Conversation #4 :: Josh Longbrake

Conversation #4 is up with Josh Longbrake.  Josh is a 24 year old graduate student, but he’s more than that.  He’s an artist, author, photographer, explorer and learner.  Not to mention that he’s a pretty darn good friend.  Read.  Enjoy.  Learn.

Name:: Joshua Longbrake
Age:: 24
Location:: Seattle, WA
What you do professionally/educationally:: Mars Hill Graduate School student
Blog/website:: http://www.thelongbrake.com
e-mail address (if you want to be available to people who may want to ask more ?’s) thelongbrake@gmail.com

Jesus says “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”  When you read these words do you see them as relevant for today?   What do you think Jesus is calling us to here and how does it work out today?

A:When I read these words I feel humbled. My friend Tony is always saying that Jesus is calling us to a Low Place Revolution, to be last in everything so as to value everyone as more important than ourselves. A call to live like this transcends time. I believe Jesus has called me to be as generous as I am able. There is an ebb and flow to that statement, but it is becoming clearer as to how that is to be lived out.

Conversation #3 :: Sarah Conway

Conversation #3 is up and running.  This time we hear from Sarah Conway, a college student at Kent State.  Sarah’s heart for those in need has lead her to her major as well as direction for the future.  Read and learn from Sarah!

Name: Sarah Conway
Age: 21
Location: Cleveland, OH
Professionally/Educationally: Human Development & Family Studies major / intern with Children’s Hope International
E-mail: sconway1@kent.edu

Talk about your current circumstances and how you try and intentionally put yourself in last place?  What have been some of the biggest challenges?  How have you seen Life come through these attempts (both personally and with others)?
I am currently in my last year at Kent State University with an internship and a job that takes up a nice portion of my time and energy.  I have a lot of friends who are non-believers who I just try to spend time with and show them the love that Jesus has for them.  My goal is just to be genuine with the people I encounter and to care about the needs that they have in their life.  I think that one of the biggest challenges in living this way is just the ‘me first’ attitude of the culture that we live in.  Everyone has the things that they need to accomplish, and busy schedules and it takes away time to sit with someone who is hurting or to help someone out.  It takes extra time and energy to put someone else’s needs before your own.  I think that a lot of times life just seems easier if we are to focus on me and ignore some of the situations that we see others in.

Conversation #2 :: Emily Gallagher

Welcome back for our second conversation at Last Place People!  This time we hear from Emily Gallagher, a 25 year old social worker in Cleveland, OH and newlywed to John!  You’ll love Emily’s heart and fire as she shares her heart and challenges us to live in last place!

Name:: Emily Gallagher
Age:: 25
Location:: Cleveland, OH
What you do professionally:: social worker working with youth in foster care
e-mail address :: alotlessemily@yahoo.com

Jesus says “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”  When you read these words do you see them as relevant for today?   What do you think Jesus is calling us to here and how does it work out today?
I think this call of Jesus is especially applicable to youth in foster care. To understand what it means to truly be last, put yourself in the place of a kid in foster care.  Imagine your family did something or possibly several things that caused you to be removed from them.  These things could include sexual abuse, physical abuse, the use of drugs in the home and neglect of the one thing you desperately need…  LOVE.  You cry and cry as an infant desiring your basic needs of love and care; but no one comes.  Ok, so let’s stop for a moment and realize that Jesus never intended it to be like this.  So these youth begin to react to the situations they have been put through and because of the sexual abuse, they begin to sexually abuse, or they are clueless on how to deal with their sexual organs and therefore they begin to pee all over the house or smear poop all over the bathroom.  They want to be dirty and unattractive so that no one will come near them, so that no one will love them.
The calling for us is to care for these orphans.  We accomplish this by ensuring that they have safe places to live and people to LOVE them.  But they are seemingly so unlovable, so we segregate ourselves from them.  To be a servant of all would be to radically change how we see these orphans.

The Movement Post #1

We want this website to serve as a place that people can exchange ideas about how they pursue last place in everyday life (at work, home, school, the gym, the grocery store, driving….). We believe that if you have a chance to hear from others it may spark something in you right where you live. Here’s a great story… Let the sparks fly!

I work for an auto dealer in the area. I was asked by an older gentleman if I could help him with some questions he had with his new vehicle. In my head I thought to myself
“oh great.. another older technology challenged person. I’ll get someone else to help him.” But I didn’t and I agreed to help him out and try to answer his questions. I started by informing him that I was no expert. After about 30 minutes in a hot car with this gentleman I had never met before in my life he finally figured out how to use his new navigation system and DVD entertainment center. A process that takes most people 5-10 minutes. upon our exit of his car he said
“Thank you… Hey you’re a Christian aren’t you?” I stop in my tracks and turned around… I looked at this kind man and could only manage to stammer out a quick and quiet
“why… ye-ss… yes I am. Why do you ask?” He simply replied
“Although you didn’t say anything about Jesus I just knew you were. I could tell by the way you treated me. have a good day.”
I suppose I didn’t deserve that sort of recognition. I was just doing my job. Some how I was able to give praise to God without really thinking about it.. Just in the way I gave of myself to help someone else. It was beautiful and extremely encouraging. Live in last place and you will come out on top! I pray that we all continue to gain the strenght to live in last place for Jesus our Savior. By God’s grace may we acquire that strength!
Your Brother In Christ,
Greg

E-mail us your story at lastplacepeople@gmail.com!

Conversation #1 :: Matt Kitchen

The first conversation is here! Matt Kitchen is a 7th Grade math teacher in Maple Heights, Ohio and a newlywed who’s been married to Shannon for 1 year. You won’t want to miss Matt’s honest look at what it means for him to live in Last Place and how he thinks you could too.

Name:: Matt Kitchen
Age:: 24
Location:: Cuyahoga Falls, OH
Occupation:: 7th Grade Math Teacher
Contact Info:: mskitchen@gmail.com

Q:: Jesus says “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” When you read these words do you see them as relevant for today? What do you think Jesus is calling us to here and how does it work out today?

A:: I don’t think it can get more relevant than these words from Jesus. Jesus is calling us to be a servant of others and to put everyone you meet before yourself. Whatever needs they have become a priority over yours – acts of complete selflessness. Jesus is telling us that we are on this earth to serve others and it is the essence of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. These are powerful words and should change the social structure of his people – Christ should be seen through our servant-hood.

Updates Coming Sunday!

We’ll have our first additions to The Conversation on Sunday by 12pm.

Check back soon!

Welcome!

Welcome to LastPlacePeople.com! We’re glad you’ve stopped by.

Here’s what you need to know. This is not really a webpage, it’s a movement.

It’s a movement of people who believe that when Jesus said “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He was talking to us.

This is a call for all Christ Followers to learn how to intentionally Live in Last Place in every aspect of their life.

Consider this your invitation to join us.

There’s a lot of info here, and more will be added soon. Take some time and check it out.

The Concept:: This will give you a little bit more info about Last Place People

The Conversation:: Overtime we will add interviews with people who live in Last Place 24/7.

The Movement:: This will be a place to exchange ideas about how you can live in Last Place in your everyday life.