Prayer for America.

There’s been a great prayer for America recently posted in a few different places. I’m going to send you here to read it on my friend Doug Jones’ blog, rather than repost it here.

Positive!

I woke up this morning in a country where the citizens had decided to change the regime in power… totally peacefully. There are no soldiers in the streets of my town, there are no riots, no gangs, nothing of that sort…

47 years and some ago, a man was born in a country where people his “color” couldn’t even vote in some places. Today he is the leader-elect of the most powerful nation in the world. He was elected by the people without regard, it seems, for the color of his skin. Martin Luther King dreamed of a time when a man would be judged by the content of his character, not the color of his skin. Yesterday’s election signaled, to me, that perhaps that time is suddenly upon us.

Now, some of you disagree with some or much of Obama’s politics. In all fairness, I also disagree with many of them. But for today, I ask can we put those differences aside, and can we celebrate how far we have come, and pray for wisdom for our president-elect as he begins the very important task of selecting advisors and preparing for his time to lead us?

Feel free to comment, but I’m actually not interested in hosting a political debate (so I’ll remove or edit comments as need be). There are some other great places on the web to do that. Today I just want to celebrate the fact that the United States, as a nation, apparently no longer cares what color your skin is… For that I rejoice!

Do something now

I saw a really troubling image today. I can’t verify the source, so I won’t post it, but here’s a description. It is a photo of a number of people praying for our economy, literally putting their hands on the “bull” in New York City. It looked a little like the children of Israel worshipping the golden calf (now all grown up with horns). I know that those people didn’t mean it, and I think it is very important for us to pray for the peace, health, and prosperity of the nation we live in… but I wonder how many of those folks praying for our economy have gone hungry lately, or lost a child to starvation, or a parent to AIDS/HIV. I suspect that they, like me, have a roof over their heads, and even in these uncertain times are getting three meals a day. There are thousands of children who die every single day… and we can do something about it.

Sign the ONE petition.

Sponsor a child (or two) through Compassion or World Vision. (I don’t care which, and guess what… neither do they I bet…)

Or keep a child alive, by paying for anti-retroviral drugs for him or her.

Or buy a cow for a village through Heifer International.

Or do all of the above or ________________(you fill in the blank).

Today… not tomorrow…

REVEAL – It’s really simple!

Great talk from Bill Hybels this morning at REVEAL. For those who don’t know, the study identified four basic categories of believers in our churches: Exploring Christ, Growing in Christ, Close to Christ, and Christ-centered.

How do you get from one to the next phase? What are the “catalysts” for spiritual growth and development… Going to great church services, worshipping and hearing great sermons? Listening to Christian music? Listening to Chuck Swindoll on the radio? Nope. It seems (no surprise here, but it’s nice to see it in a study like this one) that the things that move people on are getting grounded in Scripture, getting in community with other believers, and serving, especially serving the poor.

Wow. It’s simple!

1. Read the Bible (I HIGHLY recommend the Life Journal. Check out our church’s Life Journal blog here.

2. Get into a small group. (Explore the Bible with them, too.)

3. Serve. Serve the poor. Give of yourself to those who need it.

Here’s a secret. All of those things are just GOBS of fun! And then when we gather for our worship services, we’re celebrating God’s life in our lives, and our surrender to his plan, and those celebrations, those parties, get even better all the time!

Love The Least

This past weekend at Tri-County Church, I had the honor of preaching about the ways God asks us to love His children. You can listen here if you like. Isaiah tells us about love being the best way to serve God. Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms how much the poor and unfortunate mean to Him. When we serve them, we serve him. When we love them, we love Him. James tells us how important it is that we love them.

Here are some great resources for your pursuit of loving the least. First, a couple of books that I think are great on this topic.

Brian McLaren – “Everything Must Change”

Francis Chan – “Crazy Love” (This one is also currently available at our resource center here at TCC, if you are an attender.)

And here’s some great serving opportunities.

If you don’t do it yet, consider sponsoring a child (or two) through an agency like Compassion International or keeping a child in Africa on their anti-retroviral drugs at Keep a Child Alive. Or maybe do both!

Consider helping out at Abba’s Coffeehouse.

If you are part of our Tri-County family, you can help out with “Helping Hands” by clicking this link and filling out the form. (Don’t forget to check off “Helping Hands”.)

While you’re at it, be sure to pray for these folks as they do what they do, and find some new great way today to serve that person near you, whether family, friend, or neighbor, or just somebody you pass on the way.

Some people just can’t stay home

Look up Clara Barton. During the Civil War she couldn’t stay home. She had to get out and help those who were suffering and dying on the battlefield. I’m sure plenty of people told her she was crazy, that what could one woman do (especially a woman in those times when women stayed home). She ignored them, and of course after the war founded the Red Cross. All because she insisted on loving the least of these. Today, somebody might tell you you’re crazy, that you can’t change the world, that you can’t do what you’ve set your mind to. Don’t “stay home”. Get out there anyway.

Brian McLaren

First off, what a great time we’re having here at the Arts Conference. Brian McLaren reminded us today how powerful we artists can be in changing the world. We can tell stories that remind people that all those numbers of people starving in places like Africa are not just numbers but are people. It reminded me of those pictures World Vision and Compassion give you to remember that your 30-some dollars a month is going to help a real person, not just give you an extra tax write-off. Anyway, we’re looking for good ideas for how to tell those stories better, good ideas for how to get our communities and our churches to really work to change this world God gave us for the better, by helping people, conserving resources, and just basically being good stewards of what we have. Any ideas? Not ideas about what to do, but ideas about how to encourage us all to do it!

We’re not going to church in a BIG way…

WOW!

For all those who are curious about our “Church Without Walls” thing we’re doing… Our sign-ups are going great! We have already got a few serving opportunities that are totally full.

I think our congregation is amazing. They are really the church in the world, and they really want to make a difference and show God’s love to the world. It was very moving to see the people LINING up to go do a service project instead of going to church one week.

It’s kinda funny. I’ve already heard rumors in the community that we are “shutting down.” We’re not shutting down. We’re GOING OUT!

Six years ago today

Wow. Six years since the towers fell. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long.

I hope we’ll all take a moment to remember that terrible event and pray for the families who still, I’m sure, grieve over the loss of loved ones in such a sudden and horrible manner. It’s still eerie to see a photo of the New York City skyline without those awesome buildings. And I still remember the feelings and the moments that day as if it were yesterday. Never forget how fragile and beautiful life is, and what a wonderful gift of God it is.

And while we’re at it, let’s think about the places in this world where people are losing loved ones in even greater numbers to sickness, disease, poverty, and war. We can’t prevent a lot of that tragedy, but there are some things we can do. So today I’m going to push my own and my wife’s pet charities.

Add your voice to the ONE campaign. It’s free and quick. Just go here.

If you’re able, support some of the initiatives of Heifer International here.

Of course, I always recommend sponsoring a child through either World Vision or Compassion.

And for those of us who are moved by the plight of the very poor HIV-AIDS children around the world, especially in Africa, I recommend Keep a Child Alive.

And last but not least, if you see a firefighter or policeman today, thank them for what they do!