Friday Little Bits: Not There Yet, But Closer

My friend Jacob and I leave for Haiti in three days.  We will be meeting a team from Illinois in Miami on Sunday before flying to Haiti on Monday morning.  I have been telling people we leave for Haiti in (as of this morning) three days when I won't actually be in Haiti for (now) four days.  Leaving here doesn't equal being there.

As I prepared to write the blog this morning, the thought occurred to me that 4theVoiceless's current ministry projects resemble our day on Sunday when we will have left Memphis but not yet arrived in Haiti.  Progress but not ultimate destination. 

• Hope for Haiti has made some nice progress, but we are at 27% of our ultimate $35,000 goal to build a new House of Abraham.

• We have collected over 80 recipes and some of the adoption stories for our adoption cookbook, but we haven't yet reached completion.

•  One of our CHC small groups has taken on the task of providing dignity bags and some basic toiletries for social workers to be able to gather children's belongings in when they are taken into foster care.  We haven't given these things to DHS yet, but we're getting there.

• We are just getting started with our Kards 4 Kids Christmas project, but our church will have an opportunity to jump on board on Sunday, November 4 (Orphan Sunday!).  By Christmas we hope to have 700 hand-made cards in the hands of orphans and those who care for them in Mexico, South Korea, Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil, and Jamaica.

• We have several families in the process of adoption or fostering.  Not there yet but moving forward.

Waiting is often very difficult, but it is part of the process of almost every aspect of orphan care ministry.  Waiting is easier when there is movement.  Not always movement to the final destination but toward it.

Thanks for reading.  Please pray for our team as we are in Haiti from Oct. 29-Nov. 5.  I will update on our Facebook page as I have access.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Change It Now: Changing the World through Quarters and Dollars

When one of our small groups campus directors and I were laying out track for our church's small group ministry in 2012, one of the key components that we included in our groups was an element called "Change It Now."  Very simply, each small group -- as part of their worship each week -- takes an offering. We have suggested that each person bring a quarter to a dollar each week. At any point the group can choose to use the group's money toward some cause that will serve a redemptive purpose.

Chances are, not many of our people have missed that pocket change. (Get the double meaning of "change"?). The idea is that we will make a difference for the kingdom of God when we begin to move toward what He is doing on the earth.  Change It Now is simply a vehicle that gets us moving.

There are several goals that we hoped to accomplish through Change It Now.
1. To experience "the power of everybody."  We accomplish more working together than separately.
2. To intentionally look for gospel-centered causes in which to invest and move toward them with our time, prayers, awareness, talents, and resources. 
3. To worship through giving.
4. To go beyond just quarters and dollars in our giving.
5. To create opportunities to share what our groups are moving toward with others, not for our recognition but for how that movement reflects Christ.

One of my small group members and I leave next Monday for Jacmel, Haiti.  Our group is sending us with 15 towels and some black shoes for the children at the House of Abraham orphanage there. I wanted to reflect on how a few towels and a few pair of black shoes originating from Hernando, Mississippi, will change the world:
1.  Jacob and I will be the ones getting on a plane, but our whole small group is going with us in some way.  They have invested their time and their prayers and their money into our trip.  In a sense, we're all going.
2.  The children that we are visiting are hearing the gospel on a regular basis, and we want them to become children of the King and our brothers and sisters with whom we will one day share eternity.  They are not a project; they are people.
3.  Our group has collected $85 since our last investment in a mission team that went to Russia to minister to college students and orphans earlier this year.  Quarters and dollars that have not been missed.  Quarters and dollars that will provide a necessity for daily living (the towels) and a necessity for attending school (the shoes).
4.  Our money only paid for the towels.  The shoes were one family's "above and beyond."
5.  We have already had several opportunities to share why we are going to Haiti and why our group is sending towels and shoes.  I'm sure there will be more opportunities as we travel.  And we will be able to look orphaned children and those who care for them in the eyes and not just show the love of Christ in a practical way but to share the Good News with them.  After we return, we will continue to share our story.  And we will continue to talk about how showing God's love for orphans reflects His love and sacrifice for us.

To our small group, I want to say what a privilege it is to walk through life together with you.  We have shared deep sorrows and breathtaking joys together.  I have been blessed to be allowed into the deepest parts of your lives, to see you move more and more toward God's heart, and to see you become more and more like Jesus. As we have studied God's Word together, I have seen it move you to action in so many ways.  I wish you were all physically going with Jacob and me...

To our other CHC small groups, I rejoice to know that what is happening through our group's Change It Now is also happening many times over in our other groups.  The world is changing because of you. 

To our other readers, please join our small group and pray for us while we are in Haiti from this Monday through the following Monday.

Thanks for reading.  

4theVoiceless,
Al

Friday Little Bits: A Garbage Bag? That's Not Right!

I have handed out many copies of Tony Merida and Rick Morton's excellent book, Orphanology.   The book is a great overview of orphan care -- why we should get involved in it and how we can get involved in it.  I have now been a part of two groups who have gone through a study of the book, and Rick has personally spoken to a group of those at our church who were interested in getting involved in some aspect of orphan care.

Righteously Indignant

Of all the great examples in the book, there is one that seems to make people righteously indignant every time.  The authors tell of social workers going into homes to pick up children to remove them from dangerous situations.  When they arrive, they often hurriedly pack the children's belongings . . . in a garbage bag. 

Reading or hearing about this usually provokes a reaction somewhere between frustration and infuriation.  Not at the social worker.  Not even at the parents.  At the garbage bag.  For a child who has already been through the pain of abuse or neglect, is it too much to ask that their belongings be packed into a decent piece of luggage?  Aaarrrrggggghhh!!!

Could Do, Should Do

With all the staggering statistics about at-risk and orphaned children around the world, it is easy to be so overwhelmed that we do nothing.  But providing "dignity bags" seems to be something that people say, "We should do something about that.  We could do that."

And we should.  Psalm 139:16-17 (HCSB) says, "Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all [my] days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.  God, how difficult Your thoughts are for me [to comprehend]; how vast their sum is!"  A garbage bag doesn't reflect God's heart toward these children -- quite the opposite, in fact.  They have an enemy who will tell them for the rest of their lives that they are worthless.  Believers in Jesus Christ, we should reflect our Redeemer from the moment these children are taken from these horrible situations.  Beginning with a "dignity duffel" and continuing from there.

The Call

Through one of the foster parents in our church, we were able to make contact with our local Department of Human Services and let them know our desire to partner with them in providing these dignity bags along with some basic essentials (toiletries, diapers, etc.).  This week, I received a call from a social worker from DHS.  After a few words of introduction, she started off with these chilling words: "It's true."  They really do pack children's belongings in a garbage bag.

And we really can do something about that.  Check back here in the weeks to come to find out how.

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Defining Moments: A Highlight Reel

Have you ever had a moment that captured you, a defining moment?  We hear that a lot in the sports world.  As a St. Louis Cardinals fan who has followed most every game for over 20 years, there are certain moments that define my “fan-ship.”  Among so many others that stand out, there was McGwire and Sosa in 1998.  There was the month in 2003 when no one could get Bo Hart out.  There was So Taguchi’s game-tying homer against the Cubs in 2004 that forever earned him a not-so-repeatable middle name from Cubs fans.  There was the unimaginable World Series title of 2006, defined in my mind by Adam Wainrwight’s devastating curveball in Game 7 of the NLCS that froze Carlos Beltran for strike three to send them there.

And then there was last year – WOW! Tony LaRussa, the longtime manager who retired after last year, always pushed his teams to “play a hard nine.”  Nothing captured this never-say-die attitude quite like David Freese’s performance in Game 6 of the World Series last year.  After allowing a pop-up to doink off his head earlier in the game, Freese stood at the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning as the potential last out of the game and was down to his last strike before launching a two-run triple to tie the game and then ending the game with a walk-off homer two innings later.

There are already moments from this year that, as a Cardinals' fan, I will always remember.  Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma's heroics last Friday night, for starters...

A Personal Orphan Care Highlight Reel

I have found that as I have engaged in orphan care ministry, there have been many defining moments.  A video here, a song there, numerous Scriptures, and numerous stories have served to convey God’s heart for the orphan to me and to others.  I began this blog with My Taco Bell Moment, which served as my call to pursue orphan care as a ministry at Colonial Hills Church, where I serve as a small groups pastor.  There have been many other moments that have strengthened that call.  Welcome to a glimpse of my highlight reel:

• Eighty babies in a room in an Eastern European orphanage and no crying because no one ever came when they cried.  How is that a highlight, you ask?  Because it propels people to action.
• Calling the Pillstroms from my room in Poland as they were in China to get Lynleigh a little over a year ago.  Seeing and holding her for the first time a week later.
• Passion 2012 and their focus on significantly decreasing human trafficking in this world.  I wasn’t there, but my friend Josiah was, and he personalized everything I was hearing about what God was doing in his generation.  Songs that came from the same conference:
• Kristian Stanfill’s “Who You Are”

You hear the cry of every broken heart
You give the hopeless soul a brand new start
You lead the captive in Your freedom song
This is who you are
And in the night when all our hope is lost
You are the one who won’t give up on us
You hold the orphan in your loving arms
This is who you are

• Christy Nockel’s “Sing Along” (Click here for the story behind the song and the original first line)

From babies hidden in the shadows
To the cities shining bright
There are captives weeping
Far from sight
For every doorway there's a story
And some are holding back the cries
But there is One who hears in the night

• Seeing Eric Ludy’s “Depraved Indifference” video for the first time.  Tears every time since.  I can’t wait for our church to see it on Orphan Sunday in less than three weeks.

•  The captivating lyrics of Needtobreathe’s “Slumber,” a song made popular in our church by young adults preparing to serve orphans in Russia:

All these victims
Stand in line for
The crumbs that fall from the table
Just enough to get by
All the while
Your invitation
Wake on up from your slumber
Come on open up your eyes

• Stories of kids taken into foster care with their belongings stuffed into a garbage bag.  The look of people’s faces when they hear that, the look of “THAT”S NOT RIGHT!”

•  More than any of these, God’s Word from Genesis to Exodus to Deuteronomy to Job to Psalms to Isaiah to Ezekiel to Hosea to Zechariah to Galatians to Ephesians to James (and that’s just off the top of my head) that makes it clear that our care for the voiceless is a direct reflection of God’s care for broken, sinful man.  Orphan care is a picture of redemption.  It is the Gospel.  The Gospel defines who I am.  It should define what I do.

Have you had a moment or moments that have propelled you from comfort into the most uncomfortable world of standing up for the defenseless, the voiceless?  What did it for you?

Thanks for reading.  Join the conversation.

4theVoiceless,
Al

The Black Welcome Mat and My Inheritance

 

The Running Inheritance Joke

My dad and I have a running joke about my future inheritance.  Every time he tells me about a new upcoming trip that he and my mom are planning, he always says the same thing: “We’re just spending some more of your inheritance.”  I always respond the same way: “Spend it all.  It's not mine to spend.  I didn’t earn it.” 

Lessons Learned from the Welcome Mat

I have seen families rip themselves apart over money and things they won't get to keep long anyway.  You know what I have that belonged to my grandparents?  A black rubber "Welcome" mat.  (Well, and a few bells that belonged to my grandmother, but somehow those never made it home; I still hold out hope that they will turn up one day.)  The welcome mat has no value except this: it reminds me of daily conversations with my grandparents on their front porch.

My dad's parents lived two houses away, and my sisters and brother and I would walk to their house to visit every day.  The porch was concrete and would sweat under the welcome mat, so I would flip it over upon my arrival each day and flip it back when it was time to go home.  Perhaps a little OCD, but it became a ritual that I still remember.  The mat is outside between my garage doors now, and I still flip it from time to time, giving thanks each time to pleasant memories that are a much greater inheritance than any worldly possessions they could have left me.

No matter what my parents do or do not leave me as an inheritance, they have blessed me beyond measure.  Not just in financial assistance, great vacations, and such.  With relationships.  With passed-on wisdom and experiences.  With love.  Especially when I have been hard to love.

A Greater Inheritance

One day, though, I do expect a great inheritance. Jesus promised as much:

^" In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come back and receive you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also."  John 14:2-3 (HCSB)

Now, you can read in Revelation about the beautiful picture of what Heaven will look like (at least a hint), and you can read 1 Corinthians 2:9 where Paul writes that eye has not seen and ear has not heard and man can't even imagine what God has in store for those who live Him; but I see the greatest part of my inheritance in this passage in John: "...where I am you may be also." 

Forever in the presence of the One who redeemed me, justified me, and paved the way for my adoption into God's family -- that's PRICELESS!  And FOREVER, beyond the greatest "forever family" that a waiting child could imagine.  Believer, walk as an fully vested member of God's family today, adopted into all that He has, namely Himself!

Thanks for reading,
Al

P.S.:  Shoutout to my son Garrett, who has blessed our family since his early arrival 16 years ago today!

Do You Have a Personal Mission Statement?

I have carried around a personal vision statement in my wallet for probably close to 15 years now.  It began as a small group exercise, and I remember seeing some group members’ statements – about a page long each and very impressive.  I felt that mine was a bit inadequate by comparison like the school kid who completed the minimum requirements of the assignment only to find that the rest of the class had gone above and beyond.  However, in this case, I wonder how many of those folks ever really centered their lives around those elaborate statements.  My personal mission statement, based on my “life verse,” John 10:10,  reads simply: “To live and model the abundant life available in Christ Jesus.”  Successes and failures, victories and struggles, easy times and hard times – they are all run through this filter.  I can evaluate every part of my life by how it stacks up to this statement.

I was blessed with a copy of the book Raising a Modern-Day Knight (by Robert Lewis) when my son Garrett was a baby.  Using the principles from the book, I had a manhood ceremony for him when he turned 13 and included godly men who had influence in his life.  Each one spoke to him from the following principles, which have become guiding statements (even if Dad-imposed) in his life:

• A real man rejects passivity.
• A real man leads courageously.
• A real man accepts responsibility.
• A real man expects the greater reward, God’s reward.

These statements have given me a foundation from which to teach him life principles.  These principles are springboards for both praise and correction in his life.  (And they seem to work much better than a generic “Do the right thing” or something like that.)

Jesus had a mission statement. Luke records it in chapter 4.  After Jesus has begun his ministry in Galilee, he returned to his hometown of Nazareth.  Let’s pick up in Luke’s narrative in verse 16 (HCSB):

He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  As usual, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.  The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him, and unrolling the scroll, He found the place* where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down.  And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”  Luke 4:16-21 (HCSB)
*Isaiah 61:1-2

Jesus specifically said that he came for the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.  Now, there are obviously some spiritual connotations to those for whom Jesus came I had nothing to offer God that He needed – I was poor.  I couldn’t get to God because of my sin – I was a captive to it.  I couldn’t see my need for God because the enemy kept me from seeing my need – I was blind.  I was beginning to suffer the consequences for my sin – I was oppressed.

However, these weren’t just spiritual analogies Jesus was making.  Look at who the better part of His ministry was aimed toward: the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed.  Among these were children, widows, the sick, demoniacs, the lame, beggars, and so on.  If you take a look at Jesus’ mission statement and then look at how He lived it out, you see a life of practical expressions of deeper spiritual truths.  (Important note: These practical expressions of Christ were accompanied by His words that drew people to Him.  We should not expect people to understand the gospel just through our good deeds; those deeds must be joined with something truly life-changing, the gospel of Christ.)

I listened last week to a friend of mine speaking at a gathering of churches doing some type of orphan care ministry.  Chris had for some time been visiting nursing homes on alternating weekends and mentoring emotionally and behaviorally troubled young men on the other weekends.  When asked why he did this, he simply responded by pointing to the Bible and saying, “It’s in there, right?”  A life vision with practical expressions, based on the Word -- it's a beautiful thing!

Do you have a personal mission statement?  It can give your life a center that you can verbalize.  Jesus had one.  Follow His example and base yours on the Word of God.  I would be interested to hear your personal vision statements.  Your sharing may help someone else develop his or hers, so please share!

Thanks for reading,
Al

Friday Little Bits: Right Around the Corner

Do you want to make a difference in the life of a fatherless child?  If you live in the Mid-South area, you have several opportunities right around the corner.  (If you live somewhere else, you have opportunities, too; I just don't have a list of them for you :)

• CHC Southaven's Orphanology class was full again this week.  Lauren Johnson from Harden House Adoption and Foster Care helped our class know some of what to expect during the adoption process.  She will be back again this week to talk about foster care.  We are hopeful to provide some specific training in our area for potential foster parents in the near future.  You can come and take part in our class at any time; you need not have attended any of the previous classes!

• 4theVoiceless will have a table with our jewelry and T-shirts at the Tricia's Hope fundraiser (Read Tricia's story here.) at Jim Saucier Park in Southaven.  Ten percent of our profits from that day will go toward helping defray the Chavez family's medical expenses. The rest of our profits will go toward building the House of Abraham children's home in Jacmel, Haiti.  We are grateful to partner with our friends from CHC's Celebrate Recovery; they are awesome folks who have been great friends to the ministry of 4theVoiceless!

• The flow of recipes for our adoption cookbook has picked up this week.  We still have plenty left to go before we are ready to publish, but this week has been very encouraging that we will get there and be able to help families fund their adoptions.

•  Orphan Sunday is just four weeks from this Sunday.  This will be the first time for an Orphan Sunday emphasis at CHC.  I met with our pastor this week about what November 4 will look like for our church, and I am looking forward to hearing his message to the church from James 1:27.  His HYPOChRIsTianE series has been eye-opening to say the least, and this message will fit in perfectly with the rest of the series.  We will also have some practical expressions of care for the orphan in which our people can engage.  If you attend another church, I hope that your church is also recognizing Orphan Sunday in some way.  The official Orphan Sunday web site has plenty of ideas that churches all over the world have done and are planing for this year.  If I can be of any assistance to you, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Let me offer you a challenge between now and the next blog post on Tuesday: look for a way to engage in a conversation about orphan care and see what you discover.  

Thanks for reading.  Now, move.
Al

Transracial Adoption: Is It for You?

I had a funny experience regarding trans-racial adoption a few years ago.  I was checking in on an outreach event that our church’s bike repair ministry was doing on a Saturday afternoon.  I was standing in the middle of all the bike repair, storytelling, coloring, face painting, etc., that was going on that day having a conversation with a black pastor from the neighborhood where the outreach was taking place.  He pointed to a friend of mine whose back was to us.  My friend had a very short hair cut and a very dark tan at the time.  The pastor asked, “Is that a black guy, or is he mixed?”  I laughed and answered that he was white.  I then pointed to two little black boys (twins) and told him that they were my friend’s sons.  I enjoyed his utter confusion for just a moment before I filled him in that the boys were adopted and introduced the two men.

My friend, I’m sure, became quite accustomed to confused looks and questions.  When a family includes a child who looks different from everyone else, the questions, stares, and confusions are inevitable.

I am going to make a bold statement that may surprise some of you:

I believe that every Christian should be in favor of trans-racial adoption. 

Understand that I grew up in Mississippi, and I live and work in the shadow of Memphis, Tennessee, one of the most racially charged cities in the United States.  I have seen and heard some of the extremes of the racial divide that has long plagued the Deep South.  I can only begin to understand the issues that families of different races face.

But I stand by my statement.  Every Christian should be in favor of trans-racial adoption.

As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and a child of God, it is my responsibility (and my great pleasure) to reflect God to a world that largely does not know Him.  The center of what I reflect to the world is trans-racial adoption.  Jesus Christ, a Jew, was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross, and on the third day in a tomb was raised to life; as a result I, a Caucasian American, was adopted into the family of God, a family consisting of reds and yellows, blacks and whites.  Every one of us are undeserving of a perfect heavenly Father.

My pastor preached from Luke 15 this past Sunday, the story of the prodigal son.  He talked about the kindness of the father drawing the wayward son home.  The son remembered what home was like and longed to return to it.  When the son returned to a right mind and went home, hoping to be treated as a servant, he is certainly shocked at the response of the father.  The father instructed the servants to get the best robe; as Rick pointed out, the best robe would have surely belonged to the father.  He instructed the servant to get the ring, likely the family’s signet ring.  The prodigal’s inheritance may have all been spent, but he came to realize that he couldn’t “prodigal” his way out of his place in the family.

I am grateful for a place in God’s family; it is certainly undeserved.  I am grateful for a loving, holy Father; He has stuck with me so much more than I have been loyal to Him.  I am grateful for a perfect, sacrificial Older Brother; His sacrifice for me is more than I could ever even begin to repay.  I am grateful for brothers and sisters all over this globe of every size, shape, and color; I look forward to joining them in a great heavenly choir to worship our God, the author of trans-racial adoption. 

In his message at the Together for Adoption conference last month, Leonce Crump II said, “Trans-racial adoption was the plan of God from the beginning.  The church is the perfect model.”  I am for trans-racial adoption because I have been trans-racially adopted. When I see a family with a child of another race, I’m just looking in the mirror.  What about you?

Thanks for reading,
Al