Voice Box

haunted by poverty

Tom Davis, HopeChest's president, returned form Swaziland and South Africa earlier this week.  For one who has seen so much in his own life and in the lives of orphaned children on every continent, still this consummate missionary/author returns haunted and speechless by the horrors of disease and extreme poverty.  But there is hope.  There are relationships that heal and help.  Read a gut-reaction to some things that he saw on his blog.

what can you buy for $.69?

my family and i visited a local christian bookstore on tuesday evening.  as we were browsing i found a favorite author's book on the clearance rack.  ron sider's just generosity was 90% off.  (i also highly recommend two of his other books: rich christians in an age of hunger and good news and good works.  you should also check out the organization he founded and leads: evangelicals for social action.) 

when we went to checkout we were purchasing 4 books and some finger paints and art paper for judah.  the other books are great and we're going to enjoy them.  they just turned out to be 10 or 20 times more expensive than sider's book.  it cost me $.69 to buy just generosity. 

i'm thankful for the savings.  don't get me wrong.  but on my drive home i began to reflect upon this price and what's behind it.  i'm not in retail or publishing, so i'm speaking now as an opinionated novice.  but the difference between equality and opportunity for all people and the extreme poverty that is claiming lives daily in the global south is will, not ability.  we have the resources.  we have the methods.  we have the scriptural prerogatives.  but we don't often have the will.  the books that sell the best are about how to make me and my life better and more prosperous.  the books that need to be cleared off the shelves are the ones that talk about living the life that Christ calls us to. 

in his first sermon at the synagogue at nazareth, he read from the prophet isaiah: 'bring good news to the poor... proclaim release to the captives... recovery of sight to the blind... let the oppressed go free... proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' (luke 4:14-30 and isaiah 61).  the folks in nazareth didn't like this message.  they tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.  (if you are a preacher or teacher, when was the last time that happened to you?)  this message of living outward with contagious compassion is not one that people often welcome.  but it is the message that Jesus came preaching. 

if Jesus had not lived a compassionate and outward life, we would have nothing.  if Jesus had not lived with just generosity, preaching good news and performing good works, sharing food and drink with the hungry, we would have nothing.  but as it is, we have everything!  let's start giving it away!  let's wreck our lives with hospitality and compassion!

ash wednesday: a walk into the wilderness

today begins the 40 days of lent in the western church.  our eastern orthodox brothers and sisters use a different calendar and will celebrate the great fast later in the spring.  it is a time before resurrection sunday, also known as easter or pascha, that we walk into the wilderness with Jesus.  there we meet as he did, temptation and trial.  but we also meet God there. 

the wilderness was not only where the israelites wandered and grumbled for 40 years.  but it was also the place where God gave moses the law, where God provided manna from heaven and water from the rock,  and where a people were formed in preparation for the promise.  (find this story beginning in exodus 16.)  the wilderness was not only the place where Jesus encountered the devil and wild beasts for 40 days.  but it's also the place where he was led by the Spirit, where he was ministered to be angels, and from where he emerged prepared for ministry.  (find this story in matthew 4, mark 1, and luke 4).

i invite you to walk into the wilderness.  know that here, as you give up certain things, you will encounter temptation and trial and perseverance and discipline will be required of you.  but know also that, as you embrace other things, you will meet God in a new way and you will be embraced by God's peace and holiness.

Episode 12: Reflections on a Vision Trip (Nov 11)

I'm finally heading home.  We left the states together 12 days prior on October 30th.  It has been a great trip with great friends and great things have happened for some children in desperate need of hope and help.  But at this point, I'm desperate to see my beautiful wife (5 weeks before we had our little girl) and my little boy - a bundle of energy and charm.

The flight home was unique.  There were about 70 HopeChest travelers on the same flight from Moscow to Atlanta.  I was able to meet some new people and hear about a variety of experiences and plans for what's next.  It felt like we were taking over the airplane.  At the end, even the pilot acknowledged us and our organization over the PA.  It was a good ride.  It reminds me of something I say often... that compassion is more contagious that HIV/AIDS.  It's a bold statement, I know, but it's one that I really believe and I'm willing to give my life to.  The compassion of Christ that saves us is more contagious than the disease and decay of sin.  The compassion of the Church to reach out to the poor and orphaned is more contagious than the HIV/AIDS pandemic and extreme poverty.  Do you agree?  Are you crazy and convicted and compelled enough to join me in this proclamation?  If so, comment on this blog with a simple 'YES!'  and send the link to friends and family.

So as I endeavor to live a life of contagious compassion, I invite you to the journey... better yet, the adventure!  There are several of us here at Children's HopeChest that lead Vision Trips several times a year to Eastern Europe and Africa.  If you, your church leaders, or others in your networks are interested in taking this bold and healing step, email me.  I'd love to connect them in a ministry that I believe is so close to the heart of God, and so capable of igniting a revival like we've never seen.

go and gather. extend and embrace.

God is on mission.  God has always been on mission, since the creation of a life-sustaining and interconnected environment we know as the Garden.  We are privileged to be invited into this mission.  Theologians and missiologists refer to this as the missio Dei. 

There are two directions to the missio Dei.  There is the centrifugal force and the centripetal force.  In simpler (less scientific) terms, God and God's people on mission goes and gathers.  The prophet Isaiah and the evangelist Matthew give us great insight into these directions of mission.  To see how God's mission is centrifugal, read Isaiah 51:4-5 and Matthew 28:18-20.  To see how God's mission is centripetal, read Isaiah 2:2-5 and Matthew 23:37-39.

In these two directions - the going and the gathering - there needs to be a certain kind of dynamic relationship between the two.  What keeps the centrifugal force in check is the centripetal ties.  If the centripetal force is too strong (and the centrifugal is too weak) there is implosion and collapse.  If the centrifugal force is too strong (and the centripetal is too weak) there is explosion and scattering.  If there is a static balance, then nothing happens.  Mission is immobile and paralyzed.  Implosion.  Explosion.  Paralysis.  These are not the trademarks of healthy mission.  Rather, we must pursue a give-and-take dynamic characterized by collaboration and interconnectedness.  This is the context in which mission occurs.

To put this in simpler terms, there is a going out so that there can be a gathering.  Those who are gathered go.  You see the obvious necessity to both directions of mission.

This concept of mission needs to be applied to our relationships and to our ministries.  We need to extend and embrace.  As you are interacting today with your family and friends, classmates and coworkers, remember to extend grace and peace to them and embrace them with grace and peace.  As you are engaged in serving the poor and orphaned of the world, reach out.  Extend.  Go.  And at the same time, draw them close to you.  Embrace.  Gather.

Go and gather.  Extend and embrace.

transfiguration sunday

There are four events in the life of Christ which we celebrate during this season of Epiphany between Christmas and Lent.  They are the worship of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus Christ, the miracle of water to wine at the Cana wedding, and the Transfiguration.  Today is the last Sunday of Epiphany, Transfiguration Sunday.  Father Matt Burnett at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Colorado Springs offered an insightful sermon.  I want to share with you one of the points he made.

Peter, James, and John were invited by Jesus to the mount where they would meet Elijah, Moses, and Jesus in his glory.  There is much to explore in this story, but the final moment is one Jesus' tender leadership.  He calls the disciples to rise up out of fear.  In martial arts, one offers the least profile to one's opponent - this is to avoid blows and bruises.  But in taking up the cross of Christ and in living as a citizen in God's realm, we are called to have a broad profile.  To stand tall, with arms and eyes opened wide to carry the glory and grace of Jesus into a world in desperate need.  This world starts in our own homes, extends into our schools, churches, and workplaces.  It travels to the bad parts of town and the poor parts of the country.  It flies to the political unrest in Afghanistan and the horrific massacres in Kenya.  And it lands right here in our own hearts and minds.  God's glory and grace is on the move and we are called and compelled, privileged and propelled to be a part of God's family.

moving past good intentions

I am reading The Wolf Shall Dwell With the Lamb: A Spirituality for Leadership in a Multicultural World by Eric H.F. Law.  In it, Law says that 'good intentions are not going to create a just community.'  This is a critical reminder that good intentions, lip service, and 'a heart for this or that' often doesn't amount to much.  We must move toward faith in action.  Compassion that is courageous and contagious.  And words that become flesh (Sound familiar?  See John 1).  This is one of the reasons that Children's HopeChest started the 5for50 campaign.  We believe that there are 5 things everyone can do for the 50 million people living with HIV/AIDS on our planet.  We must pray, fast, give, serve, and invite others to join the journey.

Episode 11: Reflections on a Vision Trip (Nov 10)

It was time for my team to go home.  We woke early and I took them to the airport with some of our Russian staff.  We said our goodbyes and they all made it home safely.

I decided to stay in Moscow an extra day because so many HopeChest teams would be coming through.  It would be a great opportunity to greet so many of our partners (comrades!) in mission.

I joined the group from Crosscurrent who had just returned this morning from Arbazh.  We visited together Red Square and Christ the King Cathedral.  I was happy to return to those beautiful places one day later.  Then I spent the rest of the day at the Izmailovo market where I was able to see dozens and dozens of people at the conclusion of their HopeChest trip.  They had all spent the week prior visiting the children that their churches sponsor.  It was great to interact with so many.  The energy and the compassion and the community were inspirational to me.  It reminded me of why I have given myself to this mission.

My last night in Russia was spent with some dear Russian friends, Andre, Yana, and Natasha.  We enjoyed some pizza and some great conversation about the differences and similarities between Russians and Americans.  There's plenty to talk about there.