood (2016); Osborn High School neighborhood (2015); and the Cody High School neighborhood (2014). Statistically, the TOTAL ‘IMPACT’ Life Remodeled has had since its first neighborhood project in 2014 is incredible (NOT including 2022):

4 schools/neighborhoods
194 homes repaired
257 alleyways cleaned
1,810 blocks beautified
2,062 houses boarded up
72,276 volunteers engaged

In regards to the ‘SUSTAINABILITY’, in these previous projects, neighborhood CRIME HAS DECREASED in 10 of 11 categories (47% fewer homicides; 21% fewer sexual assaults; 19% fewer aggravated assaults; and 19% fewer burglaries).

In addition to the FORMIDABLE IMPACT on the neighborhoods, the VOLUNTEERS have also experienced POSITIVE CHANGE: 84% gained a more positive view of the city and suburbs by working together, and 80% experienced a positive change in their thoughts or feelings about people of another race, religion, political perspective, or socio-economic status.

SO, after these TREMENDOUS ‘SUCCESSES’, Life Remodeled wants the ‘OPPORTUNITY’ to be able to ‘REPURPOSE’ and ‘TRANSFORM’ another former Detroit High School and its surrounding neighborhood.

<<< SUMMARY >>>

The following is a collection of ‘snippets’ from the post that aims to give you the overall ‘jest’ of this post.
[ 10-15 Minute Read ].

COOLEY HIGH SCHOOL/NEIGHBORHOOD
In December 2020, Life Remodeled publicly announced their intent to transform the Cooley High School into their next “Opportunity Hub.” After nearly two years of listening and sharing, they have heard clearly what many Cooley residents desire to be done with the High School. After that, they received invitations from hundreds of Cooley residents and alumni—indicating strong unity in the community—who are ready for Life Remodeled to join the Cooley Community in a ‘partnership’.

Life Remodeled received survey responses and petition signatures from more than 1,000 Cooley residents and alumni, and more than 30 letters of support from key Cooley community leaders and several of Detroit’s most influential civic leaders, who say they are ready for Life Remodeled to begin the repurposing Additionally, Life Remodeled has signed Letter Of Intent agreements with nine dynamic organizations who have committed to lease more than 80% of the building and deliver impactful opportunities directly requested by Cooley community members.

So, on November 10, 2021, they announced their ‘official’ desire and proposed a detailed plan to develop Cooley High School with nearly 150 Cooley community members, alumni, and Life Remodeled partners from Durfee/Central, Cody, Osborn, and Denby communities present.

[ VIDEO: Public Presentation of Life Remodeled’s Plans for Cooley High School ]

Life Remodeled’s goal is to ‘TRANSFORM’ Cooley High School into an “Opportunity Hub” for Detroiters of ALL ages. It would be similar to their current Durfee Innovation Society, but would be adapted to the ideas, hopes, and dreams of Cooley community residents and alumni.

Additionally, Life Remodeled desires to provide five years of neighborhood beautification, blight removal, and free home repairs. (As Life Remodeled has done in projects prior to Central/Durfee, the home repairs include the choice of a new roof, new windows, or a new furnace.)

The thing is, Cooley High School has been sitting vacant and rotting since 2010. The windows and much of the copper have been ripped out, there was a fire that decimated the auditorium, and there are substantial active roof leaks that are on the verge of destroying the very foundation of this building beyond repair if they are not repaired soon.

Now, even though all of this—and much more—is true, the ‘legacy’ of Cooley High School does not have to be over. Life Remodeled wants to have an opportunity to put this facility to use—in ways community members want—before it IS too late!

EXHIBITING ‘EARNESTNESS’
To ‘prove’ how serious Life Remodeled is in serving the Cooley community and its residents, they had their annual “Six Day Project” in the neighborhood October 3-8, 2022. They had 6,000 volunteers—consciously limited to 1,000 per day—to help with blight removal and beautification.

In addition to the ‘normal’ activities—mowing and trimming overgrown brush and weeds on vacant properties—they provided free lawn care services for Cooley community residents. (Specifically, they mowed over 400 lawns of seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities). This greatly increased the level of interaction between community residents, Life Remodeled staff, and their volunteers who live outside the Cooley community.

To add some exciting elements to make it the most interactive Six Day Project they had ever done, they provided a limited number of homes near Cooley High School with increased services to upgrade their curb appeal, which included removing unwanted bushes, and painting house numbers on curbs.

… Potted mums
… Amazon donation and “Ring” camera installations
… Schostak Brothers & Company donation

Lastly, check out some of the media coverage that Life Remodeled received during the Six Day Project in the Cooley neighborhood:

[ NOTE: See over 4,300 pics of the volunteers and what they did on the Six-Day Project here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/liferemodeled2022/albums ]

‘REPURPOSING’
Repurposing is a popular concept now with our culture’s emphasis on recycling and being good ‘stewards’ of our resources. Rather than throwing something away after it becomes old, defective, or useless, repurposing changes, ‘tweaks’, or refurbishes it, then uses it in a new way. Lately, I have noticed the term “repurposed” being used quite frequently.

The process of repurposing an object involves striking a balance between preservation and transformation. This can happen TO OUR LIVES, too! People are kind of like furniture, in a way—they can be ‘repurposed’ and given a new purpose for their lives!

If you flip through the pages of history, you will find multiple examples of people being ‘repurposed’. A slave trader named John Newton saw the ‘light’ and gave himself to supporting the movement to abolish slavery in the British Empire—which, of course, eventually happened. (FYI: He was the one that wrote one of the most famous hymns of all time, “Amazing Grace.”)

William Wilson, who was a hopeless alcoholic, one day in his despair, cried out, “If there be a God, let Him show Himself!” He then had the ‘sensation’ of ecstasy, and a new-found feeling of serenity and he never drank again. After that, he founded “Alcoholics Anonymous” (AA), and millions of other alcoholics have found sobriety as well. The twelfth step of the “12 Steps of Recovery” in AA reads like a textbook definition of a repurposed life: “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”

Now, if you flip through the pages of the Bible, a pattern emerges of God repurposing a ‘rogue’ gallery of unlikely candidates into enduring ‘models’ of faith—and no one fits the bill of a repurposed life more dramatically than Saul of Tarsus (later known as the Apostle Paul).

Saul was a Pharisee—a group that bitterly opposed Jesus while He was alive. Then, after He was crucified, they were determined to prevent Jesus’ followers from spreading their beliefs about Him. These disciples called themselves, “People of ‘The Way’” (“Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to The Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem” – Acts 9:1-2).

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We all should consider how we can be ‘repurposed’. Where in our lives are there still some ‘rough edges’ to be smoothed? Some ‘rusted places’ to be refinished? Some ‘broken places’ to be reconnected? What about us still needs to be repurposed in order to unleash the potential that God sees in us?

Well, just as you would do in your own family, God only repurposes the lives of His ‘children’—so you must be “saved” or “born again” by Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” [ 2 Corinthians 5:17 ].

[ For more details about being “saved,” read the previous Life’s Deep Thoughts post entitled, “Saved From Death”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/ ].

———

So, might I suggest you prayerfully ‘talk’ to God and ask Him to reveal His plan for you—or at least the next ‘piece’ of it. Then, don’t talk yourself out of it—GO ‘DO’ IT!

Believers are still “people of ‘The Way’” because they are people whose lives are ever in the process of being ‘REPURPOSED’ into whatever is necessary to keep God’s plan for “His Kingdom to come, and His will to be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

‘SPIRITUAL’ TRANSFORMATION
Just like Life Remodeled ‘transforming’ a building and neighborhood into something new and better than before, I’ve got to believe we all would like to ‘transform’ ourselves into something new and better than we were in the past.

However, the problem is that we all want ‘instantaneous’ change, but most of the time it doesn’t work that way. Just as is happening with Life Remodeled’s ‘herculean’ effort in the Central neighborhood—which took five years—‘real’ SPIRITUAL ‘TRANSFORMATION’ takes some time—a lifetime to ‘complete’.

———

In the Bible, this transformation involves not only a change from the natural disposition to a spiritual one by Jesus as the life-giving Spirit saturating all the inward parts of our being with God’s nature of holiness, (Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18), but also a change in ‘disposition’, that is, a separation from a common, worldly position in regards to God (Matthew 23:17, 19 and 1 Timothy 4:3-5). This involves both an outward change in our ‘position’ and an inward change in our ‘disposition’. This is referred to as “SANCTIFICATION.”

When one first becomes a “born-again” Christian, they are “saved” or “justified,” declared by God righteous in His eyes by faith. So, justification is attained in a ‘moment’. Then, at the end of a believer’s life, they are then “glorified” when they die, and enter the ‘presence’ of God in Heaven. So, in between justification and glorification—our time here on earth—we go through the process of “sanctification.”

Our English word “sanctification” originates from the Greek word “hagiazō,” which means to “set apart” or “treat as holy” (the adjective ”hagios” means “to make holy”). This is a continual, ‘progressive’ separation from sin, conforming the believer into the ‘image’ of Jesus, and manifesting increasing holiness. This is what the present, wonderful, gracious work of the Holy Spirit does, on our behalf, and He continues to do so throughout our lifetime.

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The Christian life, therefore, is not only doing transformative things, but being a transformed people. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” [ Titus 2:11-14 ]. The Bible refers to this as a “new nature.”

Our human nature, with all its wretched tendencies, is anything but divine. But the hope of the Gospel is clear: “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” [ 2 Peter 1:3-4 ].

Sanctification is not just ‘knowing’ about holiness and ‘doing’ holy things, it’s about ‘BEING’ and ‘BECOMING’ holy people. Illumination is both the means and the result of transformation, and obedience gives evidence to this transformation. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” [ 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ]. Sanctification is a TOTAL IDENTITY ‘CHANGE’, not just behavior ‘modification’.

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Sanctification is an ongoing process, dependent on the Holy Spirit’s continuing action in the believer, and consisting of the believer’s continuous struggle against sin. His method of sanctification is neither activism (self-reliant activity) nor apathy (God-reliant passivity), but human effort dependent on God (2 Corinthians 7:1; Philippians 3:10-14; Hebrew 12:14).

Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you” [ John 16:13-14 ]. We see, therefore, that sanctification is the motivation for obedience and is necessary for the fruitful application of Scripture. The work of the Holy Spirit assists the believer to achieve clarity in understanding the content of God’s Word (the Bible), and become like Jesus.

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S REFINING ‘FIRE’
Now, we have to understand that our becoming like Jesus is a life-long process. Although the Holy Spirit instantly begins to ‘stir’ within us, we’re still “us.” Getting saved doesn’t instantly remove all our bad habits and our “stinkin’ thinking.” We slowly change as we work with the Holy Spirit to change us.

So, the process of becoming sanctified is the process of more consistently and more fervently (note “from the heart,” Romans 6:17) obeying Jesus Christ. (See also 1 Peter 1:2 for another connection of sanctification and obedience). Another metaphor might help here.

In the Bible, the Holy Spirit is called a “refiner’s fire.” This is not merely a word of warning, but a tremendous word of hope. The ‘furnace’ of affliction, for one in the family of God, is always for refinement, and never for destruction. “You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver…but you brought us to a place of great abundance” [ Psalm 66:10, 12 ].

Just like the human, “refiner’s fire” does not destroy indiscriminately as a forest fire does, or consume completely like the fire of an incinerator—it purifies just like God does. Just like a bar of silver or gold is melted away, it separates out the impurities that ruin its value, burns them up, and leaves the silver or gold intact. “Therefore, the Lord Almighty says this: ‘See, I will melt them in a crucible of affliction. I will refine them and test them like metal’” [ Jeremiah 9:7 ].

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[ For more details about the concept of “refinement,” take a look a this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/concept-refinement-v209/ ]

‘THE’ PARADOX
Now, there’s a kind of ‘paradox’ with all this. God is responsible for supplying everything you need for life and godliness, but you are responsible for actively using that ‘power’ to grow in sanctification. The paradox is found in the believer being both FULLY RESPONSIBLE, and yet FULLY DEPENDENT. Hmmm.

The Apostle Paul says that we are to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” [ Philippians 2:12b-13 ]. God changes our desires, making us want to please Him, and then He empowers us to do so. Jesus earned our sanctification on the cross and, in essence, has become our sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30) and the “perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). The Holy Spirit is the primary ‘agent’ of our sanctification (1 Corinthians 6:11).

It is also the Holy Spirit who works within us to develop greater holiness in our life. Peter speaks of the “sanctification of the Spirit” (1 Peter 1:2), and Paul speaks of “sanctification by the Spirit” (2 Thessalonians 2:13). It is also the Holy Spirit who produces in us the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23), the character traits of Jesus. So, if we grow in sanctification we “walk by the Spirit” and are “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16-18; Romans 8:14). That is, we are more and more responsive to the desires and promptings of the Holy Spirit in our life and character.

So, the Apostle Paul clarifies this paradox: “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” [ Philippians 2:13 ]. God works, and we work. He gives us the very desires to grow in Christ, and we work to make it ‘stick’.

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So, submission and effort are required…for our entire lives! Pastor and theologian, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, tells us how this is by divinely enabled toil and effort: “The New Testament calls upon us to take action; it does not tell us that the work of sanctification is going to be done for us… We are in the ‘good fight of faith’, and we have to do the fighting. But, thank God, we are enabled to do it; for the moment we believe, and are justified by faith, and are born again of the Spirit of God, we have the ability. So the New Testament method of sanctification is to remind us of that; and having reminded us of it, it says, ‘Now then, go and do it’.” So, when it comes to growth in holiness, reliance on God doesn’t put an end to ‘ZEALOUS’ EFFORT!

DOCTRINAL ‘STEPS’
Well then, HOW does sanctification specifically occur? How do we become Christlike? How do we become holy? By what ‘MEANS’ does this happen?”

The doctrinal ‘steps’ to grow in your relationship with Jesus is to PRAY, READ your Bible, go to a CHURCH with biblical teaching and good fellowship, and receive the SACRAMENTS (baptism and holy communion). If you want to be Christlike, you need to have ‘COMMUNION’ with Jesus—and if you want to communion with Him you need to do it on His ‘terms’ with the ‘channels’ of grace He has provided. That means the way to ‘extraordinary’ holiness is through just ‘ORDINARY’ MEANS!

Theologian J.I. Packer says that communion between God and man “is the end to which both creation and redemption are the means; it is the goal to which both theology and preaching must never point; it is the essence of true religion; it is indeed, the definition of Christianity.”

The Apostle Paul’s words again ring true: “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do” [ Galatians 5:17 ].

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Christian writer and pastor, Kevin DeYoung, concurs with Paul: “The Bible is realistic about holiness. Don’t think that all this glorious talk about dying to sin and living to God [Romans 6] means there is no struggle anymore or that sin will never show up in the believer’s life. The Christian life still entails obedience. It still involves a fight. But it’s a fight we will win. You have the Spirit of Christ in your corner, rubbing your shoulders, holding the bucket, putting his arm around you and saying before the next round with sin, ‘You’re going to knock him out, kid.’ Sin may get in some good jabs. It may clean your clock once in a while. It may bring you to your knees. But if you are in Christ it will never knock you out. You are no longer a slave, but free. Sin has no dominion over you. It can’t. It won’t. A new King sits on the throne. You serve a different Master. You salute a different Lord.”

THE ‘BATTLE’
Christian reformer, Martin Luther, spoke of a threefold ‘battle’ in the Christian life—the ‘world’, the ‘flesh’, and the Devil. All are formidable opponents, and don’t always ‘fight’ fairly—and it’s usually a gang attack. The world is the ‘enemy’ from without, the ‘flesh’ is the enemy within, and the Devil is the master of combining both!

In living to please a righteous God, we do constant battle with these enemies. Part of the process of sanctification is fighting with and increasingly overcoming these foes. Every ‘sensitive’ believer knows all too well how difficult it can be to win a victory against such formidable opposition.

The ‘world’ is a seducer—it seeks to attract our attention and our devotion. It remains close at hand, visible and enticing—and sometimes eclipses our view of Heaven. What is seen vies for our attention, and entices our eyes—preventing us from watching for a better ‘country’ whose builder is God. It pleases us and, much of the time, we live our lives to ‘please’ it. That is where the conflict ensues—for pleasing the ‘world’ seldom overlaps with pleasing God. Even though the Bible tells us specifically, “Do not be conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2), the world ‘presses’ on us with the ultimate peer pressure!

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The Bible also talks about a “warfare” between the ‘flesh’ and the spirit. When the Bible uses the word “flesh” it means our physical nature—specifically our “fallen nature.” By this nature, we have a “fleshly mind” (Colossians 2:18). Neither the mind nor the flesh is any less ‘fallen’ than the other—our sin infects every aspect of our existence, so they are both geared toward pleasing ourselves, and not pleasing God.

The ‘mind’ of the flesh is set against God—and doesn’t want God in its thoughts. This is the mind of a person who is not guided by the Holy Spirit.

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So, there is a conflict between two ‘styles’ of living—the life of the flesh, which is controlled by the impulse of sin, and the life of the Spirit, which leads us into righteousness, and into pleasing God. The Spirit seeks to teach us self-control, harnessing our physical desires, and keeping them in check.

The flesh is allied with the world, and the world is allied with the Devil—seeking our destruction by leading the believer away from the Holy Spirit to surrender to the flesh.

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[ For more details about the spiritual “warfare” we are subject to, and how to combat it, see this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/ready-for-battle-v235/ ].

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So, since the Devil is the believer’s main ‘enemy’ and has a ‘target’ on their back, what does the Bible say about how to defeat’ him? Well, it’s very clear: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” [ 1 Peter 5:8-9 ].

It just so happens that we all have a ‘warning system’ placed in our soul to prevent us from destroying ourselves spiritually—the ‘CONSCIENCE’. “For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them” [ Romans 2:14-15 ].

However, the believer’s conscience has been ‘cleansed’ by the blood of Jesus, and ‘sanitized’ by the Holy Spirit. So, the believer can react to warnings from the Holy Spirit (that a non-believer cannot), and sin can be dealt with. (“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” – Hebrews 10:22).

Even the pagan Greeks realized that there is an internal ‘agent’ that causes someone’s moral downfall. They called this goddess “Nemesis,” and she enacted retribution against those who succumbed to hubris and reckless transgressions. Even Lord Byron, whose life was ‘riddled’ with sin, realized the “nemesis” characteristic in all of us:

“And thou, who never yet of human wrong
Left the unbalanced scale, great Nemesis!
Here, where the ancient paid thee homage long—
Thou, who didst call the Furies from the abyss,
And round Orestes bade them howl and hiss.”

However, the great Christian hymn-writer, Charles Wesley, had a different ‘take’ on this with his “I Want a Principle Within” hymn:

“I want a principle within
of watchful, godly fear,
a sensibility of sin
a pain to feel it near.
Help me the first approach to feel
of pride or wrong desire,
to catch the wandering of my will
and quench the kindling fire.
From thee that I no more may stray
no more thy goodness grieve,
grant me the filial awe, I pray
the tender conscience give,
Quick is the apple of an eye
oh God my conscience make,
awake my soul when sin is nigh
and keep it still awake.”

[ more… ]

‘MORTIFICATION’ OF SIN
Now, just as “Christian” experienced in the allegory, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” the believer must “mortify” sin, put off “fleshly desires,” and desire holiness. It is those who belong to the Kingdom of God as “Beatitude people” (Matthew 5:1-12) who are urged to deal rigorously with sin (Matthew 5:21-48), and to ‘crucify’ whatever is the source of any temptation (Colossians 3:5-11).

Since Christians have “put off the old man and put on the new man,” they should live accordingly (Colossians 3:9-10). It is those who have received God’s promises who should purify themselves “from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1), and “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).

Without the “mortification” of sin, there is no holiness. The 17th-century theologian, John Owen, writes graphically about this: “Let not that man think he makes any progress in true holiness who walks not over the bellies of his lusts.”

The truth of the matter is that the Christian must see themselves from two contrasting perspectives about their life: In themselves, there dwells no good thing because of their nature (Romans 7:18), and, in Christ, they have been cleansed, sanctified, and justified (1 Corinthians 6:11).

So, while here on earth, we need to be “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” [ 1 Peter 1:14-16 ].

‘PRESS ON’
As was mentioned previously, during your lifetime of becoming sanctified, there will be MANY ‘TRIALS’. But, as probably the preeminent Christian ever (save Jesus) who can speak ‘adroitly’ about ‘extreme’ trials, the Apostle Paul still said: “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do, one thing: forgetting what lies behind, reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 3:13 ]. He says that the ‘prize’ is at glorification, and in the meantime, he does do one thing: “I ‘PRESS ON’. I pursue that goal in this life. I’m going to be like Christ when I’m glorified; I pursue that now in my sanctification.”

The Apostle Paul also encouraged all of his readers then (and us now) to “anguish until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19b). This was a profound agony in Paul’s life—that believers, true Christians, be sanctified. That is, see the decreasing of sin and the increasing of righteousness in their lives.

Jesus also encouraged us to ‘press on’ when He prayed for His disciples (and us believers now): “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them[b] in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth” [ John 17:15-19 ].

Jesus proved He was ‘serious’ about this by His ‘substitutionary atonement’ for us “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” [ Hebrew 10:10 ], and so there is a sense in which all those who believe in Jesus have been sanctified: “By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” [ Hebrews 10:14 ].

The 19th-century Bishop, J.C. Ryle said it well: “We must be holy, because this is one great end for which Christ came into the world.” Jesus is a ‘complete’ Savior. He doesn’t merely take away the guilt of a believer’s sin, He does much more—He breaks its ‘power’ (1 Peter 1:2; Romans 8:29; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 1:9; and Hebrew 12:10).

WRAP-UP
Sound IMPOSSIBLE? Well, it is…on your own! But, as previously mentioned, God doesn’t leave us on our own, and He doesn’t expect us to do this all at once! He’s patient: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” [ 2 Peter 3:9 ].

So then, what does God ‘expect’ from us? Just ‘PROGRESS’ IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

One of the most important axioms about sanctification is that it’s more important where you are ‘GOING’ than where you ‘ARE’. ‘Direction’ matters more than ‘position’. Your future progress speaks louder than your present placement. So, cheer up—if you are not as ‘holy’ as you want to be right now, God may still be pleased with you because you are headed in the right direction! But, be forewarned, if you are not as holy as you ‘used’ to be, then God will probably not be impressed with yesterday’s ‘triumphs’ when, for the past few months/years, you have done nothing but give up!

Now, for all of those who need to see ‘measurable’ progress all the time (like me), you need to look for progress over months and years, not by hours and minutes. As David Powlison (Executive Director of CCEF) likes to say, “Sanctification is like a man walking up the stairs with a yo-yo. There are a lot of ups and downs, but ultimate progress nonetheless!” So, don’t be so harsh on yourself, and more importantly, criticizing others about their spiritual progress without knowing how far they have come, and in which direction they are heading.

SO, holiness is the sum of a million LITTLE ‘THINGS’—like the avoidance of evils, foibles, worldliness, and indiscretions, while doing the hard work of self-denial, self-restraint, cultivating benevolence, and paying attention to simple ‘duties’. Just PROGRESS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION—growing by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Jesus! A very close disciple of Jesus, Matthew, said this: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” [ Matthew 6:33 ].

———

The 18th-century pastor, John Fawcett, summarized this well: “Jesus is the life of all the graces and comforts of a Christian. By the knowledge and contemplation of him, and of his death in our stead—faith lives, and is strengthened from day to day. All the springs of repentance are opened, and flow freely, when the heart is melted by views of a dying Savior. Love feels the attractive power of its glorious object, and is kindled into a holy flame. Sin is mortified. The world is subdued. The hope of future glory is supported, enlivened, and confirmed, so as to become sure and steadfast, like an anchor of the soul. But without him, whom having not seen we love, these graces would wither and die; or, to speak more properly, they would have no existence.”

God saved the believer to ‘SANCTIFY’ them! Just like Life Remodeled, God is in the “beautification” business, and He promises to work ‘IN’ you, while He ‘calls’ you to ‘WORK OUT’ the “beauty of holiness” (Psalm 29:2).

All believers are just like the “Durfee Innovation Society”—both are a ‘WORK-IN-PROGRESS’.

SO, first off, have you been ‘REPURPOSED’ as God’s ‘child’? That is, have you been “born again”? If not, why not?

[ FYI: The learn what “born again” is all about, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/ ]

Then—like Life Remodeled wants to do in the Cooley neighborhood—are you being ‘TRANSFORMED’ and becoming more CHRISTLIKE? Are you being ‘SANCTIFIED’ so you can be glorified and ‘admitted’ into Heaven?

[ FYI: For more details on ‘transforming’ yourself, view last month’s “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/developing-ones-character-v283/ ]

This just might be the ONLY ‘OPPORTUNITY’ for you to be ‘saved’ from an eternity in Hell! I PRAY YOU ‘grab on’ to it and DO SO RIGHT NOW!

<<< END OF SUMMARY >>>

<<< ALL THE DETAILS >>>

The following is a comprehensive presentation of the topic that follows the ‘headings’ laid out in the Summary.

[ VIDEO: Public Presentation of Life Remodeled’s Plans for Cooley High School ]

[ Life Remodeled’s Proposed ‘Transformation’ of Cooley High School ]

One VERY unique thing they did—something Life Remodeled had never done before—was to put a freshly-potted mum plant on each porch of the houses in the areas where the beautifications were happening in. There were OVER 2,000 plants provided to the neighborhood and a few churches.

The $150,000 donation that Amazon made will support youth programming at the Durfee Innovation Society and support community programs and events for Detroit neighborhood organizations. These neighborhood organizations include:

– University District Community Association
– Calvary Community Association
– College Park Community Association
– Oakland Boulevard Community District
– Core Cities Neighborhood
– Patty Turner Community Partner
– STV 313 Neighborhood Safety
– Happy Homes Community Association
– Palmer Woods Association

Ian Conyers, Head of Community Engagement at Amazon, said that “Life Remodeled has been dedicated to strengthening our communities block by block. Amazon believes Life Remodeled has created a scalable revitalization strategy, and we are proud to support their efforts hand in hand with donations to Detroit block clubs and neighborhood-focused organizations.”

In addition to the generous donation, Amazon’s representatives will also install 100 “Ring” doorbells on residents’ houses—closest to Cooley High School—that desire to have them. (Mayor Mike Duggan stopped by the first home to get a device, the Coyle Avenue residence of Francis Rowland.)

[ Amazon “Ring” Installation – Detroit Mayor Duggan With Resident ]

[ Amazon “Ring” Installation – First Home ]

Krystine Walker’s home was one of the 100 installations that happened. Walker said the majority of her neighbors on Lauder Street already have the device, so she is happy to finally have one too.

“This is cool, because I couldn’t figure out how to do it myself, so I sent it back. “I was going to get one… I couldn’t figure out the drilling, so this is awesome everyone else seems to have one.”

[ Amazon Ring Installation in Krystine Walker’s house by Katrina Jadzinski, a volunteer from Thornton & Grooms ]

The Life Remodeled team believes the donated Ring devices will help bring peace of mind and support neighborhood safety in the Cooley community.

Chris Lambert, Founder and CEO of Life Remodeled said that “Blighted vacant properties are visually depressing eyesores, and they can also contribute to unsafe pathways for students walking to school and other neighborhood safety concerns. Installing the Ring doorbells was an idea presented to us by community members, and we are glad to be able to provide this benefit to the community with Amazon’s help.”

The property development company Schostak Brothers & Company also donated a generous $100,000 in honor of their company’s 100-year anniversary. Many of their employees also were out in the neighborhood clearing blight and beautifying the area.

[ Message from CEO Bobby Schostak ]

[ David Schostak and team participating in the beautification ]

Chris Lambert emphasized that “I’m convinced our 2022 Six Day Project last week was our best yet!” He gave three reasons why:

1) We received strong positive feedback from more community members than ever before.

2) Our long-term volunteers who’ve served on the Life Remodeled Six Day Project regularly since 2014 repeatedly told me the Cooley community was the most engaged and embracing Detroit community in which they’ve volunteered.

3) Ms. Frances Roland has lived in the Cooley community for more than half a century, and she used to regularly walk the Cooley High School track for exercise. Last week we cleared a massive amount of brush from the property, and on Day 2 of the project, we witnessed Ms. Roland walking around the gravel Cooley track. She proudly proclaimed this was the first time she’s graced this path in 12 years because now she finally feels safe again.

Lastly, check out some of the media coverage that Life Remodeled received during the Six Day Project in the Cooley neighborhood:

[ Fox 2 News / Life Remodeled in Cooley w/ Ilitch Charities ]

[ Fox 2 News / Life Remodeled Cooley w/ Amazon Ring Doorbells ]

[ WDIV Story / Life Remodeled Cooley Community]

[ WXYZ Channel 7 Story / Life Remodeled: Cooley Community ]

[ NOTE: See over 4,300 pics of the volunteers and what they did on the Six-Day Project here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/liferemodeled2022/albums ]

The first followers of Christ didn’t see themselves as beginning a new religion separate from Judaism, but understood themselves as a ‘movement’ within Judaism that recognized Jesus as the Messiah—which was foretold in the Jewish Scriptures. (They are called “Messianic Jews” today).

To Saul, it didn’t matter what they called themselves, he called them “heretics.” He was ‘hellbent’ on a kind of personal vendetta against the people of The Way as he made it his personal mission to hunt them down wherever he could find them and either put them in jail or kill them!

However, while on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, Saul was suddenly blinded by a flash of light and heard a ‘voice’—that turns out to be Jesus—say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” (I’m thinking that these are not the first words anyone wants to hear Jesus say to them!). A few days later, after Ananias prays to restore his sight, he gets something more than his old sight back—he receives a new ‘vision’—and becomes a ‘convert’ to “The Way,” and starts to ‘follow’ Jesus.

The passion, intelligence, and commitment that Saul had invested into persecuting the Church, was now ‘REPURPOSED’ for spreading the message he had been so determined to eliminate. The repurposing was so complete that God even changes Saul’s name to Paul. This Apostle would then do more than anyone else to spread the ‘message’ of Christianity, and authored more of the New Testament than any other writer.

Doctor Luke’s telling of Saul’s ‘conversion’ to Christianity (Acts 9:1-20) is also an invitation to ‘repurpose’ our own lives. For some people, this may mean repurposing some talent they possess into something that serves to benefit others. For others, it may mean taking the pain of an unhappy childhood, of an addiction, or of a loss, and having God transform it into a ‘gift’ for bringing healing and comfort to others who are still in pain. The possibilities are endless. God leaves no stone unturned and wastes nothing when looking for people to do His work in the world. Each of us has talents, insights, and experiences that can be repurposed by God—even if we don’t recognize them ourselves, or appreciate their potential.

God can take all the ‘raw materials’ of life—even the most painful or the most regrettable—and repurpose them in ways that can bring healing and hope. This CAN HAPPEN TO YOU, too!

[ For more details about being “saved,” read the previous Life’s Deep Thoughts post entitled, “Saved From Death”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/ ].

God has always been in the business of ‘REPURPOSING’ PEOPLE by changing their ‘position’ and/or ‘direction’ for the better. He is prepared to do so for you—if you are ready and willing—which will enable you to fulfill your destiny!

In general, all believers are ‘repurposed’ to become disciples of Jesus, to follow His ‘leading, and ‘repurpose’ other people’s lives to do the same. The last thing Jesus said to His disciples just before He ascended to Heaven was: “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” [ Matthew 28:18-20 ].

Specifically, God has a ‘plan’ for every believer—to develop their gifts and talents in order to reach their potential, and then to fulfill a specific purpose that only they can complete (“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose” – Philippians 2:13).

So, might I suggest you prayerfully ‘talk’ to God and ask Him to reveal His plan for you—or at least the next ‘piece’ of it. Then, don’t talk yourself out of it—GO ‘DO’ IT!

W.E. Vine, in his “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,” points out that the word “transform” in the original Greek is “metamorphoo,” which literally means to “change into another form,” stressing ‘inward’ change.

Transformation is the inward, ‘metabolic’ process in which God works to change every part of our being, particularly our soul, creating a new ‘nature’ and causing our old, natural nature to be gradually eliminated. As a result, we “are transformed into His [Jesus’] image” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

In the Bible, this transformation involves not only a change from the natural disposition to a spiritual one by Jesus as the life-giving Spirit saturating all the inward parts of our being with God’s nature of holiness (Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18), but also a change in ‘disposition’, that is, a separation from a common, worldly position in regards to God (Matthew 23:17, 19 and 1 Timothy 4:3-5). This involves both an outward change in our ‘position’ and an inward change in our ‘disposition’. This is referred to as “SANCTIFICATION.”

According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 35), sanctification is “the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.” It is a continuing change worked by God in us, freeing us from sinful habits and forming in us Christlike affections, dispositions, and virtues. It does not mean that sin is instantly eradicated, but it is also more than just a counteraction—in which sin is merely restrained or repressed—sin is progressively ‘destroyed’. Sanctification is a ‘real’ transformation, not just the ‘appearance’ of one.

Christian theologian, Millard Erickson, explained it this way: “Although regeneration is instantaneously complete, it is not an end in itself. As a change of spiritual impulses, regeneration is the beginning of a process of growth that continues throughout one’s lifetime. This process of spiritual maturation is sanctification. Sanctification is the ongoing transformation of character so that the believer’s life actually comes to mirror the standing he or she already has in God’s sight.”

The Apostle Paul also talked about spiritual maturity, noting that we were formerly dead but are now alive: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” [ Ephesians 2:10 ]. Paul also spoke of continuing and completing what has been begun: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” [ Philippians 1:6 ]. Justification is just the beginning, but there is much more yet to come. The manifestations of this spiritual ‘ripening’ are called “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23). They are the direct opposite of the ‘fruit’ of the old nature, the ‘flesh’ (Galatians 19-21).

So, even though we have been “set apart” as God’s children, we continue to behave in ways that are contrary. As Christians, we realize shortly after we have been saved that there is a new inner ‘battle’ being waged within us—a battle between our old sin-lead nature and new Spirit-lead nature. The Apostle Paul described this inner struggle like this: “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish” [ Galatians 5:17 ].

Like Paul, a believer’s ‘heart desire’ is to please and obey God, but our ‘flesh’ is weak, making sin difficult to resist. Yet, it is in our continual struggle with sin and obedience to God that sanctification does its work.

The Christian life, therefore, is not only doing transformative things but being a transformed people. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” [ Titus 2:11-14 ]. The Bible refers to this as a “new nature.”

Note that sanctification has nothing to do with living in sinless perfection—we will never be sinless in this life. In fact, the Bible warns against such false teachings: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” [ 1 John 1:8 ]. Sanctification is not about trying to be sinless in order to ‘earn’ the favor of God. Rather, sanctification is for our own benefit. God commands us to pursue sanctification so that through it we may be blessed (Matthew 5:2-11).

An illustration might help clarify the concept I’m trying to express. A few years ago I was walking along the shores of Lake Huron and noticed something sparkling in the water. After inspecting it a bit, I asked what it was. I was told that it was called “Sea Glass.” It is shards of glass, usually from a broken bottle or plate, that have been, over a period of years, shaped by the water by tumbling along the lake bottom and being tossed against the rocks—physically and chemically weathered smooth.

I was struck by how this is such a good ‘picture’ of what God is up to in our lives. When you became a Christian, you were ‘broken’ and you had sharp ‘edges’. But, over a period of time, you are ‘shaped’ by the Holy Spirit through rough waters (trials). He’s changing our outside from the inside—using “progressive sanctification”—theological terminology that conveys the idea that, over a period of time, we are transformed into our “new selves” (Colossians 3:1-17).

The ‘water’ in my illustration is the Holy Spirit. He “works in you, both to will and to work” according to God’s purpose, enabling the believer to fulfill their new, godly desires (Philippians 2:12, 13), become increasingly Christlike, as the moral profile of Jesus—the “fruit of the Spirit”—is progressively formed in them (2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 4:19; 5:22-25).

The process of refining metals is used in the Bible as a metaphor for spiritual purification. In a sense, if you have something made of pure gold or pure silver, it is made of the ‘leftovers’. Gold, when extracted from the earth, does not look like the gold we see in a jewelry store. In fact, it is not always recognizable due to the impurities that mar its appearance. Yet, for the person searching for it, the ugliest lump of gold is of great value, and the potential for beauty and value is evident to them. We are similar to those ‘lumps’ of unrefined gold. God sees us not full of impurities, but full of potential!

To refine gold, heat must be applied to force the impurities to the surface. As the impurities rise, they are removed and more heat is applied. This process continues, over and over again, until the gold is pure. The refiner knows the gold is pure when he looks into the gold and sees his clear reflection.

God works a similar process in us. Our lives are a process of God applying ‘heat’ to us—exposing our weaknesses, faults, and impurities. This is definitely uncomfortable, but if we submit to it, we are, day by day, transformed into Jesus’ likeness. The process ends in Heaven when we meet Jesus face-to-face, and He sees His clear ‘reflection’ in us!

However, when the ‘heat’ gets really hot, we all want to ‘run’ from it, or at least resist it. So, in our childish wisdom we ask God to change our circumstances: “God, this really hurts…please take it away!” But, in God’s wisdom, He doesn’t take it away instantaneously because adversity and painful circumstances fulfill His divine purpose in our lives—refining us to be like Jesus.

[ For more details about the concept of “refinement,” take a look a this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/concept-refinement-v209/ ]

In addition to that, our role in sanctification is both passive and active. Passively, we are to trust God to sanctify us, presenting our bodies to God (Romans 6:13; 12:1) and yielding to the Holy Spirit. “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified” (1 Thessalonians 4:3), and God will have His way. Actively, we are responsible to choose to do what is right. “Each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable” [ 1 Thessalonians 4:4 ]. This involves putting to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13), striving for holiness (Hebrews 12:14), fleeing immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18), cleansing ourselves from every defilement (2 Corinthians 7:1), and making every effort to supplement our faith (2 Peter 1:5-11).

Again, I’m thinking an illustration will be of some help here. A farmer plows his field, sows the seed, fertilizes, and cultivates—all the while knowing that in the final analysis, he is utterly dependent on ‘forces’ outside of himself. He knows he cannot cause the seed to germinate, nor can he produce the rain and sunshine for growing and harvesting the crop. For a successful harvest, he is dependent on these things from God.

Yet, the farmer knows that unless he diligently pursues his ‘responsibilities’ to plow, plant, fertilize, and cultivate, he cannot expect a harvest at the end of the season. In a sense, he is in ‘partnership’ with God, and he will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities.

Farming is a ‘joint venture’ between God and the farmer. The farmer cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what the farmer should do.

So, this is just like sanctification. It is a ‘joint venture’ between God and the believer. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God ‘working’ in their life, and one will only attain it by effort on their part. God has made it possible for the believer to ‘walk’ in holiness, but He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking. He does not do that for us!

DOCTRINAL ‘STEPS’
Well then, HOW does sanctification specifically occur? How do we become Christlike? How do we become holy? By what ‘MEANS’ does this happen?”

As you live your Christian life decreasing the frequency of sin and increasing the frequency of holiness, you are moving from your justification to your glorification. As the believer is being sanctified, the seductions of the world, the desires of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life are replaced by love for God, love for Christ, love for the Word of God, love for obedience, longing for holiness, and aspirations to give glory and honor only to Jesus. This is the mark of a true Christian.

Jesus—our ‘model’ for sanctification—gave us a simple ‘method’: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” [ John 14:15 ].

This is not necessarily about ‘duty’ or ‘discipline’, although it is a duty and there is a discipline associated with it—but this is ALL ABOUT LOVE. If you want to be more obedient, you must love Jesus more, and if you want to love Jesus more, you must know Jesus better—and that comes from praying, reading your Bible, having fellowship with other believers at church, and receiving holy communion.

Since Jesus is our ‘model’, how did He demonstrate His perfect virtue and perfect holiness? Well, just listen to His praying for His disciples (and for us, now): “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes, I sanctify Myself, that they themselves may also be sanctified in truth” [ John 17:19 ]. Essentially, Jesus said, “I am living the example of perfected sanctification—follow My lead.”

Now, the reality of it here on earth is that sanctification is a ‘WARTIME’ word. A person being sanctified must have an unswerving commitment to holiness, and uncompromising loyalty to the “Commander-in-Chief” and His comrades in arms. This was the goal of Paul’s mission strategy (“Armor of God” – Ephesians 6:10-20).

Such conflict is not viewed as either an unfortunate malfunction or the result of a lack of faith or spirituality. Rather, conflict is inherent in the very nature of what God has already done for us. The magnitude of His grace, when it impacts fallen humanity in a fallen world, inevitably produces conflict.

So, for the Christian, they must resist the sedition of the world and go against the ‘tide’—willing to risk the loss of human approval to gain God’s approval. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven” [ Matthew 5:11-12 ]. We are to be “in the world, but not of the world” (John 15:19).

The conflict is the result of our now being ‘IN’ Christ and our new lifestyle is bound to be on a collision course with the lifestyle of this world. This is why Paul said to “insist… that [we] must no longer live as the Gentiles do” (Ephesians 4:17).

The ‘mind’ of the flesh is set against God—and doesn’t want God in its thoughts. This is the mind of a person who is not guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul warned us about this:

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you’re led by the Spirit, you’re not under the law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit”
[ Galatians 5:16-25 ].

Now, we’re dealing with the very ‘essence’ of sanctification, the very ‘heart’ of the Christian life—and our responsibility in the Christian life is summed up by: “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” [ Galatians 5:16 ].

The flesh is allied with the world, and the world is allied with the Devil—seeking our destruction by leading the believer away from the Holy Spirit to surrender to the flesh.

Even though we live in a world where the flesh seems to rule human activity, the Holy Spirit is the believer’s ally. He is ever-present, enabling God’s people to please Him (Romans 8:11).

Now, of a believer’s spiritual enemies, the most formidable is the Devil. He is not merely an enemy, he is their ‘archenemy’! He is the “wicked one” (1 John 5:18), the “father of lies” (John 8:44), the “accuser of the brethren” (Revelation 12:10), and the “beguiling serpent” (2 Corinthians 11:3)—among many other ‘titles’.

The Apostle Paul warned us that our battle against the Devil and his ‘forces’ transcends the visible and tangible elements of this world: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” [ Ephesians 6:12 ]. That is, in a believer’s life of trying to please a holy God, they are warring against not only our own petty desires, but also some very fearsome, terrifying ‘forces’!

The Devil is far more sophisticated than his caricatures—a guy in a red ‘suit’, a pitchfork, cloven hooves, and pointy horns coming out of his head—he is the ‘highest’, most brilliant being that God had ever created—an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is also very clever and has the ability to manifest himself “under the appearances of good.” He is subtle, beguiling, eloquent, and a counterfeit wearing a “cloak of light.” To underestimate the Devil is to suffer from the pride that goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18). Theologian John Calvin said that in connection with Job, the Devil seeks “to drive the saint to madness by despair.” However, to overestimate him is to grant him more honor and respect than he really deserves, because the Scriptures declare “Greater is He who is in you that he who is in the world” [ 1 John 4:4 ]. The Christian needs to seek ‘balance’ in all this.

Even though the Devil can oppress us, assault us, tempt us, slander us, and accuse us, the believer is indwelled with the Holy Spirit and cannot be ‘conquered’ by the Devil, because Jesus makes intercession for us (Romans 8:33-34).

We please God when we resist temptation and do not sin. Part of our growth in sanctification is becoming more conscious of the Devil’s tactics and our own desire to sin.

Throughout our sanctification here on earth, our increased awareness of sin is painful indeed, but also increases our disdain of it and continues to drive us into the ‘arms’ of our loving Father. We please Him when we don’t leave His ‘side’, as the Devil would like us to do. When the Devil ‘whispers’ into the believer’s ears, “You, with all your sin, can’t be pleasing to God,” the believer can confidently reply, “Ah, but God tells me I do please Him” (Psalm 147:11).

However, the great Christian hymn-writer, Charles Wesley, had a different ‘take’ on this with his “I Want a Principle Within” hymn:

The conscience has a ‘bully’ function in your life—being relentless and disturbing. It will be the ‘enemy’ of the sinning soul or, for the believer it should be, the truest ‘friend’ and comforter. It accuses or it excuses.

The 17th-century Puritan clergyman and author, John Flavel, wrote, “Conscience which should have been the sinner’s curb here on earth becomes the sinner’s whip that will lash his soul in hell. That which was the seat and center of all guilt now becomes the seat and center of all torment.” For the non-believer there will be no rest and no peace, just weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth…forever!

So then, what does God ‘expect’ from us? Just ‘PROGRESS’ IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

God is exceedingly interested in helping us forward on this way of sanctification. Through faith, He already counts the believer “holy” ‘IN’ Jesus, but now intends to make you holy ‘WITH’ Jesus. Our part is to want it, to acknowledge our need for it, and then to launch out in obedience to God’s Word and the Holy Spirit, in faith that, “He who began a good work in [us] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” [ Philippians 1:6 ]. As believers, we should not be content simply to be born again or regenerated. We need to pursue the sanctification of our soul!

As we become more sanctified, we will find it increasingly true that we do not “love the world or things in the world” (1 John 2:15), but that we, like our Savior, delight in doing God’s will. In ever-increasing measure, we will become “obedient from the heart” (Romans 6:17), and we will “put away” the negative emotions involved in “bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander” (Ephesians 4:31).

God is preparing His ‘children’ for His glory and the glory of Heaven to come. Puritan preacher and author, Thomas Watson, commented: “As you first cleanse the vessel, and then pour in the wine; so God first cleanses us by sanctification, and then pours in the wine of glory.”

When you say something like, “Lord Jesus, I want you to sanctify me. I want to walk a holy path. I want to be obedient to you. I want to walk in your way. I want holiness and righteousness and obedience to be the characteristics of my life. I want nothing in my life that doesn’t please you. I want people to meet me and meet Jesus in the process,” then you have the proper attitude for God to ‘transform’ you!

The good news is that as one is sanctified, there will be a decreasing frequency of sin. However, the bad news is that there will be an increasing hatred of sin in your life, so you will feel even worse about it. This is when you will know for sure you are saved and being sanctified!

Jesus said that those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied” [ Matthew 5:6 ]. What He was saying was that for those who want to finally be rid of their sinful self the manifest beauty, the perfection, the love, and the wisdom of him is available. Sanctification helps us get a ‘taste’ of that here in this life.

So, make every effort to ‘saturate’ your mind with the loveliness of Jesus, disciplining yourselves to behold His glory (in the Bible), to seek His ‘face’ in prayer, to enjoy Him in fellowship with His ‘saints’, and to obey Him in the sure hope that all this will bring us into a deeper ‘communion’ with Him.

All believers are just like the “Durfee Innovation Society”—both are a ‘WORK-IN-PROGRESS’.

SO, first off, have you been ‘REPURPOSED’ as God’s ‘child’? That is, have you been “born again”? If not, why not?

[ FYI: The learn what “born again” is all about, read this previous “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/saved-from-death-v219/ ]

[ FYI: For more details on ‘transforming’ yourself, view last month’s “Life’s Deep Thoughts” post:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/developing-ones-character-v283/ ]

This just might be the ONLY ‘OPPORTUNITY’ for you to be ‘saved’ from an eternity in Hell! I PRAY YOU ‘grab on’ to it and DO SO RIGHT NOW!

[ Excerpts from: Life Remodeled; Chris Lambert; Crain’s Detroit Business; Sherri Welch; Wayne Grudem; Nathan W. Bingham; John MacArthur; Josh McDowell; Jeremy Carr; Greg Outlaw; John Piper; Helen Simons; Sinclair Ferguson; Jon Payne; Charles Stanley; Brian Borgman; Jerry Bridges; Kevin DeYoung; Michael Riccardi; Brian Liechty; Sheri Welch; Ron Fournier; Stephanie Steinberg; Ray Medeiros; Otive Igbuzor; David Powlison; John Fawcett; John Flavel; Thomas Watson; Trish Propson; Walter Pavlo; Bridget McNulty; Jason Hamilton; Beengee; Bella Rose Pope; Becca Puglisi; September C. Fawkes; Elizabeth Moyer; Elias Anttila; Marilyn Rogers; Steve Ricci; Kathleen McCleary; Louise A. Mitchell; David Jeremiah; Douglas R. Satterfield; Lou Ludwig; Ritu Bhasin; Robert Emmons; StudyCorgi submission; Tara Michelle West; Juliana Breines; Hokuma Karimova; Tom Gilovich; Robert Locke; Tim Challies; Mel Siggelkow; Tsungi Chiwara; Kelli Mahoney; Seattle Christian Counseling; Got Questions; Joe Marino; Constantine R. Campbell; Our Daily Bread ]

RELATED POSTS:

“Repurpose And ‘Transform’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/repurpose-and-transform-v284/

“Continually ‘Transforming’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/continually-transforming-v260/

“Still ‘Transforming’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/still-transforming-v248/

“Continued ‘Transformation’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/continued-transformation-v236/

“‘Repurposing’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/repurposing-v223/

“A ‘Remodeled’ Life”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/a-remodeled-life-v211/

“Are You ‘Prepared’?”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/are-you-prepared-v210/

“‘Remodeling’ Produces Hope”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/remodeling-produces-hope-v199/

“‘Hope’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/hope-v187/

“The ’Spirit’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/the-spirit-v174/

“A ’New Start’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/a-new-start-v172/

“Being ‘Remodeled’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/being-remodeled-v163/

“It Is ‘Finished’”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/it-is-finished-v158/

“‘Remodeling’ Your Service”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/remodeling-your-service-v157/

“Life Remodeled”:
https://markbesh.wordpress.com/life-remodeled-v148/

‘PRAYER’ OF REPENTANCE
In the Bible, there is a parable that Jesus told about a Pharisee and a tax collector praying the Temple. He notes that the tax collector didn’t even dare to lift his eyes toward Heaven as he prayed. Instead he “beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner’”—and Jesus said that the tax collector “went home justified,” he had been “born again” and ‘reconciled’ by God. (Luke 18:9-14).

If you are ‘sensing’ something like that right now, let me strongly encourage you to HUMBLE YOURSELF, CRY OUT to God, and PLEAD for Him to mercifully ‘SAVE’ YOU! None of us have a ‘claim’ on our salvation, nor do we have any ‘works’ that would cause us to deserve it or earn it—it is purely a gift of Divine grace—and all any of us can do is ask. So, CONFESS YOUR SINS and acknowledge to God that you have no hope for Heaven apart from what He provides through Jesus. [ See Psalm 51 ].

There is no ‘formula’ or certain words for this. So just talk to God, in your own words—He knows your ‘heart’. If you are genuinely sincere, and God does respond to your plea, one will usually have a sense of joy and peace.

Jesus said, “He that comes to Me, I will not cast out” [ John 6:37 ].

[ FYI: This is a great sermon on the “Call to Repentance” by John MacArthur from his book “The Gospel According to Jesus”: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-22/the-call-to-repentance (Transcript: http://www.spiritedesign.com/TheCallToRepentance-JohnMacArthur(Jul-27-2019).pdf) ].

[ NOTE: If you have ‘tasted the kindness of the Lord’, please e-mail me—I would love to CELEBRATE with you, and help you get started on your ‘journey’ with Jesus! ].

<<< RESOURCES >>>

“Repurposing Your Life”
By: David C. Cooper

Most people go through life spending their time at jobs that have little to do with what they’re interested in and passionate about. Can it be any different? Dr. David Cooper believes it is possible to give life new meaning and purpose, and he tells how in this book.

“Repurposed And Upcycled Life”
By: Michelle Rayburn

Life is frustrating sometimes. It can be hard and ugly. Hurt, frustration and regret can make everything seem hopeless. But, God has a plan for everything in our lives. He offers unconditional love and grace, despite our imperfections. He offers hope where we see only despair.

Discover the repurposed and upcycled life. This is a life where no experience is wasted. Like the best trash–to–treasure decorating project, it’s a life where God repurposes our junky experiences. It’s where he upcycles—turns hopeless situations into something so much better than we ever imagined—when we let him work with the trash. When we surrender to his leading, God demonstrates his creativity in revealing how our greatest disappointments, mistakes, and painful experiences can be priceless treasures.

Through humor and stories, Michelle Rayburn addresses how to unpack emotional baggage and let go of the past. Readers will learn how to confront perfectionism and negative attitudes, change perspective on circumstances, and let go of regret and shame. It’s an opportunity to learn how to build positive healthy relationships, and dream big and live with purpose. Through inspiration from God’s Word and examples from everyday life, readers will discover the joy–filled, hope–rich way of viewing their past, present, and future.

“Repurpose Your Career – A Practical Guide for the 2nd Half of Life”
By: Marc Miller

When you’re in the second half of life, everything looks different, and your career is no exception. Did you miss the path to a really satisfying career? Is it too late to change? And what do you do about money in the meantime? The world is changing fast. Whole industries are being disrupted by technology, globalization is changing the boundaries of the workplace and nobody s sure what skills will be important tomorrow. If you re in the second half of life, you re experiencing your own shifts and upheavals, finding as we all do that things aren t as we thought they would be when we hit our 40s and beyond. You need a strategy to figure out where to go from here. Repurpose Your Career: A Practical Guide for the Second Half of Life provides that strategy. Career design expert Marc Miller helps you repurpose your old career, using the experience you ve gained so far to make practical pivots into a new career. He teaches you to identify what you, uniquely, need for a happy work life in the long term. He gives specific advice on knowing yourself, building a tribe, networking strategically, using social media and interviewing successfully.

“Repurpose It: Invent New Uses for Old Stuff”
By: Tammy Enz

Create amazing inventions and help the environment at the same time. In Repurpose It, you’ll invent a solar still, a bug robot, a textbook safe, and many other resourceful contraptions. When it comes to inventing, your imagination has no limits!

“Repurposed Faith: Breathing New Life Into Your Quiet Time”
By: Rosie Williams

Whatever happened to the days when you couldn’t wait to sit down and read your Bible? When prayer flowed easily and powerfully? When you felt engaged and active in your spiritual life? Now, like so many Christians, your zeal may have faded without explanation, and you’re left watching from the sidelines as others thrive in their personal walk with Christ. What happened?
Life has a way of shaking us up, cluttering our priorities, and shifting our focus. When this occurs, our walk with the Lord is often disrupted. One morning, you wake up and realize there are only embers where once a spiritual fire roared. If you’ve found yourself in this place, don’t be discouraged!

Repurposed Faith is designed to refresh and redirect your priorities back to Christ and His Word. Through intentionally-written illustrations and real-life stories, you will be prompted to search your heart for the roadblocks that have come between you and meaningful time with the Lord. From there, you will be guided back to a place where you connect and glorify God. Why continue in apathy, deprived of the intimacy and boundless joy of reconnecting with God on a daily basis? Take this moment to repurpose yourself and your faith.

“Repurposed: The Memoirs of Nehemiah”
By: Mike Hurt

Nehemiah heard about the devastation of the city and people of God…and he acted. While rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days was an incredible feat, the project was about something deeper. Mike Hurt examines the memoirs of Nehemiah, builder of walls and communities, and applies principles from this regular man’s life to the modern Christian community.

Nehemiah heard about the devastation of the city and people of God…and he acted. In 52 days he accomplished the remarkable feat of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. But in doing so, he repurposed the project so that it wasn’t just about building a wall of protection around the holy city. As the walls went up, Nehemiah rebuilt a community of faith, compassion, and hope.

Across the spiritual landscape of the 21st century, the walls are down again. Statistics reveal that many in the modern church are cynical, jaded, and disenfranchised. But this five-session study of the book of Nehemiah can provide lasting principles to rebuild our communities of faith as well.

In his second release from Threads, Mike Hurt examines the memoirs of Nehemiah, builder of walls and communities, and applies principles from this regular man’s life that can restore the faith of the modern Christian community.

Hurt examines such issues as:

Biblical community
Spiritual leadership
True compassion
God in the secular world
Journey with Nehemiah and discover how once again the walls of faith can be rebuilt.

https://www.sksbooks.com/products/repurposed-the-memoirs-of-nehemiah/

“Transforming Your Thought Life: Christian Meditation in Focus”
By: Sarah Geringer

Thousands of thoughts fly through our minds every day, many of them negative. And Satan knows how susceptible we are to these negative thoughts that leave us frustrated and feeling defeated. However, the time-honored practice of Christian meditation can help us find victory in these spiritual battles. Transforming Your Thought Life offers guided meditations and personal examples that will help you train your mind to stay grounded in God’s Word. Each chapter examines a particular kind of negative thought pattern and provides key Bible verses and prayers for standing strong against it. Day by day, as you hide God’s Word in your heart and mind, you will move closer to the heart and mind of God.

For a free discussion guide, check out Sarah Geringer’s author page on Amazon.

Changing the way we think so that we can live a more joyful and victorious life sounds great, but it seems daunting. In Transforming Your Thought Life, Sarah Geringer doesn’t just tell us what it looks like to experience change through Christian meditation. She shows us how to change the way we think… every step of the way.
-Lynn Cowell, author of Make Your Move and member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries writing and speaking team

This book is practical, accessible, and potentially life-changing. Sarah Geringer has much to offer any woman who wishes she could put a harness on her own runaway thoughts.
-Christie Purifoy, author of Roots and Sky and Placemaker

In this book, Sarah dispels the myths behind Christian meditation and introduces us to its many benefits. She masterfully invites us into the presence of God with meditations that satisfy the deep needs of our souls. Through Transforming Your Thought Life, discover afresh that God’s Word truly is the answer to all of our problems and that meditating on his Word transforms our hearts and minds, equipping us to face any challenge by his grace.
-Denise Pass, speaker, worship leader, and author of Shame Off You and 31 Days to Hope Reinvented

When Sarah Geringer writes about meditation, she isn’t just talking about the thoughts we think. She weaves together the depths of her own life experience, the richness of Scripture, and the fruits of her own contemplation into a beautiful tapestry. The unique gift of this book is how you can read it chapter by chapter or choose the chapter that fits your own thought life at that moment. Either way, it will guide you into grace.
-Travis Scholl, author of Walking the Labyrinth

Transforming Your Thought Life is a valuable resource for every believer. In this comprehensive book, Sarah dives head-first into harnessing our thoughts with the life-giving practice of meditating on God’s Word. Sharing many of her own struggles and stories, Sarah tackles challenges from her life with authenticity and courage. Her candid stories draw us in, helping us to see our own struggles as we recognize our need to filter our thoughts through Scripture. Sarah guides us closer to God, demonstrating how Christian meditation can transform our thoughts and heal our wounds.
-Ginger Harrington, author of Holy in the Moment

Sarah Geringer knows this to be true: our only hope for true transformation in this life is through the Word of God. With joy and honesty, she beckons us to meditate daily on a Bible passage and guides us in understanding all the whys, hows, and whats of Christian meditation. Sarah’s methods can make all the difference in our daily thought struggles. I am a new meditation fan and recommend this book for personal and group studies alike!
Maria Furlough, author of Confident Moms, Confident Daughters and Breaking the Fear Cycle

“Transforming Your Life from Good to Great Daily Nuggets of Wisdom”
By: Willie Spears

In every area of our lives, there is always a deep desire not just to be good, but to be great. Purpose, meaning, and fulfillment are what we hope to achieve. Though it sounds simple, why is it that these things appear to be the most difficult to pull off? We often see ourselves fail. We get lonely, get bored, and almost want to give up. We get caught up in the crossroads of decisions and choices, and often, we aren’t so wise. Questions start to surface. What are the rules in living? How is true happiness achieved? Where do I find peace? What does a great life look like? Inside this book there are twenty nuggets of wisdom to help you answer these questions and go from good to great in at least one area of your life. Life is good, let’s make it great!

“The Source of Miracles: 7 Steps to Transforming Your Life Through the Lord’s Prayer”
By: Kathleen McGowan

The real secret to happiness and abundance has been hiding in plain sight, and you already know it by heart.

New York Times bestselling author Kathleen McGowan’s transformative new book unlocks the hidden power of the Lord’s Prayer in seven simple steps.

In this brilliant handbook, Kathleen McGowan reveals the true secret to a joyous and fulfilling life: using the Lord’s Prayer to create real and lasting change in the soul. Each chapter in The Source of Miracles is a guide to one of the seven steps in the process, corresponding to a primary teaching of the prayer:

FAITH: Understand that you are part of God’s plan

SURRENDER: Find the ultimate liberation and peace

SERVICE: Create heaven on earth through your own good works

ABUNDANCE: Attract joy and fulfillment through gratitude

FORGIVENESS: Release anger and resentment

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES: Know that you can master temptation

LOVE: Tap into the greatest power of all

Featuring meditations, affirmations, and other activities designed to help readers work through life’s challenges.

“Transforming Your Life: 12 Incredible Stories Showing The Strength Of The Human Spirit”
By: Coach Publishing LLC

We all have times where we need support and guidance because life has a way of kicking us down, and then leaving us there. If you need transformational change in your life, this book can give you all the tools that you need, and bring you into the sphere of support that can help lift you up. We have given you access to the knowledge bank of 12 coaches from all around the world, and these coaches are all leaders of their niche. Reading this book can give you access to tools that our coaches have discovered after years of research, failure, life experience, and industry expertise. The tools and guidance that our expert coaches give away for free here would have cost you thousands of dollars in life coaching sessions, years of training, and many thousands of hours of self-reflection. Anybody who has achieved success can tell you that it’s the years of failures that prime you for success, and a good guide or a mentor can help you get there faster by telling you exactly which paths are fruitful. Keeping that in mind, we have collaborated with 12 best coaches in the world to bring you a map to your spiritual and transformational journey to success. We offer a path to real change as we take you through the adversities that our coaches have overcome in order to carve their way to success with their blood, sweat, and tears. Our authors are leaders, coaches, CEOs, speakers, psychologists, industry giants, multimillionaires. They are also parents of disabled children, immigrants, blind Paralympian’s, dyslexic, depressed, and victims of racism and sexism. They got to where they are at by overcoming everything that life has thrown at them, and so they can show you how to do it. Don’t waste time looking for answers from people who haven’t overcome what you need to, get the guidance of people who have been where you are at. This book is designed with you, the reader, in our mind at all times, so it is optimized for maximum impact. You can open it at any page and start reading to get priceless insight.

“Transforming Your Life Volume 2”
By: Sai Blackbyrn

From the team that brought you the multi-country bestseller Transforming Your Life, we bring you a follow-up book that takes our commitment to transform people’s lives to new heights. It is the 5th book in a series that has broken bestseller records with the launch of each book.

We have given you access to the knowledge bank of 20 coaches from all around the world, and these coaches are all leaders of their niche. Reading this book can give you access to tools that our coaches have discovered after years of research, failure, life experience, and industry expertise.

The tools and guidance that our expert coaches give away for free here would have cost you thousands of dollars in life coaching sessions, years of training, and many thousands of hours of self-reflection. Anybody who has achieved success can tell you that it’s the years of failures that prime you for success, and a good guide or a mentor can help you get there faster by telling you exactly which paths are fruitful.

We have collaborated with 20 of the world’s best coaches to bring you a map to your spiritual and transformational journey to success. We offer a path to real change as we take you through the adversities that our coaches have overcome in order to carve their way to success with their blood, sweat, and tears. Our authors are leaders, coaches, CEOs, speakers, psychologists, actors, veterans, communication experts, therapists, industry giants, multimillionaires, visionaries, and mentors.

They got to where they are at by overcoming everything that life has thrown at them, so they can show you how to do it. Don’t waste time looking for answers from people who haven’t overcome what you need to; get the guidance of people who have been where you are at.

“Transforming Your Life Volume III: 20 Incredible Stories Showing The Strength Of The Human Spirit”
By: Sai Blackbyrn

“Transforming Your Life Volume IV: 18 Incredible Stories Showing The Strength Of The Human Spirit”
By: Sai Blackbyrn

“Transforming Your Life Volume V: 20 Incredible Stories Showing The Strength Of The Human Spirit”
By: Sai Blackbyrn

“Learning Unleashed: Re-Imagining and Re-Purposing Our Schools”
By: Evonne E. Rogers

Children enter the world curiously hard-wired for creativity and imagination. After a few short years of school, something drastically changes for them. Why? There is an unmistakable and deliberate attempt to control the learning of young people who find themselves sitting in our schools. The industrial model of schooling has taken its toll and victims without remorse. It programs curious young minds to become helpless, dependent, and compliant. It is manipulation and malpractice, but few seem to notice or care.

After years of observing and participating in some of these questionable practices herself, Evonne decided it was time to tell the truth about schools. With a credible and strong voice, Evonne tackles the “sacred school rituals” that are rarely questioned and widely accepted as normal. She transparently leads the reader through firmly-held and often faulty assumptions about schooling practices. She offers common sense solutions that challenge us to re-imagine how we do school in this country. With strong conviction, passion, and a call to action, she encourages us to hear and listen to the voices of our children who are crying out for the freedom to learn.

“Pleasing God: Discovering the Meaning and Importance of Sanctification”
By: R.C. Sproul

Dr. R.C. Sproul is one of the most vital and renowned theologians of our time. For over 40 years Dr. Sproul has encouraged, educated, and enlightened millions through his books, teaching, and ministry.

How can imperfect people hope to please a perfect God? The answer is both simple and challenging: sanctification. Pleasing God takes an in-depth look at sanctification and its essential role in the life of every believer. Filled with Biblical insights, this release guides both new and seasoned Christians through God’s path for transforming His people.

“The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness”
By: Kevin DeYoung

The hole in our holiness is that we don’t seem to care much about holiness. Or, at the very least, we don’t understand it. And we all have our reasons too: Maybe the pursuit of holiness seems legalistic. Maybe it feels like one more thing to worry about in your already overwhelming life. Maybe the emphasis on effort in the Christian life appears unspiritual. Or maybe you’ve been trying really hard to be holy and it’s just not working! Whatever the case, the problem is clear: too few Christians look like Christ and too many don’t seem all that concerned about it.

This is a book for those of us who are ready to take holiness seriously, ready to be more like Jesus, ready to live in light of the grace that produces godliness. This is a book about God’s power to help us grow in personal holiness and to enjoy the process of transformation.

“Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots”
By: J.C. Ryle

“The twenty papers contained in this volume are a humble contribution to a cause which is exciting much interest in the present day—I mean the cause of scriptural holiness. It is a cause which everyone who loves Christ, and desires to advance His kingdom in the world, should endeavor to help forward. Everyone can do something, and I wish to add my mite.”— From the Introduction

“J. C. Ryle is an evangelical champion…one of the bravest and best of men.” — Charles Spurgeon

“Ryle, like his great masters, has no easy way to holiness to offer us, and no ‘patent’ method by which it can be attained; but he invariably produces that ‘hunger and thirst after righteousness’ which is the only indispensable condition to being ‘filled.’” — D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

(2017)
https://www.amazon.com/Holiness-Nature-Hindrances-Difficulties-Roots/dp/1946971030/

(2018)
https://www.amazon.com/Holiness-Nature-Hindrances-Difficulties-Roots/dp/1611046211/

“Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots”
By: J.C. Ryle

Read the entire book online.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Sin
Sanctification
Holiness
The Fight!
The Cost!
Growth in Grace
Assurance
Moses—An Example
Lot—A Beacon
A Woman to Be Remembered
Christ’s Greatest Trophy
The Ruler of the Waves
The Church Which Christ Builds
Visible Churches Warned
Do You Love Me?
Without Christ
Thirst Relieved
Unsearchable Riches!
Needs of the Times
Christ is All!

(This volume is considered the best book on the Christian life that has EVER been written.)

https://www.gracegems.org/Ryle/holiness.htm

“Sanctification: Christian’s Pursuit of God-Given Holiness”
By: Michael Riccardi

Christians cannot afford to be confused about the doctrine of sanctification. That is because it is where we all live.

All believers in Christ live in-between the time of our past justification and our future glorification—in the present pursuit of Christlikeness. If we are concerned to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27), if we desire to please the Lord in all aspects (Colossians 1:10), if it is our ambition to put the sanctifying power of Christ on display to the world, then we need to be clear on how we go about growing in holiness.

In this concise yet compelling book, Michael Riccardi helps believers navigate the question of how the Christian is to pursue God-give holiness. Focusing on key implications from the text of Scripture, Riccardi shows all of our efforts in sanctification must be shaped and driven by the glory of Jesus.

“The Doctrine of Sanctification”
By: Arthur W. Pink

Spiritual sanctification can only be rightly apprehended from what God has been pleased to reveal thereon in His holy Word, and can only be experimentally known by the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit. We can arrive at no accurate conceptions of this blessed subject except as our thoughts are formed by the teaching of Scripture, and we can only experience the power of the same as the Inspirer of those Scriptures is pleased to write them upon our hearts. Nor can we obtain so much as a correct idea of the meaning of the term “sanctification” by limiting our attention to a few verses in which the word is found, or even to a whole class of passages of a similar nature: there must be a painstaking examination of every occurrence of the term and also of its cognates; only thus shall we be preserved from the entertaining of a one-sided, inadequate, and misleading view of its fullness and many-sidedness.

Even a superficial examination of the Scriptures will reveal that holiness is the opposite of sin, yet the realization of this at once conducts us into the realm of mystery, for how can persons be sinful and holy at one and the same time? It is this difficulty which so deeply exercises the true saints: they perceive in themselves so much carnality, filth, and vileness, that they find it almost impossible to believe that they are holy. Nor is the difficulty solved here, as it was in justification, by saying, Though we are completely unholy in ourselves, we are holy in Christ. We must not here anticipate the ground which we hope to cover, except to say, the Word of God clearly teaches that those who have been sanctified by God are holy in themselves. The Lord graciously prepare our hearts for what is to follow.

“Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification”
By: Sinclair B. Ferguson

Christians are transformed by the renewing of their minds. They understand that in large measure how they think about the gospel will determine how they will live for God’s glory. They learn to allow the word of God to do its own work, informing and influencing the way they think in order to shape the way they live.

In a series of Scripture-enriched chapters Sinclair B. Ferguson’s Devoted to God works out this principle in detail. It provides what he describes as ‘blueprints for sanctification’ an orderly exposition of central New Testament passages on holiness. Devoted to God thus builds a strong and reliable structural framework for practical Christian living. It stresses the foundational importance of fundamental issues such as union with Christ, the rhythms of spiritual growth, the reality of spiritual conflict, and the role of God’s law. Here is a fresh approach to an always relevant subject, and a working manual to which the Christian can turn again and again for biblical instruction and spiritual direction.

“How Does Sanctification Work?”
By: David Powlison

The process of sanctification is personal and organic―not a one-size-fits-all formula.

Many popular views try to reduce the process of Christian growth to a single template. For example, remember past grace. Rehearse your identity in Christ. Avail yourself of the means of grace. Discipline yourself. But Scripture portrays the dynamics of sanctification in a rich variety of ways. No single factor, truth, or protocol can capture why and how a person is changed into the image of Christ.

Weaving together personal stories, biblical exposition, and theological reflection, David Powlison shows the personal and particular ways that God meets you where you are to produce change. He highlights the variety of factors that work together, helping us to avoid sweeping generalizations and pat answers in the search for a key to sanctification. This book is a go-to resource for understanding the multifaceted, lifelong, personal journey of sanctification.

“The Pursuit of Holiness”
By: Jerry Bridges

“Be holy, for I am holy,” commands God. But holiness is something that is often missed in the Christian’s daily life. According to Navigator author Jerry Bridges, that’s because we’re not exactly sure what our part in holiness is. In The Pursuit of Holiness, he helps us see clearly just what we should rely on God to do―and what we should take responsibility for ourselves. As you deepen your relationship with God, learn more about His character, and understand the Holy Spirit’s role in holiness, your spiritual growth will mature.

“The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification”
By: Walter Marshall

The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification presents the culmination of Puritan thought on living the Christian life. Combining doctrinal precision and pastoral sensitivity, Walter Marshall shows how sanctification is essential to spiritual life, dependent on spiritual union with Jesus Christ, and inseparable though distinct from justification. He shows how holiness involves both the mind and the soul of the believer and that it is the aim of the Christian life. It is no wonder that this book has been reprinted many times throughout the years and received such high praise from leading ministers of the gospel.

“The Mortification of Sin”
By: John Owen

In this abridgement of a classic work, the famous Puritan John Owen shows the need for Christians to engage in a life-long battle against the sinful tendencies that remain in them, despite their having been brought to faith and new life in Christ.

Owen is very insistent that believers cannot hope to succeed in this battle in their own strength. He sees clearly that the fight can be won only through faith in Christ, and in the power of the Spirit. Fighting sin with human strength will produce only self-righteousness, superstition and anxiety of conscience. But with faith in Christ, and with the power of the Spirit, victory is certain. The temptations in times like Owen s and ours are obvious on every side; the remedy to them is clearly pointed out in this practical and helpful book.

PDF: https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/owen/Mortification%20of%20Sin%20-%20John%20Owen.pdf

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Experiential/Progressive Sanctification | Monergism https://www.monergism.com/topics/sanctification/experientialprogressive-sanctification

John Calvin on the Holiness of Life: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/john-calvin-holiness-life/

The Sanctifying Spirit https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/the-sanctifying-spirit/

The Grace that Saves Is the Grace that Leads Us Home https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/the-grace-that-saves-is-the-grace-that-leads-us-home/

Definitive and Progressive Sanctification | Banner of Truth USA https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2011/definitive-and-progressive-sanctification/

The Good News of progressive sanctification: 21 Encouragements – LigonDuncan.com https://ligonduncan.com/the-good-news-of-progressive-sanctification-21-encouragements/

The Indicative and The Imperative A Reformation View of Sanctification | Monergism https://www.monergism.com/indicative-and-imperative-reformation-view-sanctification

Sanctification and Good Works | Monergism https://www.monergism.com/sanctification-and-good-works

The Reformed View of Sanctification | Monergism https://www.monergism.com/reformed-view-sanctification

Calvin On Sanctification As An Effect Of Justification | The Heidelblog https://heidelblog.net/2014/06/calvin-on-sanctification-as-an-effect-of-justification/

How to Mortify Sinhttps://www.ligonier.org/blog/how-mortify-sin/

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

SPECIAL ‘GENERAL’ RESOURCE

“ApologetiX Songbook”
(An interactive PDF)

It features the lyrics to every song on every CD and every “download” from 1993-2020

Special features:

indexed by title, original song, original artist, subject, and Bible verse
each song’s page has icons showing what albums it appears on
each song’s page has a commentary from lyricist J. Jackson
each album’s page includes liner notes and track listing
print any pages you like or use for slides in church
photos from ApologetiX’s debut concert in 1992
discography of out-of-print cassettes
downloadable in PDF format

New features in this edition:

all song commentaries from J. Jackson updated and expanded
also indexed by year when original song spoofed was a hit
J.’s original handwritten rough lyrics to 40 ApX classics
scads of photos from ApX 25th-anniversary concerts
list of 40 ApX parodies most likely to be redone
over 200 new parodies and journal entries
list of the first ApX concerts in each state
six new full-length feature articles
DVD discography and synopses
never-before-seen rare photos
lyrics for over 700 parodies
over 1000 pages!

Interactive features:

click on any page number in indexes or TOC to go to that page
click on any album icon to go to its liner notes and track listings
click on any song title on an album page to go to that song

Note: This e-book is a download-only and doesn’t include sheet music.

The songbook is available for a donation of $50 or more. After we receive your donation, we’ll send you a follow-up email with the link.

Get the Songbook for a donation:
http://www.apologetix.com/store/store.php#songbook

Songbook Demo Video: https://rumble.com/vfazhl-apologetix-songbook-2020-demo.html

“THE SEARCH FOR MEANING” WEBSITE

This site presents discussions on the 12 most commonly asked questions about the Christian faith.

The 12 discussions are accessed by the “tabs” at the bottom of the page. The tabs are numbered 1-12. Roll your mouse over them and you will see the question displayed at the right. Click on the number to select that question.

Within each question (i.e. tabs 1-12), there are subtopics (or dialogues) to select that appear as smaller tabs underneath the numbered tabs. Roll your mouse over them and the title of these topics is also displayed to the right. Click on the open rectangle to select that dialogue.

For each question (1-12), a link to related resources and an optional flowchart is provided. To access this material, click on the respective words, “Related Resources” or “Options Flowchart.”

To play a more detailed discussion of the subject, between two people, select the desired dialogue and click on “Play Audio Dialogue.”

In the upper right-hand corner of the page, there is an icon that looks like binoculars looking at a question mark. Click on this icon to return to the homepage.

In the upper right-hand corner of a “Related Resources” page, there is an icon that looks like some books. Click on this icon to get to an “overview” page that has links to all of the resources for all of the questions. There also are additional “appendices” for most of the questions.

In the upper right-hand corner of a “Flowchart” page, there is an icon that looks like an Org chart. Click on this icon to get to an “overview” page that has links to all of the flowcharts.

http://4vis.com/sfm/sfm_pres/sp_q1_d1_1of10.html

[ Content by: Bill Kraftson and Lamar Smith; Website by Mark Besh ]

“FRUITS OF THE BEATITUDES” WEBSITE
(The ATTITUDES of Jesus that produce the CHARACTER of Jesus)

CLICK ON THE LINK to view:
http://fruitsofthebeatitudes.org/

FACEBOOK PAGE:
https://www.facebook.com/FruitsOfTheBeatitudes/

[ Mark Besh ]

[ P.S.: If you would like to investigate further about what it really means to “believe,” visit the following link:
http://4vis.com/sfm/sfm_pres/sp_q10_d1_1of10.html ].

<<< ARTICLES >>>

“Repurposing a Historic Detroit School Into a Community Innovation Center”
[ November 18, 2020 ]

The Durfee Innovation Society officially opened in April 2018 providing recreation and real-world educational experiences for Detroit public school students as well as space for entrepreneurs and small businesses committed to innovating and launching impactful ventures.

Arcadis provided pro-bono engineering design and consulting services to support the building transformation.

[ Arcadis North America]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ7NGkU47KI

“Tour the DIS!”
[ February 10, 2021 ]

Life Remodeled’s flagship project is to renovate and repurpose former Detroit Public School Community District buildings into hubs of opportunity for the surrounding community. Our opportunity hubs address a number of critical challenges these communities face while also creating efficiency and collaboration for our nonprofit and entrepreneurial tenants.

The Durfee Innovation Society (DIS), located in the former Durfee Elementary-Middle School, is Life Remodeled’s first opportunity hub. Instead of creating new programs ourselves, we created a dynamic environment for the best and brightest nonprofit organizations and for-profit companies to move in, share resources, and achieve greater collective impact.

In partnership with students and community leaders, our tenants move the needle on educational outcomes and community revitalization. They provide innovative approaches to education, employment, support for entrepreneurs, and various human services. In order to be a tenant at the DIS, organizations must enrich the human spirit of Detroiters by achieving at least one of the following:

-Implementing real-world educational opportunities for youth and/or children
-Creating significant workforce development and employment opportunities for youth and/or adults
-Supporting and cultivating entrepreneurship
-Providing a nonprofit human service

[ Life Remodeled ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgpS_DclPqA

“Durfee Innovation Society in Detroit Achieves Full Occupancy, Adds Amenities”
[ May 28, 2021 ]

The Durfee Innovation Society, a multi-faceted community hub for children, students, and adults located in the center of Detroit, has reached full occupancy at a time when the local and national office market is challenged by remote work, the COVID-19 pandemic, and high unemployment.

The 176,000-square foot Durfee Innovation Society was formerly the Durfee Elementary-Middle school that was closed several years ago. The school campus, the first elementary to high school campus in the country when it opened in the mid-1920s, originally included Roosevelt Elementary School, Durfee Middle School, and Central High School.

Today, Roosevelt Elementary School has been demolished, and now all classes from first grade to senior year are conducted at Central High School and operated by the Detroit Public Schools Community District. In 2017, Life Remodeled, a nonprofit organization in Detroit that works hand in hand with surrounding neighborhoods to repurpose closed schools into active community centers, acquired Durfee and began a massive redevelopment inside the building and the surrounding blocks using thousands of volunteers.

The Durfee Innovation Society has signed 13 leases since March 2020 to bring it to 100-percent occupancy this month. Overall, the organization has 39 for profit and nonprofit tenants that pay monthly rent of $1.25 per square foot. The office market in metro Detroit ended 2020 with an 18.4 percent direct vacancy rate, according to Friedman Real Estate in Farmington Hills.

Durfee’s full occupancy speaks to “the mission of Life Remodeled and the passion behind it,” says Brandi Haggins, director of the Durfee Innovation Society. “We posted our offerings on social media and our website, people can request a tour, and I think we also benefit from word-of-mouth advertising from our tenants.”

In recent years, the entire building has been renovated, include a new HVAC system with forced air heat and air conditioning, a free rec room and laundry room, a gym, and a former pool since filled in and used for meetings and activities (called The Dive), and numerous other amenities.

Other key aspects include:

— On March 1, 2020, just before the pandemic-related shutdown, Durfee’s occupancy was 89 percent. On May 7, the building was 100-percent occupied.

— 77 percent of organizations at the DIS are led by People of Color and 67 percent are led by women. The 39 tenants employ more than 230 people.

— Life Remodeled is focused on specific impact areas: education, jobs, and human services.

— Based on estimates, 3,000 Detroiters have access to sustainable, living wage jobs, 4,000 individuals are served through human services, and 5,000 students are served through educational programs.

— Recent improvements include The Dive, a former pool filled in with concrete, painted with metallic epoxy to look like the ocean, and now used as a multipurpose space for youth programs.

— The Spin, a free laundromat for students and families to increase school attendance in DPSCD schools.

Tenants include Beyond Basics, Detroit at Work, Cleary University, Methodist Children’s Home Society, GreenPath Financial Wellness, The Lawn Academy, Metro Detroit Youth Clubs, Toarmina’s Pizza, and more.

For more information, visit https://liferemodeled.org/dis/

[ R.J. King – DBusiness ]

“Life Remodeled: Top 10”
[ August 5, 2021 ]

Now that the Durfee Innovation Society (DIS) is 100% occupied with 39 organizations serving more than 17,000 Detroiters annually, we are receiving more interest in our work than ever before! The DIS is one of those things in life that you have to see to believe and understand.

One of the most common questions we receive is, “Besides renovating and managing this formerly vacant school building, what does Life Remodeled do at the DIS?”

If that’s something you’ve wondered about, you may be interested in reading about the Top 10 Ways Life Remodeled Strengthens Community at the DIS below:

[ Life Remodeled ]

“How Do We Measure Up?”
[ October 22, 2021 ]

You’ve heard by now about our Durfee Innovation Society– our one-stop hub of opportunity in a formerly vacant school building which is now at 100% occupancy with 39 organizations annually serving more than 17,000 Detroiters though after-school programs, jobs and community resources.

I’ve previously shared information about how Life Remodeled is creating community at the DIS through a variety of intentional strategies in marketing, collaboration, shared spaces, etc. However, I’d love for you to hear from our tenants, 67% of which are led by women and 77% led by people of color, about their experiences in our opportunity hub.

Life Remodeled is committed to always innovating while being transparent with our tenants about the DIS’s progress, as well as areas where we can improve and continue to help create community. Twice a year, we send out a survey to all of our tenants, and here’s a quick snapshot of some of the data points we are most proud of from the most recent report. 31 out of 39 organizations completed the survey and reported:

Below are some additional comments provided by tenants when asked if they wanted to add any final thoughts to their survey response:

I enjoy the village.

You all are doing an excellent job and have many resources that are helpful to my organization.

I enjoy the building, having resources to refer clients to has made my role in my job much easier.

You can view the full report here where we outlined the responses to all 20 questions as well as responded to any opportunities for growth shared with us by the tenants.

Want to know more about our tenants? Visit https://liferemodeled.org/durfee-innovation-society/tenants/

Grateful to be working together with such amazing organizations!

[ Life Remodeled ]

“Nonprofit Eyes New Life at Former Cooley High School in Detroit”
[ Nov 15, 2021 ]

Detroit — A nonprofit organization wants to breathe new life into the former Cooley High School building and 18-acre campus, creating a community hub with mental health and education services for Detroit families.

Leaders with Life Remodeled, which repurposes vacant school buildings, announced a proposal last week to buy and transform the vacant high school building and its property on the city’s west side near Fenkell and Hubbell Avenue.

Possible uses include pediatric mental health services, a junior college and career education program with student housing and a synthetic football field, said Chris Lambert, CEO and founder of Life Remodeled.

“We’ve been listening and learning from the community for two years and we all agree this project needs to be equitable and sustainable for this community,” Lambert said. “We are very much committed to continually earning the trust of the neighbors that live near the school, implementing the community’s vision for this project, and working alongside other organizations/stakeholders who have like-minded missions and passion for this community.”

Lambert said his organization will present a proposal for $400,000 to the Detroit Public Schools Community school board in coming weeks to buy the property and wants to raise $37.5 million to redevelop 320,000 square feet of building space.

The building was appraised in 2017, Lambert said, when it was deemed worth $400,000 but after a fire later that year, it has deteriorated.

The vacant high school sits on Detroit’s west side.
Located on 18 acres, Cooley High School opened in 1928 and has remained vacant since it closed in 2010.

“The building infrastructure at Cooley has deteriorated almost beyond repair and needs immediate attention before it’s too late,” Lambert said. “Along with our partners, we are ready to begin this work immediately.”

One of the classrooms of the former Cooley High School. The school closed and has remained vacant since 2010.
Nikolai Vitti, superintendent of Detroit Public Schools Community District, said the district will provide the board in January with a draft 20-year facility plan that will recommend an investment of about $700 million of one-time COVID relief funding for new school buildings, major school building renovations and projects related to upgraded roofs and HVAC systems. It will also address vacant properties like Cooley.

“The plan will also make recommendations to address the vacant properties the District still owns, including investments for new or upgraded school buildings or the sale of those properties,” Vitti said.

“The School Board and Superintendent have only sold vacant properties if the district did not predict a long-term use for the building or property and has always sold that property at or above market value,” Vitti said.

Community members say the site needs to be redeveloped.

A rendering of the plans to redevelop 320,000 square feet of the former high school.

“Since 2010 we’ve experienced the ramifications of blight and crime perpetrated by the vacancy and abandonment of Cooley High School, including a loss of life,” said Pastor Will Council of Calvary United Methodist Church. “There is a fierce urgency of now to actively move the partnership with Life Remodeled forward. We are ready for a hub of opportunities in our community.”

Kevin Roach, CEO of Methodist Children’s Home Society, said a mental health crisis needs to be addressed in the city, state and nation.

“We want Cooley to also become a place where kids can go to escape crisis and begin to heal, meeting urgent demand for services that sadly, are not yet available in Detroit,” Roach said.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2021/11/15/nonprofit-eyes-new-life-former-cooley-high-school-detroit/6393089001/

[ Jennifer Chambers – The Detroit News ]

“We Did It Together w/ YOU in 2021”
[ December 28, 2021 ]

It’s been an incredible year at Life Remodeled, and we couldn’t have done it without YOU!

In 2021, we hit some major milestones including:

– Providing a safe space for more than 40 youth in our Safe Center for Online Learning to log-in to their virtual learning in a focused environment
Putting smiles on the faces of more than 1,400 youth and families during our monthly LIT Fridays and other youth events

– Reaching 100% occupancy at our Durfee Innovation Society (DIS) with 39 tenants serving 17,500+ Detroiters annually (Did you know 77% of our DIS tenants are led by people of color and 67% are led by women?)

– Completing two AWESOME program spaces for youth and families– The Dive (the former pool turned youth hangout space) and The Spin (totally free laundromat)

– Featuring 10 Detroiters on billboards and in the news and highlighting their contributions in their community through our Lean on We campaign
Mobilizing 3,822 volunteers from 173 different groups to clear blight on 150 blocks surrounding the DIS during our 11th annual Six Day Project (October 4-9)

– Announcing our intent to submit an offer to Detroit Public Schools Community District to purchase the former Cooley High School as the location for our next opportunity hub.

We couldn’t have done all of this without your belief in our mission and projects, and here’s to having an even more impactful 2022.

[ Life Remodeled ]

“Nonprofit Plans to Turn Shuttered Cooley High School into Detroit Opportunity Hub”
[ November 10, 2021 ]

DETROIT (FOX 2) – For decades Detroit’s Cooley High School was a powerhouse for academics and athletics. A little over a decade after the school was forced to close – vandals and weather almost brought it to a point beyond repair.

But now the nonprofit Life Remodeled, which repurposes vacant buildings, is bringing hope. The nonprofit’s CEO Chris Lambert wants to buy the building from Detroit Public Community School District and transform the area into an opportunity hub.

“We have not bought the property yet, but we are planning to offer $400,000 this January.

Lambert, who would need approval presented from the Detroit School Board, plans to invest around $38 million in development over the next three years.

In the end – the plan offers education, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and a commitment to clean up blight and repair surrounding homes.

“I won’t walk into a community and tell you what you need – but I will walk into a community tell you what you deserve,” said Brandy Haggins.

Haggins pointed to the Durfee Innovation Society – a previous project of Life Remodeled where Detroit students are currently thriving. She works there now – but wished the opportunity was there when she was growing up in Detroit.

The same goes for Darryl Woods who spoke with residents in the Cooley neighborhood where he grew up.

“It’s time for us to pay attention to the hood,” said Woods, from Life Remodeled. “It’s time to pay attention to people in the hood, because they are crying out for change, crying out for transformation.”

Partners have already committed to the Cooley Project. Cooley alum and Superbowl champion Lional Dalton will develop the athletic facility and football field.

“I understand the importance of athletics as a healthy distraction for our youth, to keep them out of trouble,” Dalton said. “I have some teammates in the back. Without football, I would have been a mess.”

Olicia and Stockar McDougall will offer the McDougall Technology Institute – which includes a junior college, career education, and student housing. Nonprofit the Methodist Children’s Home Society will provide pediatric mental health services.

“We knew it had to be in the community by the community for the community,” said Kevin Roach, Methodist Children’s Home Society. “We could not do this without them.”

“If everybody takes an area – if everybody takes a little something, then the whole Detroit community and city wins,” said Bishop Charles Ellis, Greater Grace Temple.

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/nonprofit-plans-to-turn-shuttered-cooley-high-school-into-detroit-opportunity-hub

[ Taryn Asher and David Komer – Detroit FOX 2 Detroit ]

“Life Remodeled hopes to transform former Cooley High School building into community hub”
[ November 11, 2021 ]

Detroit public schools district owns the building

DETROIT – A historic Detroit high school could be transformed into something the entire community can use.

For years, Cooley High School has been a staple on Detroit’s west side. It recently closed its doors for good but there are plans to reopen the building. Many say those plans will bring hope to the community.

“We repurpose vacant school buildings into one stop hubs of opportunity for entire families to thrive,” CEO and founder of Life Remodeled Chris Lambert said.

Lambert said they have plans for the historic high school. Life Remodeled is a Detroit-based nonprofit organization that repurposes vacant school buildings.

It announced the plan to turn the historic building into one-stop hubs of opportunity for entire families.

“Our tenants provide youth programming, sustainable living wage job opportunities, opportunities for entrepreneur assistance, community resources for more than 17,500 Detroiters every single year,” Lambert said.

Lambert recently transformed the former Durfee Middle School on the city’s west side into a hub center.

“It gives them a place to come and get services, health services, mental health services, educational services, job training services, whatever you can think of — in terms of service. It’s there in one place,” LaTasha Ellis said.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District still owns the building. Life Remodeled will have to present a bid to buy the building from the district. They will have to present a plan to the school board.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/11/11/life-remodeled-hopes-to-transform-former-cooley-high-school-building-into-community-hub/

[ Kayla Clarke – Click On Detroit – WDIV ]

“Group Proposes To Transform Cooley High Into A Community Hub”
[ NOVEMBER 10, 2021 ]

(CBS DETROIT) – An investment could soon be coming to the corner of Hubbell and Chalfonte on Detroit’s west side.

“The story of Cooley High does not have to be over,” said Chris Lambert, C.E.O. and Founder of Life Remodeled.

What used to be home to the Cardinals, could be making a comeback as a community hub.

“This is something that is earth-shattering,” said Bishop Charles Ellis of Greater Grace Temple.

“Don’t take it for granted. This doesn’t happen every day. It doesn’t happen even every decade,” Ellis explained.

Life Remodeled is a Detroit based non-profit organization known for repurposing vacant schools.

The group is proposing to purchase and transform Cooley High into a center for children and families to enjoy social, educational, athletic, and economic programs.

“I want you guys to grant me the opportunity to beautify or renovate the six acres behind the school. I would like to put a football field back there,” said Lional Dalton, a Cooley High alumnus and Super Bowl Champion.

The group transformed four schools in Detroit and invested $38.5 million in local communities through home repairs and beautification projects.

Life Remodeled plans to offer Detroit Public Schools Community District $400,000 for the Cooley High building.

“Wholistic approach, we’re here to make a difference,” said Stockar McDougle, a partner in the project and former Detroit Lions player.

“We’re here to bring resources. We’re here to do the things that I wish I had someone to do for me when I was a young man.”

A decision on the school’s future will be made in the first quarter of 2022.

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/group-proposes-to-transform-cooley-high-into-a-community-hub/

[ CW50 DETROIT ]

“Nonprofit Life Remodeled announces plan to bid on, transform vacant Cooley High School”
[ November 10, 2021 ]

A Detroit-based nonprofit announced it plans to propose to purchase and develop the former, and now vacant, Cooley High School on Detroit’s west side.

In an announcement to the community Wednesday, Life Remodeled presented details on its planned proposal to the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board, the building’s current owner. Similar to the organization’s Durfee Innovation Society, Cooley will be transformed into an opportunity hub if the board agrees to sell.

A rendering of site plans for Life Remodeled’s repurposing of the vacant Cooley High School on Detroit’s west side. The nonprofit revealed its plans to offer to purchase and develop the former high school to the community on November 10, 2021.

Cooley High School has been vacant since 2010 and sits upon 18 acres of land. Life Remodeled plans to offer the school district $400,000 for the school and intends to invest $37.5 million in development over three years.

“Many Black families in Detroit are still not experiencing equitable access to opportunities to thrive in the areas of education, economic prosperity, health and wellness,” said Chris Lambert, founder and CEO of Life Remodeled. “Talent’s evenly distributed all over the world, but opportunity is not.”

Recognizing the lack of access to empowering opportunities, Life Remodeled repurposes vacant school buildings in Detroit into community centers of sorts where families can receive services in education, entrepreneurship and workforce development. Given that, historically, Detroit school buildings are built in the center of neighborhoods, this brings opportunities to the doorsteps of Detroiters, Lambert said.

“When a school building closes, in many communities, that’s a dagger to the heart of hope for that community,” he said.

An empty classroom covered in graffiti of the vacant Cooley High School on Detroit’s west side. The nonprofit Life Remodeled revealed its plans to offer to purchase and develop the former high school to the community on November 10, 2021.

Life Remodeled has yet to receive the school board’s approval, but is presenting the idea to the community for input from residents.

In relation to district properties, DPSCD will provide a drafted 20-year Facility Plan to the school board in January, according to a statement Tuesday evening from Superintendent Nikolai Vitti. The draft will recommend an investment of approximately $700 million of one-time COVID Relief Funding for a few new school buildings, major renovations and projects related to upgraded roofs and HVAC systems.

It will also make recommendations to address the vacant properties the district still owns, including investments for new or upgraded school buildings or the sale of those properties.

“The School Board and Superintendent have only sold vacant properties if the District did not predict a long-term use for the building and/or property and has always sold that property at or above market value,” the statement reads. “After the initial 20-year Facility Plan is recommended to the School Board, an engagement process will occur with the community about those recommendations.”

After the plan is recommended to the board, the community will have the opportunity to provide feedback before Vitti makes his final recommendations to the school board for action by late spring.

Serving as an opportunity hub, the Durfee Innovation Society, created in 2017, is home to dozens of for-profit and nonprofit tenants that offer workforce development and youth programming, and has an arcade, a laundromat and gym, to name some of the facilities offered. And the center is just one of Life Remodeled’s projects.

“We not only recruit them to become tenants, but we help them collaborate with each other, collaborate with the community. No one nonprofit has the solutions to all of society’s challenges,” Lambert said. “Oftentimes we operate in silos and we focus on only our one thing, and society loses when we don’t work together. We’re better when we collaborate.”

In its 11 years of vacancy, the Cooley High School building has suffered some damage, including active leaks, a devastating fire and a ruined roof. Lambert adds that if someone doesn’t renovate the building soon, it could end up beyond repair.

The auditorium of the vacant Cooley High School on Detroit’s west side. The nonprofit Life Remodeled revealed its plans to offer to purchase and develop the former high school to the community on November 10, 2021.

When the organization sealed the deal in 2017 for the Durfee project — while the district was under emergency financial management — the building was leased to the nonprofit for $1 a year and the community had mixed reactions. This threatened the trust Life Remodeled had built with the community, and it’s something it’s trying to avoid with the Cooley deal by being more transparent, Lambert said.

“We’re going above and beyond what’s even fair, or required, because we’re an organization that’s all about blessing Detroit and Detroit public schools and students,” said Lambert, who emphasized that the project is not something done for the community, it’s done with the community.

More:Staff shortages shutter more schools across Michigan: Are closures the new normal?

Darryl Woods grew up in the neighborhood surrounding Cooley High School and now is part of Life Remodeled’s community outreach and engagement efforts.

Woods remembers a vibrant neighborhood with parks full of children until sundown and neighbors who were treated like family.

“When I was growing up as a kid, it wasn’t a blighted neighborhood like it is now. You got a serious blight problem over there. You have a lot of struggling over there,” Woods said. “It will be great if Life Remodeled came in that neighborhood to say we want to be a helping hand to be able to keep this park beautified and empowered and to be able to deal with some of the other elements in that neighborhood.

“So Life Remodeled will actually be a breath of fresh air.”

In his conversations with dozens of residents, Woods said he has yet to come across someone opposed to the plan. Instead, they say, “It’s about time,” without hesitation or reservation, he said. People are eager to see change in their neighborhood and it gives them hope for the future, Woods said.

“Everyone sees a lot of things going on downtown and (in) Midtown,” he said. “When you can bring more resources directly to the neighborhood, more opportunities directly to the neighborhood, there’s a deep appreciation for that.”

Bringing the Cooley project to life could turn the tide for future generations, as well, Woods said.

“We generate hope into the community and we believe that the more resources that you provide — I work with young people in our community — the better off that they can see themselves and recognize their purpose, and that’s what we want to help them to do,” he said.

The portion of the plan that residents are most excited about? Blight removal and home repairs assistance.

A map of the land Cooley High School on Detroit’s west side sits on.
The nonprofit Life Remodeled revealed its plans to offer to purchase and develop the former high school to the community on November 10, 2021.

For the Cooley project, Life Remodeled is committing a minimum of three years of annual blight removal and beautification of the 4.5 square miles surrounding Cooley — this includes boarding up vacant properties, cutting overgrown brush and assisting with home repairs. Homeowners get one critical repair for free, either a new roof, furnace or windows.

Committed partners for the Cooley project include:

Lional Dalton, a Cooley High School alumnus and Super Bowl champion who plans to operate sports programs with a renovated football field and facilities.
Stockar and Octavia McDougle; the former Detroit Lions first-round draft pick and his wife plan a new campus of their McDougle Technical Institute, a junior college and career education program, which includes student housing.

Methodist Children’s Home Society, a Michigan-based nonprofit that plans to use a portion of the former school building for pediatric mental health services.
Life Remodeled plans to present its plan for renovating and repurposing the vacant Cooley High School building to the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board during the first quarter of 2022.

“Detroit is the heartbeat of this state. Detroiters are resilient people,” Woods said. “We don’t want to come to Detroiters with a hand out, we want to come to Detroiters with a hand up. We want to extend a hand to try to give people a hand up out of poverty and illiteracy.

“It’s vitally important that we have a focal point on Detroit, but not only Detroit, but the people who are in the heart of the city of Detroit.”

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2021/11/10/life-remodeled-purchase-transform-vacant-cooley-high/6355058001/

[ Miriam Marini – Detroit Free Press ]

“Life Remodeled / Cooley Announcement”
[ November 10, 2021 ]

In 2017, a number of Durfee/Central community members criticized Life Remodeled for not being publicly transparent enough about the specifics of our proposed plan to lease the former Durfee school building before we signed the lease agreement. Learning from our past mistake, yesterday, after nearly two years of listening and learning from Cooley residents, alumni and community stakeholders, we shared the specifics of our desire to purchase and develop Cooley High School, including community and alumni requests, potential tenants, partnerships, purchase price, timeline and more.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQEO6dz_CvI

[ Fox 2 News ]

“Life Remodeled / Cooley Announcement”
[ November 10, 2021 ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCQCziSt7wQ

[ CW50 ]

“Life Remodeled / Cooley Announcement”
[ November 10, 2021 ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKFmrgmjssg

[ WDIV ]

“Why We Haven’t Purchased Cooley Yet”
[ February 14, 2022 ]

Thanks in part to tremendous media coverage, a considerable number of people in our region are well aware that Life Remodeled desires to purchase and repurpose Cooley High School into a one-stop-hub of opportunities for entire families to thrive!

Cooley has been sitting vacant since 2010… the windows and much of the copper have been ripped out, there was a fire that decimated the auditorium in 2017, and there are substantial active roof leaks that are on the verge of destroying the very foundation of this building beyond repair if they aren’t repaired SOON… even though all of this is true, the story of Cooley High School does not have to be over. We have an opportunity to put this facility to use – in ways community members want. Which is why we are committed to a $37.5 million repurposing project. The Cooley legacy can continue!

Life Remodeled has supported and sponsored numerous events and resource distributions in the Cooley community, including multiple food drives and cleanups, Trunk or Treat, a Stop the Violence rally with more than 250 participants, hosting the Cooley Alumni Meet and Greet at the DIS with more than 300 alumni, the distribution of 300 turkeys for Thanksgiving, and we threw a Cooley Alumni Christmas Party.

After more than two years of listening and sharing, we have heard clearly what many Cooley residents desire to be done with Cooley High School, and there is strong unity in the community as it relates to partnering with Life Remodeled. We have even received petition signatures from more than 1,000 Cooley residents and alumni who are ready for Life Remodeled to begin the work, and more than 20 letters of support from key Cooley community leaders and several of Detroit’s most influential civic leaders.

Additionally, we have signed LOI agreements with seven dynamic organizations who have committed to lease a total of 75% of the building and deliver impactful opportunities directly requested by Cooley community members.

At last week’s Board of Education meeting, Dr. Vitti announced that he and the school district recommend selling Cooley High School, and he stated there appears to be Board consensus on this issue. However, at this time we are unable to proceed with negotiating the purchase of Cooley with the school district until the DPSCD Board of Education decides to remove the moratorium on the sale of all their vacant properties. The Board put a moratorium in place 15 months ago for the stated purpose, “to ensure that any vacant building or land that we do opt to sell is done so in a fair and equitable process – and not just in ways that most benefit the connected and privileged.”

Stay tuned for exciting updates about Cooley, God Willing!

[ Life Remodeled ]

“Cooley High School / Life Remodeled”
[ Mar 15, 2022 ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj-ArdmU13w

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmCs6LWO4X8

[ Fox 2 News ]

“Our Most Impactful Six Day Project Yet!”
[ April 21, 2022 ]

It’s National Volunteer Week! And, as an organization that has mobilized more than 72,000 volunteers over the past 8 years, we figured this was the perfect time to announce the details of what I believe could be the most impactful Six Day Project we’ve even done!

Our 2022 Six Day Project will take place in the community surrounding Cooley High School, in an approximately 4.5-square mile area, from October 3-8. We’ll work from 1-5 p.m. each day.”

To more comprehensively serve the Cooley community and its residents, we’re adding some exciting elements to make it the most interactive Six Day Project we’ve ever done. In addition to mowing and trimming overgrown brush and weeds on vacant properties, we will also provide free lawn care services for senior citizens, veterans, and people with disabilities. This will greatly increase the level of interaction between community residents, students, and our volunteers who live outside the Cooley community.

We also plan to provide a limited number of homes near Cooley High School with increased services to upgrade their curb appeal, which may include options such as mulching, planting perennials, removing unwanted bushes, and installing new mailboxes.

Lastly, every night of the Six Day Project except Saturday, we will host events to engage community members and all volunteers in meaningful relational interactions with one another. Under a gigantic tent located on the Cooley High School property, together we’ll enjoy snacks, drinks and music from 5-6 p.m. Each evening will be led by a different Cooley Community organization.

We are capping the number of volunteers at 1,000 per day maximum, so it is important you let us know which day(s) you want to volunteer and how many volunteers you will mobilize per day.

[ Life Remodeled ]

“A Unique Donation Opportunity”
[ September 7, 2022 ]

We’re doing several new things during our annual Six Day Project this year. In addition to removing blight on vacant properties, together we will:

Mow and edge the lawns of seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities
Donate and install 100 video doorbells for residents closest to Cooley High School

Deliver freshly potted mums to 2,000 residents’ homes
If you’ve participated in the Project Week before, you know we’ve accumulated thousands of loppers, weed whackers, mowers, etc. for blight removal, but we have some additional expenses this year, and we need your help!

Will you donate today so we can purchase the following items that will directly benefit Detroiters?

Click here to donate and have your gift matched!:
https://pages.elevate.salesforce.org/LifeRemodeled/2022-6-day-project-supplies

Potted Mums @ $12 each (We need 2,000 total) For every mum you donate, your name will be labeled at the bottom of each pot.
Lawnmowers @ $165 each (We need 60 total)

I’m excited to announce that we have a $12,000 MATCH COMMITMENT thanks to one of our most passionate volunteers who has served with Life Remodeled every Six Day Project since YEAR ONE!

At this time, I must leave this individual unnamed, but I’ll be able to share more info in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, one of the underlying reasons for this gift is very sad since his beloved brother recently passed away from a heart attack. However, on a joyful note, even though his brother lived 1,300 miles away in Houston, TX, he read our stories, watched the videos, and was very inspired by the impact we’ve been making here in Detroit.

Therefore, in managing his brother’s trust, he thought that Life Remodeled’s new project in the Cooley neighborhood would have been something that his brother would have wanted to support. So, he is making a commitment, in his brother’s name, to match up to $12,000 in donations so we will be able to purchase ALL of the potted mums.

We are so thankful for this donation and we hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to give a matched gift to this exciting new part of the Six Day Project!

Excited to Bless the Cooley Community Together w/ YOU!

[ Life Remodeled ]

“It’s Six Day Project Week!”
[ October 3, 2022 ]

It’s Six Day Project week! Nearly 6,000 volunteers are coming together in the Cooley community over the next six days, and together we will:

Clear blight from the front yards of vacant properties
Mow and edge the lawns of seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities
Donate and install 100 Ring doorbells for residents closest to Cooley High School

Deliver freshly potted mums to 2,000 residents’ homes

Don’t forget we have a dollar-for-dollar $12,000 DONATION MATCH available if you make a donation to purchase a mum for a Detroit family for just $12!

Click here to donate and have your gift matched!
https://pages.elevate.salesforce.org/LifeRemodeled/2022-6-day-project-supplies

We’re also excited to announce our partnership with Schostak Brothers & Company! In honor of their company’s 100 year anniversary, they’ve committed $100,000 as the presenting sponsor of this year’s Six Day Project! Check out this quick message from Bobby Schostak who is out in the Cooley Community RIGHT NOW with his team clearing blight and beautifying in the neighborhood!

“Six Day Project”
[ 2022 – Cooley High School ]

Want to make significant impact in Detroit neighborhoods while building relationships with residents and students?
Our 2022 Six Day Project will take place in the community surrounding Cooley High School, in an approximately 4.5-square mile area from Monday – Saturday, October 3-8 from 12-5 p.m. each day.

Below is the schedule for your volunteer day:
– 11-11:45 a.m. // Arrive at Cooley High School & board buses to command centers
– 12-4 p.m. // Blight removal and beautification on assigned block
– 4-5 p.m. // Volunteer wrap-up event at Cooley High School

ABOUT THIS YEAR’S PROJECT:

To more comprehensively serve the Cooley community and its residents, we’re adding some exciting elements to make it the most interactive Six Day Project we’ve ever done. In addition to mowing and trimming overgrown brush and weeds on vacant properties, we will also provide free lawn care services for Cooley community residents. This will greatly increase the level of interaction between community residents, students, and our volunteers who live outside the Cooley community.

We also plan to provide a limited number of homes near Cooley High School with increased services to upgrade their curb appeal, which may include options such as providing potted plants, removing unwanted bushes, and painting house numbers on curbs.

Lastly, every night of the Six Day Project except Saturday, we will host events to engage community members and all volunteers in meaningful relational interactions with one another. Under a gigantic tent located on the Cooley High School property, together we’ll enjoy snacks, drinks and music from 4-5 p.m . Each evening will be led by a different Cooley Community organization.

We are capping the number of volunteers at 1,000 per day maximum, so it is important you let us know which day(s) you want to volunteer and how many volunteers you will mobilize per day.

PROJECT DETAILS:
– Volunteers will arrive at the former Cooley High School (15055 Hubbell Ave, Detroit, MI 48227) between 11-11:45 a.m. Volunteers will then board shuttle buses that will transport them to Command Centers throughout the neighborhood.
– Upon arrival at the Command Center, volunteers will receive their volunteer assignment as well as all the tools (mowers, weed whips, loppers, rakes, trash bags, etc.) and then will walk to their location.
– Volunteers should bring their own work gloves and protective eyewear/sunglasses. Water is provided, but we advise groups and individuals to bring extra water as well as snacks if needed.
– At the end of your shift, volunteers return their equipment to the Command Center and are bussed back to Cooley High School to participate in the after-party event and then return to their vehicles.
– Every participant must sign a digital waiver and wear the volunteer shirt provided by Life Remodeled in order to participate.
– Additional details to be provided upon registration.

Past Projects:
Our 2021 Six Day Project was held October 4-9, 2021. We focused on clearing blight from the front yards of vacant properties, and with an army of 3,822 volunteers from 173 businesses, churches and other organizations helped clear 150 blocks in the four square miles of Detroit neighborhoods surrounding the Durfee Innovation Society.

Since 2014, Life Remodeled has invested $38.5 million into four Detroit neighborhoods. We’ve beautified 1,810 blocks, repaired 194 homes, boarded up 2,062 houses and engaged 72,276 volunteers.

WEBSITE: https://liferemodeled.org/projects/

[ Life Remodeled ]

“6DP Kick-off 2022”
(Presented by Schostak Brothers & Company)
[ October 3, 2022 ]

My name is Bobby Schostak. Along with my brothers David and Mark, we represent Schostak Brothers and Company, celebrating its 100th year in business in this community.

We’re very excited to support life remodeled and its mission to invest in the neighborhoods. We are very excited to be supportive as part of our 100th year, Life Remodeled and all the good work that they do.

We’re pleased that we can make Life Remodeled one of the donations that we’re going to do to celebrate our 100th year—by donating $100,000 to this project.

We, my brothers and I, and our associates at our office will participate with our hands and and show up on the day to work the Six Day Project.

It’s an exciting time and we want to encourage others to join us both with their ability where they can to donate as well as to volunteer and help make this the best Life Remodeled project ever.

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR0R4zu10M0

[ Schostak Brothers & Company ]

“6,000 volunteers erasing blight during Life Remodeled’s 2022 six-day project”
[ Oct 03, 2022 ]

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Six thousand volunteers are rolling up their sleeves this week to make a difference in the city of Detroit by erasing blight and helping those who need it most.

With saw in hand, Alonzo Marable cuts away at trees and creeping vines coming into the backyard from the vacant house next door.

7 Action News’ Dave LewAllen asked, “Why do this? Why do this work?”

“Because I love Detroit and I love that people come back and support Detroit,” Alonzo Marable said. “I’ve been in Detroit all my life, born and raised, here to stay, and I’m here to help us win.”

As a long-time volunteer for the revitalization projects led by Life Remodeled, Alonzo knows firsthand the difference it’s making in and around Detroit neighborhoods and schools.

“The lady right here, the house we’re working on today, she said a guy was hiding in the bushes in front. Well, he can’t hide anymore,” Marable said.

“We took care of all that. Me and my crew took it all down,” Marable continued. “It’s my fourth project working with the group and I love it, and I’m here as long as they need my support.”

Shirley Jones has lived across from Cooley High School for decades. She supports the effort to turn the school building, which closed in 2010, into a community resource hub.

“Why let the property and all that go to waste, right, so it can help the neighborhood, which is a pretty good neighborhood, it really is. I’ve never had a problem — I’ve been here over 45 years. I’ve been here a long time,” Jones said.

It’s a huge logistical effort to get to this point in the process. Mowers and trimmers were all delivered on site and thousands of volunteers gathering at Cooley High School. Chris Lambert is the founder and CEO of Life Remodeled.

“Not only are we making the community safer, but we’re bringing people together from all different walks of life, right, different races, different religions, different socio-economic backgrounds, and we’re all united for a purpose and what I find is when you do that, something happens and people’s respect for one another, and we start to overcome a lot of these chasms that we’re experiencing in our country,” Lambert said.

Corporate and philanthropic support are key to the project’s success. In celebrating 100 years in business, Schostak Brothers & Company contributed $100,000 to this effort. It’s part of their $1 million commitment to community-oriented projects for good.

“We wanted to be able to, not to just give money, but to participate, to volunteer,” David Schostak said. “All of our associates and partners in the office, they all embraced it, there’s 60 or 70 of them here with us working.”

https://www.wxyz.com/news/community-connection/6-000-volunteers-erasing-blight-during-life-remodeleds-2022-six-day-project

[ Dave LewAllen , Michael Glover ]

“Volunteers Clean Up Detroit Neighborhood”
[ OCTOBER 3, 2022 ]

(CBS DETROIT) — A non-profit is transforming one Detroit neighborhood.

Life Remodeled is spending this week cleaning up the area around Cooley High School.

Shirley Jones has lived across the street from the school for 45 years.

“When you looked out the window, it looked gorgeous to me, and that’s why I haven’t moved,” Jones said.

She says a lifeline was cut when the school closed more than a decade ago.

But Life Remodeled is close to purchasing the structure.

Their vision is to reopen the doors as a hub to connect Detroiters with jobs, mental health services, and educational opportunities.

“We help these organizations collaborate together to be better together and make a far greater impact than they would ever make alone,” said Chris Lambert, Founder & CEO of Life Remodeled.

To show the surrounding community their commitment, an army of volunteers will hit vacant properties this week to get rid of weeds, clear overgrown brush and clean up the illegal dumping.

“By the time you get done. You’re uncovering houses. I’ve done that; you’re removing everything–the eyesore is gone,” said volunteer Boone Kowalis.

Besides making the neighborhood look pretty, 100 homeowners will receive Ring doorbell cameras to help deter crime.

“We know that it could be much better; it could be better again,” resident Frances Roland said.

The efforts are much appreciated.

“I never thought it would come to this,” Jones said. “I am grateful and glad that they are doing something.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/volunteers-clean-up-detroit-neighborhood/

[ BY ANDRES GUTIERREZ – CW50 DETROIT ]

“WDIV Story / Life Remodeled Cooley”
[ October 5, 2022 ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYkBSwGZQrU

[ WDIV ]

“CW50 Feature / Life Remodeled Cooley”
[ October 6, 2022 ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYTCuSHemj0

[ CW50 ]

“WXYZ Channel 7 Story / Life Remodeled: Cooley Community”
[ October 6, 2022 ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1gpnADd1wA

[ WXYZ ]

“Life Remodeled 2022”
[ October 10, 2022 ]

See over 4,300 pics of the volunteers and what they did on the 2022 Six-Day Project:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/liferemodeled2022/albums

“What Happened!? Cooley Community 2022”
[ October 14, 2022 ]

I’m convinced our 2022 Six Day Project last week was our best yet! Here are 3 reasons why:

– We received strong positive feedback from more community members than ever before.

– Our long-term volunteers who’ve served on the Life Remodeled Six Day Project regularly since 2014 repeatedly told me the Cooley community was the most engaged and embracing Detroit community in which they’ve volunteered.

– Ms. Frances Roland has lived in the Cooley community for more than half a century, and she used to regularly walk the Cooley High School track for exercise. Last week we cleared a massive amount of brush from the property, and on Day 2 of the project we witnessed Ms. Roland walking around the gravel Cooley track. She proudly proclaimed this was the first time she’s graced this path in 12 years, because now she finally feels safe again

What was different about this year?

– Over the past 2.5 years, we’ve engaged literally thousands of residents in the community; listening to students’ and community members’ desires for solutions to the vacant Cooley High School, developing strong bonds and relationships with the most committed community leaders, and providing significant resources and opportunities.

– Because housing in the Cooley community is densely populated, and this area has the least amount of blight of any community we’ve invested in, our Six Day Project focused much more on beautification. Yes, we busted a bunch of blight on vacant properties, but we also mowed over 400 lawns of seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, delivered 2,000 freshly potted mums, donated and installed 100 Ring video doorbells, and painted addresses on curbs.

Special thanks to Mark Besh for donating a $12,000 matching gift to cover the costs of 2,000 mums and pots. The match is still active, so if you still want to make a gift, use this link to donate today:
https://pages.elevate.salesforce.org/LifeRemodeled/2022-6-day-project-supplies

Lastly, check out some of the phenomenal media coverage:

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1gpnADd1wA
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKbFzjJWkTE
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aobEWIVmsEE
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3eZuP9lgz8

Hope you will join us again in the Cooley community the week of October 2 – 7, 2023!

[ NOTE: See over 4,300 pics of the volunteers and what they did on the Six-Day Project here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/liferemodeled2022/albums ]

[ Life Remodeled ]

End of Life Remodeled-specific information

“Repurposing Your Life”

When people enter their 30’s or 40’s, or even their 50’s, they may ask themselves, “So what do I want to do when I grow up?” But maybe it’s not about doing, maybe it’s about buying something—like a fast car. (Hmmm…) Either way, Dr. Randy talks to you about Repurposing Your Life.

At Intentional Living, we have a passion to help people live intentionally in the five essential areas of life: Faith, Relationships, Health, Finances and Work. We’re motivated by our God-given mission, vision and message.

Mission
– Family Life Communications is a Biblical, Christ-centered communications ministry dedicated to igniting transformation by affirming faith, inspiring hope and equipping each person into healthy relationships and growth in Christ.

– Vision
To see individuals, families, churches and nations of the world transformed – as evidenced by individuals living an intentional life in Christ.

Repurposing Your Life

[ Intentional Living ]

“Repurpose Your Life”

I’m not artistic or handy, so I’m always amazed at people who can refurbish old furniture. Maybe you know someone who has that skill. They might start with an old table that they found in a pile of garbage on the side of the road. At the beginning, the table looks a piece of trash.

But then they get to work. They might start by sanding off all the chipped paint. Then they repair one of the legs of the table that is broken. Then they repaint the table, maybe a bright yellow color. Maybe they add some flair or a new feature to the table. By the time they are done, the table looks awesome. If you didn’t see the whole process, you wouldn’t believe where the new table came from.

Sometimes when people are struggling with an area of their lives, it can help to take something else in their lives that they already have, and repurpose it into something else that helps with their problem. Like the old table, you’re starting with something you already have, but then you go through a process to repurpose it for something else.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Lots of people struggle with self-compassion. Maybe you are harsh with yourself when you make a mistake or don’t live up to the standards you have set for yourself. Perhaps you tell yourself all sorts of terrible things that you would never tell a friend.

Telling yourself to just ‘be nicer’ to yourself doesn’t really work, because it’s a completely new thing. You might not know where to start. Instead, what if you repurposed something that you already have—your compassion for others? Think about how you would engage with a close friend when they make a mistake, or struggle to live up to the standards they set for themselves. What would you say to them? What do they need? How would you support them? What kinds of things would you think, do, or say?

Then take that compassion that you would have for a close friend, and repurpose it into compassion toward yourself.

Or perhaps you are struggling with discipline in an area of your life. Try as you might, you just can’t seem to have consistency in your eating habits, your exercise, or your work. Instead of just trying to ‘be better,’ might there be a way to repurpose something you already have? Is there anything in your life that you are disciplined and consistent about? Maybe you make it a priority to have a family dinner with your spouse and children at night, or perhaps you never miss a certain TV show each week. What steps do you take to be disciplined in this area of your life? How do you make sure it is a priority? What steps do you take to achieve consistency?

Then take that discipline that you already have in one area of your life, and repurpose it into discipline in the area of your struggle.

Discussion: What is one area of your life that you are struggling with and would like to change? Is there a way to repurpose something that you already have, and apply it to the new area?

[ Joshua Hook ]

“A REPURPOSED LIFE FOR A GREATER PURPOSE”

A repurposed life is my current reality. For many years, I thought I had my life all figured out. I would always be a wife and mother of two daughters and work on staff at my church. Until Jesus came back, that was my plan. It was a good plan, but it was my plan, not God’s. He inserted His own plan when on November 17, 2012, He took our oldest daughter to heaven to be with Him. I eventually (notice I didn’t say suddenly) discovered that my life was in need of repurposing.

God is the one who gives our life purpose, and then He repurposes when necessary. He always has a purpose for us no matter the season of life.

Inanimate objects can be repurposed: a family heirloom, fine jewelry, driftwood, broken pottery, wood from an old home place, fabric from clothes belonging to a deceased loved one made into a beautiful quilt, old pictures made into a collage work of art, etc. Jesus repurposed a boy’s lunch into something bigger and better (John 6:9).

Something recycled reminds me of reincarnation, which is a totally false concept. Something repurposed conveys resurrection power.

We find repurposed lives in the Bible. Job was one. Can we say with Job, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” (Job 23:10)? Joseph was another who went from rich kid to slave to inmate to ruler of Egypt. Esther was a poor orphan girl who never dreamed she would one day be Queen of Persia. Naomi experienced the loss of husband and children, a path she would not have chosen. Then God chose her to cradle baby Obed who became the grandfather of King David in the lineage of Jesus Christ. Peter, Andrew, James and John were fishermen, a noble profession; but then Jesus came along and changed everything. He repurposed their lives.

We all know of people alive today like Joni Eareckson Tada, Melissa Stockwell, and countless others who refused to allow an accident or war injury prevent them from working hard and achieving success.

So, where are you today? Has a major life-changing event totally obliterated your plan? Is a significant shift in the trajectory of your life staring you in the face, possibly retirement? God already has it figured out! He has a plan to repurpose your life for a greater purpose, and He will share it with you when you seek Him. But let’s be honest. Do we spend as much time in prayer, fasting, and reading the Bible to find our answers, direction, and encouragement as we do in worry, reliving the pain, and not moving?

“My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Ps. 27:8).

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Is. 43:19). This path is new to us but not to Him.

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do—one day? Go back to school, learn something new, launch a new career, pursue a hobby, volunteer? Does your once-upon-a-time dream, neatly buried in storage so long ago, seek to breathe again and take that first step into today’s reality? What is it that God desires to birth or rebirth in you?

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Pro. 19:21).

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Eph. 5:15-17).

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13).

It’s a new season! How exciting! Today I’m writing books and loving life. Only God knew that would happen. He repurposed me for a greater purpose, and I am thankful.

[ Karen F. Norton ]

“Repurposing Our Lives and Our Way of Seeing”

Repurposing, reorienting, and redesigning our lives happens when we come to terms with the process of transition. How we look at things will bring a new dimension to our situation and our options.

We need to alter our way of seeing. Understanding that we are in a constant transition and welcoming change with an open attitude is where we start. The process or period of changing from one state or condition to another, never ceases. Yet, it may appear to be more evident at certain times of our lives or feel more radical given our varying states of being.

We resist transformation because we have worked endlessly to create a sense of stability and routine in our daily activities. Realignment happens when acknowledging that everything is in a continual state of motion.

If we have denied perpetual movement exists, when change happens, we are stunned, feeling the rug has been yanked from under our feet.

This can also happen as we age; our life purpose shifts. With the pandemic, people of all ages feel the uncertainty of what was and struggle to figure out what will be.

Although we may be in different phases of life, the transitioning from what we knew to be and the uncertainty of what is to become are similar. Both rely on our passions, skills, and abilities to move forward.

How-to repurpose life’s mission is varied. Reprocessing the ideas of where we thought life was taking us, where we thought we had landed, and how the new destination of where we would like to arrive is presented to us.

It’s ok to be uncertain; certainty will come when we accept life moves on its trajectory. There is no single way that fits all, with one exception; learning to go with the flow.

Yet the flow may change, going in the direction we are looking towards or veering away, into one we never imagined.

It keeps doing what it does; flow.

When we resist, like a rock in the stream, the water, like life, does not judge that the rock is in the way; it simply flows over and around it.

We can be like the rock, finding our place in the stream, burrowing into the mud or wedging between other rocks, and allowing life to flow around us. One day the stream may shift because rocks upstream have altered the path. We may remain as the rock steadfast in our position, even though the flow has been redirected. We become stagnant.

This is fine if we are fine with this. Or we can make a transition. We can become the stream.

Once we learn to go with the flow, even if the flow is seemingly antithetic to where we want to go, keeping our eyes open and our intuition on alert to signs of how we need to move.

No one could have predicted that 2020 would have taken the twists and turns that it has filled with the emotional loss of loved ones and financial loss of livelihoods. How we navigate the new road is up to us.

To replace the fear of uncertainty with optimism and faith is a place to begin. Fear only serves to drain our adrenals and weaken our immune system, so to guard against allowing it to take hold is important.

Buddism offers ways to transform troublesome thoughts when they arise. One suggestion is a practice called changing the peg. Just as a carpenter will replace a rotten or broken peg by first removing it then replacing it by hammering in a new one, so can we replace thoughts that no longer serve us.

The key is to replace the high anxiety, damaging or disquieting thoughts with high value and resonance. It must be replaced with ones that bring us joy or are about a passion that excites us. To change troublesome thoughts with mundane, boring ones won’t work.

An example could be anxious thoughts keeping us up at night. To replace that anxiety with going to the market will do nothing to alleviate the troublesome thought, but replacing it with a passion or a memory of something that brings immense joy or thrill, will. The mind will tap into the new thought’s energy, the new peg, allowing the unnecessary worry to go.

During these times of uncertainty, take the gift of time to explore the things you always dreamt of doing. The worldwide web is at our fingertips; even if we cannot get out into the community or socialize, we have the opportunity to do things we may never have the time to do again once life gets back on track.

In the meantime, remember to change the peg when those pesky thoughts overwhelm you. We only need the desire to get into the flow. Repurpose, redesign, and reprocess what was, changing how we see will alter how our lives will be.

[ Charisse Glenn ]

“Repurposing Your Past Experiences”

Have you ever wished you could get back the lost time and energy from all those hard times or when you experienced failure in any area of your life? Starting over and shifting direction to achieve the results you want can be frustrating and downright tiresome. From my personal journey of imperfection I know this too well so I know how you feel.

When you muster up the courage to have yet another go, your inner voice reminds you of the last time you attempted something like this and helps you to shrink back under the glass ceiling you have created over the years. You wonder why others can make it happen and why you can’t. “What’s wrong with me, why does it always turn out this way?”

It’s called ‘self doubt’ and it’s caused by your current relationship with failure. Remember failing doesn’t have to mean ‘failure’. The first is about missing the mark and the later is the meaning you placed on that event. Just because you failed, it doesn’t make you a failure.

Well here’s the good news, it no longer has to be that way for you. You can use your past experiences to fast-track your future results and I want to show you how. Come on, join me in this journey. I’m so glad I have implemented what I’m about to teach you. It has literally changed my life.

With the right mindset shifts, and a powerful 1 page tool, you can extract the gold you need from the past and present to pave the way forward in every area of your life. Let’s get started.

Step 1: REFLECT
It’s like doing an audit of the contents of your house that has accumulated over many years. Some things have been handed down to you from generations past and some you have bought yourself. Some things have special meaning and remind you of people, places and experiences. This can induce hoarding, holding on to things that you just don’t need anymore for fear of what giving them up may produce.

This is what we do with our beliefs and experiences as well. We inherit some and we create others. Step 1 is to make a list of everything that we are holding onto from our past and get clear on what we have made them mean. Are they one of the past experiences that always come to mind when embarking on something new? What feelings do they create when we relive them?

Step 2: REPURPOSE
Once we have competed the audit, we need to decide what to do with what we have accumulated. Some things will need to be trashed and others can be repurposed. Just like an old antique furniture piece that is collecting dust and taking up space could put be to better use, so too can your past experiences be repurposed. A dresser can be stripped back and renewed with a nice coat of paint and some new handles, making it relevant for today. You have the power to give it new life. You can also do this with the content of your past.

Step 2 starts with letting go of the beliefs that are outdated and ineffective. No need for a garage sale, just throw them out. Every time we go to clean out our garage at home it takes twice as long as we intended. This is because we inevitably come across things that remind us of the past and induce emotions that can make it difficult to let go. I might throw something out to later find my wife has ‘saved’ it from the scrap pile and put it back where it was. This can also happen when we involve others who are close to us in repurposing our experiences so be ruthless. If it hasn’t been used in a positive way and moved you forward, chuck it out fast. During this process you can also discover what you learned from those times in the past when you didn’t get the results you expected.

Step 3: REDEPLOY
That old dresser now looks awesome in it’s new form. The new style and colour fits perfectly with today’s decor and it has become useful again.

Step 3 is to redeploy the learnings and new beliefs into the goals and projects you are working on today, tomorrow and beyond. Now that they have had a makeover, they become valuable resources instead of roadblocks.

What’s been holding you back up to now, can be repurposed and propel you forward. It’s your choice.

To help you with this process I have created a 1 page template for you to use. Grab your copy below and reflect, repurpose and redeploy.

[ Grant Herbert ]

“Repurpose Your Life”

I know a great many people who repurpose all kinds of things, taking something that would otherwise be thought of as refuse turned into something of function, value, even art. So it is with your life. If your life has been routine, mundane, meaningless, or ready for the trash heap, don’t bail just yet. The time has come for you to repurpose your life.

Often repurposing a thing takes effort and attention. The result is something of value which is worth more than the raw components used to create something new from something old.

There was a time when the trend was to create everything to not last long. You would buy it, then throw it into the trash without a thought of it. This trend has led us to live a disposable lifestyle. To throw out anything which has outlived the short life which it was intended for.

This disposable lifestyle is not only counterproductive, it is destructive and unsustainable.

If you can break your trance long enough to become aware of your surroundings, you will find people who are scouring the Internet, thrift, antique, and pawn shops, eBay and Craig’s List for hidden treasures from the past which can be repaired, reconfigured, or enjoyed in their current state as a cherished, valuable, and functional purpose.

To apply this trend to your life is a thought which is not far off. You can look at your life and think, “My life has no purpose,” or, “I have nothing to offer the world,” then to think of yourself as disposable. Left by yourself in this state of mind, your body will begin to accept this as your reality and you will find yourself in premature deterioration.

Where is the happiness in a life which is not valued? If you’re in a state of self-devaluation, maybe a step outside yourself will help you to see how valuable you really are, and with a little intention, attention, and work, a new you can emerge enabling you to live a better life.

Take a look around. Are you stuck in a rut? Is the work that you do day-in/day-out satisfying? Are you achieving a sense of accomplishment from the life you’re living? Could you be making more of a contribution to someone close to you or, serving the local community?

If you can agree your life can use a little repurposing, you might consider asking yourself,

What changes can you make to live a better life?

Whatever you are doing that drains your energy, or does not resonate with that higher part of yourself and doesn’t make you feel good, stop doing it, and make the changes in your life which would be necessary to replace it with something that makes you feel good about yourself and what you’re doing.

When you’re considering embarking on this journey of repurposing yourself, be mindful of what makes you feel good and do more of that. Ask yourself,

What makes your heart sing?

What are those things which bring you joy? Find ways to integrate more of these into your life.

After you start this process of repurposing your life, you can imagine a renewed sense of purpose, possibly living out your best life, affecting the lives of others and our environment, in effect, making the world a better place.

[ David Masters ]

“How To Repurpose Your Life”

We’re in the midst of repurposing the basement area of our home as the original space it was intended to be—a family room. We envision hosting extended family gatherings, small groups from church and fun time with friends and family.

Since we move to this house 18 years ago, the basement has served to house foster children and young adults. Through the years little has been done to the basement. To bring it back to its intended design, we are in our own season of demolition.

Remodeling
As always one thing leads to another and before new flooring can be installed, the old carpets and pads had to be removed along with tack strips. Then, the floor has to be prepped and leveled. Before that happens, though, the walls have to be primed and then painted. And before that, baseboards have to be removed.

Then, somewhere in the process, the decision has to be made to paint or not paint the brick fireplace. Finally, the flooring has to be installed and baseboards reinstalled. Then, window coverings, furnishings and finishing touches completed.

The tasks seem endless because one thing leads to another. Often in the midst, we just need a break from it all and tell ourselves why we are doing this in the first place.

It so reminds me of my weight loss journey. I knew with the state I was in, I needed a major upheaval of some sort, but I had no idea how to get there. I really thought I just needed to lose weight. That in itself was a daunting task since I weighed 430 pounds at the time.

Surrender
What I finally realized, though, was that I needed to surrender all the obstacles standing in my way of going forward towards the life God had already designed for me.

That initial process was hard because the first thing that had to go was my dependence on sugar. I had to admit to God and myself that I was a sugar addict and that my life had become unmanageable. I was weak around sugar. I couldn’t say, “no.” Still, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt this was my main issue.

So I laid that on God’s altar. Out of love and obedience, I surrendered sugar to God. I asked Him to show me the next step, to show me how to walk out the journey.

He brought people into my life to help me, to guide me and goad me, to coach me and encourage me. Without them, I never would have gotten as far as I have on my own life-repurposing project. I would have stopped halfway through and gone back to my addiction. I would undoubtedly be in a much worse shape than I was when I started.

Transformed
Instead, my life has changed, transformed in astronomical ways. Not only have I lost 260 pounds and kept it off for over four years, but I’ve written four books and two study guides and have over 800 blog posts on my website.

Then, God called me to coach others. He and I have coached hundreds of people who have lost thousands of pounds. By the grace of God, I have appeared on numerous Christian television shows and shared in workshops and speaking at numerous places, always knowing the God in me will not fail to give me the right words to say.

None of this was in my mind when I began my journey. I had two things I wanted. I wanted to lose weight and I wanted to write a book that mattered. God took my destiny far beyond my limited imagination.

Designed to Live
It reminds me of Joanna Gaines on Fixer Upper. She can walk into an old, dilapidated house and immediately see the potential. Through the magic of television, we see in her mind the drawings of what she is thinking as she removes walls, moves hallways around and remodels bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms.

Usually, the homeowners want three or four bedrooms and an open floor plan, but when Joanna and Chip, her husband the Demo Day guy, get done, the house is something that is beyond the homeowners’ wildest dreams.

That’s what God did for me. I look at myself in the mirror today and I am amazed at what I see. From where I was to where I am today is so over the top. He did far more than I could ever imagine or guess or request in my wildest dreams!1 God had more in mind for me than I did.

I’m so glad I allowed God to change me from the inside out.2 He showed me that only happens when I take my eyes off myself and my own selfish desires and fix my attention on Him.2

This week in Sweet Change Group, we’re talking about Demo Day and surrendering what stands in our way of becoming everything God wants us to be in order to allow Him to repurpose our lives.

Believe me, Friends, what Jesus has in mind for us only comes through surrender based on loving and obeying Him.

This journey we are on starts and ends in Him. He is our author and our finisher.3 If we stay close to Him and follow Him in everything He tells us and shows us, we can’t help but be repurposed, remodeled and remade into the new design He has waiting for us.

1Ephesians 3:20 MSG
2Romans 12:2 MSG
3Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

[ Teresa Shields Parker ]

“Repurposing Your Life”

One of the things I like about watching HGTV is to see how the repurpose and reuse previously discarded materials. Who knew you could take old, wooden Coca-Cola bottle boxes, screw them together, put legs under them, and put glass on top to create a cool display coffee table? I love how they find new uses for previously thrown out items or give new life to things that are worn out and are thought to be worthless. Their creativity is inspiring.

When I watch that, I can’t help but think, “That’s what God does with us!” He takes our lives that are broken, used up, out dated and seemingly useless, and repurposes us. He gives us new life that makes us more beautiful than before. He sometimes finds us in life’s scrap pile and thinks, “I can find new life and uses for this.” When everyone else sees someone worth discarding, God sees potential. This always gives me hope.

In Isaiah 41, God had strong words for Israel. They had fallen away and were scattered. They were a people who were broken and thought of as trash, but God doesn’t like to leave His children that way. In verse 9 He said, “I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, ‘You are my servant.’ For I have chosen you and will not throw you away” (NLT). When others, and often ourselves, don’t see value in our life and are willing to toss us out with yesterday’s garbage, God sees someone He value and can use.

In verse 10, He goes on to say, “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Not only does He see your life as valuable and worthy of repurposing, He’s going to give you strength, help and victory for the transition. It’s not always easy being repurposed, but if we will let God have complete control over our lives, He will make something beautiful and useful.

[ Chris Hendrix ]

“My Repurposed Life”

Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind “My Repurposed Life.” I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way…literally!

WEBSITE: https://www.myrepurposedlife.com/

“Life Repurposed”

Have you ever noticed the large hills across the highway from the Lewis Prison, between Gila Bend and Buckeye? You may know that those are landfills, being used by the companies that haul the trash out of Phoenix. Does something in you cringe when you realize just how much junk we throw away, junk that has to end up somewhere? No wonder the idea of repurposing old stuff has become so popular!

An even worse tragedy is the number of people who have given in to the idea that their lives are falling apart, with no hope of being repurposed. That’s why we are focusing on the theme, “Life Repurposed”, at Stone Ridge this summer. The New Testament letter from Paul to the Galatians is full of good news about God’s plan to reshape our lives by setting us free from the things that would hold us back. Each week, our Summer Sermon Series message will be brought by one of our leaders who will joyfully share out of his own repurposed life.

[ Sam Norris ]

http://stoneridgechurch.com/all-resource-list/life-repurposed-part-1-only-one-good-news-2/

LISTEN:
http://stoneridgechurch.com/all-resource-list/life-repurposed-part-1-only-one-good-news/

“Real Life – Radically Repurposed” (Part 3)

The First Disciples

16 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him.

19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

Hebrews 13:1-6 New Living Translation (NLT)

Concluding Words

13 Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. 2 Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! 3 Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.

4 Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,

“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”

6 So we can say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”

James 1:19-27 New Living Translation (NLT)

Listening and Doing

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

2 Timothy 4:5-8 New Living Translation (NLT)

5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.

6 As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

[ Ron Yost ]

Real Life (Part 3) Radically Repurposed

“Repurposing Defeat”

No one likes defeat (except maybe the Cleveland Browns). Losing demoralizes and wears us out. That only “weak and useless people suffer defeat” is our fear when we face defeat. Jesus had a crushing defeat: death by public execution, followers scattering, crowds turning on Him and borrowing a tomb for burial. It seemed like everything He had worked for and accomplished was taken from Him, gone, pointless. Hopeless. But His defeat was actually strategic so that He could make the way to repurpose His defeat and then help us gain victory through defeat as well!

[ Brian Liechty ]

“A Repurposed Heart Is A Servant’s Heart”

In this message we covered the fifth and final mission measure, evidence, or markers that would indicate to us as individuals and as a church that we are maturing/walking in the particular mission statement that we believe the Lord has called us as a local congregation to fulfill.

Just to refresh your memory, we can state our mission measures this way:
A repurposed life….is fluent in the Gospel.
….embraces the broken.

….joyfully participates.

And….generously gives.

When the Spirit of God spiritually transforms a sinner by the grace of the Father, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, there will be changes in the new believer – inside and out. They are immediately justified – made right – declared righteous by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness into our lives – and are eternally secure in this relationship because ‘the good work that the Lord started, He will finish’ (Philippians 1:6). Our life is now Christ’s life.

There should also be seen some inward and outward changes – maybe more gradual, but still evident – in the Christian’s life. That’s what these mission measures are speaking of. The fifth and final measure (although there are many other ‘evidences’ that a life has been spiritually transformed) that we understand is tied into our vision and mission at Grace Christian Fellowship, is that our fallen nature, which is naturally selfish, will have a new desire to serve others. Humble service – being a servant – esteeming others greater than ourselves – is not natural to the fallen nature – and can only be developed and nurtured in the heart and life of a believer after God’s Spirit repurposes/transforms them, and begins the process of sanctification – maturing into Christlikeness.

The greatest joy – the greatest sense of contentment – comes or resides in the believer who is passionately serving the Lord, the church, and those around them. This passionate sense of serving is never to be done in the flesh or for the sake of rewards, awards, recognition, accolades, public affirmations, or to win the pastor’s favor. Everything we are to do we are to do for the glory of God. And of course, the perfect example of servanthood for us is the life of Jesus Christ. Here’s Jesus – the Son of God – but He came to this earth, not to be served (although He deserves to be served!), but to serve. And His greatest act of service was laying down His life for us.

[ Randy Evans ]

“The Old Me Made New”

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:10–12)
When we first hear and receive the good news of Jesus Christ, we’re quite content to have our sins forgiven and our shame removed. We sense the consequences of offending an all-knowing and all-powerful God, and feel the heavy burden being lifted of all we’ve done wrong. In one sense, we know there’s still work to do, a lingering sense of our remaining sin, but the relief of simply being forgiven is even more powerful.

But what if Jesus died for more than forgiveness?

The good news of the gospel doesn’t stop with pardon. We treat grace like it’s God’s big eraser for our every wrong or mistake. But God does not only mean to rub the page clean. No, he intends to write a new story in sin’s place, replacing what was once broken, wicked, and dead with love, faithfulness, and life.

The gospel doesn’t just get us out of hell; it also makes us new. Grace doesn’t just help us shed the weight of past sins; it empowers us to feel and live differently.

More Sinful than We Know

David says, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3). He had just seen a married woman bathing naked from his palace roof (2 Samuel 11:2), lusted over her, brought her into his home, slept with her (11:4), and gotten her pregnant (11:5). Then, he tried to cover his sin by having her husband come home from war and sleep with her (11:9–13). And when that didn’t work, he conspired to have her husband killed in battle (11:15). He murdered an honest man to protect his affair with his wife.

And then Nathan confronted him about it all (12:1–14). By the time David wrote this psalm, he knew all about his sin — the wickedness and rebellion of his heart.

Or did he? “I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). The adultery, the lying, and the murder were all just symptoms of a larger, deeper problem. David was evil at his core, and he’d been that way since birth, even before birth. Sin infects and cripples us more than we’ll admit, and far more than we ever know.

Grace Greater than All Our Sin

David knew that his sin was great, but he also knew something greater than all his sin. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1). God has revealed something about himself that can make even sinners feel safe and confident in his presence. David knows he’s fallen into awful, murderous sin, and yet he comes boldly before God to ask for forgiveness and cleansing. And he prays and pleads not according to anything he has done to make things right, but according to the Lord’s love and mercy.

His prayer does not end with forgiveness (Psalm 51:1), but with newness. He goes further than forgiveness and asks for more, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. . . . Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:7, 10). God, I want to change. I want to love what’s right and good. I want to live differently. I want to love like you love. By the same grace that you rescued me from hell, please make me new.

A Rescued Life Repurposed

The pattern of Psalm 51 — a forgiving grace that is also a transforming grace — shows up again and again throughout the Bible.

For example, Philippians says that Christ humbled himself to the point of death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). He died a bloody death in our place. “Therefore,” Paul writes, “my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). How? “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (2:13). The God who saves us by his power empowers us to live more and more like him.

Or, again, in 1 Peter, Peter spends several verses unfolding the glory of God in our salvation: resurrecting our dead souls through the new birth and guarding our faith and joy forever into eternity (1 Peter 1:3–6). So is all the work done then for us in this life? Peter writes, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Peter 1:14–15). The holiness of God emerges in those whom he saves. He creates in them a new heart like his own.

As God shows you more and more of the ugliness inside your heart, ask him to forgive you, but then ask him to renew you. The grace he gives in forgiveness is beyond our wildest imaginations, but he’s promised even more grace than that. As we look to our Savior, our greatest Treasure, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Our old me made new.

[ Marshall Segal ]

“Repurposed: God Makes Beautiful Things Out Of Dust”

[ Eric Mann ]

http://www.newlifeeaston.org/sermon-series/repurposed/

“Repurposed”

The Potter and the Clay

Jeremiah 18:1-11

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. 9 And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

[ Chris Furr ]

Repurposed

“Repurposed To Follow Christ”

Pastor John examines stories of Jesus refusing to let others define him as he re-purposes our own lives to be followers of Christ in the world.

Matthew 11:16-19; 25-30

VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/225286195

“A Repurposed Life: A Biblical Perspective”

WHAT IF, you are exactly where you are supposed to be?

So many of us are in a place where our first life has come to an end. A divorce, the death of a child or other loved one, loss of a job or career, alcohol and drug problems that finally crushed us, financial issues that overwhelmed our ability to be present for ourselves and our families, an illness or mental illness, hospitalization, poor judgment that has caused rampant legal problems, incarceration.

So many of us are suffering and want to find a new way. But they – we – are mostly frozen. Stopped dead in our tracks feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We mourn the past and fear the future.

WHAT IF, the feelings you are feeling, the sorrows and joys, the suffering and the release, are what is exactly intended for you? More than just intended for you, what if this moment in your life had to happen – that it has actually been pre-programmed? Pre-programmed for you, and for me, and for everyone.

WHAT IF, knowing that this was pre-programmed, we could anticipate it, welcome it, and accept this part of life as natural. As a God-given portion of our lives. I’m talking to you about middle part, the liminal part. The part of life you are in now – after the first life you’ve lived. And before your second life, a life of uncertainty and the unknown.

WHAT IF, where you are right now is actually the best time of life – the greatest moment of life? And to experience it in all its greatness, all you have to do is ACCEPT that this is exactly where you are supposed to be? That God has pre-programmed in us this moment – whether it be for a week, a month, a year or a decade – and has given us the power and free-will to make it absolutely the greatest period of our lives?

Among my resolutions for this New Year is to present to you some things I’ve learned on my spiritual path to prove that this space we enter, the middle place, actually is (or can be) the best and most important time of our lives.

Let’s start with the Bible, or at least 500 years of it or so crammed into a few paragraphs (with apologies to scholars & close readers).

Have you ever thought about the term, Good Samaritan? Everyone who goes to church wants to be a Good Samaritan, don’t they. Don’t you? In many passages, Jesus talked about good Samaritans, and commended them for all the good works they did for others.

For example, Luke 10:25-37 is actually called “The Parable of The Good Samaritan.” In this scripture, Jesus tells the tale of three men who approach a man on the side of the road who had been attacked by robbers, and commends “the one who had mercy on him.” The Good Samaritan. In other examples in the Bible, John 4:4-26, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at a well, and asks her for a drink. In this interchange, Jesus gives the Samaritan the greatest gift of all.

The question I have is: when did Samaritans become the good guys, and the people named in the Bible to receive God’s gifts? The Samaritans were a class of people who had lost there place in Jewish society, and were loathed and despised by the Jews ever since. When were Samaritans lifted up and given a place of respect and importance? Repurposed if you will, such that the name Samaritan itself went from being synonymous with outcast, to that of being a doer of good deeds?

It started with the Exile – the Babylonian Exile. Or more accurately, in the time the Fall leading to the Exile. Many prophets had prophesied that the Exile was coming. The Prophet Isaiah, for example, spoke of the coming destruction and exile (i.e. Isaiah 5:13).

And as we know, these prophesies turned out to be accurate. Jerusalem was invaded, people were massacred, and the city and the Great Temple were burned to the ground. The elite – the wealthy, the intelligencia and the religious leaders – were the first to be sent into bondage in Babylon. Followed soon after by the lesser classes. But not all Jews living in Israel and Judah were sent into Exile – some were left in Jerusalem as slaves in their own city. And ignored completely were the Jews living in Samaria – an outpost city in the north of the kingdom.

Not that much was written about the Jews while they lived in exile in Babylon. But one thing seems certain: before the exile the Jews were a people of the Temple, who believed that God resided in the Temple. They worshipped God at the temple and other high places (in Hebrew “bemot”). Without the Temple and high places, the Jews were without their God and the foundations of their religion. In order to preserve their religion and people, having no homeland to call their own, the leaders made a critical decision while in exile – they decided that God was indeed everywhere, and that the worship of God would be from that point founded in the Bible. That is Judaism changed from a “religion of place” to a religion “of the book.” This important decision, made while in captivity – in a space of suffering – not only ensured their continuity in exile, but enabled the Judeo-Christian religion to survive for the next 2500 years.

We know that Jewish people were allowed to return to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile. That prophecy was fulfilled in 537 B.C., and the Jews were allowed by King Cyrus of Persia to return to Israel and begin rebuilding the city and temple. Two great prophets emerged from exile to lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple. The prophet Ezra, who declared that the Temple should be rebuilt first, and that God would protect the people who first honored God and their religion. On the other hand, the prophet Nehemiah declared that the Jews should first rebuild the walls of the city. Perhaps more pragmatic than Ezra, he determined that without walls the city would be vulnerable to attack. It is unknown who won this debate, or if the Temple or the walls were reconstructed first. But the debate, between putting God first or material security first, rages on in various ways to this day.

But not all Jews were permitted to rebuild the Temple and the walls of the city.

The Jews who had been left to live in Samaria without going to exile wanted to help rebuild Jerusalem. But in the ensuing seventy years, the Jews in Samaria had intermarried with non-Jews, and now were considered unclean and half-breeds. They were no longer considered to be Jews by the people in Jerusalem and were not allowed to enter the holy city. Instead, they were scorned and mocked for what they had done. The Samaritans were considered a lesser people for the next 500 years, through the Greek occupation of Israel, and then the Roman occupation of Israel, and right up to the time of Jesus when he spoke of them in parables. When Jesus lifted them up, and declared their worthiness as people of God.

It always amazes me that the greatest time of change for the Jews – the change that assured them a new life and a new freedom, was in the middle period while they were in Exile.

The same is true for the Israelites in the Exodus. When we think of the Bible, we are usually drawn to the desert, the place in the middle where the Israelites witnessed great miracles for forty years and became a new people – a people without memories of bondage in Egypt and who had yet to be delivered to the promised land.

And is true for the Samaritans, who led lives of dejection and persecution by their own people, not allowed the rights and privileges to worship and belong for over 500 years. They were restored by Jesus in a new way in a new community, a community which was forming even as Jerusalem and the Temple were again burned to the ground in 70 AD.

I am an Israelite, a Jew, a Samaritan and a Christian.

Perhaps as Israelites, Jews, Samaritans and Christians these Bible passages were given to us for a reason. Perhaps that reason was to charge us with the message that life, and our identity in this life, is impermanent. Perhaps after all the generations since it is burned into our DNA.

Perhaps it has become so embodied that we intuit, we know, that the day will come along where life will indeed different than the life we planned – like the Israelites in Egypt, or the Jews in Jerusalem, or Samaritans in their own city. And that we all enter places middle places where we will have the opportunities to change into something different than before. Something more authentic to our new and unexpected place in the world. Something more able to survive the trials and tests, and enjoy the gifts and blessings of our new order. That, in fact, this inevitability is the only way we can survive and flourish. And that because it is inevitable, it something we do not have to fear. Instead, it is something that we can joyfully anticipate and plan for.

It is my proposition that this middle space, this place of no longer the past and not yet the future, is not actually a place of exile, but is a place of sanctuary. A place of retreat. A holy, God-given place that is an opportunity for every one of us to rest, grow, learn, evolve and become the people God intends us to be.

And in order to experience these gifts in this place, all we have to do is one thing. One simple thing that eludes most of us for so long that we suffer. The one thing we have to do is ACCEPT that we here. ACCEPT that God has delivered us to this place. That we are in this place, right here right now.

The middle place. Exactly where we are supposed to be.

[ Jeff Grant ]

“Repurposed for His Purpose”

Matthew 4:12-22

I. Repurposing begins with our repentance (v. 17)
A. 2 parts of repentance

turning from our sin
turning towards Jesus

II. Repurposing is our choice but God’s purpose (v. 18-19)
A. We choose to follow
B. We do not choosing the path, just that we will take it

III. Repurposed for His purpose is a process (v. 19)
A. God will make us into what He wants us to be as long as…

I submit myself to God
I trust that God knows what’s best for me
I want to be repurposed for His purpose

IV. Being repurposed is preceded by our obedience (v. 20-22)
A. We cannot be used by God and disregard His word

Jesus purpose for me is always greater and better than my purpose for me

[ Heath Ferguson ]

http://get.theapp.co/wcsermons/v/3renkco

“Repurposed For What?”

“It becomes crucial that we become a generation of storytellers who are both recapturing the glory and joy of the Sacred Romance even as we tell each other our particular stories, so that we can help each other, through God’s Spirit, see His plan of redemption at work in us.” Brent Curtis 1947-1998

It was 5-1/2 years ago. My, how time flies. I started this blog, originally called Heart of a Coach’s Wife, in the summer of 2010 when our lives looked very different. That summer was a turning point for me. I, for the first time in several years, finally began to feel settled in our purpose and in our community.

After a rather raw worship experience led by a gifted musician at a conference, God graced me with the ability to surrender back in 2010. He gave me the courage to not just surrender but embrace what He had led us to years ago. Blogging became a way to pour into others whose spouses were also coaching.

Through a series of circumstances, God challenged my husband to walk a different path… a path away from coaching high school football. Months of conversation and prayer and counsel resulted in releasing the only life we’d known in our fifteen years of marriage. With the release came hope… and grief… and peace… and struggle. Change, of course, brings growth, and we grew a lot. But it was hard, and I still cringe as I write these words. We didn’t just change our circumstance — we sort of changed our identity.

God repurposed our lives. Repurposed our hearts. And after just one year, Heart of a Coach’s Wife became Repurposed Heart and eventually landed on the name Repurposed. There was even an 18-month rest from blogging from 2012-2014 because it started to feel like an idol. Regardless, this has been a place, since its inception, where I wrestle aloud with authentically embracing the gospel.

My audience expanded to include men and women who were in no way involved in coaching careers but were learning to live reflective lives, to surrender, and to intentionally make every day experiences more beautiful. I still believe any situation can be turned into a worship experience. Yes, every experience can be given back to our Maker, our Redeemer.

Centuries ago God promised His people: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekial 36:25-26 esv

My prayer back in 2011 was that my heart — and my readers’ hearts — would be repurposed. I yearned we’d all be changed to embrace every bit of what He planned for us. I begged Him to change our hearts to look more like His.

But here we are in 2016. After re-reading David Platt’s Radical over Christmas break, I’m struck by God’s design for us to live in community, focus on others, and in turn, be changed and molded ourselves. So I’ll ask again: Repurposed for what? Five years later, might Repurposed be a place where you’re not only challenged to live reflectively and surrender, but to ultimately take your stories to others?

Christ intimately poured into 12 men. Who are your 12? Or your 6? Or your 3?

“To whom can you deliberately, intentionally, and sacrificially show the life of Christ in this way? This is foundational in making disciples, and we will multiply the gospel only when we allow others to get close enough to us to see the life of Christ in action.” David Platt

See, the purpose of this blog is now more than just leading you toward reflection. My hope is that your response to your own story will involve repurposing and restoring others’ lives. God has a way of speaking His truth to each heart who hears it — His Spirit comforts and convicts with the very messages each of us need to hear on a given day. What is He saying to you? Where does He want you to take His truth?

Are you ready to step out from what’s comfortable? Together, let’s reflect and then join God in redeeming what’s broken in the lives around us.

I’m excited for what the year holds for us. Whether you’re new here or have been a reader since 2010, welcome. I’m so glad you’re a part of Repurposed, for I believe our Maker has intentionally crossed our paths for such a time as this. We all have a lot to learn from each other, and I’m all ears.

[ Christan Perona ]

“Repurposed”

Series Topics:

Being saved is awesome, and God is awesome for saving us. We should praise him.
Did You Know?
Saved for a Change
What A Difference Grace Makes
Now To Him Who Is Able
The Best Spiritual Exercise Is To Walk
Walk In A Manner Worthy Of Your Calling
A Life Giving Gift Exchange
You Walk Like Your Dad
When Discipleship Changes Relationships
Repurposed to Stand Strong
The Book of Ephesians

[ Michael DeFazio ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZE9U66CJJQ&list=PLnBEQlnDqd-QF2KGqCoON1E4RCsdJzQlp

“Detroit Historic Vacant School Property Study”

The Detroit Vacant Historic School Building Study Report is the result of a one-year assessment of vacant schools in Detroit conducted by the City of Detroit in 2020. The objective of this project was to complete a holistic, comparative study of 63 vacant historic-age school properties (VSPs) in Detroit, including 39 owned by the City of Detroit (City) and 24 owned by the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) and to make recommendations regarding their redevelopment potential. One key goal of this project was to develop a set of metrics and strategies that can be broadly applied to VSPs across the city in order to assess, prioritize, and market them for redevelopment. A second major goal was to identify the opportunities and challenges of preserving, rehabbing, and reusing historic vacant school buildings, and imagine new futures for these special places. The study serves as a comprehensive tool to guide effective decision making around the disposition of these properties.

See the below PDFs of the project report, which include the following:

– Detailed building conditions assessments of 39 City-owned VSPs. Assessments include interior and exterior walkthroughs and detailed assessments of building envelope, structural systems, architectural characteristics, and historic significance.
– Reconnaissance-level conditions assessments of 24 DPSCD-owned VSPs. Assessments include interior and exterior walkthroughs, and assessments of building envelope and architectural characteristics.
– Current floor plans for all of the VSPs
– Building conditions summary reports for all VSPs, including descriptions of the overall condition of the structure, facade, and roof systems, and an overall Building Risk Index (BRI) score that based on the type, severity, and distribution of distress.
– Order-of-magnitude construction cost estimates for general building stabilization and rehabilitation (to a greybox state) for all VSPs.
– Neighborhood analysis for all VSPs, including mapping surrounding building stock, open space, land use, ownership, and key neighborhood assets.
– Market analysis for all VSPs, including demographic trends, economic trends, and key real estate market indicators.
– Redevelopment recommendations for all VSPs including for sites that are viable for reuse and for those deemed non-viable.
– Investment memos for highpotential City-owned VSPs, including schematic-level reuse scenarios, order-of-magnitude construction costs, and pro forma templates

The project website After School Detroit | Historic Vacant Schools is an easily-searchable online guide to the 39 VSPs that are owned by the City. Here, you will find information about each of these unique, historic sites, as well as resources and ideas about the future of these sites should you have an interest in their condition, history, and/or redevelopment potential.

https://detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/citywide-initiatives/detroit-historic-vacant-school-property-study

[ City of Detroit ]

“From Old Schools to Cool Condos | Adaptive reuse in Detroit”

SPOTLIGHT | Historic School Building Conversions to Residential Use
Real estate photo

Detroit has charming examples of adaptive reuse developments featuring de-commissioned one hundred year old schools, converted to lofty and elegant residential condominiums. Many of these historic brick buildings still stand, although most have been re-purposed.
In the late 1800s Detroit’s original schoolhouses became overcrowded and in the 1900s a new school district system oversaw the construction of dozens of new, modest-sized (by today’s standards) elementary schools in residential neighborhoods.

There are now two major successful developments of this category in Detroit. One of the historic school buildings is now known as the Leland Lofts, built in 1918, and originally named the Nellie Leland School. Located at 1395 Antietam, it’s at the gateway between Eastern Market and Lafayette Park. The Leland Lofts is a tribute to its imaginative and quirky developer, the late Joel Landy. This was a pioneer project, the 1st of its kind in the city. In 2005 it was launched to an untested market that luckily, fell head over heels in love with the concept. These condos come up for re-sale periodically, and their value has stayed strong.
Another example is the Saint Charles Residences, in the Islandview neighborhood. It is a stunning conversion of a 100 year old school, originally associated with the adjacent St. Charles church. The historic building contains 25 unique residential units, and multiple additional new construction phases are being built around it. The high quality, modern residences, feature tall ceilings, mezzanines, terrazzo floors, and lovely wide corridors and lounges.

What’s next for school conversions in Detroit?
There are some great options for developers thinking of a residential development, and we predict that in the not too distant future, buyers and tenants will be able to pick and choose between several quality school conversion condo projects.

The Hillger School in Pingree Park is available for sale now and ready for development. It could fulfill a need for new housing options, within reach of the first time homebuyer and with access to the attractions of Kercheval, West Village, and the Greater Villages.

St. Casimir is another school ripe for re-development, in North Corktown. St. Casimir was featured in French magazine Le Point as an illustration of the new wave of development in Detroit.

These are examples of school buildings that lay in emerging, up and coming neighborhoods. And now that the concept has been proven successful by previously completed Detroit projects, both buyers and builders can take advantage of opportunities to get in on the ground floor.

Why are historic school conversions ideal in the Post COVID-19 era?
A school has typically large floorplans created by sturdy, thick existing walls separating original classrooms and lounges from one another. Spacious residential layouts are compatible with the existing building structures. In the post COVID-19 world, buyers prefer larger spaces, to house all their various lifestyle activities under one roof and maximize privacy & distancing. A rehabbed school can also give buyers the opportunity to buy a “raw” condo, in a relatively short time frame, at the white box stage, where they can build out their custom design over time, according to their budget.

One of the most exciting features of every school to condo conversion is the uniqueness of the spaces, and features. You cannot just erase the history from these renovations. There are niches, alcoves, libraries, lockers and gymnasiums with floorplans that lend themselves to fascinating living spaces. In the 1920s, carved wood trim and solid wood doors, Pewabic-tiled fireplaces, and terrazzo floors were popular.

The school building conversion is just the perfect size for a small- to medium-sized residential project, typically on three stories, with beautiful architectural details, in some of the older Detroit neighborhoods that are well poised to make a comeback. At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Loft Warehouse, we look forward to sharing our new favorites in this category, as the details emerge.

Real estate photo
You Need to Know About Detroit Horse Power!
This month we are all excited about the non – profit organization named Detroit Horse Power. It was founded in 2015 to provide Detroit youths access to horses, and to teach them equestrian skills, up to the level of national competition.

Our agent, Angel Holbrook, is instrumental in promoting the organization. Her 11 year old son is an award winning young horseman, with dreams of becoming an Olympic equestrian champion soon.

NEW CONDO SUCCESS STORIES
Detour Detroit just published a great article about the success of Midtown Inc.’s new construction single family (site condo) home development in West Midtown, called EcoHomes. Here’s the scoop, and we are proud to have been the listing broker on this project.

“All of Midtown’s EcoHomes have sold.
What made them so popular?”
Real estate photo
Despite their high price tag, demand was high for the 14 sustainably-designed, single-family homes on 4th Street.

By AARON MONDRY 7 APRIL DETROIT THE DIG
“If you’ve driven near the Lodge Freeway in Midtown recently, you may have noticed an intriguing sight: newly built homes with metal roofs, solar panels and geometrical forms lining both sides of 4th Street. These are the EcoHomes, an experiment in contemporary home design…”
Read More

DETROIT NEIGHBORHOOD FEATURE STORY | New Center Commons
The heart of New Center was developed in the 1920s as a business hub that would offer convenient access to both downtown resources and outlying factories. Some historians believe that New Center may be the original edge city, a sub-center remote from, but related to, a main urban core. And now, it houses the Center for Creative Studies, Henry Ford Health professional offices, the renowned Fisher Theatre, New Center Park, and many shops and restaurants to enhance the lifestyle of local residents.

In 1977, General Motors began refurbishing some of the residential neighborhoods north of Grand Boulevard. The result was the New Center Commons, a collection of refurbished, historic single-family homes on Pallister, in a registered Historic Neighborhood. New Center Commons is the pedestrian-only section of Pallister where lovely historic brick homes enjoy an idyllic city setting with stately maple and oak trees shading the brick-paved promenade.
Find out what Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices The Loft Warehouse agent Angel Holbrook achieved last month, for her client at 658 Pallister.

Angel knew she had a special property on her hands when she listed 658 Pallister for her client. And sure enough, as soon as she put the interior design award -winning home on the market, there was a flurry of offers. She worked to achieve an appraisal contingency from the buyers with the strongest offer, and she navigated the ups and downs, keeping the parties calm throughout the deal. In the end, when it closed last month this sale broke a record for the neighborhood: at $585,000 it is the highest residential sale ever for New Center Commons.

[ Sabra Sanzotta ]

“Detroit Public Schools approves $700 million plan to rebuild, renovate, reopen buildings”

Detroit’s school board has unanimously approved a $700 million plan that will renovate, rebuild, and reopen several schools throughout the city.

The plan calls for rebuilding five schools and reopening seven previously-closed schools over the next five years.

It will also expand some existing schools and demolish and sell some vacant buildings that the district owns. There are additional plans to expand pre-k options in the city.

Detroit School Board President Angelique Peterson-Mayberry said the final plan is the result of revisions to previous versions based on community feedback.

“We’ve tried to do our due diligence and do our research before coming into this space to make a vote that we’re comfortable with,” she said.

Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the district started working on this plan in 2021.

“The board requested that a facility master plan be developed. Basically that means to create a long term vision and plan to use our current and vacant properties,” he said.

The facility plan funding is coming from the district’s $1.2 billion of COVID relief aid.

[ Briana Rice ]

“What’s next for abandoned schools in Detroit? Neighbors say almost anything is better than vacancy.”

What’s next for abandoned schools in Detroit? Neighbors say almost anything is better than vacancy was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: ckbe.at/newsletters

The City of Detroit is looking for developers to revitalize dozens of vacant school buildings following years of demands by residents that something be done with the properties.

Over the last year, engineers and architects visited unused schools across the city, measuring the buildings and estimating the cost of repairs hoping to convince developers to find new uses for the schools. The buildings could see a wide range of new purposes, including as housing, community centers, industrial facilities, or — more controversially — charter schools.

Neighbors have long told local officials that almost anything would be better than leaving the buildings vacant. While the buildings are generally structurally sound, some have been left open to the elements, vandalized, and stripped of valuable metals. Typical redevelopment costs are $5 to $15 million according to city estimates.

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Those price tags come as no surprise to Sandra Turner-Handy, a leader of the Denby Neighborhood Alliance, who lived near Wilkins, one of the city-owned schools, and knows it’s in bad shape.

“I drive by there and shake my head,” she said. “My daughters went there. They lived on the corner of that street.”

“The disinvestment around these closed schools is so evident. When they don’t pick up these buildings and do something with them it represents their disinvestment in the whole community.”

School buildings anchor communities, serving as gathering places and public resources or more. When they become vacant and deteriorate — as they did in major cities around the country, a trend driven by deindustrialization and white flight — the surrounding neighborhoods often suffer.

Detroit is an extreme example of school closures, and empty buildings remain a painful reminder to residents of two decades of declining enrollment and disinvestment. Two hundred schools closed during that time, and many remain standing. Like other abandoned properties, schools contribute to chronic absenteeism because they increase students’ fears of walking to school.

In 2014, the city forgave millions of dollars of unpaid Detroit Public Schools electrical bills in exchange for some of its vacant properties — 57 schools in total. The most dilapidated buildings were torn down, but 39 stayed standing and have been largely neglected for years.

In total, the project cost $858,000. The city covered the cost of a detailed accounting of the 39 city-owned buildings, while the Detroit Public Schools Community District chipped in $223,000 for surveys of two dozen district-owned buildings. The documentation, which is available online, includes the estimated cost to redevelop each property along with architectural measurements and a survey of existing land uses, population, and community needs in surrounding neighborhoods. Public meetings to discuss redevelopment possibilities are in planning stages, city officials said.

City representatives also created less detailed reports on the vacant buildings still owned by Detroit Public Schools Community District. That information isn’t included on the project website, but it was provided to the district and will be incorporated into an upcoming facilities plan.

“The analysis will inform the district’s 20-year facility plan, which will be presented to the school board in January,” district spokesperson Chrystal Wilson said in a statement. “This plan will make recommendations for the current use of all school buildings, those being used and those vacant.”

Residents have been attending public meetings for years to demand that something be done with the properties. Turner-Handy called them an “eyesore” and said they bring down the value of surrounding properties.

The next step for the buildings is “a three-way match-making process between what the building could be, what the neighborhood needs, and what the developer can do,” said Andrew Wald, a lead consultant on the project and head of the Detroit office for Interboro, an architecture and planning firm.

“We have a good understanding of the buildings,” he added. “Now it’s about going out and finding the developers, the people who have the ability to take on these projects, and getting them talking with the community.”

The community’s response will hinge in part on how the building is being used. Garrick Landsberg, director of historic preservation for the city, said a wide range of new uses are possible, including for new charter schools, though he noted that many of the buildings are too large for most new Detroit schools. The Detroit district has in some cases sought to prevent charter schools from opening in its former buildings, but not this time. The Detroit Public Schools didn’t include a clause preventing future use by charter schools when it gave the buildings to the city in 2014, said city spokesman Dan Austin.

Charter schools enroll a higher portion of students in Detroit than in almost any U.S. city, and new charter proposals can still be controversial. Opponents say charters increase competition for students in a city where many schools are already struggling with enrollment, while supporters point to the relatively high test scores posted by the highest-performing charter schools.

Some Detroiters welcomed the news earlier this year that KIPP, a national charter operator, proposed to build a school on city-owned land. But activists pushed back, and KIPP eventually dropped the proposal and is seeking property elsewhere in the city.

“At this point, I’m okay with charter,” said Aliya Moore, a community activist who was the PTA president at Oakman when the school was shuttered in 2012 by a state-appointed emergency manager. The Oakman building was designed to serve people with disabilities, and Moore said she wants to see it used for that purpose.

Not everyone is ready to accept a new charter school in a former district building. The city shouldn’t take bids from charter school operators, said Helen Moore, a community activist (no relation to Aliya).

“We do not want or need any more charter schools in the city of Detroit,” she said. “If that’s what they want to do with the schools, I think it’s wrong. If they went in the direction of more housing for the city and using the buildings for that purpose, that would be a positive.”

No matter what use is found for the vacant schools, the community should benefit, said Derrick Williams, whose son attended Oakman. The school was an anchor of the community, he said — he played Santa Claus at holiday parties.

“When the school closed, people moved out, the neighborhood went down,” he said. “A lot of people had moved over in that area because the school was right there. The school was family oriented, we all looked out for the kids.”

Today, he said, “you ride past the building and get sad.”

[ Chalkbeat ]

“Adaptive Reuse Re-Imagines Obsolete Buildings”

Adaptive reuse of a vacant building is a smart community choice for sustainable community development. If you aren’t acquainted with this phrase, it describes finding a new purpose for a building rather than its original use, or at least the one everyone remembers. A new land use that has more market demand is chosen and developed.

Re-purposing of buildings is a simple idea for community improvement, but often more difficult to implement because of the construction challenges that old buildings present. However, preservation of the history and often the architectural charm of the old building makes these projects exciting and valuable. In addition, reuse of buildings reduces the carbon footprint and solid waste inherent in building demolition and new construction.

If people need to be convinced, we can refer you to an online calculator for the energy cost of tearing down buildings, as compared to what is known as embedded energy found in existing buildings. See this embedded energy calculator.

That does not mean that it will be easy to sell the idea that what everyone remembers as a service station could become a restaurant. Change threatens all but the best in us.

For a general and simple discussion of the topic, see our page on recycling buildings, with the gorgeous photo of a gas station turned bar-restaurant. The difference is that the recycling idea does not necessarily mean a change of use.

But on this page, let’s be more detailed and have fun learning by example what your problem vacant building can become.

The specific adaptive reuse suggestions are grouped according to the previous land use. We hope our extended list-making can inspire some creative ideas on your part as your community imagines what to do with that building that no longer seems viable in its former use.

List of Possible New Uses for Vacant Buildings
Old schools can become:
Apartments,
Condominiums,
Private schools,
Office buildings,
Social service buildings (sometimes with gym remaining),
Community centers,
Private residences if they are one-room rural schools,
University classrooms, or
Cultural centers.
Old factories are prime for:
Apartments or condominiums,
Office buildings,
Restaurants,
Economic development incubator,
Skills training or even GED classes,
University expansions or art galleries,
Specialized shopping, especially featuring unique local goods or crafts
Gyms, archery ranges, or basketball or handball courts.
Replaced power plants have reopened as:

Art museums or
Libraries
Old gasoline stations, with gas tanks removed as required by law, could become:
Oil change stores,
Restaurants,
Convenience stores,
Auto repair garages,
Garden centers, or
Private residences, in rural areas especially.
Adaptive reuse of old mills might yield:
Lofts,
Shopping centers,
Small shops,
Restaurants, or
Vocational education classrooms
Old motels may resurface as:
Apartments,
Day care centers,
Storage units,
Garden centers, or
Flea markets.
Small former nursing homes (long-term care facilities) may become:

Apartments,
Motels or short-term rentals, especially if located with a view of a lake or an attractive landscape,
Storage units,
Antique shops or malls,
Offices for non-profit organizations,
Senior centers,
Rental stores
Imaginative “general stores” in fairly rural areas, which could be a better idea than all of the above if you can find a good entrepreneur
“Dead malls” or defunct shopping centers have possibilities as:
Cultural centers,
Apartments and condominiums,
Antique malls,
Telemarketing centers,
Offices,
Churches,
Community colleges,
Nursing homes,
Parks, sometimes with conservation areas or trails incorporated, or
Fulfillment centers for large online retailers (although in this reuse it is possible that all or part of the mall structure would be demolished and that the main “reuse” would actually be a redevelopment of the land).
See also ideas in a book we recommend, Retrofitting Suburbia. More discussion can be found in the pages on shopping center renovation and shopping center redevelopment.

Adaptive reuse of old churches can produce:
Theatres,
Private residences,
Museums,
Art galleries,
Community centers,
Antique shops,
Nonprofit organization headquarters, or
Musical performance spaces, if no new congregation can be located.
Old downtown stores make great new:
Townhouses,
Offices,
Live-work units,
Day care for children or adults,
New church start-ups, or
Economic development incubators or business accelerators.
Old train stations or depots often open again as:
Shopping centers,
Community centers,
Model railroading clubhouses,
Museums,
Trailheads,
Shops,
Antique stores, or
Transit stations.
Former libraries regain their composure as:
Offices,
Art galleries,
Apartments,
Private residences in small towns, or
Community centers.
Old post offices may be re-purposed as:
Offices,
Museums,
Libraries,
Stores,
Veterinary clinics, or
Homes in small towns.
Old grocery stores commonly become:
Flea markets,
Offices,
Clinics,
Ski or surf shops,
Restaurants,
Microbreweries, or
Libraries.
Old banks would be great as:
Transit stations,
Libraries,
Museums,
Offices,
Restaurants or pubs, or
Antique stores.
One-time mansions can be reused as:

Museums,
Art galleries,
Office buildings,
Condominiums,
Restaurants,
Antique stores,
Rehab centers,
Party facilities for rent,
City halls, or
Non-profit organization headquarters.
Unused airports and military bases are splendid:
Redevelopments as complete communities,
College campuses,
Golf courses,
Parks,
Picnic facilities or children’s day camps utilizing the hangers,
Local or state government buildings, or
Prisons.
Old colleges can graduate into:
Schools,
Museum and park complexes,
Redevelopment as complete communities,
Industrial campuses,
Large nonprofit organization homes, or
Prisons.
Abandoned barns and agricultural buildings have been reopened as:
Private residences,
Condominiums,
Lofts,
Vacation compounds for extended family,
Cheese factories,
Offices,
Rental space for high-end hobbies (fancy cars and such), or
City hall. (Just seeing if you’re paying attention, but look at visitor-submitted information on one instance of an agricultural complex conversion to office use.)
Former prisons have been re-purposed as:

Apartments
Condominiums
College campuses
Parks or golf courses
Mixed-use developments
Hotels
Hostels
Distilleries
Offices for small non-profits
Co-working spaces
Arts facilities, ranging from performance venues to artist live-work spaces.
Under an adaptive reuse initiative, cotton gins, tobacco barns, or pole barns may become:
Park pavilions, or
With walls added or repaired, offices, artists lofts, manufacturing, flea markets.
An unused warehouse may evolve into:

A crossdocking facility, which is a facility where the contents of large freight trucks or conceivably rail cars are divided up into storage lockers where customers pick up orders, smaller delivery vehicles, or delivery bots
A house of worship
An urban farm, especially a hydroponic facility, or
A data center where banks of servers reside.
Vacant parcels and underused parks may be revitalized if you position them as:
Redevelopment sites that have been cleared of any suspicion of being brownfields
Skateparks, or
Off-leash dog parks.
How to Organize for an Adaptive Reuse Project
Our advice is to combine sound market research, if you have the capability or funding to hire a consultant, with the services of a good architect.

If you are on a shoestring budget or no budget, simply convene the most creative people you know, maybe get a bottle of wine, and start talking and doodling with felt-tip markers till you have an idea or three. Then ask a developer, builder, or real estate agent what they think. Keep asking, keep doodling, and keep advertising until an adaptive reuse prospect appears.

If you’re on a limited or no budget, the Internet is your friend. Set up a Facebook page for your property, spread sketches and photos on Instagram, or just get on forums and blogs to spread the word. Be sure that you use a keyword that someone searching for your property would be thinking about.

Often the idea doesn’t really take shape until a particular prospect sees the property. But that will be an accident; most buyers don’t know they’re looking for an old upholstery shop.

If you’re in the public sector, obtain control of the building by purchasing an option to buy. Think through any financial incentives you are able to offer, such as tax increment financing.

Gimmicks such as attracting the media or putting a property you own up for auction online sometimes actually bear fruit, but don’t pin your hopes on one strategy. Be persistent.

If you are able to make a deal to re-use an older building for a new purpose, your community could receive the benefit of a unique project, and one minimizing the waste of good building materials. Frequently old buildings have good bones and are made from more substantial materials than those currently used in construction. The selling points are many.

[ Useful Community Development ]

“REUSE IN ACTION: Historic Schools Around Minnesota”

Glencoe City Center, formerly the historic High School
In May 2020, voters on the Iron Range approved a school consolidation plan that had been under discussion and negotiation since 2017, merging the Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert school districts. The consolidation includes the planned construction of three new schools. This plan has made six current schools and two vacant school buildings available for either demolition or reuse.

At the urging of some Range-area citizens who wished to see how the remaining school buildings could be reused, Rethos Policy Institute director Erin Hanafin Berg presented options for potential reuse to the Rock Ridge School Board and Gilbert City Council in early January. Numerous schools have been adaptively reused in Minnesota as housing, including projects in Cloquet, New Ulm, and Winona that were completed within the past couple years. Other schools have been repurposed to provide community spaces, public libraries, city offices, community organizations, and a multi-purpose reception and performance venues.

Kitchen at Carlton Lofts, formerly a historic school in Cloquet

Like many single purpose structures, school buildings can sometimes seem like challenging candidates for adaptive reuse. Surprisingly, nothing could be farther from the truth. Although not suited for every reuse, former schools have quite a few enduring design and construction characteristics that make them great for repurposing. With sturdy brick construction, spacious hallways, plumbing and electrical hookups, and ample classroom space, schools can be converted to community centers, offices, and apartments – and more. Whether still owned by the community or taken on by a local developer, these schools have the right features to continue to welcome community members long after students have left the building.

Central Grade School in Winona, now housing units
Central Square and Madison Place (Winona)
The Central Grade School in Winona originally opened its doors in 1930, operating for over 80 years before its closure in 2012. Its storied career of contributing to the local community didn’t end there though. Although small in size, the building’s quality Gothic Revival design and interior tile and carved stone features were too great to destroy. Using Minnesota’s State Historic Tax Credit, developers were able to renovate the school into 15 units of housing, which opened in 2021. A similar project nearby, undertaken by a different developer, turned the historic Madison School into 21 apartments. Both buildings are fully leased and have waiting lists for new tenants.

Historic Cloquet High School, now Carlton Lofts
Carlton Lofts (Cloquet)
Formerly the Cloquet High School and most recently the Middle School, the Carlton Lofts reimagine the 1920 and 1954 structures into a combined 57-unit residential building. To support community housing, a majority of the units are at workforce housing rent levels, while 20% are at market rate. Roers Companies recycled a lot of materials in the building, including original wood, concrete, and metals. They also integrated quirky remnants of the school into the overall interior design. Objects like chalkboards, lockers, and classroom doors make it a unique and engaging place to live. The project, which opened in 2020, was supported by Minnesota’s State Historic Tax Credit.

Rehabbed hallway with school lockers at Carlton Lofts
Glencoe City Center (Glencoe)
Serving in its time as the Grade, High and Middle school for the Glencoe community, the current Glencoe City Center begin its transformation in 2009. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the city center houses a myriad of community entities, a public library, as well as civic offices for the City of Glencoe. On any given week, the City Center continues to give back and house a number of public events, wedding receptions, local youth dances, clubs, and senior citizen groups.

[ Rethos ]

“IDEAS FOR OLD SCHOOL BUILDINGS?”

One of the conversations that has emerged in post of new school construction in the Warren Local School district and possibly Marietta City Schools. There are all sorts of options for these properties, some are immediately achievable with minimal changes, others are large scale adaptive reuse projects. This post will focus on the latter. I wanted to share some cool ideas I have seen involving old schools around the country.

One example is in Virginia Beach, VA. 528 Historic Kempsville.

In Virginia Beach an old High School has morphed into a mixed use development with apartments, a local bar, and business incubator. The ample space with great walkability was desired by the developer.

Developer Jack Pope spent $30 million to preserve much of the old building and tried to build around original walls and other structures. It meant building units into the former auditorium, classrooms and offices, including making a principal’s office into a three-bedroom apartment.

This was an old high school that is now a luxury apartment complex.

East Haven High School in Connecticut that’s morphing into senior housing. (67 one bd units, three 2 bed units)

Check out the properties redeveloped by Winn Properties including the East Haven Project

and this mixed-used development in Colorado Springs that was once the Ivywild Elementary School

I post this because we are a transitional community in this respect. While many see the old school building they went to, your kids, and your grandkids do not share the same sentimentality. It was never new and beloved when they were there, it was in massive need of repair. Consider the nature of redevelopment and imagine what could be, and not what used to be.

We need our community to redefine itself by ambitious projects not managed decline.

[ Southeastern Ohio Port Authority ]

“What’s next for abandoned schools in Detroit? Neighbors say almost anything is better than vacancy.”

A collage of images from abandoned Detroit schools. There are six pictures of different sizes, showing auditoriums, gymnasiums, classrooms and exteriors with varying levels of decay after years of neglect.
Schools left vacant in Detroit have been left open to weather and vandals, and neighbors say the properties are a burden on surrounding communities.Courtesy of City Of Detroit and Interboro Partners, photo collage by Dan Lyon / Chalkbeat

The City of Detroit is looking for developers to revitalize dozens of vacant school buildings following years of demands by residents that something be done with the properties.

Those price tags come as no surprise to Sandra Turner-Handy, a leader of the Denby Neighborhood Alliance, who lived near Wilkins, one of the city-owned schools, and knows it’s in bad shape.

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“I drive by there and shake my head,” she said. “My daughters went there. They lived on the corner of that street.”

“The disinvestment around these closed schools is so evident. When they don’t pick up these buildings and do something with them it represents their disinvestment in the whole community.”

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Today, he said, “you ride past the building and get sad.”

Editor’s note: July 27, 2021: This story was updated with the clarification that the Detroit Public Schools Community District covered some of the cost of the survey of vacant schools in the city.

[ Koby Levin – Chalkbeat Detroit ]

“Former school in Midtown to transform into workspace, ‘business ecosystem’”

Industry Detroit will open in 2020.

A prominent former school in Midtown will be converted into a “business ecosystem.” A partnership between Denver-based Industry, Midtown Detroit Inc., and Invest Detroit will turn the Thomas Jefferson Intermediate School into Industry Detroit in 2020.

The 100,000-square-foot school will be repurposed into more than just a space for entrepreneurs and artists—the organizers will use it for workforce training for hospitality, culinary arts, and restaurant operations. The 1922 building—listed on the National Register of Historic Places—includes a library with mahogany shelving, lockers, an auditorium, and a pool. Tenants will also be able to share patios, meeting rooms, and kitchens.

The school, located at Selden and the Lodge Service Drive, is near another redevelopment that will offer training in the service industry—the Selden Corridor Initiative.

Industry currently has two similar spaces in Denver and Salt Lake City, and apply adaptive reuse principles to transform historic buildings into modern work spaces. Co-founder Ellen Winkler says, “Saving old buildings is one of our core values and the bones of these buildings are incredible. We love designing spaces and places that stay true to the soul of a city. We couldn’t be happier to be kicking off Industry Detroit.”

[ Robin Runyan ]

“Repurposed Schools Offer Lessons in ‘Ultimate Form of Recycling’”

DETROIT — When it was a high school, the auditorium and gymnasium at the Burton International School thrummed with the sounds of students gathering for assemblies or bouncing balls. These days, film dialogue and soundtracks fill the nearly 100-year-old building, which has found new life as a movie theater. Developer Joel Landy remade the school into the Cass City Cinema at the Burton Theater.

“It had all the seats and a projection booth built in 1924,” Landy said (of the building pictured above). “That kind of clinched it.” Burton was among dozens of Detroit public schools forced to close in recent years as the district sank into debt and parents sought better education options. Now the city is getting high marks for its efforts to reuse those buildings — as churches, substances-abuse centers, housing and more. The practice also offers lessons to other districts confronting the same challenges.

“Detroit has more experience with finding new uses because it has had more empty buildings on its hands,” said Emily Dowdall, a senior associate with the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts, a public policy organization that released a report earlier this year on the growing number of vacant schools in a dozen U.S. cities.

Some of the nation’s largest school districts have seen their enrollment plummet and budget deficits rise, forcing them to close half-empty buildings and those that are too costly to maintain. Chicago expects to shutter 50 schools and programs before fall classes begin. A reform board in Philadelphia has voted to close 23 schools. “Many districts are now on their second and third round of closings” and are increasingly looking at the practices of other cities, including Detroit, Dowdall said.

The Detroit district has made more than $16 million by selling or leasing closed schools and vacant land. Forty schools have been sold. Another 45 are leased, according to the district. More than 80 schools are listed as available. Between 2000 and 2010, Detroit’s population dropped by more than a quarter of a million, to just over 700,000 people. By 2008, public school enrollment had slipped below 100,000 students. It’s projected to fall to 40,000 by 2016.

About seven years ago, officials padlocked 35 schools, followed by 29 more in 2009. Of 172 schools that were open in 2010, 100 remain open. Landy bought four old school buildings in Detroit. One is now a charter academy. Another was turned into lofts. A third houses a music school and recording studio.

He bought the old Burton International School building four years ago for about $400,000. Movies are shown on weekends. It also has a Montessori school.

At least one shuttered Detroit school is now used as a church. The former West Side Academy houses substances-abuse programs. Carole Hoste teaches music in one of Landy’s buildings. It makes sense for the school district to sell the buildings “if they can get a quick chunk of money,” she said. “I don’t know why they weren’t doing that a long time ago.”

Detroit no longer sells to charter schools, which compete for students and state funding. But the city is aggressive in its efforts to sell and lease buildings, said Tammy Deane, a former residential and commercial real estate broker who manages the district’s real estate office. Buildings have sold for as little as $5 per square foot. Vacant land has fetched about $100,000 an acre.

“We work with anyone and everyone, and try to be very creative to move properties and help visionary buyers realize their dreams,” Deane said. “We want the new owners to move in soon as we move out.” That’s to deter thieves who target vacant buildings to strip out their electrical wiring and pipes for sale as scrap metal.

Other districts have also had success with school recycling. The Kennedy School in Portland, Ore., was boarded up for years. The lawn wasn’t being cut, and the property “just didn’t look good,” said Thelma Diggs, who was part of a committee that reviewed options for the site’s future.

“I wasn’t even considering tearing it down,” Diggs said. “If you can use all that money to tear it down, why not keep it?” McMenamins, developer of pubs and historic hotels in Oregon and Washington state, got the building from the city at no cost in 1996 and turned it into a 57-room hotel. The company is required to provide 15 years of free meeting room space to a neighborhood association. It also allows neighbors to use the hotel’s soaking pool.

“A hotel project is super cool,” but it may not fit plans for many school districts or neighborhoods, said Shannon Jaax, director of the Kansas City Public Schools’ “repurposing initiative.” When that program kicked off in January 2011, the district had 30 empty schools. Six have since been sold and another is under lease with an option to buy. A recent sale, Seven Oaks School, had been closed since 1997 and will be repurposed as affordable senior housing.

“Some school districts have been trying to maximize price,” Jaax said. “What we are trying to do is balance the need to be financially responsible, (while) looking at what type of project will be the best fit in the community.”

Chicago schools are just beginning the process. The district plans to work with community leaders to determine the best use for closed buildings. “If there is no strong use for the community or for a sister city agency,” the district “will explore selling each property to the highest bidder,” spokesman Dave Miranda said.

They could also use someone like Detroit’s Landy. Not one to throw away anything with value, Landy moved a used pool table into a bathroom at the school-turned-movie house. It sits between urinals and stalls. “Reuse,” he said “is the ultimate form of recycling.”

[ Corey Williams ]

“Scores of Detroit schools are empty eyesores. Here’s why it’s so hard to bring them back to life.”

The school building that Detroit Prep founder Kyle Smitley is trying — and struggling — to buy for her charter school is far from the only one sitting empty across the city.

A wave of about 200 school closures since 2000 has pockmarked the city with large, empty, often architecturally significant buildings. Some closed schools were repurposed, most often as charter schools; others were torn down. But most remain vacant, although the exact number is unclear.

Vacant schools can become crime hubs or crumbling dangers. But even if that doesn’t happen, they are disheartening reminders of Detroit’s struggle to prioritize education for its children — at the heart of communities where good schools could make a big difference.

Most residents would like to see the buildings come back to life, if not as schools, as something. But even as developers rework other vacant structures, these school buildings are rarely repurposed.

Understanding why illuminates the complexities facing Detroit’s main school district’s effort to get itself back on track.

For one, school district policies — some of which were created to discourage flipping and the opening of charter schools — have made selling these buildings difficult.

Smitley, the co-founder of two charter schools, wants to move Detroit Prep into the former Anna M. Joyce Elementary School by fall 2018. Detroit Prep opened in 2016 in the basement of an Indian Village church and will eventually serve 430 K-8 students.

“We’d like to be part of a positive story for Detroit, and turn a decrepit building back into a school that serves the neighborhood,” Smitley said.

Smitley is preparing to do a $4 million rehab on a building where flaking paint litters the hardwood floors. Lockers gape open. Natural sunlight floods classrooms where instructions from the last day of school are still chalked on the blackboard: “Spelling Test … George Washington Carver Reading – Timed … Clean Desks … Take Books.”

Landlord Dennis Kefallinos bought the former Joyce school from the public school district in 2014 for $600,000. The general manager of Kefallinos’ company told Chalkbeat that they planned to repurpose it for residential use when the market seemed right, or wait a few more years to re-sell it for a large profit.

But another challenge of repurposing schools is that their complex layouts and their residential locations far from downtown do not easily adapt to other uses. And the market for former school buildings was flooded with closed public and parochial schools in recent years, which further reduced demand.

Some developers have transformed empty Detroit schools into apartments, luxury condominiums, or a boutique office building. However, these were former Catholic schools, or, in the case of Leland Lofts, sold to a private developer more than 35 years ago. Catholic schools generally have smaller footprints, which are more manageable to renovate, and they do not have the same deed restrictions as more recently closed public schools.

In the case of Joyce school, Smitley’s persistence and the intervention of a mutual friend convinced the Kefallinos company to sell to Detroit Prep. She agreed to buy the building for $750,000, and to pay the district $75,000 on top of the sales price, per a condition in the original deed.

But the status of the sale is uncertain, as she and the district spar over the law and whether the district can halt the sale of the building — which it no longer owns.

On the northwest side of Detroit, two Detroiters have been trying for years to buy the former Cooley High School to turn it into a community center, as part of the much-lauded Cooley ReUse Project. This summer, it was crowdfunding the last $10,000 it needed to finally become Cooley’s owners.

But on August 31, the project’s social media account announced that “after meeting with Detroit Public Schools Community District’s (DPSCD) new leadership, it has been confirmed that Thomas M. Cooley High School is no longer for sale. We were told that Cooley will be secured and redeveloped by its current owner, DPSCD.”

Donations are being returned to the contributors. In the meantime, the 322,000-square-foot building is vulnerable to theft and vandalism, destabilizing its northwest Detroit neighborhood.

The Cooley and Joyce schools were built when Detroit schools faced a different challenge: capacity. They opened during the fast-moving period between 1910 and 1930 when 180 new schools were built to keep up with growth. In 1966, the district peaked with 299,962 students. Since then, it has shrunk to fewer than 50,000 students.

No matter who owns a closed school building, its revival depends on its security. Failure to secure it results in profound damage by scrappers, criminals, and natural elements. That will either add millions to the cost of rehabilitation or doom it to demolition. It also threatens the neighborhood.

John Grover co-authored a major Loveland report, spending 18 months investigating 200 years of archives about public schools in Detroit, and visiting every school in the city.

Boarding vacant schools with plywood isn’t enough, he learned. As its buildings were continually vandalized, the district escalated security with welded steel doors and cameras, though even these are vulnerable. Securing a building properly costs about $100,000 upfront, and $50,000 per year ever after, according to the Loveland report. In 2007, it cost the district more than $1.5 million a year to maintain empty buildings.
Chris Mihailovich, general manager of Dennis Kefallinos’ company, said that it hasn’t been cheap to own the empty Joyce building. Taxes are high, security is expensive, grass has to be mowed in summer and snow has to be shoveled in winter.

The Joyce school is in better condition than most, which Grover credits to its dense neighborhood. “At least up until a few years ago, a retired cop lived across the street, and he watched the block and would call in if he saw anything,” Grover said.

But he remembered the fate of one elementary school in east Detroit that was in a stable neighborhood when it closed.

“It became like a hotbed for prostitution and drug dealing,” he said. “There were mattresses stacked in the gymnasium. It definitely had a negative impact on the neighborhood. … I can’t imagine people would want to live around that, and those who could get out did.”

[ Anna Clark ]

“Farmington Hills To Repurpose High School Into Community Center”

Declining Enrollment Spells End For Harrison High

Farmington Hills city officials are expected to present plans next month to repurpose Harrison High School as a community center.

Declining enrollment and tight finances led Farmington Public Schools trustees to set a June 2019 closing date for the sprawling campus on 12 Mile Road in Farmington Hills. Initial talks centered around moving district administrative offices, transportation, services housed in the Maxfield Education Center, and possibly Farmington Central High and early childhood education classes to the empty building.

After months of discussion, the City of Farmington Hills has formally declared its interest in the 240,000-square-foot facility. The letter of intent was received during a December 19 school board workshop.

On November 28, consultant Paul Wills of Plante Moran Cresa provided trustees with an activity timeline that would follow receipt of the letter. He pointed out that the potential for community or municipal uses was one of the reasons a facilities committee first identified Harrison for closure.

Willis added that city and district officials have had “multiple conversations and meetings” regarding lease and purchase scenarios, with title work and an appraisal underway. He said a final vote on the city’s offer could come as soon as June of 2018, if trustees formally accept the offer in January.

According to meeting minutes posted on the city’s website, city manager Dave Boyer told council members during a January 28, 2017 goal-setting session that Harrison could provide needed space for expanded swimming pool operations and a theater. Mayor Ken Massey said then that the move could provide amenities originally promised through the parks and recreation millage at a lower cost than building from the ground up.

The city funded a study of the Harrison facility, and consultants presented site and floor plans for the proposed $19-$20 million renovation during a November 13 council study session. Council members leaned toward purchasing the property, but also discussed plans to lease the first two floors, with school administrative offices on the third floor.

Offer details will be revealed during the city’s formal presentation, which is expected during the January 9 school board meeting.

[ Farmington Voice ]

“Repurposing Schools Gives Life to Vacant Buildings”

District-wide initiatives in Kansas City, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla., have aimed to turn abandoned school sites into financial opportunities that will simultaneously improve the surrounding neighborhoods.

As student populations and school budgets have shrunk, classes are emptying out of school buildings, consolidating into others and leaving their former homes as vacant lots in neighborhoods nationwide. According to the National Centers for Education Statistics, more than 1,900 public schools (out of nearly 99,000) closed during the 2010-2011 school year.

Municipalities and school districts are then left with huge assets in an anemic real estate market, unable to draw property taxes or any other revenue while forced to spend money to prevent those empty buildings from falling into disrepair.

So, some have taken action: district-wide initiatives in Kansas City, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla., have aimed to turn these abandoned school sites into financial opportunities that will simultaneously improve the surrounding neighborhoods. Kansas City has closed nearly 40 schools in recent years, and city officials estimate those properties could be worth up to $15 million. Tulsa shuttered 14 schools last year and district leaders also see those buildings as assets potentially worth millions. An entry into the National Invitational Public Policy Challenge (in which Governing was a sponsor) produced a plan to repurpose closed schools in Philadelphia (the city plans to vacate 64 in the next few years) and bring in up to $20 million.

There are sometimes administrative hurdles to clear before local authorities can act: according to the National Clearinghouse of Educational Facilities (NCEF), laws in some states (such as North Carolina) require the state to have a “first-look” option on a building to be sold, while others (such as Wisconsin) call for a review of historical significance before a facility is sold or demolished.

After those considerations are cleared, cities and districts must decide what to do with the unoccupied schools. They could lease or sell to another educational body, such as a charter or private school; lease or sell to a private company or government agency for purposes unrelated to education; or even demolish the building and simply sell the land.

Each scenario presents its own challenges, from a practical and political perspective. Before the recession, many districts would try to retain empty properties with the hopes of re-filling them later, Judy Marks, NCEF’s director, told Governing. But the economic downturn, and the accompanying fiscal strains, made that less feasible. Still, officials must be sensitive to neighborhood concerns when deciding to shutter a school and what to do next.

“Closing a school building in a community is always a traumatic affair,” Marks said.

The Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) Repurposing Initiative and Tulsa’s Project Schoolhouse represent one path forward for localities confronting this problem. After consolidating student bodies and vacating school buildings in recent years, these cities are putting those schools on the market, searching for potential buyers who will reuse the properties for projects that will benefit the community.

KCPS has closed 39 schools. Eight have been held for future use, and one has been refurbished to serve as a professional development center for the city’s teachers. That leaves 30 schools to be sold as part of the Repurposing Initiative. 1.8 million square feet. 130 acres. Up to $15 million in real estate value.

Shannon Jaax, the initiative’s director, came from the city planning office to lead the effort in January 2011. Over the next six months, she and her staff held neighborhood meetings to familiarize residents with their plans and gather input about what kind of uses they should target in potential sellers.

“We integrated community participation in every level of decision-making,” Jaax said. “We hope that will lead to ultimately better results for the long-term use at the sites.”

The school district then solicited proposals for three buildings that were deemed ready to be sold; all three have been sold as of May 2012. Two were purchased by charter schools, and the other will be renovated as affordable senior housing. Final sales figures are not yet public for two schools, but one, Longan Elementary School, sold for $1 million. About $250,000 will pay off the leftover bonds on the property, and the remaining $750,000 will go straight into the school district’s coffers.

KCPS plans to put another 15 schools on the market by the end of the year, Jaax said. Ten more proposals have been received, including more conversions to charter schools and senior housing. For those sites that have garnered no immediate interest, the district is offering their facilities to community clubs and youth programs to use in the interim for a small fee. In the next six to nine months, Jaax said KCPS will evaluate the state of those properties and to decide whether to retain (or “mothball”) them for future use or demolish the structures and start over.

Tulsa’s Project Schoolhouse aims to address a similar need with a similar plan. Tulsa Public Schools closed 14 buildings last year. Much like the KCPS Repurposing Initiative, the district sought community buy-in before shopping newly vacant schools to potential buyers, said Chris Payne, a district spokesperson. One of the primary concerns heard from constituents, he said, was that they didn’t want an empty building in their neighborhoods. Studies conducted for Philadelphia have estimated that vacant lots drive down surrounding property values by as much as 20 percent.

A school district acting as a property manager has some challenges: school officials must be acutely aware of the local real estate market to ensure they get the most out of their assets. “This is not a fire sale,” Payne said. “We’re not giving them away.”

Tulsa has already sold two buildings to local private schools, including the Town & Country School, which serves special needs students. The University of Tulsa has expressed interest in Woodrow Wilson Elementary School, located near its campus. A professional development program for district teachers is moving from Fulton Learning Academy (which was sold to Town & County) to Roosevelt Elementary School. Tulsa Public Schools started out with a goal of saving $5 million by closing schools, Payne said, and while it hasn’t reached that goal, it has made progress: $2.7 million saved through reduced maintenance and the revenue from sales.

The need for repurposing has already caught the attention of future policymakers: one of the entries in the National Invitational Public Policy Challenge, presented by a group of graduate students from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, offered a similar solution for Philadelphia, which is planning to close more than 60 school buildings in the next few years. The team of four looked at several existing programs, including the KCPS Repurposing Initiative, when developing their plan.

Their model is intended to be more efficient and financially self-sustaining. Authority to sell would be transferred from the school district to the city’s redevelopment authority. More promising properties would be sold first and those funds are used to update less appealing assets — a “portfolio” approach that ensures all assets are eventually sold, said grad students Sarah Besnoff and Aaron Tjoa, to Governing.

“It could work anywhere,” Besnoff said, “and it makes sense for any vacant public buildings.” The team has held meetings with city officials and state legislators to put its plan (or some version of it) into action.

They estimate the two-year selling and renovating process would earn up to $20 million in additional revenue than simply marketing easy-to-sell properties and then maintaining or demolishing the others. With the Philadelphia School District facing a $186 million shortfall next year, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, that additional income would be welcome.

Those financial incentives, and the reality that holding onto vacated buildings is fiscally untenable, have led more districts to consider these repurposing initiatives, said Reggie Felton, assistant executive director at the National School Boards Association. Acting as a real estate agent isn’t a natural role for school districts, he said, but it’s one they’re willing to play for now.

“Districts generally don’t want to get into the business of being a landlord,” Felton said. “But it is a growing issue right now, and they’re certainly going to take advantage of that opportunity.”

[ Dylan Scott ]

“A Model for Repurposing Closed Schools”

Just because a school is shut down doesn’t mean the building needs to stand lifeless. In Dallas, one program has found a new use for space. Here’s what they did.

One of the biggest side effects of schools being shut down across the U.S. is abandoned buildings—Structures that are perfectly intact. More than 1,900 public schools closed in this country during 2010-2011. Another 1,800-plus closed the school year before.

What’s to become of these shuttered facilities, many of them anchors of their neighborhood? Ted Kollaja and his team from Gensler, a global design firm, came together in Dallas to brainstorm ideas on what to do with these empty schools. Instead of letting these building sit vacant for decades until demographics change and budgets are restored and they’re needed again as schools (which is often the response from school districts and cities), why not reactivate them now as FOR LEASE community assets before they become stewards of urban decay.

Troubled but inspired by the closing of 11 schools in the Dallas Independent School District (ISD), the team developed a process for repurposing closed schools not just in Dallas, but anywhere. Their pilot intervention was the shuttered N.W. Harllee Elementary School in south Dallas, which closed its doors in May 2012. The team reinvented and reopened that school in July 2013—albeit for just six weeks—as the Summer Leadership Academy and saw 50 teenagers graduate from a program that taught them life and career skills.

So what was the process? Grassroots activism. Within a month of the January 2012 announcement that schools would be closed, a small group of architects and designers from Gensler’s Dallas office came together to brainstorm solutions. Architecture is not just about building buildings; it’s about the impact buildings have on the community. This project offered the perfect opportunity to jump in and help re-energize once vibrant city spaces.

Out of the 11 closed schools, Harllee Elementary was chosen for the pilot intervention, because it offered a dynamic trio: political support (Mayor Mike Rawlings is pushing hard for investment in south Dallas); the right facility (Harllee is a historic building); and the right community engagement. The Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church was an enthusiastic ticket into the community. Not just a church, it’s a pillar of this neighborhood with a long legacy of pastors as community leaders.

The idea of a summer leadership academy was specific to Harllee and its community. It was the outcome of meetings with residents of The Bottoms (as the neighborhood is known), who wanted a program for their 13- to 17-year-old children (kids too young for jobs, too old for summer camp). They wanted a program that would build up their teenagers, teaching them lessons in leadership and developing their creativity, teamwork, and even fitness.

Read the story to learn how the Gensler team in collaboration with city officials and community leaders helped launch this successful project. (image via Shutterstock)

[ Ted Kollaja ]

“Repurposing Shedd”

Four years after its closing, a former elementary school sits empty.

Nestled in a quiet part of Roseland, at the corner of 99th Street and Indiana Avenue, sits what was once John G. Shedd Elementary School. Shedd Elementary served as a satellite school to nearby Bennett Elementary until 2013.

After Chicago Public Schools (CPS) closed fifty schools in 2013, the district made an effort to provide information about the status and sale of the vacated school buildings. CPS maintains a list of these schools, along with a schedule of upcoming meetings (none of them current), and a map color-coding schools as “Undergoing community engagement process” or “Repurposed.” So far, only fourteen of the forty-three vacated buildings have been repurposed or sold, according to the Reporter. As little as can be gleaned from district-provided information on schools closed in 2013, it’s even harder to know what’s going on with closed school buildings outside of that list, like Shedd. But that hasn’t stopped some Roseland residents from bringing up the status of Shedd Elementary at recent ward meetings and advocating for the school’s repurposing.

Marilyn Keeter, principal of the Rescue Missionary Christian School, had hoped to move her school into the vacant building and turn it into something that could benefit the community. In 2014, she and Pastor Estelle Keeter (her mother and the school’s founder) went to inquire about the school’s condition.

“As you know, many other public schools are massive; we’re a small Christian school so we weren’t looking for anything that was huge,” said Keeter. “We wanted something that we knew would give us more room to grow but at the same time be something that we could handle.”

After the initial viewing of the school, Keeter said they immediately began what she described as a strenuous bidding process.

“We first had to meet with the real estate broker that was handling the property for CPS. After meeting with her, she arranged a time for us to go formally see the property. After we did that, myself, the pastor, and the board met with her and she emailed me all of the documents that needed to be sent in. Fifty-two pages were sent to us. There was a deadline for the bidding documents to be turned in and they were filled out extensively,” she said.

Keeter said that a lot of the questions were in regards to the repairs that needed to be done on the property. They were new to the process so they asked to be let into the property a second time, where they took their own licensed inspector to point out the things that had to be repaired.

“After checking out the boiler, the roof, siding and all those different things, there were an astronomical amount of repairs that we knew needed to be done in order to bring that building up to code. One of CPS’s stipulations was, ‘If you buy this property, you buy it as is. If you find out that it’s sitting on hazardous waste, it’s not our concern,’” Keeter said. “It was more than just, ‘Oh this is nice, we want it.’ No—we had to really go in there and say, ‘This needs to be changed, this needs to be brought up to code.’ It was a situation like that.”

CPS also wanted to know how the Rescue Missionary Christian School would engage with the Roseland Heights community.

According to Clevan Tucker, president of the Roseland Heights Community Association, Keeter and the Rescue Missionary School had to be vetted by community members and explain how purchasing Shedd Elementary would benefit everyone in the community.

“They presented us with a packet and they went over the benefits; they’d leave the space open and they would improve it and allow us to use the building for community association meetings and events so it would have been a partnership between the new owners and the community,” said Tucker.

Because the property sits on a large amount of land, Keeter said that they wanted to revitalize it. “There would be a little walking path or a gardening type thing for the seniors. [In] the back of the school, we wanted to start a community garden. So there were many aspects of the bidding itself that [the community] wanted to know. That’s another reason we went to the Roseland Heights Community [Association], because we wanted to know how they would feel if a Christian school were to purchase this property.”

The Rescue Missionary Christian School then presented their information to the district and 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale, along with another bidder (“We never got a name. All we knew was that it was a [housing] developer,” Tucker said). Both bids were rejected. “The highest bidder did not get community approval so my thought was, ‘Shouldn’t it go to the second highest bidder since you only had two?’ But no, he rejected both bids and put it back up for sale. At least that’s the story we got,” said Tucker.

In fact, because Shedd was not officially considered one of the schools closed in 2013, there was no district requirement for community input or public meetings at the time (now, that requirement has been lifted for many schools closed in 2013 as well).

According to Beale, the bid by the Rescue Missionary Christian School was denied because he felt they did not have “the resources to accomplish what the community is looking to have done,” he said. “If the building needs redoing, they really don’t have the capital to rehab the building, keep up with the maintenance of the building, keep up with the landscaping, all those types of things.”

According to a Freedom of Information Act request, Shedd Elementary accumulated approximately $5,430 in gas and electricity costs from July 2015 to June 2016, which has residents wondering why taxpayers are still paying to keep the lights on in a closed building.

Beale explained that some buildings are secured by alarm systems. “You don’t want a school just sitting there open. You might want to make sure the heat stays at a certain temperature so the pipes don’t freeze. There’s a lot of things going on, just because a building is vacant doesn’t mean that there’s no activity in the building. There’s still a light amount of maintenance being done,” he said.

The building is still in good condition and has yet to become an eyesore in the neighborhood. But residents still want to see the building repurposed.

“The appearance is fine,” said Marvin Bonds, a nearby resident. “It’s not shattered with broken windows or hanging gutters. I like it the way it is here. I hope they don’t turn it into a development of some kind.”

“I’d like to see them do something with the property,” added his wife, Fran Bonds. “I think a community center or a school would be good.”

Bonds added that while a school may be a good idea, there might not be enough kids in the community for a school. “I don’t see a lot of little kids around here. We’re in our sixties and there are a few kids that come and play here in this playground, but I don’t think there’s enough here for a community center or school,” said Marvin.

There’s some evidence that opening new schools (specifically charters) in areas with declining child population drains students, and student-based funds, from nearby neighborhood schools. That’s a problem any new school, including Rescue Missionary Christian School, would have to confront. However, according to a report by Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, in contrast to some other community areas on the South and West Sides with declining school-age populations, Roseland’s child population has remained relatively stable between 1990 and 2010.

Beale said that some members of the community want to see some type of youth education incubator in the building. “It’s a very good building. It’s a very good location, a quiet community. So we want to make sure that we educate kids and still have the community quiet like they’re accustomed to,” he said.

“There are a couple of users out there that are able to do that but again, we’re just not going to accept anything and put it in there just to have somebody in the building. We want to make sure we get the right fit. That’s all we’re trying to do.”

[ Deysi Cuevas ]

“What is Sanctification?”

What is sanctification? What is the definition of Christian sanctification? Is sanctification positional or progressive?

[ Got Questions ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEmPy9RdoAA

“How Sanctification Works”

Ligonier Conference Panel Q&A

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9Cu3_mba6o

“How Is A Christian Sanctified By The Gospel?”

Bobby explains how key the Gospel is in a believer’s ongoing sanctification.

[ Bobby Conway ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxr_d9ASg8I

“Sanctification – A Slow Transformation”

[ John Piper ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLml5YpCuoE

“The Most Neglected Theme in Sanctification”

The Christian life still entails obedience it still involves a fight but it’s a fight we will win you have the Spirit of Christ in your corner rubbing your shoulders holding the bucket putting his arm around you and saying before the next round was sin you’re going to knock them out kid sin may get some good jabs it may clean your clock once in a while it may bring you to your knees but if you are in Christ it will never knock you out you are no longer a slave but free sin has no dominion over you it can’t it won’t a new king sits on the throne you serve a different master you salute a different Lord

[ Kevin DeYoung ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6x_t9qeAvI

“T4G 2014 | Preaching Sanctification – Matt Chandler, Derek Thomas, Kevin DeYoung, John Piper”

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx6PYxSteys

“Efficacious Grace”

“In efficacious grace we are not merely passive, nor yet does God do some, and we do the rest. But God does all, and we do all. God produces all, and we act all. For that is what he produces, that is, our own acts. God is the only proper author and fountain; we only are the proper actors.

We are, in different respects, wholly passive and wholly active. In the Scriptures the same things are represented as from God and from us. God is said to convert, and men are said to convert and turn. God makes a new heart, and we are commanded to make us a new heart.

God circumcises the heart, and we are commanded to circumcise our own hearts; not merely because we must use the means in order to the effect, but the effect itself is our act and our duty. These things are agreeable to that text, ‘God worketh in you both to will and to do.’ (Philippians 2:13)”

[ Jonathan Edwards ]

“Sanctification: The Progress”

When you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, what did you expect to happen next? How did you think your life would change? Did anyone teach you how to live a godly Christian life? God has an extraordinary plan for your life, and in this wonderful sermon entitled “Sanctification: The Process,” Dr. Stanley discusses how God prepares you for service and transforms you into the image of Christ.

[ Charley Stanley ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=141pT3w8iUo

“For This is the Will of God, Your Sanctification”

Excerpt from the July 16, 2016 sermon by Dr. John MacArthur, “Taking the Mystery Out of Knowing God’s Will.”

[ John MacArthur ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qf6m6PbPMs

“8 Stages of Sanctification”
[ The following are excerpts I gleaned from the video ]

We are not even a ‘lump’ of clay (processed), but just ‘chunks’ of hard soil (unprocessed, just dug out of the ground) with all kinds of other stuff in it

Unprocessed clay needs to have water added to it, then ’screened,’ and then dried out.

It is then “wedged” so that all the air is ‘used’ out of it.

Then you must ‘center’ the clay on the wheel. Then you ’shape’ the clay.

Then the shaped clay dies for a while.

Then it is low-fired—and even if you put it in water, it will not go back to a ’soft’ condition.

Then the glaze is put on and “high fired.” Then the glaze (‘glass’) is ‘bonded’ into the pores of the clay.

The Process of Making Clay Pottery is Analogous to the Sanctification Process

1: Dug Out of the Ground – Dried (Faith) [ Read the Bible ]
2: Weathered – Saturated in Water (Virtue) [ Hide Scripture in your heart ]
3: Wedged (Knowledge) [ Study Scripture ]
4: Rested (Temperance) [ Rest in the Lord ]
5: Shaped (Patience) [ Thankfulness ]
6: Low-fired (Godliness) [ Devoted ]
7: Glaze Coat (Brotherly Kindness) [ Yielded ]
8: High Fired (Charity) [ Serve with pure motives ]

2 Peter 1-15: Partakes of the divine nature of God:

“To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder, knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind.”

Psalm 69:
Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

Psalm 40:
I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. (A picture of salvation) — But we need to be ‘processed’

The Sanctification Process:
1: Just like the clay, spiritually, we need to be ‘dug out’ of the darkness of the ground (Receive/Believe)
2: Since we are ‘contaminated’, we need to submerge ourselves in the Word of God—allowing it to soften us, cleanse us, and allow God to ‘purge’ (Soften/Cleanse) those lies of self-deception and false doctrine out of us
3: Then allow the sharp “two-edged sword” of the Spirit to do its work as we study the Word
4: Then we need to ‘saturate’ ourselves with God’s words allow the Word of God to ‘permeate’ our body, souls and spirit (mediate)
5: Being thankful for the trials and circumstances, that give us strength as we are shaped on the ‘wheel’ of life
6: then be devoted to the Lord as we resist the ‘flesh’
7: Partake of His brotherly kindness as we ‘yield’ to Him and willing to obey and do everything that is right.
8: Then serving other with a pure motive of charity.

Steps 1-4: Absorb God’s Word (Read; Memorize; Study; Meditate)
Steps 5-8: Do the Word

[ David Engesath ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR3SRDywo_o

“Sanctification: A Biblical Doctrine that is Essential to Salvation”

It took a lot of searching for me to find a preacher who grasps the utmost importance and correct understanding of the central Christian doctrine of “Sanctification.” This is a key doctrine that largely explains what Jesus meant in Matthew 7:21-23, “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

Sanctification is a major pillar of salvation. The Protestant Reformation that began with Martin Luther and John Calvin accomplished more than merely re-discovering the doctrine of “justification by faith alone,” but it continued onwards, and it climaxed when the Puritans grasped the process of Sanctification, that is, to become godly people through the power of the Holy Spirit. Salvation by faith in Christ involves more activity than just a one-time profession of faith, but it continues after this, for the rest of your life, and much of that further progress involves the process of sanctification. If sanctification is not happening in you, something is wrong with your Christian development.

Sanctification is the solution to the “once saved, always saved” controversy, and it is the process constantly alluded to by the apostles when they tell us to persevere, run the race, finish the course, endure in faith, lay hold on salvation, receive the full reward, press towards the mark, etc. No, you cannot “lose your salvation” but, Yes you can fail to go to heaven even though you once believed the Gospel, because you can turn back, fall away, not run, give up, lose the fight, and fail to proceed into sanctification. I would say that this doctrine is the most important and most overlooked pillar of the Christian faith which we ought to be focusing on in America today.

The inner work of sanctification, of course, is done by God, through the intercession of Jesus Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit in us; but as Christians who desire to be saved and to receive our heavenly inheritance, we must pray for sanctification, pursue it diligently, desire it earnestly, and make it a conscious priority in our lives. Therefore, I beseech you brethren, listen to this first sermon by pastor Marino and then follow up with the other six sermons in this series, which is excellent both academically and spiritually, here: http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp….

Then, as this doctrine starts to impress its massive importance upon you, you’re going to find that suddenly you possess a new and wonderful appreciation for the writings of the Puritans like Jonathan Edwards, Andrew Murray, John Owen, Thomas Boston, Richard Baxter, Richard Sibbes, Thomas Watson, William Law, et al. When you get there, I have created several good playlists comprising the most prominent writings of these supremely knowledgeable, intellectually astounding Christian teachers (the greatest the world has ever seen since the 2nd Century AD) which you can find on my channel, or, an even wider selection of them on the channel, “Christian Praise and Worship in Songs, Sermons, and Audio Books” (https://www.youtube.com/user/stack45ny).

I summarize it all this way: Justification + Sanctification = Salvation. Luther and Calvin restored the doctrine of justification by faith, but then the Puritans restored the doctrine of sanctification. Both are of equal importance if you want to receive your full reward of eternal glory in Christ.

Note this sermon is originally entitled, “The Definition of Sanctification,” so begin watching the remainder of pastor Marino’s series at part 2, “A Defense of Sanctification,” which is a bit overly-academic, or part 3, “Different Models of Sanctification,” which takes a more historical perspective on the debates surrounding the meaning and role of this doctrine.

[ Matt Marino ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5PfiT9fPFM

“Prelude to Acting the Miracle”

Putting Sanctification in Its Place. God’s Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification.

[ John Piper – Desiring God 2012 National Conference ]

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/prelude-to-acting-the-miracle

“A Call to Holiness”

Christians are often uncomfortable thinking of each other as “holy ones.” Yet the call to God’s people is “You shall be holy; for I am holy” (Lev. 11:44/ 1 Peter 1:16). It is through faith in Christ that we are set apart as holy ones, yet we still struggle with sin. Sanctification is the process by which we are being made holy. How do we seek God’s grace in living holy lives?

[ John MacArthur ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY1joKM4rcQ

“Wrestle with Sanctification”

John Piper and Tim Keller sat down to discuss the biblical vision of sanctification. In this 14-minute video they touch on how justification and sanctification relate, along with the psychological dynamics of faith.

[ John Piper and Tim Keller ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QecyvLgSuN8

“Why God Sanctifies Us Slowly”

God could change you in an instant so you would never sin again. So why doesn’t he make us completely holy now?

[ John Piper ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu2CdY_vY3A

“Distinguishing Sanctification From Justification”

2016 Spurgeon Conference, Part 7

[ Mike Fabarez ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFfbZbpl7rk

“A Call To Holy Living”

It is a very great fault in any ministry if the doctrine of justification by faith alone be not most clearly taught. I will go further, and add, that it is not only a great fault, but a fatal one; for souls will never find their way to heaven by a ministry that is indistinct upon the most fundamental of gospel truths. We are justified by faith, and not by the works of the law. The merit by which a soul enters heaven is not its own; it is the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am quite sure that you will all hold me guiltless of ever having spoken about this great doctrine in any other than unmistakable language; if I have erred, it is not in that direction. At the same time, it is a dangerous state of things if doctrine is made to drive out precept, and faith is held up as making holiness a superfluity. Sanctification must not be forgotten or overlaid by justification. We must teach plainly that the faith which saves the soul is not a dead faith, but a faith which operates with purifying effect upon our entire nature, and produces in us fruits of righteousness to the praise and glory of God. It is not by personal holiness that a man shall enter heaven, but yet without holiness shall no man see the Lord.

[ Charles Spurgeon ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ZOUgemMxc

“The Process of Salvation (Justification, Sanctification and Glorification)”

Tabernacle of Joy

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzOrB3MbXaY

“How Man Becomes Holy” (Sanctification) and “The Process of Sanctification”

The doctrine of sanctification provides a view of salvation from an “inward” perspective and explains how God enables mankind to share in His holiness.

[ Mike Mazzalongo ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqZlyO_5OkQ&feature=youtu.be&t=550

“Sanctification”

Seminar 1 at 2012 Twin Lakes Fellowship

[ Ligon Duncan ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTbe3bWZcLY

“What does it mean to work out salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)?”

Answer: In Philippians 2:12-13, Paul writes, “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence – continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his purpose.”

This text is often misused to instill fear into people, warning them that it means that they can lose salvation. What does it mean to work out our salvation with fear and trembling? [ more… ]

https://www.gotquestions.org/fear-and-trembling.html

“The Ordo Salutis (The Application of Redemption) – Progressive Sanctification”

PDF: http://s3.amazonaws.com/churchplantmedia-cms/first_presbyterian_columbia/sot-56-progressive-sanctification.pdf

“What is Salvation? Justification, Sanctification, Glorification”

Our salvation in Christ involves 3 marvelous gifts: justification, sanctification, and glorification.

Justification is the gift by which our sins are forgiven.
Sanctification is the gift by which we grow in likeness of Christ.
Glorification is the gift by which we enter into the everlasting joy of heaven.

If you get that, you get the whole Christian life. Now think about what happened to the thief on the cross: he was justified and glorified on the same day, he completely bypassed sanctification. This man missed out on the entire Christian life: no battles, no temptation, no struggles with prayer, he wasn’t baptized, never received communion, didn’t become a member in any church.

The Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Now it is always true that where faith is birthed, works will follow. Your acceptance with God does not depend on your performance in your Christian life. It is by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.

[ Colin Smith ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSYKILPHHas

“Salvation vs. Sanctification”

“I think I trusted Christ 10 times the first month after I trusted Christ because after I genuinely came to faith in Christ I found myself still prideful arrogant and lustful and insecure and I go I must not it must not have been so I really meant it I’m really a sinner I really believe in Jesus amen whoa look at that and I just go what in the world here’s the deal salvation that’s a big big that is the that is what God does in our life and there’s three parts of salvation there’s justification which is when we are justified declared righteous by God it is freedom from the penalty of sin the moment you trust Jesus Christ you are justified it is finished but there is another part of salvation next to justification called sanctification it is when the power of God is working in you to bring you into the image of Jesus Christ it’s when you’re being delivered from the power of sin we’re now free if we submit ourselves to God to allow his righteousness and resurrection power to inform our hearts so that we don’t follow our flesh because we know God is good and not to be avoided and managed and hidden from but to be followed and so we increasingly have the power to say no to what seems right to us and we realize that that is a mental problem it is a problem that needs to be fixed and conformed to the will of God see that we’re being delivered from the power of sin and there’s going to be a day I would be glorified when I am delivered from the presence of sin Oh glorious day but until then I need the Word of God the spirit of God in the people of God to admonish encourage and help me.”

[ Todd Wagner ]

Sermon ‘Snippet’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GhObZd8JNU
[ This segment starts at 40:59 of the entire sermon ]

Entire Sermon: http://www.watermark.org/message/4320

“Experiential/Progressive Sanctification”

According to John Frame, “We can think of [experiential] sanctification as the outworking of the new life given in regeneration.” It involves the gradual, incremental and (S)piritual work of both putting to death the remains of “indwelling sin” as well as putting on the likeness of Christ. While we work out the salvation given to us, it is God who works in us, both to will and to work for His sovereign good pleasure. (Phil 2:13).

“Progressive sanctification has two parts: mortification and vivification, “both of which happen to us by participation in Christ,” as Calvin notes (Calvin, Institutes 3.3.2, 9 The “mortification / vivification” distinction was first formulated by Melanchthon in his Commentary on Romans (Corpus Reformatorum). These occur simultaneously and continuously throughout the Christian life, rather than in stages. Christ’s death alone is atoning, and cannot be repeated. He died for our sins, but we die to our sins. Christ took up his cross once and for all as a sacrifice for sin, but he calls his disciples to “take up [their] cross daily,” facing persecution from within and without (Lk. 9:23). Although we have died definitively to the law and to sin (Paul uses the analogy of remarriage after a death in Romans 7: 1-6; cf. Gal. 2:19), we continue to struggle inwardly with our new identity (Ro. 7:7-24). Subjectively experiencing this definitive reality signified and sealed to us in our baptism requires a daily dying and rising.”

[ Michael Horton, “The Christian Faith,” page 661 ]

“John Calvin on Election, Preservation and Sanctification”

“Nor by remission of sins does the Lord only once for all elect and admit us into the Church, but by the same means he preserves and defends us in it. For what would it avail us to receive a pardon of which we were afterwards to have no use? That the mercy of the Lord would be vain and delusive if only granted once, all the godly can bear witness; for there is none who is not conscious, during his whole life, of many infirmities which stand in need of divine mercy…. Hence let us surely hold that if we are admitted and ingrafted into the body of the Church, the forgiveness of sins has been bestowed, ad is daily bestowed on us, in divine liberality, through the intervention of Christ’s merits, and the sanctification of the Spirit.”

[ John Calvin, “Institutes of the Christian Religion,” 4.1.21 ]

“We Must Be Holy”

We must he holy on earth before we die, if we desire to go to heaven after death. If we hope to dwell with God for ever in the life to come, we must endeavour to be like Him in the life that now is. We must not only admire holiness, and wish for holiness: we must be holy.

Holiness cannot justify and save us: holiness cannot cover our iniquities, make satisfaction for transgressions, pay our debts to God. Our best works are no better than filthy rags, when tried by the light of God’s law. The righteousness which Jesus Christ brought in must be our only confidence,—the blood of atonement our only hope. All this is perfectly true, and yet we must be holy.

We must be holy, because God in the Bible plainly commands it. “As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter i. 15, 16).

We must be holy, because this is one great end for which Christ came into the world. “He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Cor. v. 15).

We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in Christ. “Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James ii. 17, 26).

We must be holy, because this is the only proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. What can be more plain than our Lord’s own words? “If ye love Me, keep my commandments.” “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me.” (John xiv. 15, 21).

We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we are God’s children. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” “Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God” (Rom. viii. 14; I John iii. 10).

Lastly, we must be holy, because without holiness on earth we should never be prepared and meet for heaven. It is written of the heavenly glory, “There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie” (Rev. xxi. 27). St. Paul says expressly, “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. xii. 14).

Ah, reader, the last text I have just quoted is very solemn. It ought to make you think. It was written by the hand of inspired man: it is not my private fancy. Its words are the words of the Bible: not of my own invention. God has said it, and God will stand to it: “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”

What tremendous words these are! What thoughts come across my mind as I write them down! I look at the world, and see the greater part of it lying in wickedness; I look at professing Christians, and see the vast majority having nothing of Christianity but the name; I turn to the Bible, and I hear the Spirit saying, “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”

Surely it is a text that ought to make you consider your ways, and search your hearts. Surely it should raise within you solemn thoughts, and send you to prayer.

You may try to put me off by saying you feel much, and think much about these things,—far more than many suppose. I answer, This is not the point. The poor lost souls in hell do as much as this. The great question is, not what you think and what you feel, but what you DO. Are you holy?

You may say, It was never meant that all Christians should be holy, and that holiness such as I have described is only for great saints, and people of uncommon gifts. I answer, I cannot see this in Scripture. I read that “every man who hath hope in Christ purifieth himself” (1 John iii. 3). “Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.”

You may say, It is impossible to be so holy and to do our duty in this life at the same time: the thing cannot be done. I answer, You are mistaken: it can be done. With God on your side, nothing is impossible. It has been done by many: Moses, and Obadiah, and Daniel, and the servants of Nero’s household, are all examples that go to prove it.

You may say, If you were so holy, you would be unlike other people. I answer, I know it well: it is just what I want you to be. Christ’s true servants always were unlike the world around them,—a separate nation, a peculiar people; and you must be so too, if you would be saved.

You may say, At this rate very few will be saved. I answer, I know it: Jesus said so eighteen hundred years ago. Few will be saved, because few will take the trouble to seek salvation. Men will not deny themselves the pleasures of sin and their own way for a season; for this they turn their backs on an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. “Ye will not come to Me,” says Jesus, “that ye might have life” (John v. 40).

You may say, These are hard sayings: the way is very narrow. I answer, I know it: Jesus said so eighteen hundred years ago. He always said that men must take up the cross daily, that they must be ready to cut off hand or foot, if they would be His disciples. It is in religion as it is in other things, “There are no gains without pains.” That which costs nothing is worth nothing.

Reader, whatever you may think fit to say, you must be holy if you would see the Lord. Where is your Christianity if you are not? Show it to me without holiness, if you can. You must not merely have a Christian name and Christian knowledge, you must have a Christian character also: you must be a saint on earth, if ever you mean to be a saint in heaven. God has said it, and He will not go back,—”Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” “The Pope’s calendar,” says Jenken, “only makes saints of the dead, but Scripture requires sanctity in the living.” “Let not men deceive themselves,” says Owen, “sanctification is a qualification indispensably necessary—unto those who will be under the conduct of the Lord Jesus unto salvation: He leads none to heaven but whom He sanctifies on the earth. This living Head will not admit of dead members.”

Surely you will not wonder that Scripture says, “Ye must be born again” (John iii. 7). Surely it is clear as noon-day that many of you need a complete change, —new hearts, new natures,—if ever you are to be saved. Old things must pass away, you must become new creatures. Without holiness, no man, be he who he may,—no man shall see the Lord.

Reader, consider well what I have said. Do you feel any desire to be holy? Does your conscience whisper, “I am not holy yet, but I should like to become so”? Listen to the advice I am going to give you. The Lord grant you may take it and act upon it!

Would you be holy? Would you become a new creature? Then begin with Christ. You will do just nothing till you feel your sin and weakness, and flee to Him: He is the beginning of all holiness. He is not wisdom and righteousness only to His people, but sanctification also. Men sometimes try to make themselves holy first of all, and sad work they make of it: they toil, and labour, and turn over many new leaves, and make many changes, and yet, like the woman with the issue of blood before she came to Christ, they feel nothing bettered, but rather worse. They run in vain, and labour in vain: and little wonder, for they are beginning at the wrong end. They are building up a wall of sand: their work runs down as fast as they throw it up. They are baling water out of a leaky vessel; the leak gains on them; not they on the leak. Other foundation of holiness can no man lay than that which Paul laid, even Christ Jesus. Without Christ we can do nothing. It is a strong but true saying of Traill’s, “Wisdom out of Christ is damning folly; righteousness out of Christ is guilt and condemnation; sanctification out of Christ is filth and sin; redemption out of Christ is bondage and slavery.”

Would you be holy: Would you be partakers of the Divine nature? Then go to Christ. Wait for nothing: wait for nobody: linger not. Think not to make you yourself ready: go, and say to Him, in the words of that beautiful hymn,—

“Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, flee to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace.”

There is not a brick nor a stone laid in the work of our sanctification till we go to Christ. Holiness is His special gift to His believing people; holiness is the work He carries on in their hearts, by the Spirit whom He puts within them. He is appointed a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance as well as remission of sins: to as many as receive Him He gives power to become sons of God. Holiness comes not of blood,—parents cannot give it to their children; nor yet of the will of the flesh,—man cannot produce it in himself; nor yet of the will of man, —ministers cannot give it you by baptism. Holiness comes from Christ. It is the result of vital union with Him: it is the fruit of being a living branch of the true vine. Go then to Christ, and say, “Lord, not only save me from the guilt of sin, but send the Spirit, whom Thou didst promise, and save me from its power. Make me holy. Teach me to do Thy will.”

Would you continue holy, when you have once been made so? Then abide in Christ. He says Himself, “Abide in Me, and I in you. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit” (John xv. 4, 5).

He is the Physician to whom You must daily go, if you would keep well; He is the Manna which you must daily eat, and the Rock of which you must daily drink. His arm is the arm on which you must daily lean, as you come up out of the wilderness of this world. You must not only be rooted, you must also be built up in Him.

Reader, may you and I know these things by experience, and not by hearsay only! May we all feel the importance of holiness, far more than we have ever done yet! May our years he holy years with our souls, and then I know they will be happy ones! But this I say once more, “We must be holy.”

[ J. C. Ryle ]

http://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/we_must_be_holy.htm

“Sanctification”

A sermon from Dr. R.C. Sproul. Text: Romans 8:8-17

In this sermon, Dr. Sproul investigates the use of the word spirit—the relationship of the human spirit to the body and its relationship to the soul. He disscusses the following four categories of people when it comes to salvation: not saved and know it; saved and know it; saved and not sure; and not saved but sure they are saved.

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/sermons/sanctification/

“The Spirit’s Work of Sanctification”

This Lecture is from the Teaching Series The Holy Spirit.

Who is the Holy Spirit and what is His role in redemption? These questions have been especially important since the rise of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements in the last century. Along with a renewed interest in the person and work of the Holy Spirit has come increased confusion. In this series, R.C. Sproul cuts through the complexity, getting to the heart of the Bible’s teaching regarding the third person of the Trinity.

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/the_holy_spirit/the-spirits-work-of-sanctification/

“The Struggle of Sanctification”

A Broadcast with Guy Waters

The Christian life is one of struggle and conflict against sin. And that fact can sometimes cause Christians to despair. In this message on Romans 7, Guy Waters encourages us that the fight against sin is evidence of a renewed heart.

https://renewingyourmind.org/2018/03/06/the-struggle-of-sanctification

“Sanctification”

Lecture 44:

When someone has been justified by faith in Christ, the transformative work of sanctification begins. In this lesson, Dr. Sproul discusses the path of sanctification in the Christian life and the impact that it has for believers’ growth in grace.

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/foundations/sanctification/

“No Holiness, No Heaven: The Doctrine of Sanctification”

When I posted my previous video about the essential but under-emphasized Biblical doctrine of Sanctification (by pastor Matt Marino), the enemies of righteousness immediately swooped in to attack it, so I decided to post more on this doctrine, recognizing that the devil considers it to be a frontline in the spiritual warfare of these last days. Here is another great sermon on sanctification; from pastor Brian Borgman of Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. Understand that “sanctification” is a major part of Christian salvation and was a one of the great revelations that emerged during the Protestant Reformation, especially among the Puritans.

The Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther and John Calvin, but it accomplished much more than merely re-discovering the doctrine of “justification by faith alone;” but it continued onwards, and it climaxed when the Puritans grasped the practical doctrine called “Sanctification.” This doctrine entails the Christian transformation whereby we become godly people through the power of the Holy Spirit, a special people set apart from the rest of the world, not like monks in a monastery, but like heaven-bound kings and overcomers in a world that wants to defile us and seduce us into sin.

Also, Sanctification is the solution to the “once saved, always saved” controversy, and it is the process constantly alluded to by the apostles when they tell us to persevere, run the race, finish the course, endure in faith, lay hold on salvation, receive the full reward, press in, etc. No, you cannot “lose your salvation” but, Yes you can fail to go to Heaven even though you once believed the Gospel, because you can turn back, fall away, not run, give up, and fail to proceed into sanctification. I would say that this doctrine is the most important and overlooked pillar of the Christian faith which we ought to be focusing on in America today. Why? The title of Borgman’s sermon says it all: “No Holiness, No Heaven.”

I summarize it like this: Justification + Sanctification = Salvation. Luther and Calvin restored the doctrine of Justification by Faith, but then the Puritans restored the doctrine of Sanctification. Both are important if you want your full reward of eternal glory in Christ. Christians need not reject modernity, but Christians must utterly reject secular progressivism and moral relativism. Therefore I suspect that the devil hates this message because it is indeed essential to a person’s salvation, and secondarily I suspect that Catholics oppose it because it conflicts with their heretical doctrine of Purgatory: (because there is no need for a Purgatory if purity is to be pursued now in this life).

[ Brian Borgman ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AIBcQWkmEI

“Sanctification (Overview)”

[ Matt Chandler ]

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Y7BR3m6NI

Sermon Series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHylFoss07s&list=PLbE-di2T5VIX0j6X16qYShcFv3TqHKAlx

“Holiness” (by J.C. Ryle)

Chapter 2 – “Sanctification”:

“Sanctify them through Your truth.” [ John 17:17 ]

https://www.gracegems.org/Ryle/holiness3.htm

Chapter 3 – “Holiness”:

“Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.” [ Hebrews 12:14 ]

https://www.gracegems.org/Ryle/holiness4.htm

“Pleasing God”

What higher satisfaction is there than knowing that what we do and think is pleasing to God? But how can we, as imperfect Christians, ever hope to please a perfect God? Is it even possible in a world where temptations so often lead us astray? In this series of practical guidelines for Christian living, Dr. R.C. Sproul clearly identifies the struggles we all share in pleasing God and offers insights on how to overcome them.

[ R.C. Sproul ]

https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Content/Series/1237

“A Case for Reusing Old School Buildings”

As the experts say, “the greenest building is one that already exists.” However, when considering adaptive reuse projects in towns and cities across America, many developers overlook one of the most obvious green buildings in the area: the local school.

Over the years as educational needs have changed, the trend has been for smaller, historic urban schools to relocate to larger, suburban areas. Though these abandoned urban schools have largely been dismissed by the communities surrounding them, developers are increasingly realizing that the beautiful and sturdy old school buildings of yesteryear are perfect for adaptive reuse projects today.

Why Schools Abandon Older Buildings

One of the main reasons developers may overlook school buildings for adaptive reuse projects is because these structures have often been abandoned for so long they’ve become nearly invisible. Older, long-term neighborhood residents may avoid talking about the facility because they still grieve the loss of a building that played so prominently in their memories. Younger residents may view the fenced-off school with its surrounding acreage merely as an obstacle between them and their intended destination. To this group, the school is simply a dead lot, similar to the weed-covered, chain-link-fenced square of land they pass every day.

Though the buildings are impressive and often lovely, districts close down these schools because they see the building as “nostalgic.” Sure, it’s nice to look at, local board members say, but it’s unable to meet our changing educational needs.

The top reasons school districts decide to close historic schools are:

Size: Perhaps they need more land for athletic fields or perhaps the growing local student population has made the building’s classrooms, as well as its cafeteria and gym, too small or too unsafe for modern educational purposes and mandates.

Regulations: The cost of bringing a building up to code or meeting Americans with
Disabilities Act requirements may also be too high for schools, especially once districts start considering the myriad of other updates they need for the facilities.

Access: Districts may also have troubles bussing students in and out due to traffic congestion issues at key times in the day. Teachers, parents, and students may also be frustrated by limited parking options when the school is located on a relatively small lot.

Unfortunately, the fact that a school district abandoned a building often leads developers to overlook the property as well. This is a mistake, because educational needs are typically extremely specific and don’t translate into other industries. Developers looking to invest in a historic school building don’t face the same restrictions as their local school district.

The Benefits of Historic School Buildings for Adaptive Reuse

Ask any group of people about their K-12 experience and you’ll hear a wide variety of responses. Some people hated school. Others loved their school-age years and look back fondly at the teachers and communities they grew up in. Still others won’t be able to remember much about their school experience because it had so little to do with who they are today.

Regardless, most people will agree that their school buildings made an impression on them.

Whether large or small, school buildings (especially pre-war structures) were built to be both inspiring and solid. The structures were built to last and were often also built to be the focal point of their communities. Because of this, schools of years past featured a level of detail, craftsmanship, and materials we rarely see today.

But the appeal of historic school buildings goes far beyond architectural aesthetics. These buildings are also:

Located in walkable / bikeable areas that attract young couples
More sustainable, with naturally built-in LEED certification measures
Often more affordable than new construction, especially when demolition is considered
A community rallying point that can garner astonishing project support
Frequently subsidized by federal and state tax credits
Best of all, historic school buildings are also often more effective for mixed-use adaptive reuse projects than other similar alternatives because of their wide range of existing amenities such as kitchens, gyms, spacious hallways, airy classrooms, and high ceilings.

Rural Schools Also Present Opportunities

The trend toward recycling school buildings isn’t just a metro-area phenomenon – abandoned schools are a growing investment prospect in rural areas too.

Many rural communities at the edges of urban areas have recently been experiencing fast growth for the same reason that older urban areas started growing a decade ago: housing costs.

As older, less desirable areas in the cities have been upgraded to reflect the needs and interests of millennials, the costs in these areas have also been upgraded. New families often must now rent or purchase just outside the city in nearby rural areas. The resulting population boom in these communities means they need to close their older, smaller, rural schools and build new, larger facilities at the edges of town.

Unlike historic urban school buildings, recently abandoned rural schools often contain essential modern amenities already, such as broadband and updated HVAC systems.

Since growing rural communities typically lack adequate rental opportunities, healthcare facilities, and entertainment activities, rural schools that lend themselves to these types of adaptive reuse projects stand to profit handsomely.

The Value of a Good Education Building

As we all understand in this industry, historic buildings don’t simply “wear out.” On the contrary, although older structures may require updates to windows, roofs, doors, and mechanical systems in order to serve a new purpose, the buildings themselves can last indefinitely.

Since repurposing the built environment has been shown to be significantly less expensive than demolishing and rebuilding, and also creates significantly less landfill waste and a lower carbon footprint, the practice of repurposing abandoned historic school buildings in both urban and rural landscapes may prove to be the next great development deal of the century.

[ Milrose Consultants ]

“Repurposing a Vacant School into City Hall”

You don’t have to look far to find an empty school building in the state of Michigan. Many communities are dealing with empty buildings that have been vacated by school districts because of shrinking enrollment, growing operation costs, and other concerns. While those buildings can be a detriment to a community, attracting squatters and vandalism, they don’t have to be.

There was a lot of community involvement in the building updates and rehabilitation, including council member Rebecca Hopp painting the exterior and employees from the Ottawa Conservation District planting a butterfly garden.
The city of Ferrysburg turned an empty school into a community asset by transforming it into city hall and a satellite police office. “Ferrysburg Elementary was part of Grand Haven Public Schools and it was closed due to declining enrollment,” Craig Bessinger, Ferrysburg City Manager said. The school was situated in a central location in Ferrysburg, making it an attractive spot for city hall. “A few years back, there was an economic development task force that put together a strategic plan,” Bessinger said. “One of the items in that plan was to possibly buy the 13-acre parcel of the school if it were ever to come up for sale.”

In its old city hall location, a former church, Ferrysburg was running out of room to efficiently take care of city business. “We were short on space, it wasn’t centrally located, and it couldn’t be easily located by our residents,” said Mayor Dan Ruiter. The Ferrysburg Elementary location was so attractive because it offered loads of space and was centrally located, helping to join the city’s two business districts. “When it became available, we bought it pretty quickly,” Ruiter said. The city purchased the school for $900,000.

Redeveloping the school into a new city hall wasn’t necessarily the plan right from the start. There was talk of demolishing the school and building a new city hall. “It was up for debate,” said Jeffery Stilles, the former mayor. “We had a company come in and give us the rundown of cost using different scenarios, from building new to just giving the building a facelift.” The process was all taking place when the country’s stimulus plan was at its strongest, and there was hope that a completely new facility would be a possibility. “There were some on the council in favor of leveling the place, and others that wanted to preserve its history,” said Mayor Ruitor. “With the stimulus plan, the federal government was looking for shovel-ready projects, but the costs were still too high even with some federal funding.”

Costs to tear down the school and construct a new city hall on the site were estimated at $3.5 million. By choosing instead to repurpose the existing building, the city was able to renovate at a cost of $92,153.

Large Rock
Rock five, a large rock from the former city hall building, was moved to the new location. A number of residents asked for this “landmark” to be relocated. Dick’s Towing in Grand Haven donated their time and equipment to move the rock.
Prior to starting the project, councilmembers and city officials visited the city of Norton Shores, where a school was successfully redeveloped into city hall. “It was good for us to see the Norton Shores project and how the city was able to modify a school building for its uses,” said Stilles. “I think it is definitely something other communities should consider. School buildings are typically well built and this wasn’t a huge undertaking for us. It has worked out very well.”

The changes to the building weren’t drastic—classrooms were transformed into offices, conference rooms, and city council chambers. The building basically received a facelift with new carpet, paint, windows, ceiling tiles, air conditioning units, and audio video equipment.

Grand Haven Public Schools had kept the school in tip-top condition and had already installed new computer lines, so that saved us a lot on cost,” Bessinger said. Built in the 1950s, there are some drawbacks to the facility, including an aging boiler, but all in all Bessinger said the move has been an economically smart one for the city.

In the future, if the opportunity presents itself, the city will build a new city hall on the front of the building, while maintaining some of the assets of the current building, such as the gym. “There’s still a lot of value in the building, and we have found the gym to be a great place for social events. It is a space we can rent out and use ourselves, too,” Stilles said.

In fact, Ferrysburg has been able to rent out much of the space it doesn’t use for city business, bringing in approximately $75,000 in rental income per year. The redeveloped school offers Ferrysburg 32,000 square feet, with 10,000 of that being leased to Ottawa County Community Mental Health. Other tenants include a preschool and daycare, and a basketball clinic. Also a bonus, the old city hall location has been leased out to a local dance studio, so that building isn’t sitting empty either.

“I find it enjoyable to hear our residents reminiscence about the time they spent here as students, when they come in to take care of business,” said Bessinger.

[ Rene Rosencrantz Wheaton ]

“Ring the Bell: New Life for Old School Buildings”

The ebb and flow of communities, schooling trends and demand – or lack thereof – for public education space across the country have yielded hundreds of empty school buildings ripe for redevelopment. So what can be done with buildings designed to house students, not tenants?

Two developers have just launched the redevelopment of a shuttered junior high school on Washington, D.C.’s, famed Capitol Hill, reshaping the building as a 162-unit apartment building and making space for 60,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, plus a 163,000 square-foot office building, says the Washington Post.

In Pittsburgh, a high school that sat empty for 20 years has been reincarnated into a 106-unit retirement residence, and a 1930s Darlington, Wisconsin, middle school was converted into multifunctional facility that now houses city hall, police headquarters, senior citizen and daycare centers, and county offices.

Pew Charitable Trusts, in their report “Shuttered Public Schools: The Struggle to Bring Old Buildings New Life,” details unique ways of repurposing old schools to both maximize their real estate potential and establish them as a revenue source. More importantly, the report cites how real estate developers can turn vacant space into financial gain and secure citizen and community buy-in along the way.

The report says that in Detroit, a developer bought a closed public school, leased it to two different charter schools over the past decade and used the revenue to help redevelop three other closed school buildings into housing, offices, a movie theater, and, most recently, recording studios and practice rooms for local musicians.

The Pew report says public engagement is key. The degree to which school districts engage neighbors in determining what to do with the buildings varies from place to place, with most reporting no formal structure or process for collecting input. While public opinion alone cannot make a desired project financially viable, Pew says strong opposition can stop a development from happening.

In Atlanta, a district convened a “repurposing committee” made up of school and city officials and community representatives to lead the conversation of the future of closed schools. Pew reports that potential lessees or buyers present plans to the groups, which vote on the option they prefer, although the vote is not binding on the school board.

In Kansas City, the district organizes site tours, public meetings, and other efforts to ensure that prospective developers interact with the public. Officials there said that getting residents to think about, and sometimes propose, future uses for a former school has garnered community support for specific projects. Developers have incorporated public feedback into their projects, in one case adding a health clinic to a planned senior housing facility at the request of neighbors.

Have you or your company engaged in any adaptive reuse of schools? Sound off in the comments and share your successes.

[ Kathryn Hamilton ]

“Repurposing School Resources to Meet Students Where They Are”

Every day, educators are going above and beyond to support their students in this time of uncertainty and crisis. While we always place tremendous value on the good work done by teachers, the BELE Network wants to extend extra gratitude as Teacher Appreciation Week kicks off nationwide. Many educators are quite literally on the front lines serving during the COVID-19 pandemic, including those at Renaissance West STEAM School in Charlotte North Carolina:

“I have been delivering the work packets to one of my homeless students and in addition to the work I’ve included some fun activities like a puzzle, cards, art supplies, snacks and a pair of binoculars. He’s been cooped up and bored inside a hotel room all day. It gave me a chance to lay eyes on him and say hello. It made me feel really good to hear his mom say, “Thank you for making this fun for us. He misses you.” — Stephanie Logan, 2nd Grade Teacher

“Covid-19 provided me an opportunity to go through full circle with raising money for local, Charlotte, food banks in August and then this March I was honored to volunteer with my school and immediate family passing out food to the families we serve. Talk about heartwarming and joy producing work!” — Cynthia L Dey, STEAM Facilitator, Grades K-5

“I have delivered hotspots and chromebooks to several students’ residents. Before I leave I ensure that our students can connect to the internet, log into their chromebook, and access their school work. Immersing myself into giving back to my students during this pandemic is one of my top priorities.” — Tawander Whittington, CTE Business Education Teacher, Grades 6 & 7

Let’s hear it for our teachers — this and every week.

All across the United States, schools and districts are navigating a bumpy transition to distance learning in response to COVID-19. The move from classrooms to remote-learning environments has exposed countless inequities in our society. As educators and policymakers race to provide students with the tools they need to continue learning, flexibility, speed and creativity have never been needed more in the education environment.

These aspects are especially critical to bridging the gap for students of color and low-income students. Many students were already overcoming insurmountable hurdles, and without flexibility, speed and creativity we risk leaving a generation of young people further behind — academically, socially, and emotionally. Due to COVID-19 closures of schools, libraries, and other support systems, there is a major gap in filling basic needs so students have the opportunity to learn.
Fortunately, we are seeing schools and districts leveraging age-old assets to solve unprecedented problems. Who knew school buses could be converted into literal bridges (on wheels) to help ensure students still have access to the basics — even during social distancing.

As districts navigate school closures and the adjustment to distance learning, many for the rest of the school year, some districts are deploying school buses to deliver support to students in need. Given an estimated 12 million children do not have broadband internet access at home, districts such as those in Austin, Texas and across South Carolina are equipping school bus fleets with Wi-Fi routers and parking them in underserved communities so students can access their online classes and curriculum. This is just one example of how districts can rethink and reconfigure the tools at their disposal to equitably address students’ needs.
Additionally, districts like those in Minnesota and Oregon are rallying their staff and infrastructure to prepare anywhere from hundreds to thousands of meals a day to be delivered to students and their families along existing school bus routes. One example comes from McGregor High School in rural Minnesota, where each week paraprofessionals deliver five breakfasts and lunches to over 250 students along bus routes.

Cheryl Meld, the school’s student support grants administrator, says that in addition to ensuring every student gets a meal, there have been other pervasive difficulties. “Internet connectivity has been a challenge. Coverage can be spotty,” Meld added. “We’ve loaned out all available school hot spots and additional ones have been provided by a local non-profit and a tribal agency. Yet even with enough units for each household, there is not always connectivity in remote areas.”

Never before have schools been forced to adapt so quickly by bringing the education to the students, instead of vice versa. Fortunately, this approach has had a positive ripple effect that extends beyond academic success and into the overall wellbeing of families in their community.

While we draw inspiration from those boldly and innovatively taking action to fill the gaps in our education system exacerbated by COVID-19, it’s important to remember that these gaps are far broader than academic curriculum alone can address. If we are to truly support our students, we must support them intentionally and holistically — or risk widening the equity gap even further. However, in this time of urgent and immediate need, we applaud the creative problem solving that is making a concrete, positive difference in the lives of students across the country. We hope that more and more districts continue to adopt measures like these to utilize existing infrastructure and bring support to their students.

[ The BELE Network ]

“Remnant Schools: Faculty Are Repurposing the Legacy of Jim Crow Across Louisiana”

Throughout the south of the United States, hundreds of mid-century “equalization schools”—public schools built in the 1950s following Brown vs. Board of Education in a desperate effort to maintain segregated “separate but equal” schools in southern states—sit empty, abandoned, and crumbling.

Faculty at the Tulane School of Architecture, Laura Blokker, interim director and lecturer of preservation studies, and Andrew Liles, AIA adjunct assistant professor of architecture, were awarded the biennial Richard L. Blinder Award in August, given through the Trustees of the James Marston Fitch Charitable Foundation, to document equalization schools in Louisiana and provide innovative adaptive reuse strategies for the building type. A knee jerk reaction to this project is frequently, “Why should an effort be made to preserve buildings that were created for the express purpose of upholding segregation? Wouldn’t that honor the legacy of Jim Crow in the United States?” No, not exactly.

Sabine High School (SHS) in Many, Louisiana, is one such equalization school that alumni are fighting to preserve and revitalize. In 2019, Sandra Garner-Coleman, Connie Levo-Howard, Mae Mallard-Moore, Syporia Garner-Turner, Patsy Garner, and other alumni joined forces with the 12th District #3 Association, a collective of 17 churches in Sabine Parish who regained control of the SHS campus in 2002, to create the Sabine High School Revitalization Project. Founded in 1928 as an eight teacher Rosenwald school called Sabine Parish Training School, Sabine High School served students grades 1 through 12 and provided a holistic, community-based education for African American students until desegregation began in 1970.

“SHS was and is a significant part of my life. It was a major part of my foundation that has shaped my life to this day,” said alumna Mae Mallard-Moore. “The educators, cafeteria staff, custodians, and bus drivers made me feel included and special…it along with the church was the center of the African American community.” The dedication of educators like T.A. Maxie, Principal of Sabine High School, provided students with support, inspiration, and opportunities, despite the harsh realities of the segregation-era South.

While equalization schools are representative of a difficult history, Blokker affirms that this project is contingent on the desires of community stakeholders. “What is important is what [the school] represents to the community and its alumni,” said Blokker. “If alumni of these schools wanted them torn down and destroyed, then I would think that’s what should happen, even though I’m a preservationist… but it’s quite contrary to the feelings many alumni shared with me…. they were nurtured in the very close communities created by these schools… these were cherished places in the Black community and to see so many of these schools locked up and ignored is very painful to many alumni.”

Blokker has worked with many Louisiana equalization school alumni groups, such as John S. Dawson High School in St. Francisville, Arcadia Colored High School – later Crawford High School – in Arcadia, and Sabine High School in Many, to list their school buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Even though Rosenwald Schools have inspired a great deal of historic preservation research and advocacy, their mid-century successors have nearly been forgotten. Blokker and Liles’ survey of equalization schools, coupled with the production of handbooks for preservation and new design, will be instrumental in reclaiming these buildings for their communities.

Syporia Garner-Turner was a student at Sabine High School during the construction of the new building. “I received my education in the Rosenwald building until my senior year. The new building was constructed between my junior and senior year. The spirit of excellence displayed by everybody, in every area, every day was transferred from the old building to the new one.” The mid-century Sabine High School buildings represented a tradition of excellence forged in spite of insurmountable obstacles.

Ultimately SHS building was converted into Many Junior High School, which remained open until 2001 when the building was abandoned and fell into disrepair. Unfortunately, the hostile environment during desegregation nearly erased the legacy of Sabine High School, as the school’s identity was entirely absorbed into Many High School. Only four SHS teachers were hired to assist students in the transition; the rest of the SHS faculty and staff had to search for employment elsewhere. “Every time I see the building, my heart bleeds,” said Garner-Turner. “It once was a stately building that was the pride of the community, is now a blighted, worn, broken structure.”

The abandonment of equalization schools by state and local governments displays a flagrant lack of recognition for the culture and communities that thrived in these schools. “The schools that served African American children in the State of Louisiana were abandoned and left in ruins. Laura and Andrews’ work will shine light on what actually happened during desegregation in 1970,” said Sandra Garner-Coleman, Chairperson for the Sabine High School Revitalization Project Exploratory Committee.

I don’t think society knows the impact it made on African American students. Was it an attempt to wipe out the identity of African American students? Our school’s name and mascot were dissolved— it was like an attempt had been made to stamp us out like we did not exist.

Community created the cultural importance of equalization schools, fostered the impetus for the preservation of these mid-century buildings and is central to the rehabilitation and revitalization case studies to be performed by Blokker and Liles. Through thoughtful documentation, research, and adaptive reuse the ethos of many African American equalization schools can be reclaimed and revitalized for alumni and their communities.

We are acutely aware that this is a listening project,” said Liles. “It’s a service role. We will be presenting communities with the tools to reuse these spaces as they see fit through the case studies in our project.” The public benefit of thorough documentation is that more alumni will be made aware of the condition of their old schools and can consider rallying support to revitalize the buildings. “I frequently get outreach from alumni asking how they can raise money for a project at their former school. The idea is to provide a resource that is readily available to answer a lot of these questions people have when they begin a project,” said Blokker. “Sometimes it’s hard for the alumni spearheading a project to convince their communities of the promise of a rehabilitation project. Using Andrew’s skills to render possible visions for old equalization schools is something that people can look at and see why the building is significant and the amazing things you can do with it.”

The Sabine High School Revitalization Project hopes to create a community space with programs and services that will sustain the Sabine Parish. “This should be a collaborative effort with community partnerships and joint ventures involving churches, businesses, schools, parents and the children in the Town of Many and surrounding townships in Sabine Parish,” said Connie Levo-Howard. “This kind of leadership will increase visibility to the area, attract more cultured retirees, provide a sustainable workforce, create new jobs, and bring economic prosperity back to our community.”

This article was originally published on The Architect’s Newspaper.

If you are alumni of a southern equalization school and would like offer information or learn more about the project, please contact Laura Blokker, Interim Director of the Master of Preservation Studies Program, or Andrew Liles, AIA Adjunct Professor in Architecture

For more information on the Sabine High School Revitalization Project and to make a donation or purchase a membership, please click here. If you would like to donate pro bono services—including architecture, design, construction, or research assistance—please email Sandra Garner-Coleman, Chairperson for the Sabine High School Revitalization Project Exploratory Committee.

[ Anna Marcum ]

“Pennsylvania cities find creative new uses for old school buildings’

Shifting demographics, diminishing resources, and the costs of maintaining large and aging facilities have all contributed to the steady stream of school closures. Some have been saved and repurposed.

School communities throughout the state have gone through painful changes in recent years, as long-established school buildings have been closed and students sent to new locations. Shifting demographics, diminishing resources, and the costs of maintaining large and aging facilities have all contributed to the steady stream of school closures — even when those buildings had historic backgrounds and architectural importance.

Preservationists battled but failed to save William Penn High School, a nine-acre modernist complex in North Philadelphia designed by renowned architect Romaldo Giurgola. It was demolished in 2015 and replaced with a new Temple University athletic complex that opened last summer.

But another landmark, the Gothic-styled West Philadelphia High, built in 1912 by the city’s chief school architect, Henry deCourcy Richards, has escaped the wrecking ball. It is currently being rehabilitated as a 300-unit apartment building at a cost of $24 million.

Conversion into residential space is the most common fate of old school buildings in Pennsylvania, explained Patrick Grossi, advocacy director at the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. “It makes sense if you think about how schools are laid out and the floor plan. If it had a gym or auditorium, it can become an amenity space for tenants. It’s a sensible path in making a project work.”

On the other hand, the wide halls and open stairways of older school buildings can be hurdles for developers, noted Mindy Crawford, executive director of Preservation Pennsylvania, the statewide nonprofit dedicated to protecting historic resources.

Preservation Pennsylvania began fighting the rising tide of vacant historic schools in 1998, when it was much easier for developers to find financial backing for new construction than it was for rehabilitation. “Our goal was to keep school buildings as schools, or at least avoid demolishing them,” Crawford said.

A few years later, the organization supported the concept of community-centered schools, which referred to keeping them in the neighborhoods where children could walk or bike to school. “But not every school was going to be saved or kept in the same location. Many were left vacant or demolished,” she said.

So the policy of Preservation Pennsylvania evolved. If the buildings could not remain as schools, then find a new use for them.

Most of the repurposed school buildings in the state were converted into housing, often for senior citizens, or professional offices. Schools were usually well built, Crawford said, and remained intact after they were closed.

Some developers have taken creative approaches to rehabbing schools, keeping aspects that define the character of the original building, and sometimes knocking down walls between classroom to make larger, more practical spaces. “In some of these cases, you still have a sense of the school,” Crawford said.

In Philadelphia, developers turned a parochial school into artists’ studios and a technical school into a commercial space with a rooftop garden bar. “Retrofitting these spaces into more contemporary uses is not insurmountable,” said Grossi of the Preservation Alliance.

Communities in other parts of Pennsylvania have come up with other successful ways to keep and transform beloved school buildings.

Seminary becomes a museum

In Gettysburg, a city with a great reverence for history, a former school has been repurposed as a museum that utilizes modern technology while preserving the building’s historic character.

The Lutheran Theological Seminary was founded in 1826 and its main building was constructed in Gettysburg in 1832. The south-central Pennsylvania city was chosen by the Lutheran movement for many of the same reasons the decisive Civil War battle was waged there: its location at the intersection of 10 roadways and its proximity to the Mason-Dixon Line. Seminary students were drawn from both the North and the South.

The original seminary building housed classrooms, offices, dormitories and a library during its first 60 years. In the fateful summer of 1863, the seminary building served as a strategic lookout and then as a field hospital for 700 casualties of the Battle of Gettysburg.

In the 1890s, the seminary added an administrative building, and the original building underwent a significant renovation into dorms. In the 1950s, new safety code regulations meant it would be cheaper to build a new dormitory than to update the old building. But when the seminary board voted to tear down the structure, the Lutheran community, preservationists and battle historians protested. The seminary made a deal to lease the property for $1 a year to the Adams County Historical Society for use as its headquarters.

Major renovations toward making the historic building into a museum were made in 2012 and 2013. The $13 million project was funded through grants, private donations and historic tax credits, explained Peter Miele, director of education at the Seminary Ridge Museum.

“The cool thing about the museum is that when they were doing the renovation they kept a lot of the old woodwork and original features. When you walk through the building, you’re walking on the uneven, creaking floors that were laid in the 1830s. The doorways from 1895 are slanted in some spots from the building’s settling. They had to cut the doors to fit the frames. It was a real headache for the contractors. There’s not a straight edge in the building anymore.”

But those reminders of the building’s age “really add to the experience,” Miele said. “You’re learning what was going on in the building as a seminary, a field hospital, and an important place during the first days of the battle.”

More than 17,500 people visit the museum each year, where they hear “the very personal and intimate story that we share,” Miele said. The Seminary Ridge Museum explores social and cultural elements of the war, including how religion was used to both oppose and defend slavery; the African -American experience in south central Pennsylvania in the 19th century; and the medical side of the battle, as doctors learned about cleanliness and the causes of disease.

The renovations to the original building also made it possible for visitors to enter its cupola, from which Brigadier General John Buford watched advancing Confederate troops and determined the Union’s defensive strategy.

The rehabilitation of the180-year-old building included the installation of heating and cooling and lighting systems to protect the historic artifacts. The modern ductwork is hidden in the closets of the old dorm rooms in order “to maintain the integrity of the building,” Miele explained. A state-of-the-art sound system was added to provide the narrative as guests explored the exhibits.

“That’s my favorite part of this museum,” Miele said. “It has the modern aspects, including the multi-media presence you expect from a museum now, but you can still hear the floors creaking and see the antique wainscoting. It’s the best of both worlds.”

“Quite a bit going on”

The town of Spring Mills, Centre County, saved what had been ruled an unneeded school building and transformed it into a bustling, multi-purpose community center.

In the 1920s, a two-story Georgian home in Gregg Township was converted into a schoolhouse. A gymnasium was built on an adjacent lot, and the two buildings were eventually joined. The last renovations to the school property were made in 1995.

In 2006, the school district determined that with declining enrollment, and the existence of newer facilities, it would close the Old Gregg School. Its 100 students were sent to neighboring elementary schools.

The Old Gregg School was transferred to the township, with the provision that if the district ever needed it, the property would revert back to the district. The parents of the displaced students, while upset about the redistricting, were instrumental in convincing the township to accept the property and turn the school building into a community hub.

A variety of non-profits now use the 26,000-square-foot Old Gregg School Community and Recreation Center, including an organization that collects food from supermarkets and local farmers for distribution to needy families. A thrift shop in the former school building directs its proceeds to animal rescue groups.

The for-profit tenants include an insurance company, a holistic health studio, a yoga studio, and a dance studio. Pennsylvania Certified Organic has 20 employees who train and certify farmers to produce crops using natural methods.

The township owns and operates the fitness center at the Old Gregg School, and converted the old locker room into the weights and fitness machine room. The school district still uses the building for basketball and volleyball practice because it doesn’t have enough of those facilities elsewhere.

The community playground at the Old Gregg School was rebuilt last summer, and the county Little League teams make use of the fields.

The school building is also used often by the Penns Valley Community Church, a model railroad club, a baton group, and a tax preparer. Craft fairs are held twice a year.

Gregg Township has its municipal office at the school, and the community room is used for meetings of the local water and sewer authority.

“There’s quite a bit going on,” building manager Douglas Bierly said.

An advisory board keeps the township supervisors apprised of what’s needed for the building and helps determine any changes in policy about how the facilities are used.

But it was the parents of the Old Gregg students who brought the school back to life. “It just takes a group of interested people,” Bierly said. “That’s really what drove it.”

Funding threat

Many of the conversions from historic school to housing, museum or community center have relied on federal and state historic tax credits.

“Tax credits make these projects happen,” Crawford, of Preservation Pennsylvania, said. “We end up getting new uses for the buildings and saving the historic fabric.”

But these tax incentives, which make financing possible for many developers, are on the chopping block by legislators looking for reductions in government subsidies. To save the tax programs, Crawford believes, supporters should promote them for their role in economic development.

“Rehab means work for local craftsmen and lots of local jobs. The development of one project can serve as a catalyst for other buildings in the neighborhood,” she said. “We need to talk about economics, not just preservation.”

[ Alan Jaffe ]

“WHAT’S NEXT FOR CLOSED SCHOOL BUILDINGS?”

Faced with declining enrollment and a shrinking tax base, school closures and consolidation have become commonplace in many jurisdictions across Atlantic Canada. While previous research from AIMS has delved into how future school closures might be averted through alternative cost-saving measures, this piece will focus on communities whose schools have already closed. After all, school closures are not merely a symptom of the region’s economic downturn. In fact, school closures may entail unintended, adverse economic consequences for the surrounding community. One such consequence involves what is left behind once schools close: unused buildings.

After a school closure, school boards, municipalities, and provincial governments find themselves left with a large asset that may prove difficult to sell—especially if local economic stagnation and a decreasing population contributed to a school closing in the first place. As a result, school boards and governments may be forced to spend money to maintain these unoccupied buildings or to have the buildings torn down. Alternatively, buildings that fail to attract buyers might simply be abandoned and left to become blights on the local landscape. Decayed, unused school buildings and vacant lots can further deter investment and may pose health and safety hazards. Indeed, the longer one wait to sell a school building, it appears, the more costly the unoccupied building becomes.

Nonetheless, what seems destined to become a blight on Atlantic Canada’s landscape can be transformed into an economic asset. Communities across Canada and abroad have seen their former school buildings become the sites of new opportunities through adaptive reuse, which refers to the process of retrofitting an old structure for a new purpose. An old church could become a community centre, or an office building in disrepair could become an apartment complex, for example. Admittedly, the fact that schools were built for a specialized purpose can make school buildings more difficult to retrofit for new uses than, say, the blank canvas offered by the wide open spaces of a warehouse. Yet, a number of successful projects could serve as models for the adaptive reuse of school buildings in Atlantic Canada.

For instance, two former elementary schools in Michigan became home to business incubators. As I wrote in a previous AIMS On Campus op-ed, business incubators have a growing presence in Atlantic Canada and could play key roles in assisting prospective entrepreneurs. Moreover, former school buildings could be repurposed to bolster Atlantic Canada’s heritage tourism industry and support historical research efforts, as with a closed Chicago school that became an Irish-American heritage centre. Further inspiration can be found in Tennessee’s North Oakwood Elementary, which became a senior living facility. This model is especially relevant to developers in Atlantic Canada, given the region’s ageing population. Meanwhile, in Toronto, a decommissioned school became Artscape Youngplace, a cultural hub which leases space to local businesses and community organizations. The site is home to a coffee shop, a childcare centre, and galleries, studios, and shops owned by artists. The success of a similar project in Sydney, Nova Scotia hints at the potential for repurposed, multiuse spaces in Atlantic Canada.

While the success of these initiatives shows that old school buildings can offer new opportunities for Atlantic Canada, there are a few important concerns to bear in mind. As this article on the repurposing of former school buildings points out, school boards who decide to sell old buildings must be keyed into the local real estate market, in order to “get the most of their assets.” Fortunately, school boards do not have to play the role of real estate agent unaided. Drawing on a number of existing programs, students at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a framework for selling and repurposing old school buildings in a profitable and financially sustainable manner. Further, some real estate companies offer specialized services to those preparing to buy or sell former school buildings.

Community buy-in is also an important consideration. In some communities, especially small or rural ones, schools double as sport and recreation centres, performing arts venues, sites for skills training and job searching, or the site of community organizations. Thus, the loss of a school may represent a new void in a community’s economic and cultural landscape. Further, given the possibility of an unused building becoming an eyesore that drives down property values, residents have an added stake in determining what becomes of an unoccupied school building. A number of successful adaptive reuse projects speak to the significance of community support. In Missouri, the Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) Repurposing Initiative sought out local residents’ proposals regarding the recently closed Longan Elementary School and then put the school building on the market. In 2012, the building sold for $1 million US, $250 000 of which will cover the leftover bonds on the property and $750 000 of will go to the local school district. A similar initiative in Tulsa, Oklahoma called the Schoolhouse Project likewise sought out community support for the sale and reuse of former school buildings; as of 2012, the project managed to save $2.7 million US by selling old school buildings. Reusing old school buildings as sites for community-owned cooperatives—which I discussed in this op-ed—provide another way for residents to take a decision-making role in the adaptive reuse efforts.

Overall, adaptive reuse has proven to be a beneficial and profitable way to transform unoccupied school buildings from eyesores into opportunities. As our school systems and our local landscapes continue to change, we too must change the way that we look at former school buildings.

[ Ainslie Pierrynowski ]

<<< SONGS >>>

“We Have Not Known The As We Ought”

We have not known Thee as we ought,
Nor learned Thy wisdom, grace and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light Thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing Thee.

We have not feared Thee as we ought,
Nor bowed beneath Thine awful eye,
Nor guarded deed and word and thought,
Remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know Thee near,
And grant the grace of holy fear.

We have not loved Thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by Thee;
Thy presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed Thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
To feel and know the love Thou art.

We have not served Thee as we ought,
Alas, the duties left undone,
The work with little fervor wrought,
The battles lost or scarcely won!
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
For Thee to toil, for Thee to fight.

When shall we know Thee as we ought,
And fear and love and serve aright?
When shall we, out of trial brought,
Be perfect in the land of light?
Lord, may we day by day prepare
To see Thy face and serve Thee there.

[ Thomas B. Pollack ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrIKTcT2W_E

“Sanctification”

I just want to know where
Do i go from here?
Oh Lord i need to
Taste and see your Goodness

I just wanna hear your voice
Cause lately all I’m hearing is the noise
Of this world that you have overcome

And so refresh my heart in a way
That you alone will be exalted
I don’t wanna lean on what i feel is right

Coz right now
I need your grace

To humble me and stop me Lord
From trying so hard to be good on my own

I just want to know why
The struggle keeps on getting harder
My oh my
Lord empower me to daily slay my sins

Glad to still see your hand
Making all things work together and understand
That you are faithful
And your word will always stand

So fix my eyes
In a way that all my gaze will be on you Lord
Rid all my distractions
All i want is you, Lord

And nothing else
Could satisfy my heart’s desire
For you are my portion
My firm foundation

If i lose all the things of this world
Still i will praise your name
For i have everything in Christ alone
My ultimate reward

I just want to know where
Do i go from here?
So direct my path to holiness
I wanna live for you, Lord

To live is Christ and to die is gain
Eternal life with you
Is now my only motivation
Preserve me in this life for Sanctification

[ Luis Cortez – “Sanctification” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QheOLw5H56c

“Sanctified”

Let there be no condemnation
For all who are fully known in Christ
Unspeakable grace for all the nations
By way of holy sacrifice

We worship with the sound
Of broken shackles
Falling to the ground

Sanctified, I have been set free
Grace divine, has swept me off my feet

No greater love has ever been known
Than He who came to find the lost
No greater sacrifice has been shown
Than He who laid upon the cross

Let all creation sing for He has come
And He’s changed everything

Sanctified, I have been set free
Grace divine, has swept me off my feet
Yeah, yeah

Grace divine, has swept me off my feet
And I know that I will never be the same
And I know that I will never be the same
And I know that I’ll never be the same
And I know that I’ll never be the same

Sanctified, I have been set free
Grace divine, has swept me off my feet

And I know that I will never be the same
And I know that I’ll never be the same
And I know, yes, I know, I’ll never be the same
And I know that I will never be the same

https://www.letssingit.com/luis-cortez-lyrics-sanctification-l6p1x9d
LetsSingIt – The Internet Lyrics Database

[ Mercy Me – “All That Is Within Me” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttdFbyTkbcI

“Refiner’s Fire”

Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure gold

Refiner’s fire
My heart’s one desire
Is to be holy

Set apart for You, Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You, my Master
Ready to do Your will

Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy

Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin
Deep within

[ Brian Doerksen – “Today” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9OawBJYX6w

“The Refiner’s Fire”

There burns a fire with sacred heat
White hot with holy flame
And all who dare pass through its blaze
Will not emerge the same
Some as bronze, and some as silver
Some as gold, then with great skill
All are hammered by their sufferings
On the anvil of His will

Chorus:
The Refiner’s fire
Has now become my souls desire
Purged and cleansed and purified
That the Lord be glorified
He is consuming my soul
Refining me, making me whole
No matter what I may lose
I choose the Refiner’s fire

I’m learning now to trust His touch
To crave the fire’s embrace
For though my past with sin was etched
His mercies did erase
Each time His purging cleanses deeper
I’m not sure that I’ll survive
Yet the strength in growing weaker
Keeps my hungry soul alive

[ Steve Green – “The Mission” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZtgJKJCqXM

“Rock of Ages”

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Not the labour of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die!

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When mine eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unknown,
See Thee on Thy judgement throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

[ Augustus Toplady ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM7gt_cSxjw

“Take Time To Be Holy”

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

[ William D. Longstaff ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lexo0rUhBNc

“Holiness”

Holiness, holiness is what I long for
Holiness is what I need
Holiness, holiness is what You want from me

So, take my heart and form it
Take my mind and transform it
Take my will and conform it
To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord
To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord

Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I long for
Faithfulness is what I need
Faithfulness, faithfulness is what You want from me

So, take my heart and form it
Take my mind and transform it
Take my will and conform it
To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord

So, take my heart and form it
Take my mind and transform it
Take my will and conform it
To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord
To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord

Brokenness, brokenness is what I long for
Brokenness is what I need
Brokenness, brokenness is what You want from me
What You want from me
It what I want.

[ Sonicflood – “Sonicflood” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g85J9O7RU-4

<<< APOLOGETIX SONGS >>>

“Life Restored”
(Parody of “Last Resort” by Papa Roach)

Plug my life into Jesus—this gets my life restored
Such a cakewalk—no brainer
Don’t need to fuss if I call on our savior
This gets my life restored

Plugged my life into Jesus—I’ve seen my life restored
Such a cakewalk—no brainer
Don’t need to fuss since I called Him my savior
Do not even care if I die later
Cause I belong to Jesus Christ
If they took my life tonight—chances are I’d arrive
In a place that’s out of sight—and I’m confident I’m doin’ fine

‘Cause I’m improving my life, renewing my mind
This all started with Romans 10:9
Doing what’s right, doin’ quite fine
This all started with Romans 10:9

I never realized I was meant to live
To live a new life if I would let Him within
Told me—death is the payoff for living in sin
End the cycle when you’re born again
It all started when I first discovered
The Book on my shelf and read cover to cover
Searching—to find religion that held my attention
Finding—something called Christian redemption

‘Cause I’m improving my life, renewing my mind
This all started with Romans 10:9
Doing what’s right, doin’ quite fine
This all started with Romans 10:9

I’ll be all right—I’ll be just fine
You’re runnin’ out of time
I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine
I can’t go wrong living this way

Plug my life into Jesus
This gets my life restored
Selfish nature—don’t need it
Go give it up—you can conquer your demons
Would it be wrong for me to pry
If you give your life to Christ—Chances are dynamite
You will make it out alive—and I’m confident you’ll do it right

‘Cause I’m improving my life, renewing my mind
This all started with Romans 10:9
Doing what’s right, doin’ quite fine
This all started with Romans 10:9

I’ll be all right—I’ll be just fine—You’re runnin’ out of time
I can’t go wrong livin’ this way—Can’t go wrong living this way
I’ll be all—right

[ ApologetiX – Album: “Keep The Change” ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmj2zIK5kAc

“Regeneration”
(Parody of “My Generation” by The Who)

People try to put us down (Talkin’ ’bout regeneration)
Just because we’re heaven-bound (Talkin’ ’bout …)
They may stew and scoff and scold (Talkin’ ’bout …)
I know I’ll die with a born-again soul (Talkin’ ’bout …)
This is regeneration — this is regeneration, baby
Who don’t you all find the Way (Talkin’ ’bout regeneration)
And go to Titus 3:5 and see what it says (Talkin’ ’bout …)
I’m not talkin’ ’bout artificial resuscitation (Talkin’ ’bout …)
Just talkin’ ’bout re-generation
This is regeneration — this regeneration, baby
Who don’t you all find the Way (Talkin’ ’bout regeneration)
What John chapter 3 verse 3 does say (Talkin’ ’bout …)
And First Peter 1:23 says the same thing (Talkin’ ’bout …)
It’s just talkin’ ’bout regeneration (Talkin’ ’bout …)
This is regeneration — this regeneration, baby
Re-re-re-re-re-generation
If you’re tired of puttin’ us down (Talkin’ ’bout regeneration)
And you wanna be heaven-bound (Talkin’ ’bout …)
Here’s what to do to save your soul (Talkin’ ’bout …)
Put hope in Christ before you get old (Talkin’ ’bout …)
This is regeneration — this regeneration, baby
Re-re-re-re-re-generation
This is not imagination — this is not exaggeration
This is not meditation — this is not vegetation
Hope you got reservations — please do not change the station

[ ApologetiX – “Grace Period” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YoUc-HUjz0

“Walk His Way”
(Parody of “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith)

Bad-footed brother, I was hopin’ to recover but the doctors I’m sad to say
Said “We can’t do nothin’ so you’re down on your luck because
You’re sure to be lame to stay.”
It was clear to me that what I needed was to be the kind of guy you could never resist
Had to beg for my supper with a system I discovered
When I started as a little kid — like this! LEAD
See my sign sayin’ “Give a coin to the poor”? Could you please find somethin’ to spare?
I’d say, “Hey, give a little bit of pity to a cripple!”
When it seemed like they didn’t care
But I took a big step as the Bible says with some Christians who were ready to pray
Cause it seemed my feet was ruined but they knew what they was doin’
When the both of them appeared today
And they told me to … walk His way (4x) They just gave me a gift — like this!
So John and Peter — was a passin’ by this afternoon for prayer time today at three
I said, “Please, I’m beggin’ — put some gold in my pockets!”
When they told me, “Baby, look here at me!”
I was a-quite confused I never made it with my legs
Until their voice told me somethin’ was diff
They said, “Forget those treasures ’cause we got a better favor.”
And they gave me just a little gift like this LEAD
Things started tinglin’ and the boys gave a pull with my feet flyin’ up in the air
Sayin’, “Hey, it’s a miracle!” It’s really pretty clear because I didn’t have to sit in a chair
So I took a big step with my right foot and left
With those Christians who were ready to pray
Was a really big improvement ’cause they knew what they was doin’
When they told me now to walk His way — I’m goin’ to
Walk His way (8x) He just gave me a gift — like this!

[ ApologetiX – “Jesus Christ Morningstar” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3UOITksd8Y

“Eight Ways To Be”
(Parody of “Eight Days a Week” by The Beatles)

You might need to know babe, Chapter 5 Matthew
Helps you see my Lord’s eight blest Beatitudes
Holy, happy, holy, happy
There’s eight God wants ya to know, babe, eight ways to be Blessed are the humble, blest are those who mourn
Blessed are the gentle of meek and lowly form
They’ll be happy, you’ll be happy
There’s eight God wants ya to know, babe, eight ways to be Eight ways to be in Matthew
Eight ways to be in Matthew 5:2 go right there
Blessed are the thirsty for righteousness and truth
Blest are those with mercy – they’ll get Christ’s mercy too Ohhh, they’ll be happy, you’ll be happy
There’s eight God wants us to know, babe, eight ways to be Eight ways to be in Matthew
Eight ways to be – that’s why they’re called Beatitudes Blest are the pure of heart and those who peace to make Blest are those who suffer for righteousness’ sake
Holy, happy, holy, happy
And eight is plenty enough, babe
Eight ways to be, eight ways to be, eight ways to be

[ ApologetiX – “Apol-acoustiX” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIbiJuKKsn4

“Gimme Helper”
(Parody of “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones)

Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh (REPEAT 3X)
Ooh, well, the Lord has said that Christ will abide in me
If I don’t get the Helper
Today, I’m gonna wait and pray
Lord Jesus, please send Him right away Please send Him right away
Lord Jesus, please send Him right away Please send Him right away – yeahh
Ooh, see the fire appearing
Now over people’s heads
Heard mighty wind blow across me My Lord brought a friend
Lord Jesus, He sends Him out today He sends Him out today
Lord Jesus, He sends Him out today He sends Him out today – yeahhh
Pray, brothers!
He’s just a shout away, He’s just a shout away Pray, brothers! Yeahh
He’s just a shout away, He’s just a shout away Pray, brothers!
He’s just a shout away, He’s just a shout away Hey, yeah yeah
Mmmm – well, the Lord is sending Christ’s Spirit right to me
Gives me, gives me a Helper
So, I’m gonna pave the way
Lord Jesus, He’s just a shout away He’s just a shout away
He’s just a shout away
He’s just a shout away
He’s just a shout away
I said, the Father, listens
He hears His kids who pray
He gives His gift today
He gives us gifts today
He gives us gifts today
He gives us gifts today, gifts today, gifts today, hey

[ ApologetiX – “Singles Group” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7f6QHIlCbQ

“It’s You In Me”
(Parody of “Just You and Me” by Chicago)

You are the Lord of my life
You are my inspiration
It’s You in me – people can see
Gave me each clever thing I ever dreamed up
Made me Your own precious child
Promised You.d never leave me
It’s You in me – people can see
I’ve been so peaceful since You’re inside me
Come Holy Ghost – shepherd and lead me
Oh, I pray I won’t aggrieve Thee!
Open our hearts, cleanse us from sin
Every sin, every sin, every sin
Help me do right – help me do better and better You know I want perfection
LEAD
It’s You in me – You cheer me on
People can see You love me
You told us, Lord, You loved the world
I want to go and show them Jesus
You are the Lord of my life
You are my inspiration
It’s You in me – people can see
Saved me from everything I’ve been redeemed from

[ ApologetiX – “”Churchigo” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kemu5WAmpRw

“The Power Above”
(Parody of “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis & the News)

The power above is a glorious thing
Baby, one man’s weakness is another man’s strength Change your heart through a little white dove
The Holy Spirit – has the power above
Thumb through the Bible, and it’s quite clear
You’re stronger and smarter when you have God’s Spirit If you have Him, good – if you don’t, then why?
The power above can give you a whole new life
And you don’t need money, only faith
Don’t need to sweat it ‘cause the price is paid
Yes, all of a sudden in a room sometimes
Then a mighty wind blows by
That’s the power above, that’s the power above
The fruit of the Spirit it’s not grapes of wrath
It’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness And goodness, gentleness, self-control
That’s the power above in the world below
And it don’t take money, only faith
Don’t need to study hard to find these traits
Your soul is a garden – it can bear fruit sometimes
That you’ll find in Galatians 5
The spiritual gifts God prepared
Yeah, for you to share
In First Corinthians (Chapter 12)
You’ll find a list of them
And with a little faith, hope, and love
You’ll feel the power above
Feel the power of above
Can you feel it?
And you don’t need money, only faith
Old Peter said it back in Acts chapter 8
He’s talking to Simon, he talks to us still
You don’t need nothin’ to be filled
Be filled with power, be filled with power above
Got the power? Get the power above
Be filled with power above
Be filled with power above
Be filled with power above

[ ApologetiX – “Wise Up and Rock” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLSWK6cz3cc

“Spirit Inside”
(Parody of “Spirit in the Sky” by Norman Greenbaum)

When He died and was raised from the dead Taught us all 40 days then He said
Well my friends, It’s time to fly
But wait up for the Spirit to arrive
Go wait up for the Spirit from on High
That’s who you’re gonna know when I fly
When I fly and you may be depressed
He’s gonna grow you in faith to pass the test
Prepare yourselves, but don’t get so rushed
God’ll have a Friend come teach ya
Don’t you know that when I fly
I’m gonna recommend He put the Spirit in you guys
Gonna recommend He put the Spirit in you guys
To show you miracles, make you wise
When I fly if you wait you’ll be blest
He’s gonna blow through this place in just a bit
LEAD
SPOKEN:
When the day of Pentecost came,
They were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven And filled the whole house where they were sitting.
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire
That separated and came to rest on each of them.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
And began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
(NIV 1984)
Never been a preacher but ever since
I got that Friend from Jesus
Don’t you know I’ve been on fire
‘Cause God has filled me up with the Spirit inside
God has filled me up with the Spirit inside
That’s why I’m gonna go far and wide
Far and wide with the faith I confess
I’m gonna go every place and tell the rest
Show ‘em the way that’s the best

[ ApologetiX – “Jesus Christ Morningstar” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKHPtVD9E1M

“Livin’ What Jesus Spoke Of”
(Parody of “Livin’ la Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin)

He’s been through crucifixion — that cat’s been through it all
Christ’s real; He ain’t religion — God’s Word’s gonna save your soul
He’s into new creation — proved it when He came alive
He’s God — are you a Christian? Forget those pagan lies
He’ll make you take your cross up and go stand against the grain
He’ll make you leave this crazy life, but He’ll take away your shame If you’re truly born again — C’mon

Let Christ in right now — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
Don’t pussyfoot around — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
You’ll live forever then — when your sins are all disposed of
He will bail you out — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
Livin’ what Jesus spoke of (C’mon!) livin’ what Jesus spoke of

Wake up! You know you’re sinnin’ — and it’s fun but it leads to hell
He took your part and He took your punishment
He wants to save me and you as well
Your newer nature’s goin’ to make your older friends complain
But once you have a faith that works you’ll never be the same
Cause I think you’re gonna change — C’mon

He’ll make you take your cross up and go stand against the grain
He’ll make you leave this crazy life, but He’ll take away your shame
Bite the bullet and get saved — C’mon

Let Christ in right now — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
Don’t pussyfoot around — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
You’ll live forever then — and your sins He’ll all dispose of
He will bail you out — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
Let Christ in right now — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
Don’t pussyfoot around — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
You’ll live forever then — and your sins He’ll all dispose of
He will bail you out — livin’ what Jesus spoke of
Livin’ what Jesus spoke of (C’mon!) livin’ what Jesus spoke of
Ah, you gotta get a lotta more Jesus, c’mon!

Gotta get what Jesus spoke of
Gotta get a lotta what Jesus spoke of — gotta get a lotta more Jesus

[ ApologetiX – “Spoofernatural” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDxFt43ud0E

“I Feel God”
(Parody of “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown)

Whoa!
I feel God — I do that a lot now
I feel God — I do that a lot now
So what? So what?
How ‘bout you?

Whoa!
I feel Christ — His Spirit’s inside
I feel Christ — His Spirit’s inside
For life! For life!
How ‘bout you?

Man, I told you He’s my Lord
You know that I can’t do no more
And when I told you He’s my Lord
The Lord put proof in my heart

And I feel Christ — His Spirit’s inside
I feel Christ — His Spirit’s inside
For life! For life!
How ‘bout you?

Man, I told you He’s my Lord
You know that I can’t do no more
And when I told you He’s my Lord
The Lord put proof in my heart

And I feel Christ — His Spirit’s inside
I feel Christ — His Spirit’s inside
For life! For life!
How ‘bout you?

Whoa!
I feel God — I do that a lot now
I feel God — I do that a lot
So what? So what?
How ‘bout you?
So what? So what?
How ‘bout you?
So what? So what?
How ‘bout you?

Hey!

[ ApologetiX – “Transformed Soul” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlXEMBQssCI

“Child of God”
(Parody of “Shining Star” performed by Earth, Wind & Fire)

Yeah, yeah – hey – huh
Bet you wish you were a star
You dream of fame and fancy cars, yeah
But when you’re with the Nazarene
Life ain’t always such a dream, oh yeah
What you’ll be now’s not so clear, hey
Yet to Christ you’re very dear, yeah

You’re a child of God – don’t matter who you’re not
We’re the bride to be – of Jesus, you and me – His church in unity
LEAD

Child, what’s gotten into you?
Child it’s not quite “what” — it’s “who”? Yeah!
It’s His Spirit there along, yeah
Yeah, makes His Body quick and strong, yeah
We’re goin’ to mansions of the Son — yeah
Yeah, sowin’ God’s Word to everyone
Yeah, God will help, His Spirit will move, yeah
Well, yes, He will, I got my proof, oh yeah, oh yeah
So edify yourself and read
I know you’re facin’ some adversity
Jesus Christ is greater than
Are you His? Say, yes, I am

You’re a child of God – don’t matter who you’re not
We’re the bride to be – of Jesus, you and me
You’re a child of God – don’t matter who you’re not
We’re the bride to be – of Jesus, you and me
You’re a child of God – don’t matter who you’re not
We’re the bride to be – of Jesus, you and me

[ ApologetiX – “Very Vicarious” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChjTfuFEUGQ

“Yes Today”
(Parody of “Yesterday” by The Beatles)

If today
You should hear His voice don’t turn away
Now’s the time that you should kneel and pray
And finally say yes today

Suddenly
You might have to spend eternity
In a place you never want to be
Say yes today and just believe

Christ, He died for all
There’s no soul He wouldn’t save
There’s just one thing you
Have to do — say yes today

Yes today
Seems like such an easy thing to say
All you need is faith, so why delay?
Say, “I believe,” and “yes” today

Why you might say no
I don’t know — I couldn’t say
I’d say something’s wrong
If you don’t say “Yes” today

Yes, today
Might just be your final chance to pray
All you need is faith, so why delay?
Say, “I believe,” and “yes” today
Mmmmmmmmm

[ ApologetiX – “Apol-acoustiX” album ]

SONG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJQguk4JvCk

“Good News/Bad News”

This is a Gospel presentation and personal testimony of J. Jackson, lead vocalist of ApologetiX from their 20th-anniversary concert. It’s available on the “20:20 Vision” album.

Video (audio only): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q21Jnaq-EL8

<<< DEEP THOUGHTS >>>

“Repurposed music can be a valuable tool. Consider the French song adapted by Mozart that became “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” before we started using the same melody to teach the alphabet to our children…

I want to make [people] realize that there’s more to the Bible than Adam, Noah, David and Goliath and Jonah. I want them to realize that there’s nothing inherently bad about music or anything else that God created. I want them to realize that the Bible is an interesting book, and I want to inspire them to read it for themselves. I want them to discover how simple salvation is, according to the Bible. I want them to remember verses and stories from the Bible. And I want them to learn what I’ve learned, to feel what I’ve felt—to laugh, to cry and to get chills sometimes. But most of all, I want them to see that God is real, and that He cares enough to speak to them in their own language, whether that be English or rock and roll. And I want them to give Him a chance, because He’s offering them a chance, and they need to take it.”
[ John Jackson – Frontman for the Christian parody band, “ApologetiX” ]

“Whatever good things we build end up building us.”
[ Jim Rohn ]

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope or confidence.”
[ Helen Keller ]

“We tend to get what we expect.”
[ Norman Vincent Peale ]

“Hope never abandons you. You abandon it.”
[ George Weinberg ]

“He who does not hope to win has already lost.”
[ Jose Joaquin Olmedo ]

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.”
[ Orison Swett Marden ]

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”
[ Dale Carnegie ]

“There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.”
[ Clare Boothe Luce ]

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
[ A.W. Tozer ]

“One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime. Nor is surrender to the will of God (per se) adequate to fullness of power in Christ. Maturity is the accomplishment of years, and I can only surrender to the will of God as I know what that will is.”
[ Elisabeth Elliot ]

“Tolerating a wrong attitude toward another person causes you to follow the spirit of the devil, no matter how saintly you are.”
[ Oswald Chambers ]

“To progress is always to begin always to begin again”
[ Martin Luther ]

“Let the Kingdom be always before you, and believe with certainty and consistency the things that are yet unseen. Let nothing that is on this side of eternal life get inside you.”
[ John Bunyan ]

“Holy living will not produce righteousness, but righteousness should produce holy living, and that’s what sanctification is.”
[ Greg Laurie ]

“So I would define human holiness as feeling and thinking and doing only what is consistent with God being the supreme and infinite treasure of the universe. Our holiness is our conformity to the infinite worth of God. The opposite of holiness is sin, which is any feeling or thought or act that shows that for us God is not the beautiful treasure that he truly is.”
[ John Piper ]

“Justification says that I have been made ‘right’ before God, whereas sanctification is the practical outworking of that in my life—where I am seeking to honor God by what I do and even by what I don’t do.”
[ Greg Laurie ]

“Lord make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be.”
[ Robert Murray M’Cheyne ]

“As it is with spiritual discoveries and affections given at first conversion, so it is in all subsequent illuminations and affections of that kind; they are all transforming. There is a like divine power and energy in them as in the first discoveries; they still reach the bottom of the heart, and affect and alter the very nature of the soul, in proportion to the degree in which they are given. And a transformation of nature is continued and carried on by them to the end of life, until it is brought to perfection in glory.”
[ Jonathan Edwards ]

“Indeed is it not the case that in this matter of sanctification our tendency is always to start with ourselves, instead of starting with God? I have got this sin that is worrying me and always getting me down, this sin that defeats me, and my tendency is to say, ‘What can be done about this sin, this problem of mine. How can I get rid of this thing? How can I get peace?’ I start with myself and my problem, and as certainly as I do that when I am considering this doctrine of sanctification, I am sure, in some shape or form, to end by regarding God as merely an agency who is there to help me solve my problems. And this is a totally unscriptural approach to the almighty ever blessed God.”
[ Martyn Lloyd-Jones ]

“We may be content to remain what we call ‘ordinary people’: but He is determined to carry out a quite different plan. To shrink back from that plan is not humility; it is laziness and cowardice. To submit to it is not conceit or megalomania; it is obedience.”
[ C.S. Lewis ]

“If you are going to resist the desires of the flesh (negative), you will need to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and walk according to his disciplines (positive).”
[ Sinclair B. Ferguson ]

“My soul is like a house, small for you to enter, but I pray you to enlarge it. It is in ruins, but I ask you to remake it. It contains much that you will not be pleased to see: this I know and do not hide. But who is to rid it of these things? There is no one but you.”
[ Augustine of Hippo ]

“As we gaze on Christ, the mind is informed, and the heart is inflamed, and the body begins to line up.”
[ Matt Chandler ]

“Be wise in time. What youth sows, old age must reap….Sow to yourself rather in righteousness: break up your fallow ground, sow not among thorns.”
[ J.C. Ryle ]

“So in the midst of our struggle with indwelling sin, we must continually keep our focus on the gospel. We must always go back to the truth that even in the face of the fact that so often “I do not do the good that I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom 7:19), there is no condemnation. God no longer counts our sins against us (Rom 4:8). Or, to say it another way, God wants us to find our primary joy in our objectively declared justification, not in our subjectively perceived sanctification. Regardless of how much progress we make in our pursuit of holiness, it will never come close to the absolute perfect righteousness of Christ that is ours through our union with him in his life and death. So we should learn to live with the discomfort of the justified life. We should accept the fact that as still-growing Christians we will always be dissatisfied with our sanctification. But at the same time, we should remember that in Christ we are justified.”
[ Jerry Bridges ]

“There is no imagination wherewith man is besotted, more foolish, none so pernicious as this,- that persons not purified, not sanctified, not made holy in their life, should afterwards be taken into that state of blessedness which consists in the enjoyment of God. Neither can such persons enjoy God, nor would God be a reward to them. Holiness is perfected in heaven: but the beginning of it is invariably confined to this world.”
[ John Owen ]

“When I am tempted and feel the power of sin and its tug on my affections, the gospel gives me something to say: ‘Christ bled and died for this sin—I will therefore have nothing to do with it. I am now united to Christ by the indwelling of the Spirit—how can I drag him into my sin?”
[ Sinclair B. Ferguson ]

“[Sanctification] is a process that includes on the one hand medication and diet (in the form of biblical instruction and admonition coming in various ways to the heart), and on the other hand tests and exercises (in the form of internal and external pressures, providentially ordered, to which we have to make active response). The process goes on as long as we are in the world, which is something that God decides in each case.”
[ J.I. Packer ]

“There should be as much difference between the worldling and the Christian, as between hell and heaven, between destruction and eternal life.”
[ Charles H. Spurgeon ]

“Our main doctrines, which include all the rest, are three: That of repentance, of faith, and of holiness. The first of these we account, as it were, the porch of religion; the next, the door; the third, religion itself.”
[ John Wesley ]

“The real difference in the believer who follows Christ and has mortified his will and died after the old man in Christ, is that he is more clearly aware than other men of the rebelliousness and perennial pride of the flesh, he is conscious of his sloth and self-indulgence and knows that his arrogance must be eradicated. Hence there is a need for daily self-discipline.”
[ Dietrich Bonhoeffer ]

“Antinomianism and legalism conspire in forcing us to make a false choice: Is salvation a matter of God’s forgiveness or is it moral transformation? This is a trick question from the Reformers’ point of view. Calvin reasons, “Surely those things which are connected do not destroy one another!” Forensic justification through faith alone is not the enemy but the basis of sanctification.”
[ Michael S. Horton ]

“The aim of the gospel is the creation of people who are passionate for doing good rather than settling for the passionless avoidance of evil.”
[ John Piper ]

“The Bible is different because it is the Word of God, by which He speaks to me. Disagreeing with the Bible would be disagreeing with God. So when I read the Bible I want to place myself ‘under’ it. I want to receive the Scripture in such a way that over time, my thinking, feeling, choosing, believing and behaving will be molded by the Word God is speaking into my life. I don’t want to critique the Scriptures; I want them to critique me and change me.”
[ Colin S. Smith ]

“If you wait until all of your own issues are gone before helping others, it will never happen. This is a trap that millions have fallen into, not realizing that our own sanctification happens as we minister to others.”
[ Francis Chan ]

“The way to conquer sin is not by working hard to change our deeds, but by trusting Jesus to change our desires.”
[ David Platt ]

“Monastic spirituality concentrated on private disciplines, as if detaching oneself from “the world” (i.e. society) might make one holier. Anabaptist piety was similar in that regard. However, Calvin thought of sanctification as a family affair. How could one learn loving humility, patience, wisdom, and forgiveness in isolation from others?”
[ Michael S. Horton ]

“Purge me from every sinful blot;
My idols all be cast aside:
Cleanse me from every evil thought,
From all the filth of self and pride.

The hatred of the carnal mind
Out of my flesh at once remove:
Give me a tender heart, resigned,
And pure, and full of faith and love.”
[ John Wesley ]

“The Church, like her head, has a glory, but it is concealed from carnal eyes, for the time of her breaking forth in all her splendour is not yet come.”
[ Charles H. Spurgeon ]

Think it not enough, that you can bear the denial of sinful desires; but presently destroy the desires themselves. For if you let alone the desires, they may at last lay hold upon their prey, before you are aware: or if you should be guilty of nothing but the desires themselves, it is no small iniquity; being the corruption of the heart, and the rebellion and adultery of the principal faculty, which should be kept loyal and chaste to God. The crossness of thy will to the will of God, is the sum of all the evil and impiety of the soul; and the subjection and conformity of thy will to his, is the heart of the new creature, and of thy rectitude and sanctification.”
[ Richard Baxter ]

“When a poor soul is somewhat awakened by the terrors of the Lord, then the poor creature, being born under the covenant of works, flies directly to a covenant of works again. And as Adam and Eve hid themselves… and sewed fig leaves… so the poor sinner, when awakened, flies to his duties and to his performances, to hide himself from God, and goes to patch up a righteousness of his own. Says he, I will be mighty good now–I will reform–I will do all I can; and then certainly Jesus Christ will have mercy on me.”
[ George Whitefield ]

“If you yield yourself up to His divine working, the Lord will alter your nature; He will subdue the old nature, and breathe new life into you. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and He will give you a heart of flesh. Where everything was hard, everything shall be tender; where everything was vicious, everything shall be virtuous: where everything tended downward, everything shall rise upward with impetuous force. The lion of anger shall give place to the lamb of meekness; the raven of uncleanness shall fly before the dove of purity; the vile serpent of deceit shall be trodden under the heel of truth.”
[ Charles H. Spurgeon ]

“Justification is the new creation of the new man, and sanctification his preservation until the day of Jesus Christ.”
[ Dietrich Bonhoeffer ]

RELATED SCRIPTURE VERSES:

REPURPOSE:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/repurpose

REMODEL:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/remodel

TRANSFORMATION:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/transformation

OPPORTUNITY:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/opportunity

IMPACTFUL:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/impactful

PARTNERSHIP:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/partnership

VOLUNTEER:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/volunteer

PROGRESS:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/progress

PURSUIT:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/pursuit

HOLINESS:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/holiness

CHRIST-LIKENESS:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/christ-likeness

REFINEMENT:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/refinement

SANCTIFICATION:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/sanctification

MORTIFICATION:
https://www.openbible.info/topics/mortification

“A quick summary of the Christian “Gospel”:
JESUS’ PROPITIATION made our SINS FORGIVEN and IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS to us so that we have GOD’S ACCEPTANCE into His Heaven and receive ETERNAL LIFE.”
[ Mark Besh ]

Hope you enjoyed some of these insights—share them with your friends and colleagues—so we can have a larger ’pool’ to receive from, and more to share with! Also, remember to include your name as the “source,” if some of this wisdom is of your doing. I would like to give credit where credit is due!

<<< FOCUS VERSES >>>

“You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver… but you brought us to a place of great abundance.”
[ Psalm 66:10, 12 ]

“Therefore, the Lord Almighty says this: ‘See, I will melt them in a crucible of affliction. I will refine them and test them like metal’.”
[ Jeremiah 9:7 ]

“hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.”
[ Matthew 5:6 ]

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in Heaven.”
[ Matthew 5:11-12 ]

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
[ Matthew 6:33 ]

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
[ John 14:15 ]

“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
[ John 16:13-14 ]

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them[b] in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
[ John 17:15-19 ]

“Having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.”
[ Romans 6:18 ]

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
[ 2 Corinthians 5:17 ]

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
[ Ephesians 2:10 ]

“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
[ Ephesians 6:12 ]

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
[ Philippians 1:6 ]

“for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
[ Philippians 2:13 ]

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
[ Philippians 2:12-13 ]

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do, one thing: forgetting what lies behind, reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
[ Philippians 3:13 ]

“Each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable.”
[ 1 Thessalonians 4:4 ]

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
[ 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ]

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.”
[ Titus 2:11-14 ]

“By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
[ Hebrews 10:10 ]

“By a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
[ Hebrews 10:14 ]

“Pursue holiness, for without holiness, no now will see the Lord.”
[ Hebrews 12:14 ]

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’.”
[ 1 Peter 1:14-16 ]

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
[ 1 Peter 5:8-9 ]

“As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
[ 2 Peter 1:3-4 ]

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
[ 2 Peter 3:9 ]

If you have a ‘neat’ story or some thoughts about an issue or current event that you would like me to try to respond to, I would be glad to give it a try…so, send them to me at: mbesh@comcast.net

Disclaimer: All the above jokes and inspirations are obtained from various sources and copyright is used when known. Other than our name and headers, we do not own the copyright to any of the materials sent to this list. We just want to spread the ministry of God’s love and cheerfulness throughout the world.

Mark

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