A Call to the Edge: One Ordinary Person of Faith Embracing an Extraordinary Vision of God

By Jodi M. Matthews

Jodi will never forget the day she talked with her dad about a vision God had called her toto be a missionary in the inner city. All that he had taught his daughter about God and faith now became a new reality for him to grapple with, and he thought, Did I really train her up in the Lord for this? Seeing that she was indeed serious about pursuing her Lord with a compelling perseverance, he asked her, Jodi, why is it that you always feel you have to live life on the edge?

This is the remarkable story of one ordinary young lady who, hand-in-hand with her precious Savior, begins a journey into an extraordinary vision of God that will unfold with each step closer to her edgeto love God and love others in the city of Akron, Ohio. A vision becomes realityUrban Vision. This is a story of one person pursuing God for all He will do when one is willing to follow Him anywhere, even to the edge!

Read the book, be inspired by its truths, and begin your journey to the edge! www.ACallToTheEdge.com

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512799033

Jodi M. Matthews

Jodi M. Matthews is the Founder of Urban Vision, currently serving as Director alongside her husband, Rodney, who is the Executive Director. They have served together in different capacities for the past 25 years and have three sons. Jodi has a passionate heart for children and families in their diverse urban North Akron community. She has a heart to love, teach, and live the Word of God outside of her comfort zone, moving beyond walls to encourage people to follow their own call to the edge. She is a passionate speaker and evangelist whose heart is that all may know her Savior.

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Copyright © 2017 Jodi M. Matthews.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture is taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-9902-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9904-0 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9903-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017912624

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/17/2017

DEDICATION

To my husband and love of my life, Rodney

To my three sons Micah, Joseph, and Nathanael

To my Mom and Dad, Diane and George White

To my Urban Vision family

But most of all, to my precious Jesus!

CONTENTS

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1     Can I Get A Witness?

Chapter 2     Life On The Edge

Chapter 3     Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Chapter 4     To Be Or Not To Be…Married?

Chapter 5     A Walk In Someone Else’s Shoes

Chapter 6     Learning While Loving

Chapter 7     Birthing Of A Vision—An Urban Vision

Chapter 8     Follow Me And See My Neighbor

Chapter 9     It Is All In Who You Know

Chapter 10   No One Quite Like You

Chapter 11   Unless The Lord Builds The House

Chapter 12   The Rhythm Of Life

Chapter 13   Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

Chapter 14   Outside Of The Fence

Chapter 15   The Pitfall Of Pride

Chapter 16   Tabernacled

Chapter 17   Surrender…Detour Ahead

Chapter 18   Seasons Of The Soul

Chapter 19   Great Expectations

Chapter 20   Fear Not

Chapter 21   Where Giants Walk

Chapter 22   Prepare For Rain

Chapter 23   Sprouting Up

Chapter 24   Love Always Wins

Chapter 25   A Safe Place For All

Chapter 26   Deep Or Wide?

Chapter 27   Unlikely Beautiful Things

Chapter 28   Drive-By Prayer

Chapter 29   A Place Called Home

Chapter 30   Pathway To His Presence

Conclusion — A Sight To Behold

Perspectives From The Edge

FOREWORD

Urban Vision lives its name and sees the city for sure. But more—they do something about the needs. Their story is told here by the one who saw it begin in her prayers and dreams, and in the hopes of many people who just plain cared, and wanted to come alongside others with a message of hope found in Christ our Lord! Akron, you see, is not just about LeBron, or good hospitals, or rubber and chemical companies, or the strong university downtown, or the many good churches. Maybe God notices even more the actions of love done on the North Hill and more by Jodi and Rodney and their teammates. I think so. Read this and you will see how things do not just happen. Caring people see needs and work together with our Lord to do something about them. Check your own vision for your own city as you give thanks for theirs!

Knute Larson

Pastoral teacher and coach

Pastor Emeritus, The Chapel, Akron

As followers of Jesus and people of the Word we read of God’s calling on special people whom He set apart for the work of the ministry. In Jeremiah 1, God says, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV).

I met Jodi Matthews at a CCDA conference, and as soon as we spent time together, I knew she was one of God’s chosen. This young woman had a fire in her heart for Jesus and a burden for the poor, the downcast, and the displaced in Akron, Ohio. As the Founder of Voice of Hope Ministries, an inner city urban ministry in Dallas, I knew all too well the challenges she was facing and the obstacles that lay ahead of her. Multi-racial, cross cultural, inner city community development work is difficult enough for the experienced practitioner, and here she was: young, white, and a female coming from a conservative evangelical church background. What I saw in Jodi though was the fire that the Holy Spirit had birthed deep in her soul, and I sensed then that this young woman was destined by Jesus to do great things in His name.

She visited Voice of Hope and I spent time listening to her vision as she observed the Voice of Hope model. I believed in Jodi then, and almost thirty years later I still believe in her, and the incredible story of Urban Vision is a testament to her leadership, perseverance, and faithfulness.

A question that the body of Christ must answer is this: How many women throughout the ages were clearly called and gifted by God to ministry and either did not go or did not remain because of discouragement, opposition, or lack of support from the churches, solely because they were women? In these difficult and trying days, the gospel of Jesus Christ is being ridiculed and scorned throughout the Western world by society. The body of Christ needs to embrace a theology of equality that truly empowers both women and men to answer the call of our Lord without battling the church and old traditions, so that more Jodi Matthews are encouraged to step out and be faithful to their calling.

Jodi’s work is not done, and I say to her and Rodney, who has stood with her as a partner in love and ministry: Well done.

Kathy Dudley, DMin

President, Imani Bridges

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Where do I begin to thank the many people who prayed with me, inspired me, and labored with me to see this book become a reality? How grateful I am for every single person God has placed in my life!

I want to acknowledge my family who loved me and sacrificed for me and supported me through it all….Thank you, Rodney, for always loving me. Thanks to my three sons Micah, Joseph, and Nathanael, for being young men who follow Jesus!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for always being there to cheer me on! Thanks, Mom, for your love and willingness to rejoice with me in my victories and weep with me in my sorrows. Thanks, Dad, for believing in me.

Thanks Mary and Jerry (Rodney’s parents) for your care and support over the years.

Thanks to my prayer sisters who really seek the heart of God and prayed me through. Thanks Susie for inspiring me. Thanks Clorinda, Bethany, and Linda for praying with me. Thanks Miss Chris for your encouragement!

Thanks to the original five who had great faith and love for Jesus (Patricia Holley, Lee Ann Dawson Smith, Chris Dennison, Russ Morgan, Rodney Matthews), along with others who soon followed and were committed early on to pray and work alongside me to see the vision become reality!

Thanks to my Urban Vision family…all the children and families of North Hill community—I love you much! Thanks to the Urban Vision staff, both past and present, mentioned or unmentioned in this book—you serve and have served with a heart like Jesus!

Thank you dear sister in the Lord Bena Paisley for the many hours you put into helping me get this book ready for the editor. Thank you to Patti Lee for helping with this book out of love and obedience to our Lord!

Thanks to Pastor Knute Larson, Kathy Dudley, and Duane and Lisa Crabbs who did not hesitate to stand with me in ministry throughout the years and in this book project.

Thanks to Dr. Ron Sauer, professor at Moody Bible Institute, and his wife, sweet Sue, who have loved and mentored me, and been a shining example of what it means to follow Jesus!

Thanks most of all to Jesus, who continues to call me to the edge of His will! Oh how I love You with all my heart!

INTRODUCTION

A long time ago there was born a little girl into whom God put many hopes and dreams. At the young age of three her mind raced with questions about everything, but the topic she loved to discuss the most was heaven. She had questions like, What does God look like? Is there really a street of gold? And, of course the most asked question a child could deliberate over, Will my dog get to go to heaven too?

She loved having these conversations with anyone patient enough to listen, but her dad was her favorite audience. She would talk in the car, outside, and yes, even in the bathroom. Her parents wished that she would put the same kind of focus on her potty training skills as she did on spiritual conversations, but all things come in time.

It was not too long after one of these deep conversations that the little girl decided that if Jesus lived in a place called heaven, then she wanted to live there too. So, with a simple childlike faith, this little girl went to the corner of her room and asked Jesus into her heart. Now this little girl could not quote the four spiritual laws, or the Roman road, or even recite John 3:16. However, she did know that Jesus loved her, died for the bad things she had done, and that He came back to life. She knew that if she believed in Jesus, then He would save her and take her to heaven one day.

That little girl was me…Jodi.

CHAPTER 1

CAN I GET A WITNESS?

You are my witnesses, declares the

LORD

, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he

(Isaiah 43:10).

I believe I sensed the strong calling to seek God at an early age because of what was modeled for me at home. I saw love in action as my parents faithfully took us (me, along with my older brother Brett and younger brother Trent) to church in a unique way…on a big brown bus. My dad was the church bus driver and my mom was a Sunday school teacher. Every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday evening my whole family would be bouncing around in a very hot and stuffy bus picking up children and families.

Some of the places we picked up children were in very needy parts of town. My dad would pull up the bus and honk the horn and my mom would warmly greet each child with a smile and a hug. Torn dresses and snotty noses aside, each child was treated with love and dignity. I still remember going up to the cold bus garage on Saturday nights in the middle of winter and holding the flashlight for my dad as he tinkered with the engine to make sure the bus would start the next morning.

Nothing kept my parents from picking up the children; not the intense heat of the summer nor snowstorms in the winter. Their faithfulness to what God asked them to do in the midst of their realities impacted me and shaped the vision of what would come in my future. I can look back now and see that there were many lessons learned on that big brown bus.

image01.jpg

Dad and his bus riders (mentioned in book:

my dad, Lee Ann Smith, Jodi, brother Brett)

When I was seven I felt God’s tug on my heart, calling me to be a missionary. I remember watching a movie at church that was about John Huss, a 14th century preacher whose desire was to preach the Word of God to people in their own heart language so that they could understand. This was considered heresy within the larger church. He was labeled a heretic and asked to recant but he would not. He was tied to a stake and as the flames engulfed him he sang loudly a hymn of praise. One of the last statements he made as the flames consumed his body was, I will not recant. What I have spoken with my lips, I now seal with my blood.

I learned that day that loving God could potentially mean that I would have to be willing to die. Not many of us are called to a martyr’s death, but we are all called to die daily to ourselves as the Scriptures say in Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me (NIV).

My home was not perfect and we struggled like most families do. My dad worked a couple of jobs and he was in sales which required him to be gone for weeks at a time, leaving my mom home alone to raise three kids. I wore thick glasses because of severe eye trouble and many kids at school were none too kind to a four-eyed little girl.

But because I knew God loved me and I had the support of my family, I was able to find my joy and security in Him. God uses everything to shape us and conform us to His will. My faith deepened in my high school years with the opportunity to attend Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, thanks to great sacrifice from my parents. The teachers loved Jesus and poured into me so I could be rooted in and built up in the Lord. I later went on to Moody Bible Institute where God challenged me to go even deeper still. I began to see how God had a heart for the city and the many different people who lived there. These experiences, along with training in the Word of God, put in me a vision, an Urban Vision, to live Christ out in the midst of the city and to reach families with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God has blessed me with my husband, Rodney, and we have the honor of serving together in ministry. God has also given us three sons: Micah, Joseph, and Nathanael.

Friends, we all have different backgrounds that have led us to this moment in our journeys. But I don’t believe you picked up this book by accident. I believe that if you are reading this now, then God has a word for you. My prayer is that it would be a timely word to encourage you to be obedient to follow God, to see Him fully for who He is, and to become like Christ in the midst of your realities.

Some of our realities are harsher than others but God wants to meet with you in the midst of your praise, in the midst of your thanksgiving, in the midst of your grief, in the midst of your tiredness, and even in the midst of your pain. All of our journeys begin from the moment He called us to be His children. With a simple childlike faith, we believe that Jesus died for sin, the just for the unjust, to bring us to God. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV).

For those who stand on this truth, it then becomes all about the process of becoming like the One who loves, shapes, and forms us to the image of Himself in order to glorify His name and to serve and build His kingdom. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

Our becoming like Christ doesn’t happen in a perfect environment, it happens in the middle of our realities in the daily tensions of life. Trials and temptations come to each of us in many ways and forms. By God’s mercy and grace we learn to surrender our responses to Him in order to allow the Potter to form the clay for the use He has intended. This surrender leads to a thirst to know Him more, an intense longing to dwell in His presence. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:10–11 NIV).

You may be wondering what is needed for this journey toward becoming more like Him? I am not going to ask you to bring a water bottle, but I am going to ask you to be a vessel and draw from the Living Water of Life. I am not going to ask you to wear your hiking boots, but I am going to remind you to put on the whole armor of God from the helmet of salvation all the way down to the shoes of the gospel. No need for a walking stick, just be sure you have your sword of the Spirit and the shield of faith. Of course, no flashlight is required because His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. No map or directions because God’s GPS, God’s Perfect Spirit, will lead and guide us into all truth. Oh, and by the way, I would not encourage Hanes® Her Way or His Way (not to be too personal) under all that armor, but just slip into the garment of praise and you will be sure to get there much sooner. So, with a readiness of Spirit and a prayer for courage, let’s take that first step of faith.

It is time for a trip to the edge!

CHAPTER 2

LIFE ON THE EDGE

What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no mind has conceived—the things God has prepared for those who love Him

(1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV).

I will never forget the day I went out back to talk with my dad about a vision God had called me to. He was tinkering around in the shed of our suburban middle class home when his only daughter gave him the news that I was called to be a missionary in the inner city. All that he had taught me about God and faith now became a new reality for him to grapple with. Did I really train her up in the Lord for this?

Parents never stop being parents no matter how old we get. To my dad I was the little girl that God had given him to provide for and protect, so the news sank deep into his soul when I said, God has called, I must go. He didn’t rant or rave, and he didn’t stop tinkering either, not until he finally paused long enough to ask me a question I have since asked myself many times: Jodi, why is it that you always feel you have to live life on the edge?

At that moment I was stumped and didn’t have an answer. I just knew I had heard the invitation to come, and so I must go. It wasn’t bravery or courage, I can assure you, but a compelling from the Spirit of the Lord. I knew that to turn back now I would miss something that would affect the rest of my life. Little did I realize what scene lay ahead when I, in the midst of my reality, stepped right up to the edge and saw as I had never seen before.

image02.jpg

Just Jodi

At that time—in the early 90s—I was a young, single, white female called to a vision way beyond what I could imagine it would become. Definitely out of my comfort zone, I ventured toward the edge that led me to see the needs of the urban poor who were living out many painful realities of hopelessness and despair. My eyes and my heart were captivated with a compassion that I know came from the Lord Himself. I could no longer stay the same.

The irony is that I don’t actually like edges of any kind. There is something about coming close to the edge of a cliff that sends my head into a spin and causes my stomach to do flip flops. (I know there are some real edge/rollercoaster thrill seekers out there but that is not me!) Edges prompt me to give a warning to our three boys as they walk a canyon’s ridge, reminding them to stay on the path and pay attention to the caution signs along the way. This warning goes out especially to my youngest who takes no precautions as he barges ahead fearlessly thinking himself to be sure-footed and invincible. Not so with me…keep me as far away from the edge as possible.

Edges bring a certain amount of discomfort for fear of plummeting to the depths of the valley below. (I know that is a little dramatic, but my mom always said I was her drama queen.) Walking near an edge keeps my eyes fixed down on where I am stepping, usually missing the sights along the way. Fear of the unknown has a way of limiting our vision.

Even though I have struggled with this fear many times in my past, there has always been something beyond the edge that drew me to get a little closer. It was a persistent nudging of the Spirit that kept me moving forward in my journey of faith to know God better and in my desire to live in His presence, even if the edge was the destination.

There’s nothing special about me; no special talents or big degrees. In fact, I have labeled myself Just Jodi on several occasions. Yet God through His Spirit compelled me to come. A Scripture that God has put on my heart since I was a young girl is found in Luke 12:48 and says, Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required. Salvation is a free gift but I have a responsibility to come and see and be all that God has for me.

No fear of an edge could release me from my responsibility to NOT settle for a distant and average view of His presence. It was time for me to get closer, surrender my fear, step up to the edge, and see the vision to which I believe God calls us all. Each of us may receive different visions or callings but one goal will be the common chord: seeing the Lord in the majesty of His presence. Just like Moses in Exodus 33:18, I want to ask God to, Show me Your glory…!

So with much trembling (and my dad’s blessing) I walked up to my edge, having no qualifications other than an invitation to come and being open to really seeing who God is and what He wanted me to do. And now I can tell you after all this time, that God has not only allowed me to walk up to the edge, He has even compelled me to set up camp and live there until this very day.

Some of you reading this feel that same burning. You have that same compulsion not to settle for mediocrity; you are being drawn to the edge. Let me encourage you to prayerfully take the next step toward that edge, trusting the prompting of the Holy Spirit within you.

Now please stop here and sing with me to Jesus. (Yes, please really sing; it is part of the process!)

Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus

Lyrics by Helen H. Lemmel

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face

And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim

In the light