A Small Part of God's Mission

Missional.  It's one of those "Christian Buzz Words" like "Jesus Follower" and "Community." They all evolved out of a need to recapture the meaning of another word that was being over/misused.  Unfortunately though what happens sometimes is that they become a kind of sign.  "Cool church ahead!"

To be fair I like the word "missional". It simply means our every action is should further God's great mission in His Kingdom.  And it was built on a solid Biblical foundation--Jesus' words in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Yet like the other buzz words I fear that much of its impact has been lost in our hashtag culture. The grand visions-defeating addiction, stopping hereditary poverty, saving orphans and solving the refugee crisis-are too big for one ordinary person to tackle. We live in a world that seems to imagine that a FB like, a retweet, a pin, or hashtag promotion is the answer. I like awareness as much as the next blogger (IE a lot), but I am not fooling myself. When in the parable the Lord was asked, "Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?" He did not reply  ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you included my hashtag, you did it to Me" (Matthew 25:37-40).

Why is this on my mind? Let me share some pictures with you. 

In Kenya, in the Maasi region, there is a terrible drought.  Simply put the rains did not come in their season and as a result animals, crops, and people are dying.

The church in Leboo
 

In this same part of Kenya there's a church.  In the picture above they have a couple of guys from the Commerce church of Christ in Texas stopping by to visit with them.  They've been providing funding for buildings etc. for the last few years.

The children at school

That church answered God's call to take care of the fatherless, and late last year opened its doors to 42 orphan children.  They built a Christian school for them and for the local children to attend.

A school, a church, an orphanage and a drought.  What does that add up to?  Well in the words of their evangelist, Nathan Oloumu...

"The great challenge that we face here as a community is the lack of water. There are no wells in several villages. People will walk for over 7 Kilometers to get to the nearest water source. As for the orphanage will need help to get a well and also get tanks to harvest the rain water." (Read his full statement here)

A well is expensive business.  The one Mr. Oloumu is working on to provide care for these children and his village will cost 18,000 dollars (see detailed invoice here). It is not meant to only alleviate the current drought but provide a convenient and safe source of water for years to come.

Which brings us full circle back to grand visions and "missional" life.  

I have never been a grand vision girl.  I've never started a charity that served millions.  But I have asked friends for a 100 dollars so I could buy Bibles to give away so my students could read God's word for the very first time.  I have never been able to see that all the orphans in Africa had what they needed; my part in God's great mission is a small one. But I'd like to ask you, to be a small part of that mission today.  Not to help not every fatherless child in Africa, but 42 thirsty orphans in Kenya.  

My local congregation is partnering with Mr. Oloumu and the Commerce church in Texas to raise money towards that 18,000.  Our local church is small and not wealthy, but we raised more than a 10th of the price in a single Sunday of giving.  And with an active GoFundMe we are hoping to give others an opportunity to participate.  

How could you help?  

You can give a little money.  There is no overhead here, no sense of paying for administrators or offices.  You are buying water for orphan children.  And not bottled water that will run out next week but the supply of water they will need to grow up strong and healthy.  Find our GoFundMe here.

You can also get the word out.  I know that social media will not change the world.  But we aren't raising awareness here, we are trying to find enough Christians to solve a real problem. I have reached out on all my outlets (including this one now!) to the Christians I know.  Can you do the same?  

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Saving the World One Tamale at a Time

Do I look like a super-hero?  

Nope. 

I am a quite ordinary stay-at-home mom and blogger.  We're a dime a dozen.  It's the best disguise since the mild-mannered reporter.  


But let me tell you how I am saving the world one tamale at a time.

What your minister's wife wants for Christmas

I am blessed to be the wife of a minister.  Don't get me wrong, life doesn't always go the way we plan and of course there are downsides but let me tell you about an upside in my life.  

My church.

We are a part of the most amazing congregation of people.  It's not that they are famous, or rich, or enormous.  We'll leave that to others.  What they are is welcoming, kind, interested, supportive, patient and loving.  What they are is the image of Christ.

Since our earliest days here I have know that I wasn't just the wife of the minister, I was their sister.

But it's not always that way.  Sometimes minister's wives feel excluded, out of place, far from home, and alone.    

I'd like to encourage you today to think about the perfect Christmas gift, something that will let her know that you love here and appreciate all that she does.  Need a suggestion? 

Well glad you asked!  I am guest posting today with Pat and Candy follow the link for some practical suggestions.

The Cure for Greed

Hello, my name is Melissa, and I am idolater.  It's been one day since I've been greedy.  Sometimes it seems like I don't know how to stop worshiping money.  The sad thing is that sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing.  Then an extra expense comes up, and I feel that little knot of anxiety.  I see an opportunity to give, and I pass it by because we just don't have it this week.  But we have it.  Extra giving just isn't in the budget this week, and I'm sure God understands that I need a grand in my emergency fund.  When I begin to question if we can afford what we have budgeted to give, I finally see the greed for what it is.  I've put God behind money.  Again.  I look back and see all the signs, and I regret it.  Then it creeps up on me again. How can I break out of this cycle?

In His Own Words: A Missionary Vlog

The inspiration for this month started with some friends who had come over to visit us while we were still abroad.  They told me a tale of another young missionary, (we'll call him George for safety sake) in a nearby part of Asia.  The story went that although he was working hard, preaching the gospel steadily, although people were listening and responding, the money just wasn't there for him to come back for a second year.  At the time it was looking like he would have to go home. 

In Her Own Words: A Missionary's Story

As you read through this you'll notice that we have some words replaced with asterisks.  That's because as we said before, this missionary family is in a country where they and our brothers and sisters in Christ could get in serious trouble if it was discovered they are leading worship, evangelizing, baptizing and joining in communion.  So please forgive us for eliminating these words.  Also we've used pseudonyms for the missionaries themselves in order that no one in their host country can find this plea via google.  If you're curious about their story and would like more information including their names, sponsoring churches and the country where they are working please feel free to send us an email and we will be happy to answer your questions.

Lord of the Harvest

Money and prayer- two things so "obvious" about missions as to be clichéd.  You've heard a lesson or two where a visiting missionary is seeking money for their own needs and sometimes for the needs of a school, orphanage, or poverty stricken area.  You've heard or prayed this sentence before too, right?  "Lord please help all those serving in foreign fields."  But do you know that Jesus' direct instruction to his disciples was not to pray FOR missionaries and evangelists (I know that those prayers are greatly appreciated) but to pray for MORE missionaries and evangelists?

Smells Good to God

You love the smell of a good steak?  God does too  #BreakfastChit-Chat.

No, my children haven't driven me completely crazy, although I am convinced I need my own hashtag for weird things my family talks about at meals.  At least this time it wasn't an extended conversation on why superheroes without costumes - the Hulk - are so much cooler than superheroes with costumes - Spiderman (If you dare to disagree you can take it up with the 5 year old.) It's just that sitting around with the dirty dishes still cluttering the table doing our devotionals, we were talking about things that smell good to God.  We stumbled over the idea that sparked the conversation in Philippians.

A Warning to the Rich (and we're all rich)

Have you ever heard a preacher say that you can tell a lot about a person's heart by looking at their checkbook register?  I know I've heard it a dozen times.  He's making the point that how we spend our money is a kind of litmus test of the heart.  If we spend all our money on trivial things and never give, then we are not fully devoted to Christ and his children.  Jesus speaks of this in the Sermon on the Mount. 

Paying the Piper

Have you ever made a commitment in all good faith and then twinged when it came time to pay the piper?  I am in the middle of one such episode in the life our family. 

When we left America, we sold pretty much everything we owned.  It took a number of garage sales and classified ads but we reduced our "stuff" to half a room in my parents basement and 8 suitcases.  In the intervening years we have reduced even further.  As we began to face up to the reality of our 2014 move back to the States, we realized that we would be coming back with about 8 suitcases of "stuff."  That sounds like the same amount till you realize we're a family of 4 now instead of a family of 3.  

Stingy

I was in two places at once.  I was on my way to buy the day's food at the outdoor market, and lost deep in ancient Palestine where Jesus is rebuked by the Pharisees for not making his disciples wash their hands before dinner. (Earbuds in, I smiled to myself; I wonder how the Pharisees would have felt about Purell?)  Then Jesus taught them that compared to the stuff that comes out of people, food or a few germs for that matter have no power to pollute.  He said: 

What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. (Mark 7:21-22 NKJV)

Jesus seems to be saying that from deep inside of us, from our sinful hearts, comes the external actions that appear so clearly as sin to others.  I hate that.  I want to pretend that when I do something bad it was a one-off, an accident, that I was having a bad day or was just surprised and didn't know what to do.

The Grace of Giving

In the past several years, a willingness to give to my local congregation has not been a problem for me.  We make my budget; we get paid; I write the check and drop it in the plate.  Easy-peasy!  I never really miss the money we've contributed, and I don't know exactly where it goes.  We trust our elders to distribute it in an appropriate way.  For instance, our congregation supports four missionaries, gives to the Churches of Christ relief fund, and provides food for the hungry in our community.  While this kind of "put the check in the plate" giving is necessary, I've begun to feel that sharing God's grace through giving involves something more. 

Umbrella Morality

A surprise spring monsoon (spring shower is a real misnomer) inspired one of my students to give an impromptu speech. I had assigned the class to give speeches the week before, and he was absent.  Undaunted, he took his inspiration from the rain.  Leaving class he had seen all the students getting drenched.  Walking past them carelessly were classmates with umbrellas.  He was appalled. 

More Blessed

Of all the spiritual disciplines, I think giving is the one we like to hear about least.   A preacher can do all the sermons he wants about Bible study, fellowship, and prayer, and we all nod our heads.  However, if he dares to get up and do a lesson on giving, it seems most of his audience will be wondering what building project is in the works or perhaps which stingy person he is aiming to reach.  I have been guilty of this very thing.  When my preacher starts talking about giving, I look at the wall where our budget and weekly contribution numbers are posted.  We must have fallen behind, right? What I've forgotten is that just like the other spiritual disciplines, giving is for my benefit and growth.  

Hungry Bellies and Hungry Souls

When I am teaching I like to draw on the board.  So as I tried to work through this mental morass of questions  I drew some circles on the blackboard in my mind.  In the smallest circle was my family.  Inside that limited circle I am obliged to see to the physical and spiritual needs of the members. No questions here.

A larger circle encompasses my brothers and sisters.  Inside this circle the first Christians set the example of selling pieces of land and giving the money to the church leaders to alleviate the needs of the poor (Acts 2:41-47, Acts 4:32-37). In another early church example money was collected by the outer ring of mixed race churches to support the impoverished church in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). Here I start to feel unsettled.  The examples from Acts are far more radical than I see played out in most congregations.  Usually when you start hearing sermons on sacrificial giving there's a new building in the works not a brother in want. 

Jesus' Wish List

I hate buying presents.  I am terrible at it.  I draw a huge blank.  Even for my children, I really have to rack my brain to think of what to buy.   As if that weren't bad enough, most of my gifts have to be transported internationally; they can't be too heavy, too bulky or likely to end up in pieces after being tossed off the back of a 747!  Finding the right thing is a real challenge.  

 

A Place for Everything

I tend to be an organizer.  Don't misunderstand me.  I'm not always organized; my house is not always clean.  But when I do get to cleaning, I tend to have a specific place for each item.  For instance, I can't stand having one big toy box for my kids.  Instead, I have a drawer system.  Barbies go in a drawer, Barbie accessories go in another drawer, etc.  I like to compartmentalize my time too.  If I don't have a plan for the day, with a task in each half-hour segment, I will likely not get much done.  Life seems so much neater with "a place for everything and everything in its place."

He Said What!?

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Has anybody ever called you a cow? You would be insulted, right? Cows are fat, lazy, and stupid! All they do is stand in the mud, poo on the ground, and chew!  What if your minister got up on Sunday morning and started his lesson like this:  

"You bunch of cows!  You women crush the needy, stomp on the poor and then exhausted from the morning's efforts, call your husbands to bring the iced tea!  You are going to be punished!  You'll be strung like fish on a line.  You are going to be marched right out of town!"

Rabbi Jesus

When I am looking for a new book to read, the good meaty kind of book that gets me to thinking, I often will read blogs by authors. It gives me a chance to see if I might like their books.  In this digital age, I hate to buy a book that I don't like and can't return or sell!  One blog I've started reading recently is ourrabbijesus.com.  It is written by Lois Tverberg, who started out as a student of Ray Vander Laan, who has made a career in part out of examining and teaching the Jewish context of the Scriptures. Since then, she has become an accomplished researcher and writer on the same topic herself, particularly the life and teachings of Jesus. I encourage you to take a look at the blog.  She doesn't post with great regularity, but her words are always insightful.