15 January 2009

Great quote from an interesting article:

I continue to see movements gaining traction among Christians that do not seem to have many converts. But, a change movement that does not produce converts is as useless as a systematic theology text at Joel Osteen's church.

-Ed Stetzer

Read the full article here.

14 January 2009

I'm reading this, you should too.


For people who like reading true stories written really well, I highly recommend this. All of the pieces are good, but it's worth the read just for the social implications of Malcolm Gladwell's essay "Six degrees of Lois Weisberg." Enjoy!

07 January 2009

I wrote this two years ago... I still feel it.

I wish you all could have been there.
It really gets to me - the dichotomy of it all.
Makes me laugh.
Seriously.
That I need a battery powered device being tracked by multiple satellites directing us to points transferred into the device from a computer equipped with mapping software to find a family living without basic electricity (or running water, or sewer, or garbage collection, or ceilings...) is indeed a funny irony. Okay, it’s not exactly ironic. But neither is rain on your wedding day and Alanis Morrisette got away with that. For real, the only thing ironic about that song is that none of her examples are indeed ironic. It’s silly...unless it was intentional...in which case it was clever. I need to think some more about this.

Anyway, when the small glowing box of a GPS unit had guided us to within visible range of a makeshift shelter painted with a project number corresponding with the point in the GPS, we could meet the family for whom we would be building. If members of the family were home, the initial interaction with them was basic and usually went something like this:
We are Jon and Lydia.
We work with the ministry that builds houses.
We will be unloading building materials on these dates.
Can we take a picture of you and your family in front of your house?
Of course it’s fine that your husband is working and can’t be in the photo.
Click.
Thank you. See you in a few weeks.
God bless you.
Any variance of the conversation probably included something like:
How old is your baby?
Will that dog bite me?
It really is unseasonably cold.

Truly, I cherish these moments. Though little is said, much is understood. Mainly what they begin to realize is that someone is coming. Soon. What was a cautious hope begins to take shape in their eyes—starts to show in the corners of their mouth turning into a relieved smile—is heard in a sigh. The picture presented to us at that moment was of God already at work in the lives of the people we are called to serve—already preparing the hearts of each of the participants coming to do His work.

Over President’s day weekend some 1,400 people will travel to Puerto PeƱasco to build more than 50 homes. And after we have presented them with the keys to their new house and they go on to make it a home, there will still be more families. Waiting. And though the irony of my GPS usage is debatable, the desperation of their situation is not. We need groups to build more homes. We need people to give of their income to be able to expand this work to new areas where the need is so great. We need people to pray for us like life depends on it, because it does.

Get involved. Do something for someone in need. Go to Mexico. If you don’t go to Mexico then go somewhere else. Take the opportunity to show Christ to someone because that’s what it means to love

06 January 2009

I got a Wii...

...and I was excited. But this is a bit disturbing.