“Because World Vision has set an example, I [hope] to pay back by doing social work in order to advocate for the poor and for vulnerable children like me,” says Mayungo.
You can read more of this success story here.
Obedience Leads To Freedom…
…or does it? I was listening to Steve Brown the other day. He was speaking about a teaching that I had heard all my life and fully believed, until about a year or so ago. This was the idea that obedience leads to freedom. I heard the story about how the fence around the yard allowed the little dog the freedom of running around the whole yard and protected it from the big dogs outside the fence. I also remember preachers talking about how the train tracks allow the train the freedom to run without wrecking. All of this was to emphasize how we need rules and regulations in our lives and how obedience led to freedom.
Now, it is true that rules do allow many things, including our lives , to run smoother in a lot of ways. Sporting events run much smoother with rules, and obeying those rules does bring freedom as you compete. The problem with applying this to our spiritual lives is that is just not true. The Pharisees rigidly obeyed the Law. They even came up with rules to keep people from even coming close to breaking the rules. They not only had no freedom, they didn’t realize they were in bondage. We all know people who obeyed all the rules while they were growing up and rejected the faith as soon as they got out on their own. Many of us also know folks who obey and stay in church, yet are obviously not free. Of course, that brings up the question of whether they are obeying God’s commands or man’s rules, but that’s another topic.
We aren’t free because we obey. We obey because we are free. Because God has been gracious to us, and has set us free, we can now obey him. Because we are free, we can also choose to disobey. But, because God has given us his Spirit, he works in us to make us more and more like Jesus. That is not to say that we have no responsibility to learn and be a disciple, but rather to say that the strength to do that comes from God and the motivation to do that arises out of gratitude and love. God puts in us the desire to obey. We often fail miserably, but the desire to do what is right and become more like Jesus is from our Father.
It is good for us to realize that it is not our own effort that brings freedom. We are free because of what Christ has done for us. As we sink deeper and deeper into the love the Father has for us, and seek to be more like the Master, we will more naturally do what God wants us to do.
St. Thomas Community Church or The Church in the Bagel Shop
A long time ago I wrote about how God was calling Jan and me out of the church we were in and how a friend and I were going to plant a church here in Rock Hill. Those plans were put on hold for a while, due to circumstances beyond our control (read: God’s timing). Well, it looks like it’s going to happen, but not in the way we originally planned.
On Sunday, August 23, St. Thomas Community Church will have it’s first ever meeting. We will be meeting at Durango Bagel in the Millwood Plantation shopping center on Herlong Avenue. We’ll get together at 9:30 AM for coffee, etc., and begin our meeting around 10:00. We’ll wrap things up around 11:00 or 11:30.
Our purpose is to form a community of faith around learning to love God with every fiber of our being, and then taking that outside the four walls to love our neighbors as ourselves. We want to not just go to church, but rather to BE the church.
Anyway, if you’re in Rock Hill stop by and check us out.
TGIF
I was going to post last night about something significant that’s happening in our lives (at least it’s significant to me), but the internet was down at our house. So, you’ll have to wait until later. 🙂 All the teachers and staff started back to school this week, and it has been hard adjusting to going to bed and getting up earlier. You would think I’d be smart enough to start adjusting a few days before starting back, but nooooooo…
One thing I have been able to keep up with is my reading, so I can give you, my loyal reader(s) the links I think are especially good. Here they are:
Bill Kinnon reviews Why We Love the Church. Molly is feeling a bit sheepish. Getting back. Jeromy Johnson is wrestling. This guy is just a bit off (Not the writer. The guy in the video). The unfair grace of God. Have you ever listened to the Devil’s sermon? What do teachers make? Jonathan Brink on consumerism.
John Armstrong on the teaching of Jesus. Foundational thoughts about church. Alan Knox on unity.
Enjoy your reading. Stay tuned.
World Vision Wednesday
According to UNICEF, more than 250,000 children worldwide are involved in armed conflicts. Some of these children are as young as 7. Over 2 million children have been killed in the last ten years, and an estimated 6 million have been seriously injured or permanently disabled.
You can read the rest of the story here.
TGIF
This is the last TGIF before summer vacation ends. Beginning next Friday, the letters TGIF will begin to mean more. 🙂 Jan and I spent the past two days at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. We were volunteering at the World Vision table here at the Charlotte site, and were able to sit in on all the sessions for free. We enjoyed it and learned some valuable things. If you’ve get a chance to go to a Leadership Summit, check it out. It’s more than just mega-church CEO type leadership stuff.
Now, it’s with great pleasure that I present to you the links of the week:
Holy listening. Sarah Gillis writes the winning entry in the wrecked.org social justice writing contest. Dr. Lewis thinks we should all listen to this. Jared Wilson gives us 25 evangelical myths. Alan Knox on distractions to worship. Planetshaken, but not stirred. Jonathan Brink on true fundamentalism. Interesting series on Genesis one. Part 1 is here. John Armstrong asks if we have a theological deficit. Jeff McQ has been rethinking his views on worship.
Enjoy your reading and have a great weekend.
World Vision Wednesday
Ten things you need to know about human trafficking:
1. Girls are trafficked into many industries beside brothels
2. Trafficking is visible; trafficking is accepted
3. Dirty jobs fuel trafficking demand
4. People smuggling is not considered trafficking
5. Trafficking victims most often “rescue themselves”
6. Adoption is still a trafficking risk
7. As many as one in five trafficking survivors fall prey a second time
8. Boys and men are trafficked too
9. Disability is attractive to traffickers
10. There is no one profile of a trafficker
For a far more detailed explanation, go here.
Jan and I are going to be at the Charlotte site for the Willow Creek Leadership Summit simulcast tomorrow and Friday. We will be at the World Vision table. If you’re there, stop in and say hello.
TGIF
This has been kind of a slow week for me. Yesterday, I spent about 5 hours helping Jan move everything that belongs to her out of the classroom where she’s been teaching. It was hard for her to pack up all the stuff that accumulates over a period of years that was such a major part of our lives. We’re both looking forward to the next thing the Father has for us on our journey.
As usual, here are the links:
Alan Knox has a couple of good posts up, here and here. iMonk writes about caricatures. Spirit vs structure. Jonathan gets honest with himself. Don Miller on stories. Sometimes the questions are tough. Crazy things dogs have eaten. Scot McKnight reviews a book about forgiveness. John Armstrong on Judge Sotomayor.
Jeff McQ claims he hasn’t backslidden. Short but sweet from fr’nklin. Karen Swank writes on value, beauty, and worth. Are there non-negotiable beliefs for Christians?
Have a great weekend.
What Kind of Questions?
Last week fr’nklin posted this quote: “Apologetics is answering the questions raised by our lives.” This is a brilliant statement, and a much better way of looking at apologetics than I had ever heard before.
As we talked about this, we wondered about the kinds of questions currently being asked about the church. Questions like, “Why does the church hate gays?” How about, “Why can’t people in the church get along?” Maybe you’ve heard, “Why is the church always asking for money?” Then there’s, “Why do churches need those big buildings?” When these questions are asked, the answers that are given usually have little to do with the teachings of Jesus.
What if people began to ask, “Why do those people share their things with others?” What if, instead of asking why we’re against certain people, folks asked why we showed love to everyone, even those who were hostile to us. When the religious leaders in Jerusalem were questioning the disciples, they wondered about the fact that they were unschooled, but then took note of the fact that those men had been with Jesus. Imagine the questions this raised in those leaders’ minds.
When those around us see our lives, what kinds of questions do they ask? Do they take note that we have been with this religious group or that church, or do they see that we have been with Jesus?
World Vision Wednesday
In the country of Niger, students normally register for school by the age of seven. If they are not registered by then, they may not be able to get into school. The older they get, the less chance they have of going to school.
World Vision is changing that in one village. You can read more here.