I apologize that it has taken this long to update you on what happened with the Pastors Conference in India. I know many of you were praying for it consistently, and I am very excited to report that your prayers were answered.
For those of you who don't know, we kicked off our church planting strategy during my recent trip to India. We have a dream to facilitate the finish of the spread of the Gospel in the Visak district. To us, this looks like a home in every village where people are regularly gathering together to follow Jesus.
Our first challenge is to find some core leaders. We started that process by holding a Pastor's Conference where we taught the 'First Steps' church planting training developed by E3 Partners. In a few months, we will follow-up and see if anyone is implementing what they learned. When we find the 'doers', we will have our core leaders.
I was praying for 50 pastors to attend, but more than 200 pastors showed up. We focused our teaching on the barriers to multiplication. This was a tough message with the pastors. We told them that the Gospel would not spread in this area as long as they tried to maintain control. The church could not center on their salary, their people, and their building. It had to change from an institution with them in the lead to a movement with them playing a part.
The Spirit of God is an interesting thing. There are a handful of times in my life where I truly felt that I was a part of something much bigger than myself - where it was almost as if it wasn't me doing the work. This was one of those times. I can't describe what happened under that tent in India, but God showed up. We delivered a tough message, but the pastors felt the presence of God and were excited about the teaching. How humbling that I even got to be a part of it!!
We counted commitments, and tallied up the numbers. They were very significant, but all that pales in comparison to the fact that God's Spirit was evident. The truth is that I don't know if 100 people will follow through or 2 people will. Number are important, but can often be misleading. For this reason, I am not near as excited about the numbers as I am about the presence of the Spirit of God. That presence confirms that we are working with Him, and if we are working with Him, some good things are just around the corner.
Thanks to all of you who prayed while I was gone. Your prayers were answered. Wouldn't it be cool if this was the beginning of a church planting movement in Visak ...
a movement where nobody knows who we are or what sparked it
a movement where churches were not concerned with authority, denomination, or money, but instead with the love of Jesus and of people
a movement that sees poverty lessen, orphans and widows cared for
a movement where the followers of Jesus multiply exponentially in the area
a movement where isolated villages who have never heard that any God or any person cares about them, hear that for the first time
This will be cool!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Pornography Addiction
I was pulling some stats together for a group I'm speaking with tonight ... listen to this:
It is interesting that even though we as Christians know that following Jesus is about forgiveness, we quickly equate our self-worth to appearing to be a good person rather than actually becoming one. The beautiful thing about the forgiveness Jesus provides is that it should give us the ability to face our sins honestly - and in the process to be changed. We should not have to pretend! So why do we?
If more than 50% of men struggle with pornography now, that means almost every man has at some point in their life - particularly the younger crowd who has grown up with porn only an anonymous mouse click away. Practically everybody is struggling or has struggled!
So what are you doing to be honest about this issue? Are you honest with anyone?
And for Parents ...
If you have teen children who have access to unfiltered internet at home or at a friends house, they HAVE VIEWED pornography. You do not have to wonder about it! The stats say 90% ... and that includes those 8 years old! They have viewed it. It has happened. Are you speaking with them about it? If you have never spoken with them about it, it is not their fault that they don't know how to deal with it.
I hope this isn't overly direct or harsh. It is something I feel passionate about. We believers, seem to be quick to protest these things publicly or politically, but very slow to address them in our own life. Let's start with us ... and we start by talking about it.
- In a 2002 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers two thirds of the lawyers present said that pornography played a large role in more than half of their divorce cases ... and that it was almost non-existent only 7 to 8 years earlier.
- 53% of Christian men consume pornography
- 90% of 8-16 year old children have viewed porn online ... yes 90%
It is interesting that even though we as Christians know that following Jesus is about forgiveness, we quickly equate our self-worth to appearing to be a good person rather than actually becoming one. The beautiful thing about the forgiveness Jesus provides is that it should give us the ability to face our sins honestly - and in the process to be changed. We should not have to pretend! So why do we?
If more than 50% of men struggle with pornography now, that means almost every man has at some point in their life - particularly the younger crowd who has grown up with porn only an anonymous mouse click away. Practically everybody is struggling or has struggled!
So what are you doing to be honest about this issue? Are you honest with anyone?
And for Parents ...
If you have teen children who have access to unfiltered internet at home or at a friends house, they HAVE VIEWED pornography. You do not have to wonder about it! The stats say 90% ... and that includes those 8 years old! They have viewed it. It has happened. Are you speaking with them about it? If you have never spoken with them about it, it is not their fault that they don't know how to deal with it.
I hope this isn't overly direct or harsh. It is something I feel passionate about. We believers, seem to be quick to protest these things publicly or politically, but very slow to address them in our own life. Let's start with us ... and we start by talking about it.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
A Girl Named Durga Bhavani
A couple years ago our family decided to sponsor a child in India. Honestly, I didn't give much thought to it at the time. It just seemed like the right thing to do. For just over $30 dollars per month we could provide food, housing, and safety for a street child in India. Why wouldn't we do that?
After we signed up, we received a picture of our girl, and we learned that her name was Durga Bhavani. We put her picture on our refrigerator, but the magnitude of what we were doing never sank in to me. Outside of a sentence prayer while grabbing something out of the fridge, I really didn't give her much thought.
Then I met her and she became real to me.
One night, the leaders at the orphanage prepared a campfire for us. I'm not entirely sure why as it was over 80 degrees outside, but it did provide a nice backdrop, as we sat in chairs and listened to a couple members of our team play guitar and lead us in worship. I was enjoying the moment of rest and relaxation when I looked across from me and saw another member of our team with a child on his lap. I thought, I wonder if Bhavani would like that?
One of the things I love about Bhavani is that she is always respectful, yet always available. Many of the kids would bum rush us for hugs and photos every time we stepped out of the little cottage we were staying in, but not Bhavani - she waited. She always waited for me to come towards her, but amazingly every time I stepped off the small porch, she was there - and usually she had brought friends to introduce to me.
When I was sitting by the fire, it was no different. As soon as I turned my head I saw her standing right behind me with several of her friends. I motioned for her to come over and lifted her up on my lap. She smiled.
After a few minutes had passed, I began to wonder if she was doing this out of obligation. I didn't want her to feel forced to stay there if she preferred to go play with her friends so I moved my arm which was wrapped around her so she could get up. As soon as I did it, she looked up at me, grabbed my arm and wrapped it back around her. I felt tears welling up in me - the fire, the worship, the music, and a little girl who just wanted to be held was almost to much for me.
As we sang a little more, I noticed her wiping a tear from her eyes. I thought to myself. I bet she has never been held like this. I bet she has never had someone hold on to her for 15 minutes before. What an incredible blessing to be able to provide for a child, and now to hold her.
Bhavani is tough - she doesn't like to show emotion. She didn't want me to see the tears. At 8 years old, she has already experienced the death of her father, and the attempted suicide of her mother - who tried to burn herself alive. She knows the tragedy of life, but maybe for a few minutes on this night, she was able to experience the joy of life. Maybe this will help her to always know that there is someone who cares, and more importantly, that there is a God who cares.
I don't know when I will see Bhavani again. I don't know what God has in store for her. All I know is that I now love her. She is no longer just a child on our refrigerator. She has moved from my refrigerator into my heart. That $30 a month is now going to my girl instead of some girl, I am now praying for my girl, instead of a girl. I feel so fortunate to be involved!
I expected my first post after returning from India would talk about the Pastor's conference, and it was amazing, but I think maybe a more amazing thing happened in my heart and in Bhavani's. I won't get to see her often, but she knows she has a dad - and I get the privilege and blessing and honor of being that dad ... all for just $30 a month. What an amazing blessing!
If you are interested in sponsoring a child check out www.onelifechild.org.
After we signed up, we received a picture of our girl, and we learned that her name was Durga Bhavani. We put her picture on our refrigerator, but the magnitude of what we were doing never sank in to me. Outside of a sentence prayer while grabbing something out of the fridge, I really didn't give her much thought.
Then I met her and she became real to me.
One night, the leaders at the orphanage prepared a campfire for us. I'm not entirely sure why as it was over 80 degrees outside, but it did provide a nice backdrop, as we sat in chairs and listened to a couple members of our team play guitar and lead us in worship. I was enjoying the moment of rest and relaxation when I looked across from me and saw another member of our team with a child on his lap. I thought, I wonder if Bhavani would like that?
One of the things I love about Bhavani is that she is always respectful, yet always available. Many of the kids would bum rush us for hugs and photos every time we stepped out of the little cottage we were staying in, but not Bhavani - she waited. She always waited for me to come towards her, but amazingly every time I stepped off the small porch, she was there - and usually she had brought friends to introduce to me.
When I was sitting by the fire, it was no different. As soon as I turned my head I saw her standing right behind me with several of her friends. I motioned for her to come over and lifted her up on my lap. She smiled.
After a few minutes had passed, I began to wonder if she was doing this out of obligation. I didn't want her to feel forced to stay there if she preferred to go play with her friends so I moved my arm which was wrapped around her so she could get up. As soon as I did it, she looked up at me, grabbed my arm and wrapped it back around her. I felt tears welling up in me - the fire, the worship, the music, and a little girl who just wanted to be held was almost to much for me.
As we sang a little more, I noticed her wiping a tear from her eyes. I thought to myself. I bet she has never been held like this. I bet she has never had someone hold on to her for 15 minutes before. What an incredible blessing to be able to provide for a child, and now to hold her.
Bhavani is tough - she doesn't like to show emotion. She didn't want me to see the tears. At 8 years old, she has already experienced the death of her father, and the attempted suicide of her mother - who tried to burn herself alive. She knows the tragedy of life, but maybe for a few minutes on this night, she was able to experience the joy of life. Maybe this will help her to always know that there is someone who cares, and more importantly, that there is a God who cares.
I don't know when I will see Bhavani again. I don't know what God has in store for her. All I know is that I now love her. She is no longer just a child on our refrigerator. She has moved from my refrigerator into my heart. That $30 a month is now going to my girl instead of some girl, I am now praying for my girl, instead of a girl. I feel so fortunate to be involved!
I expected my first post after returning from India would talk about the Pastor's conference, and it was amazing, but I think maybe a more amazing thing happened in my heart and in Bhavani's. I won't get to see her often, but she knows she has a dad - and I get the privilege and blessing and honor of being that dad ... all for just $30 a month. What an amazing blessing!
If you are interested in sponsoring a child check out www.onelifechild.org.
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