The Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer...

... is buying a goat for a family in poverty.

Errrr.... Okay, so that totally doesn't rhyme and was a pretty pathetic revision of the famous Elf quote. Regardless, that was the idea behind our second-annual Elf Party.

Devin and me in all our elfin glory

Last year, we watched the movie Elf and asked guests to dress as Christmas elfs and to bring a toy for a child in the Phoenix Children's hospital. This year, our party took on a more global approach and we did something that will have a lasting, life-changing impact.

We got the movie ready, baked up some yummy desserts and asked our friends to come dressed as elfs and bring five dollars to help us spread some true Christmas cheer to a family in need. 

Courtesy of World Concern

Pooling all our money, we bought a goat for a family living in poverty through World Concern's global gift guide! (We also had a little extra and were able to buy vaccinations to keep the goat strong and healthy.) Once full-grown, a goat can produce about a gallon of milk a day and provide a poverty-stricken family with much-needed nutrition, as well as sustainable income (as the extra milk can be sold at market.) 

Our Elf Party was a great success and we (somehow) crammed 22 people (including a toddler and two pregnant gals) into our tiny (err... cozy) living room for the Elf viewing. Devin, dressed as Buddy the Elf, was our baristia and cranked out some rather delicious peppermint mocha lattes and spiced apple ciders. The dessert tray abounded with deletable confections (including my Grandma Yoder's famous butterscotch walnut brownies - um, yum.) Many of our friends were incredibly good sports and pulled together some most excellent elf costumes:

My nephew, sis-in-law and brother-in-law

I loved Max and Alex's homemade felt elf ears

Had there been a prize (oops!) the couple in front would have won for best costumes

One more of Devin as Buddy the Elf  
 (thank you Savers, Good Will and good-ol'-fashion creativity)

Great amounts of Christmas-cheer was had by all, including many swells of the irreplaceable cheer brought about by celebrating Jesus' birth through such openhearted giving. There is simply no joy like it.  

Thanks to all our incredible friends for joining us in this goat-buying venture! You've helped make a true, lasting difference for one special family (in either Bangladesh, Haiti, Kenya or Myanmar.)

P.S. Considering the goat will provide food (milk) for a family in need through a charity, I'm checking this off as Goal #68: Organize a food, toy or diaper drive for a charity at Christmas time)

 

Radical Lab Rats

*Part Nine of the Radical Read-Along with Marla Taviano

 

Well, I and all my world-wide-web reading buddies have made it through the last chapter in Radical. I am one part relieved to be finished, one part excited about all I learned and one part scared to death because now that I'm done reading, I have to actually do something with what I've learned. I am reminded of the very first quote I pulled from the book way-back-when in chapter one:

“My biggest fear, even now, is that I will hear Jesus’ words and walk away, content to settle for less than radical obedience to him.” (page 3)

Reading Radical was quite the eye-opening journey and now that it's over, it seems it's actually just beginning. In the final chapter, Platt challenges readers to put his theory that something is wrong with American Christianity to the test through The Radical Experiment - five challenges, one year and a life turned upside down (or right side up?).

Being a "detail-oriented-doer-type" myself, I really appreciate that Platt didn't just offer a critique of the Christian version of the American Dream, but actually gave a clearly mapped out process for changing it. Here is the Experiment's challenge and here is my take on each point:

1. Pray for the Entire World
This one seems overwhelming for sure, but the simple idea behind it is that if a whole ton of people prayed for a whole ton of people to go and minister to every place on earth, then we would see a huge awakening. It's based in the idea of "the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few, so ask God to send workers" (Luke 10:2). There is a great resource that Platt mentions here that helps to break down the task of praying for the entire world into little bites at a time. 

I hate to admit it, but I've never been much of a prayer. I think it's just a spiritual discipline I missed learning somewhere along the way, so the idea of praying for the entire world was incredible to me. But the "bit by bit" approach is something I think I can do if I commit to it and assume that this would be a great way for me to start learning how to really pray.
 
2. Read Through the Entire Word
The challenge is (and it makes perfect sense) that if we started reading through the Word of God every day (along with praying for the nations) then God's heart for the lost and His will for our lives would be so clear and so deeply rooted in us that the next three steps of this Experiment would easily fall into line with our changed hearts.

I was raised in the church, I've called my faith my own since middle school and I have read a good portion of the Bible. But I have never actually read the whole thing, which I find ridiculous since I say I believe this Word which I've never gotten around to reading. I want to know God's heart better and I know that time in His Word is the best way to do that - I just have to be disciplined enough to do it. 
 
3. Sacrifice Your Money for a Specific Purpose 

This challenge is exactly what it sounds like - live on less and sacrifice more so that you can invest in a gospel-focused ministry.

There are a number of purposes that Devin and I already sacrifice our money for (most of them focusing on ministry to the poor and orphaned) and when I read this challenge I thought, "What if I've already sacrificed, but am to the point where living this "sacrificial" way is the norm? Do I sacrifice even more?"

We live on one income and still give much of it away, we drive one car (one very old car) and live in an older apartment with old, second-hand furniture and have no plans to buy a house in the near further. We live a lifestyle that many reading Radical would consider already "radically downsized." So I was feeling pretty good about this particular challenge. Then I came across this: Who Are the Joneses?  and realized I am still living in luxury and still have plenty of abundance to share.

4. Spend Your Time in Another Context

This challenge involves the importance of serving others and sharing the gospel in another country. While Platt doesn't suggest that you have to go on a mission trip to be a "good" Christian (because that would ostracizes every Christian living in poverty who is unable to afford a mission trip), he does speak to the importance of the experience of seeing and serving people in another cultural context than your own. 

Again, I thought, "Right on! We are going to Uganda in March - score one for the Hansons!" But then I read this article: When Helping Hurts which cautions about short-term missions trips and now I'm all sorts of turned around.

5. Commit Your Life to a Multiplying Community
The final challenge for the Radical Experiment is to invest in your local community and do this with/through your church family. 

This is a complicated one for us for many reasons that I can't really go into, but I will say that we are making steps to engage in the needs of our local community and bring our church along with us. That's all I can really say at this point.

*  *  *

So that's the challenge presented by the Radical Experiment. For those of us who have gone through the Radical Read Along together, we are probably all wondering the same thing - who's in and who's not? 

I look at the five points listed above and think, "Yes! I want to do this, I know I should do this and I know God can help me do this! I know I will be forever changed if I do this!" And then there is the "Buuuttt..." that lingers in my mind. This is a huge, life-alter, turn-me-upside-down-and-inside-out kind of commitment and I won't lie to you - I kinda rushed through reading this chapter. I want to commit to this, but I don't want to do it just because I feel like it's "the thing to do." My heart is (amazingly enough even after all this stretching and growing) not in the right place, my motivations aren't entirely pure. They are laced with peer-pressure and in-the-moment-excitement. This is a big deal and I want to take it seriously. 

I think that yes, my husband and I will very likely commit to this Experiment (or some similar variation of it) but right now, I've got to pray that God will bring my heart to the right place and make sure that I've got the right focus before diving in. I've got to seriously discuss it with my husband. Otherwise, if the commitment isn't genuine, I know that my motivation will just fade off along with my commitment. This challenge is something I really want to allow into my life and it's too important to halfheartedly commit to.

So that's where I'm at. Thank you to all who shared your heart and your stories during this journey - it has been a pleasure to take a little peek into your world.

Risky Obedience

*Part Eight of the Radical Read-Along with Marla Taviano

 

In the past few months, since really taking a hard, Biblical look at my faith and how it does (or doesn't) affect my life, I've received some "comments of concern" from some well-intending people in my life (all of whom I love very much). Many of the comments revolve around my desire to clear my life of much of the materialistic clutter I've acquired and spend my time and resources to the benefit others instead. I can't imagine the feathers I'd ruffle if I were to actually put my life on the line for Christ, rather than just my checkbook and time.

Shoot! I'd ruffle my feathers. Because I hate to say it, but I am still struggling deeply with the idea of intentionally putting myself in a place of real-life-threatening danger for the sake of the Gospel. I just plain don't want to do it and I am ashamed and frightened that this is the status of my heart. I am under construction and this is one area of my heart that I haven't really allowed God to get His hands on until very, very recently so I'm still having a hard time with it has He molds my perceptive. 

I've begun to realize that I have very eagerly bought into the modern, unbiblical idea that God wants His children safe - the whole "the safest place to be is in the center of God's will" idea. While I think the statement true, the self-persevering sentiment behind it is false. Because I think my view of "safe" is much different than God's view. God's will is safe not because it is happy, comfortable and easy, but because it is buffered by eternal security so that even when we loose our lives for His glory, we are eternally safe in His grace through our salvation.  

Yet, even as I type this, I struggle to live that way myself. I know it in my head, I can even articulate the idea well with words, but my actions seem to show that I am only partially believing it.

I've thought so often that if something is tough, or I don't like it, then surely God isn't behind it. I've viewed risk and difficulty as a "closed door" from God. However, when I look at scripture, God clearly calls people into risky situations all the time. Just because it's risky, doesn't mean it's not God's will. If God has told us to do something then our choice to obey has very little to do with "weighing the risks."

For example, consider how many Christians quote the verse, "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,'" yet fail to remember that the prophet to whom God spoke those words (Jeremiah) was persecuted, tortured, jailed, rejected and killed for fulfilling God's will for his life. God's perspective verse ours - very, very different.

This is tough stuff - and honestly, there are times I don't like what I'm learning. It was nicer when I was content with my safe, blind, unbiblical version of Christianity. But my eyes and heart have been pried open by the truth of the Gospel and for that I am grateful - however difficult it is to work through. I know that the re-building of my perspectives on this world are to my gain and to His glory. I am learning that God is trustworthy, even when His ways in this world don't make sense. I am learning that when I believe Him and live in the way He calls me to, it can be life-changing, rewarding and invigorating in ways that my "happy little life" never was.

"Indeed, God knows every detail of our lives, and when we step out in faith to follow him, he will show us that our greatest security is not found in the comforts we can manufacture in this world but in the faithful provision of the only one who knows our needs and the only one who is able to meet our needs in every way." (Radical, page 174)

My Ash Pile

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal." - Matthew 6:19

I heard someone say recently that "The more stuff I collect here on earth, the bigger ash pile I'll leave behind when I die." That idea really puts into perspective the skewed value we place on our stuff doesn't it? It seem recently that this mentality has been growing deeper and deeper roots into my heart. The more I downsize, give away and sell, the more I realize how much I still have and how much less I could still live without.

Devin and I are having a garage sale November 19th and 20th to raise money for our Africa trip (if you live in the Phoenix area and have anything to donate - we'll take it!), so this past weekend we started combing our closets for things to sell.

I was a bit baffled, and more than a little ashamed, to see the pile of clothes I was able to clear out of my closet. You see, I have already down-sized my clothing collection twice in the past few months and somehow I still had a full garbage bag of clothing to put in our garage sale. That is just ridiculous.

During the first round of downsizing, I got rid of some outfits that I didn't like all that much. The second round had me donating some things that I liked, but didn't wear all that often. But when I was looking through my closet for round three, I had to remove some clothing items that I really liked a whole bunch. There were many moments when I removed something from the hanger, put it back, glared at it and pulled it back out again with a sigh. But as I perused my still hefty (even after two trips to Good Will) stockpile of clothes, I thought, "What am I willing to give up so that I can go to Africa and love on some orphans?" With that thought in mind, my perspective on the worth of my clothing changed considerably. 

I mentioned this in last week's Radical post, but I'll say it again here. As I pulled out items to sell, I felt so foolish at my wasteful materialism. The cute jacket that I had to have for $25 will be lucky to snag $5 at a garage sale. Thinking about what the $20 difference could have bought instead (i.e 133 meals for a child in Africa) makes me so embarrassed, but I am thankful to be learning these lessons. I am grateful to have my eyes opened. I still have a long way to go, but I am starting to learn the contentment and fulfillment found in generosity.

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content." - 1 Timothy 6:6-8

Guilty As Charged

*Part Seven of the Radical Read-Along with Marla Taviano

"Some wonder if it is unfair for God to allow so many to have no knowledge of the gospel. But there is no injustice in God. The injustice lies in Christians who posses the gospel and refuse to give their lives to making it known among those who haven't heard. That is unfair." - Radical page 159

It's not that I don't care about people who don't know Jesus, though I do seem to be more concerned about meeting material needs than spiritual ones (like a mentioned in this post.) My problem, or my lame excuse anyways, is that I get bogged down. Not by the billions of people who have never heard of Christ, but by the amount of people who just don't seem to care. I am overwhelmed by the thought of talking about Christ to the man already set in his own religious beliefs, or the lady so comfortable in her lifestyle that she refuses to follow Christ because of the change it would entail, or the guy who just flat out thinks Christianity and religion are ignorant cop-outs for the weak minded, or the gal who thinks it is nice that I have religion but "it's just not for her - no hard feelings". I don't know how to talk to these kinds of people and something in my head tells me that they won't listen anyways, so why try?

Awful I know, but that's where I'm at. 

I love to love people - I love to give to those in desperate circumstances and minister to physical and emotional needs of people. I love doling out smiles and hugs and kind words to those who don't get them often. But when it comes to directing them to the One who can meet their eternal and spiritual needs - I hush up like a clam. I make the dangerous assumption that they've already heard it all and have already rejected it. 

I've gone to apologetic seminars and heard countless sermon on how to share your faith. I've read all sorts of "How To" books on the topic and "arguments" about the truth of Christianity, but when a  moment to share Christ presents itself I am at a lose for words.   

I love to show people God's love through my actions. But telling them about Him with my words... ::GULP::

I wonder so often how I can claim (in my little group of like-minded friends) that Christ is the One Way to heaven and yet make little to no effort to actually say that to someone who doesn't already believe it? If I REALLY and fully believed this is Truth, wouldn't I say something? Or has my desire for approval and self-preservation manifested itself in a kind of deep-seeded materialistic idolatry - one that has nothing to do with possessions and everything to do with my reputation, my emotional comfort zone, and other people's perceptions of me? 

I Wish You Would Have Kept More

*Part Six of the Radical Read-Along with Marla Taviano

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work... You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God." - 2 Corinthians 9:6-8,11 

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you may have seen me mention a time or two ... or three ...or four, the journey that my husband and I are on to live off of less in order to give more. This idea that God blesses us with material possessions, not so we can horde it, but so that we can give it, is something that God has truly being digging deep into my soul - over the past few months especially. Which, I think, is wonderfully ironic because it's those same few months that my husband has been without a job.

All this to say, I loved - L.O.V.E.D - chapter six in Radical. God has been opening my eyes to the needs of the world's poor so much lately and this chapter was such an exciting encouragement to me.

Let me take a pause to say, however, that I do not have this materialism problem solved. HA! Hardly. But man, oh man has God been changing my heart in this area. I'm a work in progress, but what a work He has already begun!

So here's the deal: I have a lot of stuff. Even with my "little" 878-square-foot, two bedroom apartment, I have a lot more than the majority of the people in this world. I have a lot of stuff that I don't even need and even when I give a good chunk of it away, I still have excess. I don't worry about where my next meal is going to come from or where I'll find clothes to wear or a roof to sleep under. I am blessed... However. I must remember that God has blessed me not so that I can have more, but so that I can give more (Radical, page 127).

Recently, through God's impact in my heart, I have begun to look at my possessions in comparison to the lives the money spent could have saved. Wow does that shake some sense into me! Even when I gather up items to donate or sell, I have to shake my head at my foolishness. This stuff, when I sell it, is worth so much less than what I paid for it. It makes me realize how much money I waste on stuff I don't need or even like enough to keep for more than a few months or years before I end up selling it or giving it away. Had I not bought those things in the first place, that money could have made such a difference to someone in need - someone who will now only receive the small re-sale percentage of what that the item is now worth. 

Am I (or David Platt) saying that having possessions is wrong? Not exactly. Possessions themselves are not inherently evil -  but the heart (my heart) that seeks after those possessions is wicked beyond belief. Yet, a heart focused on giving rather than possessing is made from an entirely different matter. I love how Platt puts it on page 126:

“We don’t sell them [our possessions] or give them away because they are sinful… We sell them and give them away because Christ in us compels us to care for the need around us.”

There is so much need. More than we could even comprehend honestly. Example: “In the time we gather for worship on a Sunday morning, almost a thousand children elsewhere die because they have no food” (Radical, page 115). 

Numbers and statistics can be so overwhelming, but that is not an excuse to do nothing. There are needs that we do see and when we turn our backs on them in order to continue on in our comfortable, stuff-filled lives, how can we say that the love of God is in us? (1 John 3:17-19)

It is so simple (I won't say "easy", because life-style change is often difficult) to start making a difference and honestly, once you start - once you open your heart up to the needs and name and faces of the poor of this world -  it changes you and that change and that urgent sense of generously becomes a joyful, addiction of sorts. 

So, here are some other numbers and statistics for you to consider:

Fifteen cents can provide a child in Africa with a hot, nutritious meal (click here for more information). Sometimes, I don't even bother to pick up fifteen cents when I see it lying in the parking lot.

One dollar (the same one dollar I would spend on french fries) would provide one African clean, safe drinking water for one year (www.mochaclub.org).

Forty-dollars can buy a goat for a family living in poverty and provide them with sustainable income as well as fresh milk to nourish their own families. (click here for more information) I know that one step into Kohl's or Target and I am in serious danger of easily blowing forty dollars on excess stuff-that-I-don't-need.  

Last one (this just thrilled me when I found this out): David Platt mentions his church using their excess of $500,000 to partner with twenty-one impoverished churches in India to help feed starving children. Well guess what program that was? Compassion International's Child Survival Program (I have a thing for Compassion in case you didn't know). Which means that you and I and our churches can go here right now and start making the same kind of impact that Platt's church is having! Wow - so exciting!!

I could write gobs and tons and oodles more on this subject, but I'll leave you (and myself) with this powerful thought:

“I wonder at some points if I’m being irresponsible or unwise. But then I realize there is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks at me and says, ‘I wish you would have kept more for yourself.’” (Radical, page 123)

Compassion Sunday: Update

Thank you to anyone who prayed for these ten kiddos in need. We were able to find sponsors for Seylin, Omar, Kokou and Fancy this morning! Plus, two more families said they were going to head home and sponsor a child online. Praise the Lord!!!
 

Please say a prayer that sponsors will be found for Jose, Patricia, Abdul, Aaron, Nareerat and Irankunda. As sponsors where not found for them today, they will go back into the system to continue waiting for sponsorship. I look at the pictures of the remaining children and my heart churns with bittersweet feelings. I am overjoyed that I had the privilege to help find sponsors for four (hopefully six) children in need. Those four (six!) kids will be so impacted by the support they'll receive from their sponsors and the sponsors will be so incredibly blessed as they learn about their child and watch them grow. Your heart and your perspective changes when you begin to fall in love with a child living in such harsh circumstances. So I am filled with joy in that regard, but my heart is still aching as I look at the sweet faces of the six children who were not sponsored.

I did have a great time chatting with some other people in our church who sponsor children through Compassion International, or similar organizations. It was like a little mini-family reunion as we all shared and "bragged" about our sponsor children and encouraged each other to make the most of this privilege by sending letters, cards and pictures to our sponsor children more often. It was so exciting for me to share face-to-face with people why sponsorships like these are so important to me.

I have a long history with Compassion. When I was growing up, my parents sponsored a little boy from Haiti named Ethney who was just a few years older that me. I loved sending letters and pictures to him and we grew up together through the correspondence my family shared with him (I even had numerous dreams about being in Haiti and playing with him). My parents sponsored him all the way through high school. 

Then, when I was twenty-three, I went to Uganda, Africa and was able to witness firsthand the poverty these children are facing. The lack of food, water, clothing... The lack of opportunity or hope that things will ever get better. When I returned home, I began sponsoring Nazziwa, a sixteen-year-old girl from Uganda. Older children are always harder to find sponsors for, which is why I picked her. Plus, since she is older, I've been able to have some really meaningful conversations with her through the letters we've shared over the past four years. Then, two years ago, added a second Ugandan sponsor child, Barabra (who is now seven). The past four years of being a Compassion sponsor have been such an honor. I've gotten to know these sweet girls and hear about the things they are learning about Jesus. With Nazziwa especially, I am able to encourage her as she grows into a young woman of God. It is an incredible blessing and privilege.

The problems of this world and the enormity of poverty can seem overwhelming, but changing the world can begin with one child. It can be with me. It can begin with you. 

Help a Child

 

Compassion Sunday

This Sunday, October 17th I am hosting a Compassion Sunday at my church to find sponsors for some precious kids in need through Compassion International (if you read this post, then you know how passionate I am about this cause). 

When I opened my information package for the presentation and saw the faces of the children I'll be trying to find sponsors for, my eyes filled with tears and my heart just plain hurt. I had to remind myself that it is through GOD's work that sponsors can be found, not through me (thank goodness!).

So, can I ask you to do something for me? I have packets with ten pictures of ten beautiful children who all need sponsors. Sponsors that will help them to receive an education, food, clean water, medical care, as well as learn about Jesus and be loved on by some amazing Compassion workers at the child centers they will attend. I'm going list the names and ages of these child here. Would you please pick one and pray for them? Pray that someone in my church would be moved by God's compassion for these little ones and to become a sponsor.

Seylin is thirteen years old. She lives in Honduras.

Omar is four years old. He lives in Mexico.

Jose is eleven years old. He lives in Bolivia. 

Patricia is nine years old. She lives in Brazil. 

Abdul is four years old. He lives in Peru. 

Aaron is eight years old. He lives in the Philippines.

Nareerat is ten years old. She lives in Thailand.

Irankunda is six years old. He lives in Rwanda. 

Kokou is ten years old. He lives in Togo.

Fancy is eight years old. She lives in Uganda.

If you are reading this beyond October 17th, would you please pray that God will continue to tug at the hearts in my church and that they will choose to have the honor and blessing of sponoring a child in need?

Thank you so much friends!

Save Children

"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" - 1 John 3:17

Making Disciples: Simple but Difficult

*Part Five of the Radical Read-Along with Marla Taviano

After many weeks of frustrated tension during this online book club, chapter five of Radical finally starting to address the “okay, but now what?” questions brought about by Platt's critiques of American Christianity. This may be the first chapter in Radical that I can honestly say I really, really loved.

Platt looks at Jesus' final words to "go and make disciples" and writes that this command was truly meant for all of us to follow. Which is something that I think I've always known in the back my heart, but since I never saw a good model of that in the church, I just sorta pushed it to the side with a shrug and assumed "disciple-making" was for those in "real" leadership potions, not for little ol' me.

But even then, my experience with "discipleship" in the churches I've attended has been one of two things: There were the mega churches who were so focused on having programs and sermons that would bring in more and more people, but seemed to be filled with half-heart hearers of the Word and there was very little real growth (spiritually speaking). Then there were the small churches who focused so much on ministry within the walls of the church - ministries geared towards blessing the blessed - that they rarely stepped out to minister to people who weren't in the church. When dividing time and resources at these small churches, it seemed that serving the needs of church members always trumped the needs outside of our little community of believers.

At least from what I've experienced, we seem to have lost the "go" part of Jesus' command. We focus on bringing people to us or keeping ourselves away from the "bad" things of this world (including lost people), but very few of us actually go.

“According to Jesus, disciple making involves going… Disciple making is not a call for others to come to us to hear the gospel but a command for us to go to others to share the gospel. A command for us to be gospel-living, gospel-speaking people at every moment and in every context where we find ourselves.” (Radical, page 94)

I agree with Platt that this lack of going is largely due to a church culture that doesn't actively encourage everyone in the church to make disciples, but rather leaves it to just the "leaders of the church". If you're a talented speaker, you preach. If you're a wise teacher, you lead a Bible study. If you like kids, you run the children's program. But what about the rest of us?

“One of the unintended consequences of contemporary church strategies that revolve around performance, places, programs and professionals is that somewhere along the way people get left out of the picture.” (Radical, page 90)

Platt challenges readers that making disciples is simple and simply something we all should be doing. How? By loving on people, serving people, going to people and meeting them in their world, touching their needs and making deep, lasting relationships with them that can then grow into a discipleship where they are learning from us - their friend - how to become a disciple themselves. We don't tell them about Jesus and then leave. We don't invite them to church and then let the pastor do all the teaching, or tell them to sign up for a church class - we invite them into our lives and demonstrate for them what it looks like to follow Jesus on a day-to-day reality.

While the principle of discipleship is simple, the execution is difficult. It's difficult because this form of discipleship (which is modeled after Jesus' relationship with his twelve disciples) takes time and effort and means that we have to open up our lives to others. We don't do that a lot here in American. (Example: Have you ever noticed that no one makes eye contact with each other when passing on the street? When did that start and why are we so closed off as a society that even a simple "Good morning" to a passing stranger feels awkward?)

 “Making disciples is not an easy process. It is trying. It is messy. It is slow, tedious, even painful at times. It is all these things because it is relational. Jesus has not given us an effortless step-by-step formula for impacting nations for his glory. He has given us people and he has said, “Live for them. Love them, serve them, and lead them. Lead them to follow me, and lead them to lead others to follow me. In the process you will multiply the gospel to the ends of the earth.” (Radical, page 93)

I have never seen the command to make disciples executed as Platt describes, but oh how I want to! It sound so wonderful (hard, yes - but glorious). I'll be looking for opportunities and praying for ways to make this a reality in my own church culture. It is lacking currently, but a change can start with me.

I'll leave you with my very favorite except from this chapter. This is what I would love to see my our church culture look like:

“[When] the world is our focus, and we gauge success in the church not on the hundred of thousands we can get into our buildings but on the hundreds or thousands who are leaving our buildings to take on the world with the disciples they are making.” (Radical, page 105)

What does my heart REALLY ache for?

After publishing this post last night, I continued to ponder what it really means to have a heart for the world. I read a few of the other posts on Radical and came across one that really made me stop and think about my motives for reaching the hurting of this world - whether here in America, or overseas. Sandee over at We Are Family (who by the way is an adoptive single mama of four) wrote this statement:

"I want to have an ache for the lost souls. 
Not just an ache for tragic circumstances." 

Wow.

This is one area that I am realizing is inconsistent, if not incomplete, in my own life. I ache for the tragic circumstances around the world, and do what I can to raise awareness and to help those in need, but do I boldly (or even meekly) tell people about Jesus? Not really, no. I seem to care more that people are living in uncomfortable (and even very, very harsh) circumstances than care that, if they don't know Christ as their Savior, they will be separated from God for eternity. My perceptive, even a noble one that aches for the poor, is still skewed towards the things of this world.

Now, it is obvious throughout scripture that God has a heart for the poor and that those who love God are to care for the poor, the needy and the forgotten.

"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" - 1 John 3:17

Out of obedience to God and out of love for those He has created, we as Christians are to care for the least of these. But with our concern for a person's physical needs, must also come an even deeper concern for a person's spiritual needs. This is something I think I miss a lot of the time. Yes, I exclusively support ministries that address both the physical and spiritual needs of those they serve, but I am ashamed to say that the physical needs are what pull at my heart the most.

It is here that I must check my motives.

Do I do things out of obedience to God in order to bring Him glory so that others might believe in Him, or because I want to help someone in a difficult circumstances? The latter is not wrong, but if it is done without the focus being for God's glory and salvation, than it is only a temporary fix to an earthly problem. A fix that may not have any impact on the real need - person's spiritual well-being.  

Something to think about.

A Smoke-Screen Calling?

*Part Four of the Radical Read-Along with Marla Taviano

I'm going to stay honest here and confess that parts of Radical chapter four made me really angry and really offended me.

I was angry for a good chunk of this chapter because I felt like Platt was condemning people who felt called to stay in the United States and minister, rather than going overseas to minister. As someone who really does feel called to minster to the United States -- to challenge the Church here; to shake some sense into Christians here; and to show the culture here what Christianity should look like --  I was really offended by what I thought Platt saying.

Fortunately instead of doing what I felt like doing - which was to throw the book across the room (mature, I know) - I continued reading and got a much needed wake-up call of my own when I read the following:

“The statements [of "God has called me to minister to the United States] may sound spiritual, but when we probe deeper, they seem more like smoke screens... They are smoke screens because most of us really are not very concerned about the needs right around us. Most Christians rarely share the gospel, and most Christian’s schedules are not heavily weighted to feeding the hungry, helping the sick, and strengthening the church in the neediest places in our country.” (Radical, page 75-76)

Ouch. Well! There's a thought. A rather convicting one at that.

So now instead of throwing a book, I have a convicted confession to make: Even though I've felt and said out loud and been convinced of my calling to minister here in the United States - I have done very little to act on those convictions. I've done some things, even many things by some standards, but have I made it my calling? Not really. Have I made it what my life is all about? No. Even after my Time Out two weeks ago very little has changed in my life in regards to reaching out to those around me.  

Do I still think its my calling? Yep. Do I think I'm just too chicken to embrace it and act upon it fully? Yep. Is that gonna stop me from getting serious about letting God use me here in the United States? I hope not. Because Platt makes the beautiful point that mankind was created for two expressly intertwined purposes (purposes that I don't want to miss out on): To experience God's grace and to extend His glory to the world. We can not (and should not) have one without the other.

“We live in a church culture that has a dangerous tendency to disconnect the grace of God from the glory of God. Our hearts resonate with the idea of enjoying God’s grace. We bask in sermons, conference, and books that exalt a grace centering on us. And while the wonder of grace is worthy of our attention, if that grace is disconnected from its purpose [glorifying God], the sad result is a self-centered Christianity that bypasses the heart of God.” (Radical, page 69)

To paraphrase the rest of Platt's point here, when the message of Christianity is “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” – the central focus of Christianity is YOU. The biblical message of Christianity however is, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life that will bring Him glory in ways that only He could orchestrate.” This make the focus of Christianity God and His glory, not us.

With that said, let me return the to idea of being called to minister in a particular area - whether here or oversees. This is where Platt started speaking my language. He challenges Christians that our mission should not be focused only on where we feel "called" to minister, but also to the world as a whole. Our heart should be for the whole world because God's heart is for the whole world. 

“In light of all that we have seen in scripture, certainly God has given us his grace to extend his glory not just to areas of need here but to areas of need around the world. Not either here or there but both her and there… We have created the idea that if you have a heart for the world and you are passionate about global mission, then you move overseas. But if you have a heart for the United States and you are not passionate about global mission, then you stay here and support those who go. Meanwhile, flying right in the face of this idea is scripture’s claim that regardless of where we live – here or overseas – our hearts should be consumed with making the glory of God known to all nations...There is a God-designed way for us to live our lives here, and do church here, for the sake of people around the world who don’t know Christ.” (Radical, page 77)

This is where Platt and I were on the same page and where I think I finally started to understand the message of this chapter. Because yes, I have a heart for America, but I have a heart that aches for the hungry in Africa and for the orphans in the Ukraine and for so many others around the world that need the love of Christ in their lives. 

I am compelled to minister to those who claim Christ here in America partly because I think there are a lot of church-goers who have been mislead into believing they are saved and I want them to truly find God. But perhaps even more so, my heart is to minister to American SO THAT American can minister to the world. I want to challenge Christians to truly start living like Christ SO THAT fewer babies lie alone in orphanages and fewer people die from drinking unclean water. This is why my heart beats for America -- because I can envision the difference we in America could make if we let God use us for His purpose and His glory!

::Deep Breath::

So do I think that I use the words "I'm called to minister to America" as a smoke-screen excuse to stay safe and comfortable sometimes? Yes I do and my actions at times attest to that. I also know that God has given me a passion that reaches far beyond my little apartment in Phoenix, Arizona but that currently Phoenix, Arizona is where He has placed me and I want to make the most of where I am - for the sake of the community around me and for the sake of those around the world. I'm guilty of ignoring that passion far too often, but this chapter has really served to put things into perspective.

I was created to experience God's grace in order that my life might show His glory throughout the world. Now, what am I going to do about it? 

"Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me."
- Psalm 31:3

Whose Got the Power?

*Part Three of the Radical Read-Along with Marla Taviano

"My grace is sufficient for you,  

for my power is made perfect in weakness." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

 

I have sat myself down to write this post about five times and each time I come up lost for words. I ended chapter three in Radical with the same sort of dazed "okay, but now what?" feeling that I've had at the end of each chapter so far. This chapter, perhaps more than any other, has left me the most baffled.

Perhaps it is because this chapter uproots one of the most deeply-set beliefs of my country:  With enough work, confidence and know-how, you can achieve anything. It’s the American Dream after all. 

Now, I don't claim that the American Dream is not without its practical faults - especially when the economy is less-than-ripe-for-opportunity; especially when reaching a dream sometimes means pridefully and selfishly stomping on someone else’s; and especially when that inconvenient truth of “reality” doesn’t line up with our American Dream fantasies. I can also see the danger in such a self-focused, self-dependent drive to better oneself by our own power. It does seem that this "dream it, achieve it" way of thinking harvests pride and removes our dependence on God while also bestowing the glory of our achievements on ourselves.  

But what bothered me (for better or worse, I’m not sure) about this chapter is that Platt seems to suggest that because the lives of American Christians aren’t marked by desperation for God, perhaps we are relying on our own power rather than God’s. If this is true, it presents two huge conflicts between the American Dream and the Gospel:

“While the goal of the American dream is to make much of us, the goal of the gospel is to make much of God.” (Radical, page 47)

“As along as we achieve our desires in our own power, we will always attribute it to our own glory.” (Radical, page 46)

Both of these statements made me say, “Wow - How true!” However, I was still left wondering what this means practically speaking. (This seems to be my biggest struggle with this book.) 

How do I make the most of the skills, opportunities and resources that (I’ve always assumed) God has blessed me with, without giving into what Platt describes as “the dangerous assumption” of the American Dream – the belief that our greatest asset is our own ability? I do not believe I am my greatest asset. I believe that it is through God’s work in my life that I can achieve anything of lasting value, but now I wonder if my life shows differently.

The fact is that my life here in America is not marked by the dependence on God’s power that I read about in Acts or the desperation for His provision that I hear about in the modern, persecuted Church or from believers in more destitute countries. I acknowledge that living in America makes me less desperate for God's provision/power, but is this a blessing or a curse? Is my lack of desperation a lack of faith or have I just been placed in a land were I am not in as desperate circumstances as most? Is it only lip service to for me to say, “God has blessed me with this ability and that resource,” when in reality, maybe I am relying more on these things than on God’s power? How can I tell the difference? How do I depend desperately on God, while not neglecting hard work or wisdom and while making the most out of the talents that He seems to have given me?

I feel like this chapter has produced more open-ended questions than any of the others and I’m trying not to be frustrated by that fact. Frustration is continually causing ineffectiveness in my life and I am trying to focus on what I can do and understand, rather than be incapacitated by what I can’t do or understand. I don’t really know what conclusions, if any, I have come to after reading this chapter. I can say though, that it will cause me to take a second look at my motives when I achieve things and will make me, once again, ask God to search my heart and show me where I can rely more on His power rather than my own. 

"Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting."

- Psalm 139:23-24