The Numbers DO Lie

As a St. Louis Cardinals fan, I followed the Albert Pujols saga this past off-season with a surprising (for me) disinterest.  Sign him and see him finish out a Hall of Fame career with the Birds on Bat.  Let him go and see my favorite team have flexibility to sign more good players to put together a better club.  Either was okay with me.

What I didn’t pay much attention to were the numbers.  The 10-year, $240 million contract (plus perks) he signed with the Angels was reportedly about $40 million more than the Cardinals offered.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t know how to compare those numbers.  I wouldn’t know the difference between making $24 million a year and $20 million a year.  Heck, I don’t think I could spend the difference in the two contracts over 10 years.

Orphan care numbers tend to work like that.  The conservative numbers say that there are between 132 million and 170 million orphans worldwide.  Those numbers are as incomprehensible to me as Albert Pujols’ contract numbers.  I can’t imagine 4theVoiceless or any other orphan care ministry impacting even a fraction of 38 million orphans, the difference between the two estimates.

But here’s the thing: those numbers lie.  The numbers don’t include countries (mostly Islamic nations) who don’t report orphan statistics.  They don’t include kids living in the streets.  They don’t include victims of child trafficking or child slaves or child soldiers.  The numbers lie.

I preached about God’s commands for caring for the voiceless this past Sunday at Wesleyanna UMC in Star, Mississippi.  I told about what God is doing for orphans through the ministry of our church locally and internationally.  I shared one story of two of our teams who recently built a playground for students at a school for the deaf in Jamaica and the fact that, while those students may not be included in the world’s orphan statistics, they were away from their parents much more than they were with them.  This sparked a response from my brother, who works at a facility that provides services to developmentally delayed or challenged children.  Just like those students at the deaf school in Jamaica, these kids are away from their parents for the better part of the year.  The worldwide orphan statistics don’t include those kids, either.  

The numbers lie.  The worldwide orphan crisis is even bigger than the numbers suggest.

A problem can reach a tipping point where we simply do nothing in response to the need.  As God’s people seeking to follow His revealed will to us, giving up and giving in is simply not a positive option.  When we do not attempt to do anything, well...nothing gets done.  (Feel free to Tweet that pearl of philosophical awesomeness…)  However, when we as Christ-followers begin to move toward something that God has already called us to do (like caring for orphans), it is pretty amazing how He opens doors to ministry that we didn’t even know existed.

As one individual, one family, one church at a time begins to move toward caring for the world’s orphans (including those who aren’t a part of the official numbers), things will change.  Maybe not noticeably at first, but they will change.  What’s your part?

Thanks for reading,
Al

Technorati Tags: St. Louis Cardinals,Albert Pujols,orphan,orphan care,Mississippi,Wesleyanna

Friday Little Bits: 4theVoiceless Quick Hits

Happy Friday, everyone.  Just a few quick hits to update you on the ministry of 4theVoiceless:

• I look forward to the opportunity to speak at Wesleyanna UMC in Star, Mississippi, this Sunday about God’s command to His people to care for orphans.  This is the church I grew up in, where both of my sisters were married, where my parents still attend, and where I still hold many fond memories.
• We have now sold over 110 paracord bracelets, including quite a few of the conversation-starting “They Are Precious” series (red & yellow, black & white).  Sold one earlier this week in the colors of the South Korean flag to a man whose family is in the process of adopting a little girl from that country.  Sales of these bracelets provide very important funds here in the infancy of 4theVoiceless’s ministry, but, even more importantly, they raise awareness of the need to minister to orphans.
• Two of our families continue to fill out paperwork and wait, one for adoption and the other for foster care.  Though you may not know them by name, pray for them.  Waiting is hard.
• Several men and our sons are preparing for our first domestic mission trip August 24-26, when we will visit one of the Mississippi Baptist Children’s Village homes to invest in the kids there and have a blast in the process.  For some, it will be their first mission trip of any kind.  For all of us, it will be the first mission trip with the express purpose of caring for children who have in some way been separated from their birth parents.  We look forward to assisting the children’s caregivers live out the mission of the Baptist Children’s Village:  “To help children and their families fully understand and experience the healing ministry of Christ by meeting their daily needs and inspiring them to become Christian adults who are happy, healthy and mature.”
• An update on last Friday’s blog post about the 4theVoiceless cookbook: Guidelines, format instructions, and blank forms are now available (see below); we would love to include your favorite recipe!  You do not have to be a CHC church member to submit a recipe.
• Cookbook information
• Format for recipes/sample recipes
• Recipe submission form

Thanks for reading.
Al

That Moment When the Word Changes You

I probably own 20 Bibles of all types.  Leather-bound, paperback, hardback.  At least seven or eight different versions, not counting all the versions available to me through YouVersion, Bible Gateway, and Blue Letter Bible (some of my favorite places to study the Bible electronically).  .  Preaching Bibles, study Bibles, chronological Bible, New Testaments (plus Psalms and Proverbs).  I received some as gifts, some for reaching some kind of milestone, some as publishers’ promotions, and my Granny’s Bibles as an inheritance.  I have even intentionally bought a few. 

And none of them have the power to change my life.

That is, not in and of themselves.  I have to engage the Word and its Author to benefit from any of them.  But though understanding God’s Word does come with great benefits for my life, Scripture doesn’t exist for my benefit but for God’s.  For His worship, for He is worthy of it.  For His Kingdom, for it is His reflection of Himself.  For His work, for believers are the body of Christ, active in this sin-ravaged world in need of redemption.

Many days, I study my Bible and don’t find an earth-shattering new truth.  Many days, I wonder why parts of the Word are included – they seem so random.  Many days, I am adding to my knowledge of who God is but not really getting any specific revelation from Him.

But then, sometimes I have THAT moment.  That moment when a familiar passage goes all Transformer on me and I get it.  That moment when I wonder how I could have missed this after a lifetime of reading and studying the Bible.  That moment when it all becomes crystal-clear.  Hopefully, you have experience THAT moment while studying your Bible.

I have seen Romans 8:1 transform people when God seems to say to them, “What you’ve heard about me, it’s really true.  When you’ve trusted my Son with your life, I really don’t condemn you.”  They get it, and it changes them.

I have found that James 1:27 can also have that effect on people.  Maybe because 21st century Christians tend to spend much more time in the New Testament (where this is the only clear command to care for orphans) and not so much time in the Old Testament (where the command is not only clear but repeated throughout Israel’s history).  Maybe be cause it surprises us since we haven’t heard it preached regularly in our churches.  Maybe because we’ve just read James 1:22 (“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says.”) a few verses before, and we’re on high alert to DO something.  Whatever the reason, James 1:27 is often transformative.  I recently talked to a man in our church who told me that this verse stunned him.  He had read it many times before, but this time he considered what he was actually doing to minister to orphans, and he came up with…nothing.  He prayed for opportunity and didn’t have to wait long before the Lord moved him toward a major investment in an orphanage in another country.  One day, I hope to bring you his family’s story in all its fullness here on this blog.

What verses have transformed your life as the Word became clear to you?  Maybe, even probably, your transformative verses are not directly related to orphan care, but it’s always interesting to me how God can change a life today with words written thousands of years ago that still come alive today.  Engage in the conversation.

Thanks for reading.
Al

Technorati Tags: Bible,Word,Romans 8:1,James 1:27,orphan care

Friday Little Bits: Cooking Up Some Great Adoption Stories

4theVoiceless is in the initial stages of compiling a cookbook that will be available sometime around Orphan Sunday, November 4.  The cookbook will contain much of the usual fare with some notable variety that we’ll save for another post.  One unique feature that the book will contain is eight stories of adoption from different perspectives.  You will see the adoption process from some of these points of view:

• A family going through the process of adopting their first child and waiting, waiting, waiting…
• A family integrating an adopted child into a family with multiple biological children.
• An adult searching for and finding his biological family, who never knew he existed.
• A family integrating an older adopted child into their family.
• A family full of boys welcoming a baby sister.
• Several other perspectives on adoption.

All of the profits from sales of the cookbook will go directly into our adoption fund to assist families at CHC offset the costs of adoption.  Within the next couple of weeks, we will provide an opportunity to submit recipes for the cookbook on our Facebook page.

Happy Friday!  Thanks for reading.
Al

Our Missions Pastor Is an Enzyme (Now I Am, Too)

I want to say here in this public forum that I have been jealous over the years of our missions pastor at CHC, Jim May.  Particularly in one aspect of his ministry.  I have watched Jim many times over the years receive money from a church member to anonymously pass on to another church member for a mission trip or to meet a need.  I’ve often thought, what joy there must be in that.  Think about it: he gets to experience the joy of the giver and the joy (and often, astonishment) of the recipient of the gift.  He’s an enzyme in the body of Christ, the church.

A Definition

A quick biology lesson from Wikipedia: 

Enzymes (ˈɛnzaɪmz/) are biological molecules that catalyze (i.e., increase the rates of) chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates sufficient for life. Since enzymes are selective for their substrates and speed up only a few reactions from among many possibilities, the set of enzymes made in a cell determines which metabolic pathways occur in that cell.

Enzymes, then, serve as catalysts.  They don’t create; they cause or speed up a specific reaction.

Enzymes in the Body of Christ

Enzymes are extremely important in the body of Christ.  Enzymes in the church cause the speed of ministry to accelerate.

Since we began the 4theVoiceless ministry, our team has had the privilege of acting as a catalyst for movement toward God’s command to care for orphans.  One of our team members suggested sending the young adults who went to Russia earlier this year to minister to orphans to our small groups to lead worship and tell their stories.  Our groups served as catalysts to help them go.  Young adults tend to have more flexibility than, say, families with young children.  Young adults also tend to be broke.  The enzymes of the body of Christ (in this case, our small groups) sped up the process of the body (in this case, these six young adults) being able to reach the need (in this case, orphans in Russia and the college students there who regularly visit with them).

During last Wednesday night’s message, I was able to pass along a sizable check to help a family in their adoption process.  I was able to pass along a Wal-Mart gift card from one of our church members to a couple who are serving as the “go-to” couple for a family waiting for their first foster child.  We have sold bracelets and paper bead jewelry that will be a catalyst for ministry that we are able to do.  All these things may have happened anyway; catalysts have certainly sped up the process.

There is one important difference between enzymes in the body and enzymes in the body of Christ.  Enzymes in the body of Christ may be anonymous, but they are not left unchanged. Helping others – whether givers or recipients – live out the commands of Christ can’t help but change us.

I can tell you from years of talking with Jim May and now from my own experience that there are few things more rewarding that getting to act as a catalyst for ministry and, ultimately, the gospel.  Keep in mind, though, that for catalysts to work in the body of Christ, there have to be those who are willing to go and those who are willing to send them.  Back to Wikipedia for this:

“Enzyme activity can be affected by other molecules. Inhibitors are molecules that decrease enzyme activity; activators are molecules that increase activity.”

When it comes to ministering to orphans, are you an inhibitor or an activator?  We who get to serve as catalysts in the body are always ready and willing to accelerate ministry in the church.  Give us the opportunity.

Thanks for reading.  Feel free to continue the discussion.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Technorati Tags: enzyme,catalyst,CHC,4theVoiceless,orphan,adoption,foster care,body of Christ,church,missions

4 Reflections of God’s Care for Orphans

God never called the ancient Egyptians or Romans to care for orphans (and this was certainly not their legacy).  Non-believers today do not have any responsibility to God to care for orphans.  Caring for the fatherless has always been a unique characteristic of the Father and those who are called His people. 
God has revealed Himself in different ways throughout the ages in regard to His care for the fatherless.  Let’s look briefly at four ways that God’s care for orphans is reflected throughout Scripture:

1.  Creation –  Genesis 1.26-27 (HCSB): Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”  So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. Orphan care begins with the sanctity of all life.  To God, all life is valuable.  Many pro-lifers resent the descriptor “anti-abortion,” but pro-life must be more than what we oppose and must include all human life, in the womb and beyond.  Because human life is valuable to our Creator, to their Creator.  God’s original design was for children to grow up in families with two parents.  That original design was messed up by the Fall.  Every story of adoption or foster care involves some sort of tragedy, some consequence of the Fall.
2.  Israel – God’s people, chosen to reflect His holiness to the rest of the world.  They were commanded to care for orphans and make sure they received justice.  Israel was soundly rebuked for failing to care for those, people, including orphans, who had little or no rights in that culture.  Deuteronomy 24.17-18:  Do not deny justice to a foreigner or fatherless child, and do not take a widow’s garment as security.  Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.  Isaiah 1.16-17: Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.
3.  Jesus – Jesus went to all the disenfranchised of the world, including children, though even His closest disciples saw them as a hindrance to His work.  One of Jesus’ greatest promises came in John 14.18:  “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.”
4.  The church – Interestingly enough, there is little mention of orphan care in the New Testament.  However, James, in defining what “pure and undefiled religion” looks like, writes this in James 1.27: Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.  Sounds remarkably like God’s commands to Israel.
Elevation Worhsip’s song “The Church” contains some strong words to followers of Jesus.  Reflect on these as you reflect on God’s revelation of Himself as the Father to the fatherless:

     Now’s the time
     For us to rise
     And carry hope
     To hopeless eyes
     And show this world
     That mercy is alive.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to continue the conversation.
Al

Technorati Tags: Deuteronomy

Technorati Tags: orphan,orphans,Old Testament,New Testament,Jesus,church,Genesis,Isaiah,John,James,Elevation Worship

Entitled to a Family Vacation?

According to my younger son, we are entitled to a family vacation every summer (even if it consists of my sister’s family coming to town and staying at a hotel that has a pool, as it very well may this summer; he has checked off on the validity of that counting as a family vacation).  As God has opened my eyes to the plight of the world’s orphans over the last year-and-a-half, my filters have changed.  I have begun to see normal family activities through their eyes.  For example, does an orphan in sub-Saharan Africa even know what a vacation is?  How far outside his or her reality would a vacation be?

I spent some time with both of my boys one night a few months ago talking about the things we take for granted that orphans do not.  We came up with all sorts of things:  our own beds and bedrooms and bathrooms, goodnight kisses and prayers at bedtime, choices of what’s for dinner (or any other meal), family pets, toys galore, collections, closets full of clothes, and – maybe most importantly – a mom and dad.

Since that conversation, the “does an orphan even understand what that is” filter has been on high alert in my life.  If my daughter needs to go somewhere, she can drive one of our three vehicles there; do most orphans her age have that ability and access?  My sons and I have spent countless hours shooting basketball in our driveway; how many orphans have access to that?  Two of my kids get back today from church camp: how many orphans get to go?

I don’t provide all these things for my kids because they’re entitled to them; I provide because I love them and want them to enjoy life with our family.  So the sidewalk chalk that the orphans in Haiti were so enamored with wasn’t the thing; it was the love and care of the team that took it and gave it to them.  The new basketball court, soccer goals, and playground equipment that our team recently installed at the deaf school in Jamaica weren’t the thing; it was the international language of kindness that reflected the kindness of the Father.  The stuffed animals and songs in Russia weren’t the thing; it was the connection with people outside the walls of the orphanage that said that there were those outside that wall who hadn’t forgotten them.

I wonder, will you ponder the things you take for granted and consider what that might look like for an orphan somewhere in the world.  I would love to hear what your filters catch.  Use the Comments section below to continue the conversation.

Thanks for reading,
Al

Technorati Tags: vacation,orphan,Africa,Haiti,Russia,Jamaica,kids,entitled,family