In The Dash- Life’s Moments

I remember the birth of my children, and I remember my kids learning to ride their bike and when they read their first book.  I remember the joy on their face and I hope they know how proud of them I was.

I thought about dying and missing out on all of life’s moments, but also my kids missing out on my joy and words of encouragement.  I would love to make a video time capsule where I celebrate the key moments in my kid’s lives.  When they get their license, choose a college and graduate from it, marriage and the birth of their children.

Moments that I want to be alive to experience first hand but if I can’t I want them to be able to see my joy and hear my praise and know how very proud of them I truly am.

 

Action Steps:

◊ Create a time capsule of life moments. 

Beat It

I’ve pushed someone before. I’ve belittled someone with my words. I’ve laughed at someone because of their deformity. I’ve teased someone because of how they’ve acted or reacted to a situation. I have been a bully. I’ve also been pushed by someone before. I’ve been belittled by someone with their words. I’ve been laughed at before. I’ve been teased because of how I’ve acted or reacted to a situation. I’ve been bullied.

One of the things I have learned is that hurt people, hurt people. I believe that the main reason people bully others is because they themselves have been bullied at some point and are hurt and don’t know how to properly handle their emotions. I also believe a main reason is because people feel the need to “fit in” or “impress” others by making themselves appear to be funny or more important at the expense of others.

How do we change this? It starts at home. It starts with us. This is an issue that we have to be ultra sensitive to. The old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” doesn’t work and is not true. Truth is our words hurt and we need to be careful how we use them. I read this on Facebook today and had to post it.

The girl you just called fat, she is overdosing on diet pills.

The girl you just called ugly, she spends hours putting makeup on hoping people will like her.

The boy you just tripped, he is abused enough at home.

See that man with the ugly scars, he fought for our country.

That guy you just made fun of for crying, his mother is dying.

You never know what it is like to be someone else until you walk in their shoes.

Bullying is so important to me because I hated my childhood and teen years because of so many people in middle school and high school picking on, teasing me, bullying me and making me afraid to go to school. I hated my life and I wanted to die. I was so fearful to be at school and walk down the hall. I masked it with sarcasm but at the end of the day I thought through so many ways to end my life. To this day I still don’t know how I made it. I saw a backpack commercial today that sounds an alarm when a child is being bullied and it broke my heart that kids would have to even deal with this. Bullying has to end. Lives are being destroyed and generations are be affected. Those with a voice speak out, speak up and defend the powerless.

Feed The First State

The series Fringe Benefits has challenged all of us to live a life of selflessness and experience the unexpected value of helping someone else.  That challenge is why we’ve begun Feed the First State.  We don’t want to be all talk–we want to put feet on our words and we want to help provide food to people who are hungry.  Here are the statistics:

-The Food Bank of Delaware provides emergency food for an estimated 241,600 different people annually.
-44% of the members of households served by The Food Bank of Delaware are children under 18 years old.

Through partnering with The Food Bank of Delaware, we’re going to help alleviate hunger in our community!

Here’s how you can be a part:  If you’re in a Life Group, do all you can to make sure your party is a success!  If you’re not in a Life Group, here’s how you can be a part:

• Go to this link to see when and where various Feed The First State parties will be happening in our community and drop off your cans of food.
• Stop by The Journey this Saturday (June 25th) anytime between 3-5pm to drop off your cans of food.

When we gather again on Sunday, we’ll celebrate how many cans we collected and how many people we’ll be able to feed as a result.  Plus…we have a surprise.

“When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. 10 It is the same with your grape crop-do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19)

On the journey with you,

Pastor Andrew

::Andrew Wilson is the Connecting Pastor of The Journey

 

What Can We Learn From Natural Disasters?

There have been so many natural disasters over the last year.  I can’t remember another period in my life where I have experienced so much destruction.

I remember as a kid hearing about the great San Francisco earthquake and watching on TV.  I remember seeing the forest fire that almost destroyed Yellowstone park.  I remember hearing about issues all over the world but those were over there and I’m here so they didn’t affect me.  I have seen only one tornado in my life and been through one hurricane.  However I have friends all over the world who have been affected by one of the statistics below.

• There have been 21 major earthquakes not counting aftershocks.
• There have been over 200 reported tornadoes in 8 states that have killed hundreds of people and destroyed billions in possessions.
• There has been an volcanic eruption.
• A Tsunami.
• Massive flooding that promises to change the culture layout for generations to come.
• Multiple reports of birds falling from the sky, fish, crabs and frogs dying in crazy numbers.

To read all of this I know what your thinking…global warming.  What else is there possibly to blame?  Seeing all this is a mix between the Book of Exodus and the plagues and a really warped Steven King novel, however in all of these disasters there is a common bond.  PAIN AND SUFFERING.

Every disaster brings its unique situations, issues, problems and opportunities.  Opportunities? Yes, opportunities because the common theme among these disasters is there are people looking for hope.  They are surrounded with pain, suffering and destruction but they are also surrounded with hope.  Hope for a better tomorrow and hope that someone, somewhere will rise up to make a difference.

Some through these disasters will financially sacrifice a lot.  Some will go and give of there time.  Some will make others aware of the situation and what they can do.

A natural disaster has not hit the Northeast this year so many of us don’t know what to do.  You can pray, you can send or you can go.  Maybe God is tugging at your heart to do something.  Do you know what it is yet?

What I am learning watching the aftermath of these natural disasters through the news and from twitter feeds is that people can do extraordinary things when given the opportunity to.  People can reach across all barriers and surpass even their own expectations of themselves.  People are given opportunities to share about a loving God like never before.

Natural disasters will continue to be a part of life but it is how people get back up and push forward in those disasters that will determine the character of a community.

The A21 Campaign and Human Trafficking

Anybody who knows me knows how passionate I have become about speaking out for social justice issues.  It wasn’t until last year that I learned that all of these issues existed.  I guess I can attribute that to a lack of caring and a product of my white, suburban, upper middle class surroundings.  However becoming aware of an issue is only part of a solution because there are many more parts that can be done to make people aware and work towards an end.  Today I am introducing you to an  organization called The A21 Campaign.  The A21 Campaign stands for abolishing injustice in the 21st century. Anyone can join – everyone can make a difference.  Below are some thoughts, stats, ideas and opportunities taken from a recent brochure of theirs.

[def.] the movement of individuals, with the primary purpose of forced servitude or sexual slavery.

Today, an estimated 27 million people are held in slavery, with statistics estimating that 99% of these victims are never rescued. Trafficking in women is the second largest global organized crime, and in some cases girls are forced to service as many as 40 men a day.

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the issue of human trafficking and think that we cannot make a difference.  But do not forget that each one of us has at our disposal the most powerful weapon of warfare – and that is prayer.

PRAY…

FOR THE VICTIMS

For their strength & salvation

For their protection, freedom and justice

For their hope and healing

FOR THE TRAFFICKERS

For conviction, repentance and salvation

For criminal networks to dismantle

For the oppressors to be arrested and prosecuted

FOR GOVERNMENTS

For corruption to cease

For the implementation of just legislation

For discernment in forming alliances

AGAINST ROOT CAUSES

Against poverty

Against greed

Against prejudice

FOR INCREASED GLOBAL AWARENESS

The reality of trafficking is unveiled

For strategies to raise awareness

For people to be stirred to action

THE CHURCH

For the church to prevail

For advocates and laborers to emerge

To unite against injustice

THE A21 CAMPAIGN

For divine favour

For divine wisdom

For divine provision

21 WAYS TO HELP

1. Spread the word
2. Use your talent
3. Invest in freedom
4. Lobby politicians
5. Organize a fundraiser
6. Support survivors
7. Fast on the 21st
8. Volunteer
9. Start an awareness group
10. Buy fair trade products
11. Sponsor those at risk
12. Intern for a summer
13. Educate yourself
14. Stay current
15. Work the web
16. Pray
17. Motivate the media
18. Stay alert
19. Work for freedom
20. Make connections
21. Help victims escape

ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR EVIL TO TRIUMP IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING. -Edmund Burke

“People” People

Teddy Roosevelt said, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success in leadership is knowing how to get along with people.”  Were told in Proverbs 27 to be diligent to know those around us.  I learned in college the 10 ideas to becoming a “people” person and since it was a Baptist school at the time, all of the ideas start with the letter “R”.

.

.

1. REACH out to people.
2. REMEMBER a person’s name.
3. RECOGNIZE a person’s potential.
4. REQUEST information about them.
5. Be RESPECTFUL.
6. RELATE on their level.
7. Be RELIABLE.
8. Give REASSURANCE to people.
9. Be a RESOURCE for people.
10. REQUEST their help.

As I read through that list I thought there is at least one missing.  RESPOND.  People want to know just as much about you as you do about them.  There is a certain level of transparency that is required of a leader if the people they lead are to trust them.  There is a level of understanding that people need to have that lets them know you are just like them.

When you ask good questions you will see what they really care about.  You’ll find out about their future dreams and goals.  You’ll find out about what they cry about or what they sing and laugh about.  To do this you must become a good listener and when the time is right you must become a good responder.

There are at least 10 things to discover about someone in order to have a better understanding of them and this is a two way street.

1. Their background
2. Their present situation or station in life
3. Their personality
4. Their spiritual gift (s)
5. Their natural abilities
6. Their dreams for the future
7. Their hurts -past and present
8. Their joys -past and present
9. Their priorities
10. Their key influencers as well as who their friends are

Remember as a leader “you must care more about who they are than what they do.” -Perry Noble. You can have good people skills and not be a good leader, but you cannot be a good leader without good people skills.

As a leader use your head to gain knowledge of people.  As a leader use your heart to demonstrate a concern for people.  As a leader use your hands to help people.  As a leader use your life to connect with people.

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  Everybody wants to be someone.  Everyone needs someone.  Take the time to discover the potential that others do not see in themselves and point it out to them.  Be real with people and let them into your life.

15 Reasons We Don’t Lead Like Jesus

So I have been really digging into the life of Jesus and I have noticed how He related to His disciples.  I think understanding how He interacted with those men is crucial to understanding some key dynamics of leadership and how to lead a team.  Everyone wants to be known as a good leader but why are there so many bad leaders out there?  Why are there so many out there who don’t get the team dynamic or how to pour their life into a team?  I wish I had an answer because this would not just be a blog post but it would be a book.  Maybe I would see you at Barnes & Noble as I sign copies of your book, however I don’t have the answer and the reality is I would not consider myself a good leader…not yet.  So what did Jesus do that we could model in the teams that we lead?

1. He called them to be with Him and He called them with a purpose in mind.  He called them the way they were with all their faults and deficiencies.
2. He began to develop  them to reach their potential, even though they were far from being champions when He started with them.
3. He took them with Him on day to day activities.
4. He taught them.  At times he taught by simply asking them questions.
5. He game them ministry opportunities with clear assignments.  He gave them power.
6. He took the time to hear their reports and gave words of encouragement to them.  Told them to rest.
7. He answered their questions and their request for information.
8. He gave them assignments so He could do His ministry.
9. He let them get a close up view of who He was, letting them in on the inside.  Teams buy into the leader before the vision.
10. He intervened in their lives when He suspected problems.  He was close enough to them to know there was problems.
11. He corrected them when they were wrong.
12. He enjoyed fellowshiped with them.
13. He prayed for and with His disciples.
14. He dealt with their failures and restored them to service when the time was right.
15. He commissioned them and empower them to carry on the work He started.

When you look at who He had to work with it is amazing that the church exists today.

• Peter- impulsive, impatient and a denier.
• James and John- sons of thunder, judgmental, un-compassionate and inconsiderate.
• Thomas- was a doubter.
• Philip- was slow to understand and learn.
• Nathaniel- was questioning and cynical.
• Matthew- was a tax collector.
• Judas- was a schemer, betrayer and a thief.
• All of them were position conscious, not servants.  They were self-centered and thinking only of themselves, not ever of Jesus.  They did not know how to pray, did not know about the last days, did not understand the ministry of John the Baptist, did not know about the Holy Spirit, had little faith, were scripturally ignorant and were fearful and ran in the face of opposition.  As a group they fought with each other, they did not understand the big picture, they were afraid to ask questions, they argued whether Jesus would use an IPhone or a Blackberry, they bickered over the level of the sound system in the auditorium, who would get the biggest budget, who reserved the space first to do their program and who should be able to hire an assistant.

I think you get the point that the same arguments of then are the same arguments today of those we lead.  Maybe that is why we don’t lead like Jesus because all of that takes hard work.  Maybe we don’t lead like Jesus because we put so much hope in potential and when it doesn’t work out like we thought we just give up and stop leading and start doing.  Maybe we don’t lead like Jesus because we are not close enough to Him to know how to lead like that.  Maybe we don’t lead like Jesus because were not perfect.

Nobody will ever be the perfect leader, but just because we won’t be the perfect leader doesn’t mean we can’t work towards being a great leader.  Based on what I see in the scripture, Jesus was a great leader because He was personal and He got into the lives of those He led.  I don’t think it was the big numbers and miracles that drew the disciples to Jesus it was the fact that He called them, empowered them, walked with them and at the end of the day He called them friends.

Helping Hands

20 Adults and students left the comfort of Fellowship Church to go to the Dominican Republic to make a difference.  Here is the article in it’s entirety that was written by Patti Mengers of the Delco Times.  Click the the Delco Times link to see the video.

After a week of medical missionary work in the steamy sun, Dr. Melissa Broyles was about to bid goodbye to the Haitian children she had befriended in the Dominican Republic a month ago.

A girl named Nevolisa approached the family physician and gave her a purple rubber bracelet adorned with pink and white stars, a treasure most likely given to the child by another missionary.

“Para ti,” said the 8-year-old.

Although Creole is her native tongue, the Haitian youth said “for you” in Spanish because she knew the doctor understood the language.

“We were giving, giving and towards the end of the week, the little girl gave me this bracelet. It was really beautiful,” said the 40-year-old Concord resident.

She and her 41-year-old husband, David, also a family physician, were among 20 members of Fellowship Church in Concord who cared for Haitian refugees during a missionary trip to the Dominican Republic led by Chadds Ford pediatrician Dr. Una Brewer March 25 through April 1.

The trip was arranged in conjunction with two humanitarian organizations, the Foundation for Children in Need and Crossroads.

“Last summer, I went to the Dominican Republic for the first time and did my first ever medical mission. It was so amazing living and serving amongst the poorest Haitian refugees. I wanted to go back, take more doctors, nurses and other youth. That dream was fulfilled this year,” said Brewer.

In addition to her husband and children, ages 6, 9 and 13, Brewer took seven teenagers and several adults, including two nurses, a dental hygienist, bankers, an administrator and an engineer.

“It was great to do medical work where people were so appreciative of anything we could do for them,” said Brewer. “It was also great to see the youth from our area interact with the children and teenagers in the village.”

In addition to providing medical care to Haitian refugees, the group executed painting projects and distributed food, shoes and beds to those in need.

“Our kids came back with a whole new appreciation for what they have here in Garnet Valley. My hope is that they will have a serving heart as they grow into adults,” said Brewer.

The group distributed care packages assembled by first- and fourth-graders taught by Meg Hayes, Lauren Castafero and Beth McCarry in the Garnet Valley and Concord elementary schools. Brewer had made presentations to those classes about the impact of poverty on children.

“They collected and assembled over 250 donation packages that included shoes, wash cloths, soap and protein bars. With each one they attached a note wishing the Haitians well,” said Brewer.

The students also collected pencils and notebooks in which they wrote messages distributed to children in need of school supplies in the Dominican Republic. A fundraiser sponsored by the Chick-fil-A restaurant in Concord helped pay for bins to transport supplies and for T-shirts the missionaries brought to the refugees.

“I plan on doing something similar again next year, and I want to be able to teach more schoolchildren about how they can help make a difference both locally  and globally,” said Brewer, who hopes to travel to Haiti in August to volunteer at an orphanage.

When the Broyles heard Brewer speak at their church about her first trip to the Dominican Republic last year, they immediately signed up to go. It was several months before the devastating earthquake in Haiti that would compound the need for help to refugees in the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti, which was struck by its worst earthquake in a century Jan. 12. More than 200,000 people died, about 300,000 were injured and more than a million were left homeless in Haiti.

“The very first day, I saw one man who came from Haiti the week before we got there. He was in a 10-by-10 hut in a remote village. He had one shirt, one pair of pants and flip-flops and he was boiling some water and eating a root,” said David.

As did other members of the missionary group, the Broyles paid their own transportation costs and brought their own examination equipment, including blood-pressure cuffs, stethoscopes to listen to hearts and otoscopes to look into ears. Antibiotics, gauze and saline donated by others were already in the Dominican Republic.

They traveled light, relinquishing airline check-in privileges to the bins of supplies they were transporting to the Dominican Republic.

“Most people left their clothes down there with the people,” said David Broyles.

A native of Roanoke, Va., David was no stranger to humanitarian missions. After Hurricane Katrina, he volunteered his services in Slidell, La., doing cleanup and rebuilding houses. He has also volunteered his services to the Delaware County Housing Authority with a church group, rebuilding houses in Chester.

Melissa, a Springfield native, volunteers as an adoption advocate and adviser. The Broyles adopted both their children, 7-year-old Elena and 5-year-old Alex, from Russia. Married 13 years, they met the first semester of medical school at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1993.

Melissa, a 1992 graduate of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., with a degree in biology, is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

“I always knew, ever since I was younger, that I wanted to be a doctor. I like treating the whole family, from grandparents to kids,” said Melissa, who is also a graduate of Merion-Mercy Academy in Montgomery County.

David, a 1990 graduate of Bridgewater College near Harrisonburg, Va., where he majored in psychology with a minor in philosophy and religion, is affiliated he with Crozer-Keystone Health System.

“After medical school, I saw the light and went into family medicine mostly because of the broad range of what you can do in family medicine,” said David.

The Broyles found their expertise in demand during their eight days in the Dominican Republic.

“The first day we had a clinic, we had 70 people,” said Melissa. “The next day, we decided to walk around the village and people would just approach us, and they were ill. It wasn’t that they just wanted attention.”

The doctors were based in Villa Ascension, a community of about 150 cinderblock houses established by Crossroads for Haitian refugees well before the earthquake.

“By them being displaced and not having adequate health care and not being properly hydrated and not having good sanitation and living so close together and having poor hygiene, it has resulted in the spread of disease,” said David.

Villa Ascension was about an hour’s bus ride from the Puerto Plata Airport where the group landed in the Dominican Republic.

“From there, it was kind of funny. We got on a blue bus with open sides. Twenty of us were on benches,” said David.

The road degenerated from pavement to dirt to fields of sugar cane. The bus transported the missionaries through a creek, the bed of which they later restored with rocks and gravel, to get to Villa Ascension.

“The first day, the school kids swarmed the bus. Every day when we came back, they were waiting for us,” said David.

The missionaries brought the first relief and medical care to the community in about two months, said David.

“I think the need was so great that it is almost insatiable. You can’t fulfill all their needs. You do what you can do,” noted Melissa.

The homes were atop a hill accessed by a dirt road. The Broyles and their group stayed at the bottom of the hill in a building where they slept in bunk beds under mosquito nets.

“It was comfortable, but it was hot. It was buggy,” said David.

The physicians worked part of the time in a clinic attached to the building where they were staying. They would also travel by bus to remote villages usually about a half-hour from Villa Ascension. They brought plastic bins full of antibiotics, saline and gauze and would set up clinics in churches and schools.

“The youth, they cleansed a lot of wounds and fungal infections,” said David.

The Broyles would also carry supplies in fanny packs and treat people on the spot for lacerations, indigestion and infections.

“There was a man cut by a machete, people getting hit on the head with rocks, a gunshot wound,” said David, who noted that pneumonia was also common.

The Haitians are not accustomed to organized care, he noted.

“Clinics are hit or miss,” said David.

When they did clinics, the doctors were assisted by one or two interpreters. Haitians’ first language is Creole, although they could understand Spanish, which Melissa studied in high school and college.

“Every day we ventured out somewhere,” said David. “Once they learn you’re a doctor, they stop you and pull you into their houses or tell you what’s wrong with them.”

Among the Haitian refugees they served were earthquake survivors.

“I met several young moms who told me their husbands had died in the earthquake and they had several young children around them and they couldn’t feed their children,” said Melissa.

David observed many Haitians were significantly depressed from losing loved ones in the earthquake.

“In the United States you say, ‘Get an anti-depressant,’ and you’d put them with a therapist and connect them with social services, but they don’t have those resources. They’re just worried about eating and shelter,” said David.

They found one frail woman, sitting in a chair in a home atop the hill.

“We’d say, ‘How can we help you?’ She was also malnourished and depressed,” said Melissa, who noted that members of the group eventually just surrounded her and prayed.

Melissa was especially moved by Francis Antonio, a baby born via Cesarean section at a local hospital the day the group arrived. The doctors were summoned to examine the infant when his mother brought him home.

“We walk in and the mom takes off the little baby’s bootie and his foot is deformed and she’s asking me to help with the foot. It was way beyond our expertise,” said Melissa.

She discovered that both the baby’s feet were deformed, one more severely than the other. Her own son had club feet that were repaired at the Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., when she brought him home from Russia four years ago.

“I’ve been calling duPont, trying to get this baby help. That has just stayed with me,” said Melissa.

Francis Antonio was also dehydrated because he was not latching onto his mother’s breast. Fortunately, Brewer, a pediatrician, was on the mission, as was Kala Sareyka, a lactation nurse from Concord.

With their fellow missionaries, they distributed milk, bread and care packages to Haitian refugees and delivered mattresses and bunk beds to those who were sleeping on bare floors.

“In addition to relief work, we were holding children, playing with the kids, talking to moms. It was kind of hands-on relationship building,” said David.

They also went to the local dump where some villagers would scavenge for recyclable items, such as plastic and cans.

“Melissa and I provided medical care there and gave out food and clothes and just played with the kids,” said David. “There were kids whose parents were there trying to make a living.”

Melissa befriended three girls who were about the age of her daughter.

“We’d go in the field and blow bubbles and play jump rope with sugar cane,” said Melissa, who noted that she would like to take her own children with her on a missionary trip some day.

The Haitian refugees, she said, were “desperate, needy and grateful.”

“They’re very loving with their actions — touching, hugging and kissing. Some knew English, but not many,” she said.

Both doctors foresee themselves doing more missionary work in the Dominican Republic or Haiti.

“We were there and we were helping, but we were just scratching the surface,” said Melissa.

She would like to help teach Haitian refugees to be self-sufficient so they will have better living conditions and less disease.

“I’d like to teach them agriculture and how to live off the land,” said Melissa. “I can treat them for pneumonia but not prevent it from happening to the next child or next generation.”

Breaking the cycle of poverty for Haitians is difficult, especially since the Jan. 12 earthquake caused such death and devastation in their country, said David.

“They’re the poorest of the poor. They came from the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and they’re displaced to another country,” said David.

The Broyles were happy to hear from translators that some of the young people they treated during their trip expressed an interest in studying medicine.

Said David, “Just by being there and helping to inspire them, it gives them a vision.”

Rethink Possible

AT&T has a new marketing campaign titled “Rethink Possible”.  On their site is a little intro video type thing that explains this.  Here is what it says: Expand your boundaries of can.  See what’s on the other side of to far.  Play the angel’s advocate.  Outsmart can’t.  Put a restriction on your limits and expect to be wowed.  Explore.  Try.  Do.  Because before it could be done, it couldn’t.  These are indeed amazing times.  Rethink Possible. I love it.  We can argue all day long about what cell phone company has the best coverage, lowest rates and least dropped calls but that is not what this is about.  AT&T is trying to get the consumer to think outside the box and think about what can be.

The church is no different.  For years there was a certain way to do church.  Hymnals, KJV, Sunday’s best.  Long talks that lacked application but were full of information.  Then people started to “rethink possible.”  Churches started adding musicians and became relevant and progressive.  People wore whatever they wanted to church. Other versions of the Bible were taught. People started inviting their neighbors.  Talks were shortened and people were challenged.  Life groups and community began to happen.  People began to think missionally.   Satellite churches were launched and multi-site campuses became the norm.  Churches became portable and met in theaters, schools coffee shops and some churches actually double as a business.  Internet campuses were formed and community was developed through social networks like Twitter and facebook.

How we do things today will not be the way they are done in 5 years or even 3 years.  Culture is changing and the church must adapt without losing it’s true identity.  No it’s identity is not in song selections, clothing and versions but instead in what it is doing to connect people to the very core of it all…Jesus.  All the bells and whistles do not replace the work of the Holy Spirit in an individuals life.  So as culture moves so must the church and so must we as individuals who make up the church.  There are people who would be willing to listen if they could understand what we are saying, not in our words but in our actions.  Live out your faith today and “rethink possible.”

One Day’s Wages

I am really impressed with this concept. Do you ever see or hear something and go, why didn’t I think of that?  It’s so simple and yet it is life changing and revolutionizing.  I love passing on the ideas of others.  Passing on their dream and vision.  One day you or I may have a God sized vision and who will pass it on for us?  One Day’s Wages has blown me away with what they are able to accomplish.  Here is what they are about:

In one word: Movement.

In two words: Compassionate Justice.

In a phrase: A Movement of People, Stories and Actions of Compassionate Justice to Fight Extreme Global Poverty.

In one paragraph: One Day’s Wages (ODW) is an international grassroots movement dedicated to ending extreme global poverty. ODW promotes awareness, invites giving, and supports sustainable relief through partnerships, especially with smaller organizations in developing regions.

Our vision is to change global issues of injustice affecting millions of people, regardless of race, culture, sex, age, or religion.

Our vision is to inspire people around the world to simply donate one day’s wages and to renew that pledge monthly, quarterly or yearly on their birthdays to the cause of ending extreme global poverty.

If your wages for a single day cannot save the world, they can dramatically impact another person’s life; consider, then, what millions of you giving your daily wages and renewing the gift at least annually on your birthdays will accomplish!

One Day’s Wages is you, me, us, them: giving, dreaming, and working together to end extreme global poverty. Join the movement.

What an incredible concept.  This is not meant to get you to jump all over this but become aware of issues and causes and those who are working to make a difference.

Next Page »