This Wednesday was Ash Wednesday – which means Lent has arrived. By the way, this Wednesday was also Valentine’s Day. Not sure what to make of Ash Wednesday falling on Valentine’s Day and Easter on April 1st.
Be Encouraged – and Challenged: Years ago, while traveling in troubled parts of Africa with Tim Dearborn – then a senior member of World Vision’s leadership team – I wondered why God allowed so much suffering. Dearborn reframed the question, asking why we allow it. He noted that if Christians gave ten percent of their income away, which he argued was a starting point, we could: 1) Wipe out extreme poverty; 2) Provide a 6thgrade education to everyone; 3) Provide clean water to everyone; and 4) Double every church budget and double every mission budget in the world and still have hundreds of billions of dollars left over. He argued back then that the question is not: when is God going to provide, or when are we going to be generous, but when are we going to be faithful and obedient?
I called Tim last week to see if he wanted to update his thinking. He said the numbers still hold, and then observed that there were four things that got the Jews in trouble during the Old Testament era: 1) a failure to circumcise; 2) a failure to tithe; 3) a failure to keep the Sabbath; and 4) a failure to welcome the stranger. He argues that these were all issues of trust. In every situation they (we) were being asked to give something up something they did not want to give up. With circumcision – well, there is no desire to give up anything on that front. With the tithe, it’s money. With the Sabbath, it’s time, and with our home, it’s control / privacy. On all four fronts, obedience protects us from idolatry and helps us learn to trust God.
On the Night Stand:
- As I noted in the last Update, Sheri and I recently spent a week in Mexico with our longtime friends who recently moved to China. While we were together, he handed me a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book. I read as much as I could bear. There are moments when Mao seems well-intentioned, compassionate and even insightful. And I am inclined to admire his commitment to “the cause.” (In fact, if things were different – and Mao hadn’t killed more people than Hitler and Stalin combined I would note parallels between his actions and Peter and Paul in the Book of Acts). But I can’t freely go there. Much of The Little Red Book is heavy-handed and misguided nationalistic nonsense. As I said, I read as much as I could bear – and that was less than half.
- Shortly after he graduated from Harvard Law School, David French paid his own way to an Ivy Jungle Conference I was hosting to volunteer his time advising college pastors on their first amendment rights. I have kept an eye on French’s career ever since, which has included: joining the Army (post 9-11); being decorated for his tour in Iraq; writing several books (on ISIS, etc.); and being mentioned as a candidate for President. This week French has an article on football in The National Review. In, Yes, God Cares About Football, he muses over the tendency of NFL players (especially victors) to give credit to God. I found his comments more thoughtful than most discussions on this topic.
Quotes Worth Requoting:
- “The world is too dangerous to live in, not because of the people who do evil, but because of the people who sit and let it happen.” Albert Einstein
- “Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17
And Two Olympic Related Quotes:
- “Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.” Michael Johnson, 4x Olympic Gold Medal sprinter
- “Every Olympian runs, but only one person gets the prize. So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” Apostle Paul, I Cor. 9
Signs of the Times: We rent Wedding Rings. Seen on a southern CA jewelry store.
Thanks and Praise:
- Sheri and I had a great vacation with our friends.
- I have been very encouraged by what I have seen going on behind the scenes –a small group that mobilized to help save a marriage; people stepping in to care for developmentally disabled adults; a young man stepping in to accompany the daughter of a single Mom to a Daddy-Daughter Dance, and a spike in people wanting to serve.
Prayer Requests:
- This weekend we kick off REACH, our effort to organize, fund and implement a movement that “reaches people and renews communities.” We’ve been working on this for a year. The sermon series – out of Genesis 11-22 – rolled out last night with our Th PM service at HP. Our goal is $19 M over 2 years, most of which ($12M) funds our normal operations during that time, but $7M which allows us to do new some very exciting things.
- We are ramping up for our annual baptism service. This year thirteen churches are participating. It’s common to compare a challenge to “herding cats.” Given a choice between herding cats and organizing an event involving 13 churches I’d opt for the cats.
- Reading Mao has reminded me of how important leadership is. I have mentioned this before, but we need to pray for our leaders.