What is your World Vision?

This is Lewal. Lewal lives with his parents and 2 brothers. His parents struggle to provide for the family. His father is a farmer and his mother is a farmer. Despite their efforts it is difficult to meet the family’s needs.

Lewal is growing up in a farming community in the Kwame Danso region of Ghana, almost 300 miles from Accra. A typical home is built of heavy mud with a thatched roof.

My family has been sponsoring Lewal through World Vision for about 5-6 years now.

There is a lot of poverty and hunger in the world. We forget that sometimes in our comfortable homes. We worry about mortgages, taxes and who’s going to win the World Series. Across the world, other people, just like you and me, are wondering if they are going to have anything to eat tomorrow.

If you honestly sit down and think about all of the pain and suffering in the world it can be overwhelming. That’s why many times it is easier just to block it out. It’s much easier to go back to worrying about our own petty problems than worrying about life and death around us. What can we do anyway?

There is some good news. The good news is that it’s not your problem to fix the world. God has a plan of redemption and a promise to bring forth a new heaven and new earth. However, it is your calling to have love and mercy for the poor and the oppressed in our current fallen world.

God has a purpose for each of us in our lives. I have a really good hunch that none us have a divine purpose to just accumulate wealth or just tread water in our lives, every day until we die. Our calling is to show the world the love of God to others.

For some, that calling takes them into the ministry, and in some cases it takes them into the mission fields far from home. For some, that calling has them living in the suburbs where their mission fields are their neighbors and their co-workers. Frankly, I’m not sure which calling has more challenges.

Regardless of where God calls us to serve, we are all called, as Christians, to take care of the poor, the hungry, the sick and the oppressed. There are no valid excuses for ignoring the suffering around us.

There are many ways you can serve. World Vision, offers a way for those of us with much to help the children in this world that have less than even a little. Through World Vision, you can sponsor a child or an entire family for about the cost of a tall coffee from your local coffee shop each day. You can make a difference, providing clean water, nutritious food, health care, education and spiritual nurturing.

Fixing the suffering in the entire world is an overwhelming task. However, the opportunity to help the world, one child or one family at a time is available to you today.

Visit my sponsorship campaign page for more information about joining me in helping to change a child’s life. Isn’t it time that you had a “World Vision”?

Faith of a Child

We had a pretty uneventful Memorial Day. We just went to the Grandparents to swim and then came home, ate burgers, watched a movie, and went to bed. However, it was a great day. Anytime you can just hang-out and relax with family and friends is a great day.

The grandparents have a pool and my kids love to swim. Well, they love the water. The two oldest ones swim well but the two youngest ones not so much. The four-year old is easy to keep an eye on in the pool. She just hangs out on steps wearing a full life-jacket. The six-year old is the problem. He can’t swim well on his own yet, but he has no fear. That’s our fearless, non-swimming six-year old taking the Nestle tea plunge in the picture above.

Our youngest son keeps us on our toes, but I am so jealous of how he loves life. When I look at how he embraces and enjoys life I can’t help but see the analogy of the abundant life promised to us from Jesus (John 10:10). Why do I find it so hard to live the abundant Christian life?

One of the reasons that our son embraces life is that he rarely thinks about any negative consequences. Now, this is much to the dismay of his parents and we have our work cut out for us. However, when it comes to matters of faith and our Christian walk, that is the exact attitude we need to have. If we worry about what “bad” things might happen if we follow Christ completely, we will miss the abundant life promised to us.

What are some of the fears that prevent our abundant life?

• I barely have enough money in the bank to pay my bills, how can I afford to give some of it away?
• If I share my faith at work or school I may offend someone?
• If I put boundaries on my kids that are more stringent than the boundaries set by their friends’ parents, I won’t be the cool parent or my child might rebel.
• If I don’t sacrifice my family time for work I may lose my job or lose opportunities to advance at my job. How will I provide for my family if I am not successful with my career?
• If I don’t have my children in year-around extra-curricular activities, they won’t be as athletic, as graceful or as popular as the other kids their age.
• If I join a small group at church the others in the group might find out that I really don’t have it all together?
• How can I serve the church? I don’t have any gifts that could be useful.

I’m sure there are many more fears that you can think of and that you may even face yourself in your walk.

It’s time that we “grown-ups” take the Nestle tea plunge with our Christian walk and live fearlessly for Christ.

Mark 10:15 (ESV)
¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Please comment to this post with any fears you have faced in your walk but more importantly, any examples of the abundant life you have experienced by fearless embracing what God has set before you.

Meet Moses

Meet Moses. Moses is a thirteen year old boy from Liberia where he has been raised in an orphanage since he was three months old. His mother died when she was shot by rebels. When she was shot, she fell on top of Moses where he remained pinned for three days. As a result of this tragedy, Moses was orphaned and his left hand was severely crippled.

Our church, Fairfield Baptist, sponsors Moses’ orphanage in Liberia. By the grace of God, we were able to arrange for Moses to come to the United States to have his hand fixed. More details can be found on the Fairfield Baptist web site.

Moses is here for at least 60 days. I think the church is trying to get his visa extended because after the surgery it would be best if he could be here for more physical therapy.

My family has been blessed by being able to spend some quality time with Moses on his visit. We home school and Moses has gone with my wife and kids on field trips, met our home school group, and today he got to see all the kids dressed in their Renaissance costumes as part of the home school groups Renaissance festival.

Up until now, my family’s interaction with Moses has been while I am at work. However, today I got to pick him up on the way home. We had some friends over and enjoyed homemade chicken and beef enchiladas. The house was full of kids and you can tell Moses really enjoys the other children. He plays with the little kids and laughs and makes them laugh. After our neighbors left, I got to play a few rounds of Uno Attack and spend some quality time with Moses and my three older kids.

I finally had my turn at being blessed.

There are going to be a lot of tears in my house when Moses goes back to Liberia and the orphanage.

James 1:27 (ESV)
²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Called to post but will they come?

People blog for different reasons. Some blog as experts. Some blog to make money. Some blog just because they have to get it off their chest. I fall into the latter category. As I take my Christian journey I feel called to share what I learn as I seek. I hope that maybe if someone reads what I see and experience in my walk it will inspire, encourage, and even convict them in their own walk or search.

How do I get people to come to my blog if I’m not selling anything or an expert on any anything? I’ve found a service called Entrecard that is working great for me.

Entrecard has now improved their service so you can add new blogs to your account and link them together. Find out more about Entrecard from their new e-book.

Great Expectations

My vision and my desire is for a church where the members are constantly challenging themselves. Each day we should be asking ourselves, am I doing what God wants me to do? Am I willing to give it all away? Am I loving those around me, believers and unbelievers? How am I showing that love? Am I too comfortable with my life?

Is this vision a reasonable expectation for me to have for my church?

I know I don’t live up to these expectations, at least consistently. I easily fall into a comfort zone and don’t worry about the world around me and what I am supposed to do to impact it. However, I know this is the expectation God has for me because his Spirit is not satisfied within me while I’m comfortable. If this is God’s expectation for our lives how can we as a church not have that expectation from our members which means having that expectation for ourselves?

Church leadership is failing the church if this is not the expectation for every Christian member of the church. Jesus is creating a great work in us. He’s not done but we act like he’s done all he can do until we die and get to heaven. If your church is not growing spiritually beyond a certain point the reason is probably that too many people in the pews are just fine where they are at and where the church is at (as long as the church provides enough activities).

The big church-wide events are great and important to reach out to the community and expose people to mission opportunities. However, we must raise the expectations with our members that Christian living does not revolve around particular church-wide events.

I have this expectation for myself and as I said, I often fail at it, but it is still an expectation. I also have the expectation that my church and my church pastors and church leaders have this expectation from me. If I am failing to challenge myself, I expect my church, in love and grace, to let me know. This expectation has to be clear from the top and pushed down so that every member feels a little uneasy whenever they feel too comfortable with their Christian walk. Are my expectations too high? I hope not.

The next question is, how do we challenge people if we don’t know where they’re at spiritually? One person’s challenge might be to love and honor his wife while another’s might be to join the mission field.

This is a tough challenge for any church once it reaches any significant size. I have a hard time imagining any church reaching it’s full potential without small groups (see disciples), accountability partners (see Paul and Barnabas) and mentors (see Paul and Timothy or Titus) as a way to challenge and inspire its members to continue to run the good race.

God’s word tells us that Jesus will draw all men to himself. This word draw means to drag and haul which sounds like we have to be drawn kicking and screaming. We hold on to our comfortable life with all we have. I pray God draws His church to himself.

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