Flannel-graph Jesus...

           

      So, we showed this video on Christmas Sunday as part of our worship. The video was produced by Muddy River Media and uses the song The Glory of it All by David Crowder Band. What struck me about the video was that it shows Jesus in scenes that are full to the brim and spilling over with joy. Joy in childbirth, joy in healing, joy in friendship, joy in celebration, joy in the resurrection, joy in life.

            It made me wonder at what point I had decided unfettered joy was not part of my worship. Maybe I spend too much time worrying about propriety or looking silly. Maybe my tie is too tight, figuratively speaking since I rarely wear a tie. Maybe I am too afraid, or too proud. Maybe I have let flannel graph Jesus, with all of his seriousness and one-dimensional flatness, skew my understanding of who Jesus really is and the joy that He brings. 

Strap In and Hang On...

Photo by David Fulmer

            So, you know that feeling you have when you are sitting in the seat of a roller coaster right as it leaves the loading dock? Up until that point, even though you are all strapped in and locked down, you can still bail out. You can still raise your hands and kick and scream and cry like a baby (a hungry angry baby) and they will let you off. But once the brake is released and the coaster begins to roll down the tracks, you are committed. You are going to be in that seat until the ride comes to a complete and safe stop at the loading dock.

            That is the feeling I had this past week when I was thinking about Kitijah and Indijah. They were showing me their city on Google Earth. They showed me their school and where they had art classes. They showed me where they lived before going to the “child house” and then they showed me the “child house”. It was just a brown square among other squares, but they knew the address. I was looking at a bird’s eye view of their “home”. Their orphanage was a real place in a real city full of real children.

            I was struck with the realization that we are committed to these girls, no matter what happens. Our lives are intertwined now. There are hopes and dreams now. There is responsibility and accountability. There is shared pain, shared fear, and shared joy. There is love.

            I cannot say if they can or will be adopted. There are a lot of things that need to be resolved for that to happen. I cannot say if they will be allowed to come back next summer. There is so much that is unknown in their future and ours. I just hope they know that we will be with them no matter what comes and no matter where they are. I hope they know we love them. 

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." 1 john 4:11

The Faithless Friend of Job...

Kitijah and Endijah

So, we are having a pretty good time hosting our girls from Latvia. Kitijah and Endijah (pronounced Kitia & Endia) are sweet as can be, fun to be around, and very typical tweeners who love to listen to music, try on clothes, and giggle.

 On the other hand, our good friends who are also hosting children from Latvia are having a different experience. They are hosting a brother and sister who are 6 and 7. Alex and Karolina are also sweet kids, and they are also typical 6 and 7 year olds for the most part. What that means for our friends is that Alex is a strong willed active boy who has challenged all of us to a battle of wills at some point or another.

Karolina and Alexanders

 Jeannie and I were discussing this very issue at the table this morning. I was throwing out my opinions and possible options in typical guy manner. Is he really behaving like a typical 6-year-old orphan who has been flown half-way around the world and dropped into a place where he doesn’t know the language? Will things settle out once his clock gets adjusted? Does he need to go back or to another host family? Should he even be in the program? Who would take on such a challenge? Maybe the organization needs to come get him on their dime? Did the orphanage director sugar coat his issues so they could get a break from him?

 “Dave, God put Alexanders here for a reason. God allowed him to be here for this time. God knows how he is and God knows what he needs.” 

 What a “faithless friend of Job” I can be at times, thinking I know so much when I really don’t know anything at all. It is a good thing God has given me Jeannie to remind me.

 “But now ask the beasts, and let them teach you; and the birds of the heavens, and let them tell you. Or speak to the earth, and let it teach you; and let the fish of the sea declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?                              Job 12:7-10

Finding Joy...

So, next week is the second week of Advent. I have never really done anything for Advent or even though about it until a couple weeks ago when Dan King of bibledude.net asked for volunteers to write a little for one week of Advent.  Divine providence gave me "Joy", literally, metaphorically, and figuratively. Here it is:

Read:

Psalms 16

Psalms 30

Isaiah 35:1-10

Luke 1:39-56

Romans 15:13

1 Peter 1:3-9

Pray:

           Joy comes from hope. Without hope, there can be no joy. With hope, there is rejoicing, and the greater the hope, the greater rejoicing.

            In the presence of God we find our “fullness of joy” (Ps 16:11). Is it any wonder why the coming of Immanuel – “God with Us” –causes such rejoicing? Should we not leap for joy as John did when he first came into the presence of Jesus? Absolutely! Certainly! Believers should be the most joy-filled people on the planet. We should be rejoicing with every breath we take.

             Joy comes from the overwhelming hope that comes from being redeemed, rescued, and adopted as a child of the Living God. Joy comes from the realization that we have been given not what we deserve, but what we don’t deserve, an “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven”. Our rejoicing is with “joy is inexpressible and filled with glory” because we believe. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

            The glory filled inexpressible joy is there, but I wonder what is keeping it from coming out? Circumstances? Stuff? Fear? Pride? Anger? Bitterness? Loneliness? Hunger? Thirst? Sickness? Sorrow?

            Oh please Lord:

Remind me that my hope is in only You, and I will rejoice!

Remind me that nothing can separate me from You (Romans 8:38), and I will rejoice!

Serve:

            Someone once told me that when I felt low, I should do something for someone. Guess what? It works. In the simple economy of God, God is our hope, we rejoice in our hope, and we find even more joy in sharing that hope with others. Joy is multiplied and magnified in serving others. Serving others is like pushing your joy through a giant Back to the Future sized amplifier. Even the littlest amount going in will result in an overwhelming, knock you off your feet and across the room amount of joy coming out. Don’t be scared, it is just joy. Revel in it, rejoice in your joy, maybe dance a little, sing a little louder, give glory to God, and then serve again. 

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalms 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalms 16:11 NASB

 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name Him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us”. Matt 1:23 HCSB

Guaranteed Failure in 5 Easy Steps...

So, this past Sunday I heard a very insightful sermon provided by Dr. Jody Duncan. It was taken from 1 Samuel 13 and I condensed it down to these 5 simple steps. 

How to guarantee failure as a leader, or father, or believer, or just as a person in five easy steps:

1. Dont do what you know you are supposed to do.
2. Let circumstances dictate your actions.
3. Put yourself above the law.
4. Refuse to repent.
5. When those who are telling you the truth walk away, let them go.

It really is that simple. 

It is also pretty simple to change these five steps to failure into five steps to help avoid failure:

1. Do what you know you are supposed to do.
2. Let scripture and the Holy Spirit dictate your actions, not your circumstances.
3. Don't allow yourself to think you are above the law and have people around to hold you accountable.
4. When confronted about your sin, repent, repent, repent.
5. Keep the truth tellers close.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Col 3:12-13 NASB

Make a Difference in ONE Life!

What is your holy discontent? What is your God-given passion on this earth? You know, that one thing that MOVES you to action, that brings you to tears, and causes you to lose sleep? We have a passion, a yearning to see justice for the fatherless! "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow." - Isaiah 1:17

2011 Gifts of Purpose from Lifesong for Orphans on Vimeo.

It's that time of year again. Holiday music rings through your speaker systems. Decorations light up your street corners. Families gather together.It's the season of love, joy and family.  

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ during this season of giving, we often forget to give to those who NEED it most! This year give differently. Give FAMILY to the 147 million orphans worldwide who dream of belonging. Give HOPE to children living on the streets whose only Christmas wish is survival.

What if, this year, your family gave a gift to those who need it most? A gift that won't fit under the tree? 

Would you consider making a difference in ONE LIFE...

•  Help a child break free from gripping poverty.

•  Give the love of Jesus through Christian mentors.

•  Give a future to an orphan's caregiver.

This year join Lifesong for Orphans in giving a gift with purpose. A gift that will speak Jesus to a child. Introducing Lifesong's 2011 Gifts of Purpose Catalog. 

NOW, for even more exciting news....

In Ethiopia, children need an education to break free from gripping poverty. Public schools are lacking, so kids are left behind without the  HOPE of an education or future. Our current Lifesong school is not only giving by teaching these children about Jesus, but also feeding 350 hungry children 2 meals each day. We currently have a need to build a 12-room expansion to our existing school... please join us to make a difference in a child's life.

As of last night, we have a generous donor that has stepped up to MATCH all donations to the Ziway and Adami Tulu Schools in Ethiopia between now and December 31st... up to $130,000!!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited? What a GENEROUS way to make the most of your giving and bless the children and families in these communities! Let me tell you first hand, these schools NEED to be expanded... these children NEED an education... they NEED to be fed each day... they NEED to hear about Jesus! Lets give HOPE to these precious children in Ethiopia!

Would you join us in prayer as we seek to make the need known?

MAKE A MATCHED DONATION NOW! ***You can use the link above to make a matched donation OR select any of the Hope Ethiopia options below. 

Gift of $30 cares for 2 children for 1 month.

Gift in Honor of

Gift of $525 cares for 35 children for 1 month.

Gift in Honor of

Gift of $1,500 furnishes one classroom.

Gift in Honor of

Also, don't forget that you can give a gift in honor of a loved one this holiday season!

A handful of bread...

So, another Orphan Sunday has come and gone. I showed some pictures, a touching video, and talked about the numbers again. I used the “147 million orphans” number. 147 million is a huge number. 147,000,000 is a lot of zeroes. I saw one analogy that said if you lined the world’s orphans up side-by-side and drive past them in a car, it would take so many weeks to drive past them all. It is an overwhelming number. One person, one family, one church (even a mega-church) can fix 147 million. It is like trying to hold a gallon of water in your hands, you just cannot do it.

            In Mark 6:33-44 there is a process went like this:

·      Jesus told the Disciples to feed the overwhelmingly large crowd (well over 5000 people)

·      The Disciples recognized the impossibility of such a task and were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

·      One of them, Andrew, found 5 loaves of bread (think dinner rolls) and 2 fish (think little pan fish no bigger than your hand) that a boy had brought as his sack lunch for the day (poor kid, he just had his lunch and probably dinner snatched up by a bunch of ruffian disciples).

·      Jesus tells them to bring what they have found.

·      Jesus divides up the crowd.

·      Jesus blesses the loaves and fish.

·      Jesus starts handing the Disciples pieces of the loaves and fish to distribute among the people.

·      They have enough to feed everyone in the crowd and gather up 12 baskets of leftovers.

           Don’t miss this: Jesus divided up the labor and the resources across the disciples. Each was given only as much as they could carry, clearly not enough to feed everyone at once. Jesus gave them just enough to fit in their hands. He gave them only what they could carry and sent them off to serve. He didn’t make a bunch and divide it up into baskets, or make 5000 individually packaged combo meals, or put it in “family packs”. He gave each Disciple a handful to serve to the people. When they ran out of bread and fish, they had to go back to Jesus for more. Jesus “kept giving” (vs 41) until “everyone was satisfied” (vs 42). Jesus even provided more than was needed.

           So how do I deal with 147 million children? I don’t need to. I can deal with two, or five, or ten, or twenty. I can only be faithful to use the handful of resources He has given me to care for and serve the two or five or ten or twenty in my group. I can only give it all away and rely on Him to give more.

The Truth Department is now open...

So, one more historic figure has gone down in a ball of flames. He is not the first super powerful, highly visible, “very important person” to fall, and he wont be the last. The thing I wonder is why he didn’t have someone in his life who would tell him the truth. All it might have taken was one friend to say, “Joe, you are not doing the right thing. You must do what is right.”

        I think it is pretty sad really, not it a pathetic way, but in a sorrowful way. You would think that he would have someone in his life to keep him honest, to be brutally honest, to tell him the hard things he doesn’t want to hear. He could have even paid someone to do it. 

Maybe there is a new career field in being a professional truth teller. If anyone out there wants to hire me, I will hang out with you, and when you are about to do something foolish, I will let you know. I will be the one who tells you your pants make your butt look big, your song or joke stinks, and your baby is ugly (ok, so maybe not that last one, I would use the word “miracle” instead).  As a bonus, I have excellent grammar and spelling skills, some would call them “mad skills”. I would throw those in at no charge. 

“What about you, Dave,” you ask, "who is keeping you honest?" 

My wife is pretty good at letting me know when my clothes don’t fit. My daughter lets me know when my jokes aren’t funny and my songs are off key. All of our babies were super cute so no need for the “miracle baby” here. I am the “Grammar Hammer” as well. 

I would like to think my friends would let me know when I am doing something stupid. What I wonder is, do they know they have permission to speak the truth to me? I would like to think the answer is yes, but I am the wrong person to ask. So if you see one of my friends around, ask them for me, and then let me know what they say.

 

Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.Proverbs 27:5-6 (NASB)

 photo by Andrew King

   So, we are jumping into orphan care next month. I am pretty excited to have some good friends jumping in with us. We are going to host sisters from Latvia for four weeks over Christmas. We are pretty stoked to be bringing more kids into our house, if even for a short time.

   The decision to host was easy, of course we will, how can we not host children when the opportunity presents itself. The process was deceptively simple - go on a web site that has photos of the children along with a short biography...and pick one. I will admit I was kind of a jerk. I sent Jeannie in alone to pour over the pictures of the hundred or so children available to be hosted. I am afraid. I am not afraid of the children, or the possibility of adopting again, or even loving children I have never met. The thing that scares me is the inevitable heart break.

   Adoption always begins with a broken relationship. The broken relationship between a mother, father and a baby. It breaks my heart to think on it. I try to imagine what it would be like to be any of the three people in a family that has been torn apart by any number of circumstances and decisions. It hurts just thinking on it, I can't imagine living it.  
   This is where a better writer would add in some line that makes it all OK. Sorry I am not a better writer. Maybe you have something that helps.

I sent this to my editor/proof reader, who is also my wife, and this is what she added, 

(which is one of the many reasons I love her so much)

"Only God can understand each and every detail completely. He is the only one who knows plan A: for that child to have that beginning, or that family to have that broken history, for that new family and child to be brought together. Yet there is beauty in the way it all works together and God is glorified, even in the heartbreak."

photo by LoveFusion Photography

If you only want to...

Our adoption story began in 2006 when my wife, Jeannie, and I attended an informational meeting given by America World Adoption Agency. When we had a break for coffee, Jeannie asked “What do you think?”

My reply, “How can we not do this?”

And with that, we were off. It didn’t matter that we didn’t have the money or support. I didn’t know where our “babies” were, how old they were, their names, or even if they were boys or girls. All I could say for sure was God had placed some children into our hearts. I never knew I could love someone I had never met, but there it was, a burning love for children I did not even know. And just as I would for any of my children, I wanted with every fiber of my being to find them, rescue them, and bring them home to safety, to be their hero.

At that time we had four children. The twin boys, Jake and Dan, were going on 18. Josh, our middle son, was 15. Grace, the baby, was 13.  Jeannie and I were coming up on our 19th wedding anniversary. We had been chasing around the world with the Navy and had finally settled in a little town just north of Memphis.

I don’t remember how we got connected to America World, but there we were. Three and a half years after our discussion, in August of 2009, Jeannie and I flew to Pavlodar, Kazakhstan to find the rest of our family. We met Alyohsa and Zhenya in a state run orphanage tucked away in the village of Kichiry. Alyosha was 8 and had grown up in the orphanage. His little sister Zhenya had just come to Kichiry 6 months earlier at the age of 5. The little boy and girl were the children God had burned into our hearts with a blowtorch back in 2006.

On October 10th, 2009, we brought Alyosha and Zhenya home, it was beautiful, wonderful, awesome. It was as though I was able to glimpse the dim reflection of God’s rescue and adoption of me. He had pursued me, found me where I was, paid an enormous price to ransom me, rescued me, and took me home as one of His sons.

It was also incredibly heartbreaking. We left behind 78 other children in the Kichiri Orphanage. These handsome young boys and beautiful girls had captured our hearts, and when we left them there, a piece of our broken hearts stayed behind with them. For me, I cry when I think about these children. I cry when I think about the girls without a father to protect them or give them away at their wedding. I cry for the boys who have no one to show them how to be a man, to teach them how to fish, to stand up for what is right, how to be a hero. Most importantly, they wont have anyone to show them what the Father’s unconditional love looks like, to teach them forgiveness, justice, and mercy.

Although I do not know what the statistics are for Kazakhstan, I think it is safe to say they would be similar to those of Russia or Ukraine. When an orphan ages out at 17 or 18, the girls will most likely go into prostitution, the boys will go into drug trafficking. The survival rate is low and the suicide rate is high. They will be sold to the highest bidder. When these vulnerable children walk into the world for the first time, there will most likely be someone there to offer them a place to stay, since they have no where else to go. That place will be one of pain and sorrow, and most likely death.

When I look at the photos of my children’s classmates, I can’t help but think about their future. I wonder who will stand in the gap for them, who will protect them, who will provide them refuge. Who will stand for justice and defend their innocence? Who will be willing to live James 1:27 in whole, not just part? Who will be their hero?

At this point I wish I could give an easy three point lesson on why men do not actively engage in orphan care, I cannot.   Come on! We are men, and Christian men to boot. We can find a way to do anything we really want to do. We can convince ourselves we need Rogain, an iPad, that Flying-V guitar at the music store, or a new car. We can find a way to watch any sporting event known to man, if we want to. It sounds ridiculous, but I have to say it, what is keeping you from “wanting” to defend the cause of the fatherless? What keeps you from standing between the innocent girls and the predators who will exploit them? What keeps you from showing a boy how to be a man? What is keeping you from being the hero God has destined you to be? I would bet that whatever it is, you can find a way around it, if you only want to.

I originally wrote this for @AnOrdinaryDad Lee Bodenmiller's web site Dads for Orphans. Lee is doing something amazing there in rallying men to step up to the plate and become more than spectators in serving the orphan. Please check it out, subscribe, follow him on twitter (@AnOrdinayDad), like him on Facebook, and help him out any way you can. 

All my friends have big buts...

All my friends have big buts:

I know God can, but...
I want to go, but...
I should do more, but....
We would adopt, but....
I shouldn't be anxious, but...

These are samples from recent conversations. Some are my words, some belong to others. There is a paradox of being a Believer but lacking belief. We are called to be faithful yet lack faith. We are called to follow but afraid to make the first step. We believe, but not in the provision and ability of the One in whom we believe.

There is hope, it comes with the words "but God..."

Psalms 49:15
But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah.

Psalms 73:26
My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalms 75:6-7
For not from the east, nor from the west, Nor from the desert comes exaltation; But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.

Mark 2:7b
“who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Acts 2:24
But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.

Romans 5:8-9
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

1 Corinthians 1:27
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,

2 Corinthians 7:6a
But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us...

Ephesians 2:4-10
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

1 Thessalonians 2:4
but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.

I guess our buts look pretty small when we look at it that way.

They say it's love....

     We have some wonderful friends in John and Rachael. She is a classic extrovert who rarely hesitates to share pretty much anything with us. He is a quiet guy with a quick wit. One Sunday following a meal we had the privilege of hearing about the early years of their marriage.

     John is a professional musician. He plays the tuba. He plays the tuba well enough to get paid to play it. I know a dozen people who claim to be able to play the guitar, only one is good enough to get paid to do it. In contrast I know one person who plays tuba, and he is a pro.
     When John and Rachael met, he was in his Senior year of college, she was a Freshman. He practiced his tuba six hours a day, every day. He told her before they got married that to love him, was to love his tuba.
     After they married he would take his tuba when they went on vacation. They would all go to the park so he could practice. Evidently, tuba playing is not acceptable in most hotels.
     She referred to the tuba as “his mistress” teasingly, but she admitted she was a bit jealous too. She would try to entice him to be late for practices and rehearsals to gain the upper hand over the giant brass “other woman”.
     John was certainly not a bad guy, but rather, he was committed to his art in a way musicians are prone to be (and some of us should be). He carried his tuba two miles to and from class every day. He had a raw talent, commitment, and level of skill that propelled him into a life as a professional musician. He was able to achieve that mountaintop that the rest of us non-talented, Rock Band playing, karaoke singing, pretenders dream of.
     She told us how one night, while they were lying in bed, he said, “Rachel, if something were to happen and I had to choose between you and the tuba, I would choose you.” She said it was sincere and loving, and one of the sweetest things he had ever said to her.
     They have been married long enough to have four beautiful children. They share a beautiful house together on their small farm where they raise chickens, mules, pigs, and a cow. They are thoughtful Believers who always have an encouraging word on their lips and joy in their hearts. And I believe they share a level of commitment to one another that is enviable. He knows she is committed to him by putting up with his tuba playing. She knows he is committed to her even more that he is committed to his music, and that is saying something.

It is hot in Texas...

            I spent August in Houston, Texas, and it was hot. It wasn’t “hot” like one would describe the inside of a fresh out of the oven biscuit. It was HOT as in what the biscuit feels like when it is in the oven. It was hot in the shade. It was hot in the pool. It was hot at the beach. It was so hot chickens were laying boiled eggs. OK, so the last one is an exaggeration, but the others are not.

            Now at this point someone would say “uh, Dave, you were in Texas in August, of course it was hot. It is always hot in Texas in August.” And that someone is right of course. It is hot because the Sun rises every morning and shines all across the long summer days. It sets each evening in the West, allowing a brief respite. But the next morning, the Sun once again rises in the East and burns its way across the sky, making it hot in Houston. If I go back to Houston next August it will be hot, and that is a wonderful thing.

            In Colossians 1:13 Paul says this about God “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.” (ESV)

            Paul then follows that up with this: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-17 ESV).

            The very same person “in whom we have redemption” is also the one in whom “all things hold together. The Sun rises and sets because He holds it together. It is hot in Texas every August because Jesus Christ holds it together. The surety of knowing the Sun will rise in the morning and set in the evening, and the day will be hot, is a wonderful reminder that a Believer’s redemption and forgiveness are also sure and secure. With that much evidence, why would we ever doubt?

A Matter of Perspective

            I have a couple friends who willingly engage in theological discussions with me. One is a Pastor with a Doctorate from Southern Seminary. The other is studying to be a Pastor and a Church Planter. Whereas I am just a guy who has too much time to think, so I am generally the first to come up with some lame brained idea. Then after my friends correct me with a verbal smack to the head, I will shrug my shoulders and give up. It is something I learned from John MacArthur (aka Johnny Mac) after I heard him utter the most liberating words in Theological study “I don’t know.”

            Recently we were ranging across the topic of sovereignty and will of God. We wound around to close the conversation with a universal assent that the point we had reached was too big for our little minds to understand. We had tried to figure it out. We were trying to understand the mind of God and determine how He works with our tiny little minds that can’t even figure out how to set the clock on the microwave. What a bunch of doofusses we are, trying to figure out God!

            However, during this conversation, I stumbled across something that helped me with my perspective. I can see His creation from the stars in the sky down to the few remaining hairs on my head - that what I can visibly observe. When I take advantage of modern technology, I can “see” out to the edge of our galaxy and down to the level of microbes. Yet, even with the benefit of our technology, what I can observe of God’s vast creation is only in part.

            Much like looking through a telescope limits my field of vision to a pretty narrow view, what I can observe of creation is only a pretty small piece. What else exists beyond the edge of our known galaxy? I don’t know. What else exists down underneath our skin? I don’t know that either. Why does God do what He does? I don’t know. Why are children born blind? I don’t know. How does God maintain His sovereignty while allowing us some manner of choice? I don’t know. Insert your own conundrum here and the answer might still be “I don’t know”. If Johnny Mac, Dr. Duncan, and Job can all admit that they don’t understand something about God, then maybe it is OK or the rest of us.

“Then Job answered the LORD and said, ‘I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” Job 43:1-6

Light the torches and lower the drawbridge...

            “I want to be part of a church that wants to be part of something.” These words came from my 17-year-old daughter, Grace. These words have been rattling around in my head since they were spoken. They weren’t said out of anger or spite, but frustration at the circumstances in which our family has found itself, not necessarily with our church, but with an unknown future. The words hold a double indictment for me, like a gentle one-two punch, if there is such a thing.

            The first is an indictment against me as one of the Elders of our church. Our church is only 5 years old. We began the church following the traditional model but over the course of the first three years, we transitioned to the family integrated model.

            It was very liberating from a leadership point of view. I was “allowed” to push decisions back down to the parents, where I believe they rightly belong. We didn’t have to recruit Sunday School teachers or Nursery workers. There were no big promotions for Vacation Bible School, no bring a friend to Sunday School Sundays, no requirement to conduct background checks on our teachers.

            I believe putting away these types of programs from our church was the right thing for us to do. I believe God led us to the point where we are today. I also believe I might have encouraged the church to throw some of the babies out with the bath water.

            As we wrestled with what it meant to be a family integrated church from a leadership standpoint, I found myself repeating the line “That is up to the fathers to decide for their family.” I loved that line, it was so much fun to say.

            “Should we do some kind of church mission project?”

                        “That is up to the fathers to decide for their family.”

            “Should we do some kind of servant evangelism?”

                        “That is up to the fathers to decide for their family.”

            “What should we do to engage with our community?

                        “That is up to the fathers to decide for their family.”

            What we ended up with was a group of families that might or might not be engaged with their culture. I say “might or might not” because I don’t know. I had not only pushed the decision off to the fathers, but I had pushed any connection with their ideas and passions away also. In essence, we have become a church that is filled with families, but we are missing part of the mission. As a church, we have been so busy looking inward, we have forgotten what it looks like outside. We are a church full of busy people, but we are busy with each other and our own families.

            As a leader, that realization is disheartening. As a leader, I have failed to engage the other Elders to ignite their passions for winning souls, for counseling the broken, for caring for others, for visiting the widow and the orphan. If anything, I have poured buckets of cold water on the fires that once used to engulf them, simply by not encouraging them in their pursuit of God. It is one thing to say, “If that is what you want to do, then do it. If that is where you want to go, then go” and quite another to say “if that is what you want to do, how can I help? If that is where you want to go, let me go with you.”

            The second indictment is against me as the father and leader of my household. In embracing the ideas of family integrated church, I had allowed my own family to become disengaged with the world around us. As the father, it is my responsibility to teach my kids how to engage with the culture and community around them without compromising their faith.

            I had built a fortress around my household, which isn’t a bad thing, but I had nailed all of the windows shut, raised the drawbridge, shut the gate, and filled the moat with sharks that have lasers on their heads. Not only am I keeping the “world” out, but I am also keeping the poor and defenseless out. Where can they go if they cannot come to us for refuge? How can they learn the joy of the Gospel if they can’t get past the sharks?

            So where do we go from here? As an Elder I need to fan the flames of passion back to life, maybe even relight a few. I need to lead with conviction and passion for the whole of James 1:27, not just the safe part. I need to work with the other Elders to find common passions and goals for our church body to be engaged in as families. I need to pray, pray, pray, and pray some more.

            As a father I need to lower the drawbridge, open the gate and windows, and get rid of the sharks. I need to teach my family what the whole of James 1:27 means in daily life. I need to show them through action how to love those who are unlovely; how to be a refuge for those who are in need; how to be a father to the fatherless and a son to the widow. I need to pray, pray, pray, and pray some more.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 (NIV)